Chapter 139.
Shuta navigated the flashing bulbs of the press conference venue with practiced ease. Taking the center seat as the final and most anticipated arrival, he adjusted the microphone with a relaxed smile.
"Good morning, everyone. Since I'm the last one on the docket, let's keep this crisp. Wasting time isn't a winning strategy."
Taking their cue, the PR staff immediately began calling on the eager reporters.
The first to stand was an old familiar face from Twinkle magazine.
"Trainer Shuta, what are your thoughts on Tokai Teio's bold public declaration from a few days ago?"
"Which declaration?" Shuta Ann tilted his head, though he knew exactly what was coming. "If you're referring to her stating she intends to break the Japan Cup course record, I think it's fantastic. Ambition is the lifeblood of a runner. As an Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume, shouldn't she naturally display that level of spirit? The Japan Cup is the pinnacle of domestic racing. I believe that an athlete of Teio's caliber doesn't just bear the responsibility of winning—she bears the responsibility of winning beautifully."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the press corps.
That's Tokai Teio for you, they whispered. It's only natural she sets her sights on the absolute peak.
The next reporter hailed from an Australian broadcast network.
"Miss Tokai Teio bypassed the Breeders' Cup Series this year. Will she look to participate next year?"
"We are certainly considering a Breeders' Cup challenge next year, but any concrete plans will have to wait until the latter half of the season." Shuta Ann replied with an easy shrug. "We are nearly a full year away from the next Breeders' Cup. Making absolute promises or jumping to conclusions right now would be irresponsible to her training schedule."
Another Australian reporter quickly stood up.
"Does Team Sadalsuud have any plans to challenge the Australian turf in the near future?"
"First, today's press conference is dedicated to the Japan Cup and Tokai Teio, so I will refrain from discussing the rest of my roster." Shuta Ann held up two fingers, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "Second... I don't believe sending our team's Uma Musumes, especially Tokai Teio, on an Australian expedition should be classified as a 'challenge.'"
He let the quiet arrogance of the statement hang in the air for a second before softening his expression.
"But to answer your question directly—yes, we do have international plans lined up for next year."
The remaining questions followed a predictable rhythm. A few European reporters pressed Shuta for his impressions on the foreign Uma Musumes who had flown in to conquer the Japan Cup.
Out of professional courtesy, Shuta offered brief, polite praise for the European challengers.
But internally? He wasn't worried in the slightest. Even at Longchamp Racecourse—a heavy, punishing turf where European runners held an absolute home-field advantage—Teio had emerged victorious.
Now, they were back in Japan. On Teio's home turf. At her absolute favorite venue, Tokyo Racecourse. The chances of a European upset were infinitely close to zero.
Frankly, the young man doubted some of the European runners even had the legs to crack the top five. A few of them had clearly peaked earlier in the season, and on a downward trajectory, they would be lucky to break the top ten in a field as deep as the Japan Cup.
After the press conference wrapped, Shuta Ann retreated to the quiet sanctuary of his office. His schedule for the week consisted entirely of routine maintenance; the heavy lifting was already done.
"Pre-race leisure."
The young man murmured, crossing his legs on the sofa and pouring himself a fresh cup of tea. He leaned back, letting the tension bleed from his shoulders.
"The Japan Cup is this Sunday."
He and Teio were absolutely determined to claim this crown. Having lived through a parallel victory in his Dream World, Shuta felt a profound certainty that they would get exactly what they came for. But he also knew better than to slack off and expect the Goddess of Victory to just hand them the trophy.
"Once the gate positions are drawn on Thursday, I'll map out Teio's leading tactics."
He muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing in calculation.
The Japan Cup was the final race of the year at Tokyo Racecourse. Immediately following the event, the track would undergo extensive winter renovations, remaining closed until late January. Because of this, the turf condition on Sunday would be at its absolute worst—chewed up, rough, and punishing.
Theoretically, a degraded track heavily favored closers making late charges on the outside. But looking at the entry list, Shuta knew that if Teio wanted to win beautifully, she had to run a leading strategy.
Trainer Kuronuma told me Yesterday World is going to set a standard pace—roughly 60 seconds for the first 1000 meters, Shuta calculated. At that pace, a closing strategy loses a lot of its bite. Plus, the international heavyweights this year—Naturalism, User Friendly, and Dr. Devious—all prefer to run up near the front. If Teio holds back and runs as a closer, she'll definitely still win, but she won't be able to open up a massive, record-breaking gap. It's better to secure a prime forward position early, take the fight directly to User Friendly and Naturalism, and use her bottomless stamina to crush them and Yesterday World into the dirt.
The only tricky variable in that strategy was ensuring that Teio's early pressure didn't accidentally provoke Yesterday World into accelerating the pace too soon.
I'll just have to trust Kuronuma's training. Mihono Bourbon wouldn't have had pacing issues if it weren't for the crushing pressure leading up to the Kikuka Sho.
Speaking of the cyborg runner, Shuta had initially been quite surprised that Mihono Bourbon wasn't entered in the Japan Cup. But Kuronuma had been transparent: Bourbon was entered in the Arima Kinen, laser-focused on a highly anticipated rematch against Rice Shower at Nakayama Racecourse.
Shuta welcomed the development. Though he secretly mused that if Bourbon was so fixated on battling Rice Shower, she was eventually going to get a harsh reality check from Tokai Teio.
Wednesday arrived, bringing Tokai Teio's final track gallop.
Shuta Ann had meticulously mapped out the sectional speed requirements. Arriving at the track in the crisp early morning air to inspect the turf, he found no reason to alter his plan.
"Keep the first 6 furlongs within 80 seconds, the final 3 furlongs under 36 seconds, and push the last furlong exactly at 11 seconds."
Shuta instructed softly, leaning in close to Teio's ear as she stretched out her legs for her warm-up.
"Understood!"
Teio chirped. Even with the chilly morning wind tickling her ears, her focus was absolute.
"I'll run it perfectly on pace!"
Shuta hadn't assigned her a sparring partner for this gallop. Because they were pivoting to a leading tactic, the young man needed Teio to run entirely alone, sharpening her internal clock and her ability to read the race pace without relying on another runner for reference.
Minutes later, Teio tore down the final straight, crossing the finish line in a blur of motion.
Shuta walked over to the data room to review the electronic splits. Just as she crossed the wire, Teio had visibly eased up on the throttle, but her pacing leading up to that exact moment had mirrored Shuta's instructions flawlessly.
"Your gallop today was excellent, Teio." Shuta praised her, holding out a plush towel as the slightly panting Uma Musume trotted over to him. "You eased up in the final furlong, otherwise your overall time would have been even faster, but this is exactly how it should be. The main race is only a few days away; there's no need to burn your full strength on a Wednesday practice run."
"Hehe!" Teio beamed, puffing out her chest proudly as she draped the towel over her shoulders. "Even though I eased up at the very end, I still clocked the fastest gallop time on the track today!"
"You're not just the fastest today, Teio."
Shuta Ann smiled, his eyes locking onto hers with unwavering certainty.
"Come Sunday, you're going to be the strongest Uma Musume in the Japan Cup."