Chapter 122.
"TIMBER COUNTRY UTTERLY OBLITERATES THE SUSPENSE OF THE BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE! THE REST OF THE FIELD WAS SWEPT AWAY LIKE DUST BEFORE A HURRICANE! SHUTA AN SECURES HIS THIRD VICTORY OUT OF FOUR MOUNTS TODAY! WITH TWO MARQUEE RACES REMAINING ON HIS SCHEDULE, CAN THE INTERNATIONAL PRODIGY SUSTAIN THIS MIRACULOUS MOMENTUM AND BECOME THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN OF CHURCHILL DOWNS TODAY?!"
As he crossed the wire aboard Timber Country, Shuta An actually possessed the luxury to ease his posture, glancing back over his shoulder.
Exactly five horse-lengths behind him, Pat Day was driving hard, his face twisted into a mask of bitter, profound dejection.
The "revenge" had been executed flawlessly.
When the gates had opened, Shuta An, burdened with the widest draw on the far outside, deliberately refused to let Timber Country aggressively accelerate toward the vanguard. Unsure of the young Japanese jockey's overarching tactical blueprint, Pat Day had opted to play it safe, dropping his own mount back to shadow Shuta An and Timber Country from the rear.
It was a fatal miscalculation.
The moment they banked violently into the final turn, Shuta An finally unleashed Timber Country's engine. Moving with terrifying, joyful ease, he carved a wide, sweeping path around the outside, effortlessly blitzing the entire pack and seizing the absolute front, violently shaking off Pat Day in the process. From that exact point until the wire, Day and his partner, Eltish, were completely mathematically eliminated, unable to ever close the gap on Shuta An again.
"Easy."
Shuta An strolled back into the jockey's lounge, splashed some cold water on his face, and dropped into the chair next to Yutaka Take with a predatory grin.
"Next up on the docket is the Breeders' Cup Turf. Take-san, are you prepared? The American dirt and the American turf are two entirely separate ecological biomes."
"When it comes to turf, I possess absolute confidence that my technical foundation is vastly superior to the local jockey."
Take replied, his posture radiating quiet, absolute assurance.
"Furthermore, Intrepidity herself has adapted exceptionally well to the unique surface profile of this specific racecourse."
"Unfortunately, the local betting public doesn't seem to share your confidence in Intrepidity; her odds have plummeted, making her the eleventh favorite on the board."
Shuta noted, shaking his head.
"Take-san, you aren't going to simply swallow that insult, are you? You absolutely must orchestrate an explosive, paradigm-shifting performance with her."
"Naturally." Take patted his chest, his eyes sharpening. "Just watch me. Trainer André Fabre explicitly told me that hitting the board in the top five would be considered a massive success, but my internal tactical objective for this race is a top-three finish."
"My owner, on the other hand, issued a strict, zero-compromise mandate for absolute victory."
Shuta spread his hands helplessly.
"So, I cannot afford to simply hand the win away out of friendship."
"I wouldn't want you to. I will secure my position through my own absolute effort."
Take smiled, clenching his fist.
In Shuta An's internal hierarchy, this Breeders' Cup Turf—boasting a staggering purse of over one million dollars—was the third most critical objective of the day, superseded only by Hokuto Vega's defense and the marquee Breeders' Cup Classic.
Piloting Tikkanen, Shuta drew starting Gate 9.
Meanwhile, the overwhelming, heavily backed favorite, Paradise Creek, ridden by his nemesis Pat Day, drew an optimal Gate 3. Paradise Creek was coming off a monstrous, dominant victory in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes—a historic classic deeply revered by the Japanese racing public as a 'white moonlight' race, which was tragically scheduled to be permanently discontinued the following year.
Having absolutely demolished the second-place finisher in that race by an absurd five and a half lengths, Paradise Creek was deservedly elevated to god-tier status by the American public.
But as Yutaka Take had accurately diagnosed, when the surface transitioned from dirt to turf, the tactical efficacy of the local American jockeys suffered a noticeable, systemic degradation.
After the initial 800-meter scramble, Pat Day aggressively pushed Paradise Creek to the absolute front of the pack, dictating a rapid pace.
Shuta An, conversely, patiently urged Tikkanen into the slipstream, settling comfortably into fifth place.
Yutaka Take, executing a flawless tactical 'mark,' elected to strictly shadow Tikkanen, dropping Intrepidity into the ninth-place slot.
The true crucible ignited as they banked into the final straight.
Pat Day immediately unholstered his whip, driving Paradise Creek furiously to secure an insurmountable lead. But Shuta An, reading the chaotic geometry of the pack with superhuman clarity, effortlessly found a wide-open lane.
Tikkanen, bursting with stockpiled kinetic energy, violently tore through the vanguard with an irresistible, terrifying momentum, devouring dozens of meters of turf in seconds to completely swallow Paradise Creek's lead.
Yutaka Take followed flawlessly in his wake. Intrepidity responded to his genius coaxing, sprinting furiously up the exact path Tikkanen had just violently carved open.
"CAN INTREPIDITY CATCH TIKKANEN?! IT APPEARS MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE! PARADISE CREEK'S STAMINA IS COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED; HE CANNOT COUNTERATTACK! BUT PAT DAY REFUSES TO SURRENDER! HE IS STILL WHIPPING FURIOUSLY! BUT IT IS TOO LATE! SHUTA AN IS ALREADY STANDING IN THE IRONS, CELEBRATING ABSOLUTE VICTORY!! TIKKANEN SECURES CONSECUTIVE G1 CROWNS! INTREPIDITY FLIES UP THE RAIL FOR SECOND PLACE! HATOOF SURGES PAST THE EXHAUSTED PARADISE CREEK TO STEAL THIRD!"
The moment Tikkanen crossed the wire and began to decelerate, Shuta An turned in the saddle, reaching out to high-five Yutaka Take.
"Now the score is four to zero." Shuta yelled over the roaring wind, a massive, victorious smile on his face.
Further back, Pat Day couldn't hear the exact words, but observing the celebratory gesture, he could easily deduce the context. He dejectedly guided the completely spent Paradise Creek off the turf, his spirit thoroughly crushed.
"Second place. That significantly exceeds my internal baseline."
Take smiled, lowering his head to gently, affectionately rub Intrepidity's sweaty neck.
"My journey in this Breeders' Cup series concludes here. Now, the burden of history rests entirely upon you, Ann-san. I will be cheering from the sidelines."
"I will not disappoint you, Take-san."
Shuta curled his lips, accepting the weight of the promise.
However, internally, the young man's psychological state was far less tranquil than his outward swagger suggested.
Just as Yutaka Take offered his blessing, a sudden, piercing anomaly hijacked Shuta An's cognitive interface.
A translucent, holographic system prompt violently materialized before his eyes.
[Target Task Generated: Perfect Shutout] Although you have not maintained a mathematically flawless win record today, you stand exactly one race—the Breeders' Cup Classic—away from securing five victories out of six mounts. Crucially, across all direct engagements today, you have completely dominated the rival Jockey 'Pat Day'. Please secure absolute victory in the final race and permanently cement this year's Breeders' Cup series in your opponent's dream.
The prompt did not specify the exact parameters of the reward, but this was a profound, unprecedented anomaly. It was the very first time Shuta An had ever received a localized, temporary mission prompt while fully immersed inside the Dream World.
Suppressing a violent surge of shock, he maintained his smile, returning Take's nod before riding back toward the jockey's quarters alone.
"I was already fully prepared to burn my soul to secure victory in the upcoming race. Now, with a system mandate attached, I have absolutely zero margin to relax."
The young man muttered to himself, dropping into a chair in the empty locker room and pressing his fingers against his closed eyes.
"The fundamental issue is that Concern possesses notorious, systemic anxiety issues inside the starting gate. Factoring in his slow break, I am highly likely going to be forced to aggressively push him for the entire, grueling distance of the race."
Thinking of that brutal physical requirement, Shuta An became hyper-aware of a dull, throbbing ache radiating through his forearms and shoulders. The spectacular, dominant results he had secured across the previous races were not free; the immense, cumulative physical toll was the steep price of absolute victory.
Although the system obfuscated the exact reward, he deduced it would be an asset of profound utility. As for acquiring new tactical 'Skills,' Shuta currently felt his arsenal was fully optimized for his current stable; there was nothing he urgently required.