Chapter 30. Medical Examination Results and the Disappointing European Classic Season
The next morning, although Shuta An had already taken the day off after finishing last week's Japanese Twinkle Series race evaluations, he still woke up early.
After all, today was Tokai Teio's scheduled post-race medical examination at the hospital. Not only that, the NHK TV Station documentary crew would officially resume following him around starting today as well.
Although Shuta An personally did not consider the Japanese Derby to be some absolutely decisive race, things were different for the Japanese racing world.
A Derby Uma Musume always possessed prestige.
Even if she suffered terrible defeats later in her career, there would still be countless people willing to defend her and make excuses on her behalf. Conversely, if you lost the Japanese Derby to another Uma Musume, then no matter how many races you won afterward, you would forever lose confidence whenever facing that same opponent.
That was the mindset of Japanese Twinkle Series fans, who worshipped middle- and long-distance racing almost fanatically.
And it wasn't limited to the Uma Musume themselves.
Even Trainers were judged the same way.
If Shuta An had never won the French Derby, there were genuinely people online in Japan questioning whether his training ability could even compare to Nishizaki Ryu, who had trained Special Week.
"Wow~ if Nishizaki-san personally saw those comments, he'd probably die of embarrassment."
That had been Shuta An's immediate reaction after reading them.
Therefore, no matter how he looked at it, Tokai Teio absolutely had to win next month's Japanese Derby.
—
When Shuta An arrived at the hospital entrance and met up with Tokai Teio, the NHK TV Station film crew arrived almost simultaneously.
Since the hospital had already granted permission in advance, the crew smoothly followed the pair inside.
"I honestly think you should film Teio more instead of me."
As Tokai Teio prepared to undergo her medical examination, Shuta An turned toward the director and spoke casually.
"The audience for this documentary is definitely more interested in the Uma Musume of Team Sadalsuud."
"We are filming her." The director replied immediately. "We've already split off part of the crew to Central Tracen Academy to capture the other Uma Musume during morning training."
"Focus more on Rice Shower."
Shuta An gave his own suggestion.
"Kurofune is still far from fully awakening, and I don't want her attracting too much attention too early. Rice Shower, on the other hand, should debut this summer. Moderate exposure ahead of time will help her gradually adapt to the life of a star Uma Musume in the Twinkle Series."
"Shuta Trainer really is something—"
The director shook his head helplessly.
"This is the first time I've ever heard someone say a debuting Uma Musume should get used to the life of a superstar in advance."
He paused slightly before continuing.
"It sounds like you're extremely confident in Miss Rice Shower's future."
"Of course, I'm confident." Shuta An pointed at himself without hesitation. "Please don't forget that Rice Shower is a Uma Musume trained by me. Naturally, I have more confidence in her than anyone else."
The young man looked directly into the camera.
"You can include this in the documentary. Rice Shower will absolutely become a G1-winning Uma Musume next year."
"I always keep my word."
After the examination concluded, the group remained at the hospital waiting for the final results.
"I just hope Teio is completely fine." Sitting in the middle of the waiting area, Shuta An spoke calmly. "That way she can rest for a week before beginning preparations for the Japanese Derby."
"I'll definitely be fine~" Tokai Teio answered lightly.
However, at the same time, she tightly hugged onto her Trainer's arm with enough force that it was impossible to ignore.
"I think Miss Tokai Teio should be perfectly fine too." The director chimed in from the side. "After all, she even slowed down before crossing the finish line in the Satsuki Sho."
"Well…" Tokai Teio smiled sheepishly. "When I crossed the finish line the first time, I really wanted to look toward the grandstand to see whether Trainer had actually made it back to Nakayama Racecourse. But I held myself back."
Her smile widened brightly.
"Then during the final sprint, I realized my opponents were already really far behind me, so I just slowed down and looked to the side as much as I wanted."
Among every Satsuki Sho winner in history, Tokai Teio's finish-line pose was probably the most relaxed one ever recorded.
"If the Japanese Derby's final sprint could also be this relaxed, that'd be nice." Shuta An casually remarked.
Tokai Teio's ears twitched slightly upon hearing those words.
But she said nothing.
—
The medical examination results were released very quickly.
No problems whatsoever.
The moment he saw the report, Shuta An visibly relaxed, and even the atmosphere around him lightened considerably.
"That settles it."
He stood up and looked toward Tokai Teio.
"Teio, you can enjoy your holiday until next Wednesday."
"Mm-hmm~~~!" Tokai Teio immediately jumped up from her seat as well, revealing a radiant smile. "Then Trainer, I'm leaving first!"
"Go ahead." Shuta An waved a hand. "Just be careful when you go out lately. Don't get hurt."
"Of course!"
Tokai Teio had already started walking away before turning back around energetically.
"I'm very careful with my body! Even during vacation, I'll probably just go to amusement parks with Maya-chan or stay in the dorm playing games!"
"With only one month remaining before the Derby, no other Uma Musume preparing for the Japanese Derby would ever imagine that Tokai Teio—the overwhelming favorite—has been given an entire week of vacation."
The director had already mentally composed the narration for this section of the documentary.
After watching Tokai Teio leave, Shuta An also stood up and bid farewell to the NHK crew.
Since he had deliberately taken the entire day off, there was naturally no reason for him to return to the Academy after finishing his business. Even if work remained unfinished, the young man still intended to go home first.
—
After returning home, Shuta An raised an eyebrow slightly.
Symboli Rudolf and Berno were currently chatting in the living room.
After listening for only a few moments, he immediately realized they were discussing the Dream Trophy Series.
As for Oguri and Suzuka, neither of them were present. Most likely, the two were downstairs in the training gym exercising.
Mejiro Dober, meanwhile, had already returned to the Academy together with Rice Shower and the others the previous night.
After nodding toward Symboli Rudolf in greeting, Shuta An went upstairs alone, preparing to handle routine management work for Team Sadalsuud's official social media accounts.
After selecting several landscape photographs taken together with Mejiro Dober during the Australia trip—as well as a few solo photos of Mejiro Dober herself—and posting them separately across multiple social platforms, Shuta An shifted his focus toward this year's overseas Classic races.
More specifically, Europe.
After all, Mejiro Dober's overseas expedition target for the latter half of this year was centered around Europe and America. As a result, every Uma Musume currently running along the European Triple Tiara route had become one of his key observation targets.
However, after conducting his research, Shuta An found himself somewhat disappointed.
Among this year's European Triple Tiara contenders, after excluding those already confirmed to focus on sprint and mile races, none of the remaining Classic-aged Uma Musume truly gave him the feeling that they posed any serious threat to Mejiro Dober.
"Looking at it this way—"
A new thought gradually surfaced in Shuta An's mind.
"Should I seriously consider defending the Yorkshire Oaks title this year?"