As Shuta An and Flying Continental thundered across the finish line in first place, Yoshida Zenya and his consulting team erupted into cheers, hugging one another in unrestrained excitement.
"Shuta-kun is incredible! His first win in America—and it's a major race!" Yoshida Zenya's voice shook with exhilaration.
The specialist who had recommended Sunday Silence wasn't disheartened, either. "Sunday Silence ran exceptionally well. This loss was simply because Jockey Shuta seized that tiny inside gap and punished Valentino's arrogance. Next time, it won't be easy."
"Winning a G2 alone is already wonderful," Yoshida Zenya replied calmly—after all, neither horse belonged to him.
Meanwhile on the track, after completing his victory lap, Shuta An guided Flying Continental back toward the entrance of the weighing area. There, Flying Continental's Trainer, J. Robbins, and the stable staff rushed forward to greet him.
"Too strong! Too strong! Too strong!" Robbins was practically shouting, his excitement spilling over. "Shuta-kun actually pulled it off! With this win, Flying Continental's next target is the Santa Anita Derby—and then the American Triple Crown!"
Shuta An shared in their joy, but he also noticed something telling: Robbins never said a word about letting him ride again.
'If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be replaced by Flying Continental's main jockey.' He sighed inwardly. 'This one result isn't enough to take the seat of a top American rider.'
Before he could dwell further, the host assigned to post-race interviews hurried over on horseback. Shuta An snapped back to focus and began the interview, while Yoshida Zenya and his team collected themselves at the sidelines.
Yoshida Zenya turned to his consultants. "What do you think about me buying Sunday Silence? That horse clearly has a lot of ability."
"If it's for racing, he's fine. But as a stallion, his pedigree presents significant concerns," the bloodline expert warned again.
"He hasn't won a major race yet," added a reporter accompanying them. "The upside is the price won't be high. The downside is he may peak early and decline quickly."
"We'll ask Shuta-kun later," Yoshida Zenya decided. Among them all, the one who truly understood Sunday Silence's strength was the jockey who had just raced against him.
After the awards ceremony, Shuta An—who only had one mount that day—prepared to head home. He changed into casual clothes, left the jockeys' room, and encountered Yoshida Zenya's group outside.
This time, the normally talkative Yoshida Zenya skipped the small talk and went straight to the point. "Shuta-kun, what do you think of Sunday Silence?"
"What do I think?" Shuta An blinked, then gave an honest assessment. "A very strong horse. In this race, I only won because I managed to slip through on the inside during our first meeting. If I rode Flying Continental again next time—I doubt there would be another opening."
"Then what do you think his upper limit is?" Yoshida Zenya pressed.
"His upper limit—" Shuta An frowned, then answered, "I can't say yet. Let me think it through carefully, and I'll give you an answer tomorrow."
"Alright." Though puzzled why Shuta needed a day, Yoshida Zenya himself also needed time to consider the purchase, so he agreed.
The next morning, Shuta An awoke and immediately opened the attribute viewer. Victory in the San Felipe Stakes meant the Dream World reward would be far better than usual—and because it was his first win on American soil, the bonus effect was even stronger.
He raised an eyebrow at what appeared. He wasn't surprised—but he couldn't help sucking in a breath.
"Amulet (Uses 3/3) — Use before a race to reduce the chance of injury; if injured, recovery time reduced by 10%."
"Hiss." Even while claiming he wasn't surprised, the reward still made him exhale sharply.
'Sunday Silence really is something. Just forcing him to stumble in the Dream World gave me a reward this good.'
And the "one day" he requested from Yoshida Zenya wasn't for pondering things during waking hours. It was simply because he had a far easier method to evaluate Sunday Silence—
Just go meet the real Sunday Silence and check her attributes directly.
Fortunately, Sunday Silence wasn't a Uma Musume who stayed hidden after a race. Despite winning a G2 the previous day, she was already doing light recovery training at the track when Shuta An went looking for him.
A quick glance was enough for the attribute viewer to display her stats. He didn't need to scroll through details. One look at the basics made his heart jolt.
'Dirt adaptability SS. Mile and Middle-distance adaptability S…As expected of West Coast, their Crown contestant—Sunday Silence—really someything else in adaptability. Every main attribute is S. She even has turf adaptability.'
Just from these few items, Shuta An reached his conclusion.
'I should support Mr. Yoshida's plan.'
That evening, Shuta An encountered Yoshida Zenya in the hotel restaurant in the Dream World. He approached first.
"Mr. Yoshida, good morning."
Yoshida Zenya hadn't forgotten yesterday's question. After returning the greeting, he walked beside Shuta An and asked directly:
"So, regarding Sunday Silence—what are your thoughts now?"
"I think we should buy him," Shuta An replied after sitting down. "I've examined him thoroughly. His pedigree isn't impressive, but I believe he'll achieve something as a broodmare in the future. He'll be stronger than most stallions in Japan today. And if we buy him now, the price will definitely be low."
"Good." Temptation showed clearly in Yoshida Zenya's eyes. "If the purchase goes smoothly, I'll ask Shuta-kun to be Sunday Silence's main jockey for the next six months!"
"Me?"
Shuta An hadn't expected to be entrusted with such a role. Sunday Silence's future as a broodmare would depend heavily on the next few months. It was already mid-March. If he qualified, Sunday Silence would participate in the American Triple Crown between May 6th and June 10th—one short month that could determine everything.
'The American Triple Crown—' Shuta An's heartbeat quickened, heat rising in his chest.
Waking up the next morning, Shuta An felt unusually light. After all—being able to partner with Sunday Silence in the Dream World was enough to lift anyone's spirits.
Berno Light and Oguri Cap quickly picked up on his change.
"Ann seems—happier than usual."
"It's like something good happened to him," Oguri Cap added, tilting her head thoughtfully.
With Oguri Cap tied to daily research at the institute and Berno Light needing to attend her own studies, the once lively Sadalsuud team had grown quiet. From the outside, Shuta An—who no longer accompanied them to the institute—looked like someone idling around with too much free time.
But Shuta An wasn't simply lounging in his apartment. Far from it.
He still worked part-time for the Mejiro Family, continued providing occasional counseling to Tokai Teio, and monitored the progress of the Japan Twinkle Series so he wouldn't return home completely uninformed by the time the year's second half arrived. The new generation of Classic Race Uma Musume was slowly stepping into the spotlight. But for Shuta An, their brilliance paled beside the previous generation.
"Maybe I'm biased because Oguri was from last year's group" he admitted to himself, though not entirely convinced either way.
Regardless, when Symboli Rudolf reached out—hoping he could write race evaluations for this new Classic generation—Shuta An promptly refused, even though "Emperor" offered a surprisingly high writing fee.
"I'm afraid if I write honestly, I'll offend the fans of the Twinkle Series," he said bluntly.
"I see." Symboli Rudolf fell deep into thought at his reply. "Even Shuta-kun, who's all the way in the U.S., thinks this generation falls short of Oguri Cap and her peers?"
Maruzensky tried to soften it. "It might just be preference?"
"No," Rudolf sighed heavily. "It's not just that. This generation lacks something. I only hope they can grow beyond our expectations."
A few nights later in the Dream World, Shuta An found himself standing before a ranch he had never seen before. If not for Yoshida Zenya and his entourage beside him, he truly would've suspected a kidnapping event.
"Today we're here to discuss Sunday Silence's sale with Mr. Hancock," Yoshida Zenya explained.
Ah—so that was why. As the person who pushed Yoshida Zenya toward this decision, Shuta An naturally had to be present.
"The Sunday Silence in reality rumoured to be troublesome enough. I'll bet the Dream World version is even worse." Shuta An mentally braced himself. He had zero intention of personally testing Sunday Silence's power via physical contact today.
Hancock III, meanwhile—frustrated from losing the San Felipe Stakes—brightened instantly when he heard a foreign buyer had come. To Hancock, buying back Sunday Silence twice at auction was already a questionable investment.
"Even if he becomes a G1 winner someday, that's probably his ceiling and that's if I held him or wait until he matures more," Hancock thought.
Because of that, he held no intention of naming a premium price, even with wealthy Japanese buyers present. When the staff finally brought Sunday Silence out, the horse's explosive temperament was on full display—spitting, baring his teeth, tossing his legs, kicking at nothing. Yet in the eyes of Shuta An and the others, none of this was disqualifying.
"Temperament can be trained," Shuta An whispered. "In the San Felipe Stakes, once he stepped onto the track, he clearly restrained himself. He knows when to focus."
Yoshida Zenya, having heard none of this before, felt a strange pull the moment he saw the horse. 'A feeling that this was the one.'
Because of that gut conviction, he met Hancock's price without haggling—and secured not only Sunday Silence, but his future as a stallion.
Hancock accepted instantly. Given the horse's "weak" pedigree, he doubted Sunday Silence had any future as a sire anyway.
"Japanese racing can't be that far behind," Hancock grumbled internally. "No way a horse who hasn't even won a G2 could become a popular stallion."
Ownership changed—yet the ranch and stable remained the same. But one thing Yoshida Zenya hoped to change was Sunday Silence's jockey. That required approval from his Trainer, Charlie E. Wittingham.
Nervous, Yoshida Zenya reached out. To his surprise—Charlie agreed almost instantly.
"Shuta's ride the other day was excellent," Charlie said. "The lack of wins was due entirely to the horses—not his skill. If he rides Sunday Silence, good results will follow."
Just like that, Shuta An obtained the partner who would accompany him for the next half-year. Man and horse—marching toward the American Triple Crown.