Chapter 31. Debut Race Planning and Charity Organizations
Several days passed.
Shuta An had no intention of attending this year's Spring Tenno Sho.
Even though Nishizaki Ryu had proactively offered to cover travel expenses and reserve a Box for everyone during the gathering they held two days earlier, neither Shuta An, Tojo Hana, Kitahara, nor Minamisaka had accepted the invitation.
Everyone was busy.
No one wanted to spend an entire Sunday traveling all the way to Kyoto Racecourse just to watch a race.
As a result, Nishizaki Ryu could only bring the Uma Musume of Team Spica to Kansai by himself.
"I still need to start planning Rice Shower's Twinkle Series debut."
Although it was Sunday and there was no need to report to Central Tracen Academy, Shuta An remained seated in his study, frowning at this year's Central Twinkle Series race schedule.
"To be honest, most debut races available between June and August are turf races over 1000 or 1200 meters. I understand the concern that newly awakened Uma Musume might struggle with race intensity, but for Rice Shower, a 1000-meter debut race feels far too short."
In Shuta An's plans, Rice Shower's ultimate objective was naturally the Kikuka Sho.
However, if she could participate in the Satsuki Sho and Japanese Derby beforehand to gain valuable race experience, there was no reason to miss those opportunities.
That also meant she needed to accumulate enough prize money and race credentials this year to secure a spot in next season's Satsuki Sho.
"The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes is still too difficult for Rice Shower. This year, it's better to focus on middle-distance Listed and Open races. Next year, we can challenge the Yayoi Sho. That should be enough to qualify for both the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby."
Shuta An continued analyzing the schedule.
Even excluding his own participation in the Dream World, he firmly believed Rice Shower possessed the ability to finish second in the Derby.
If that happened, there would be no need to worry about obtaining entry rights for the Kikuka Sho.
"However, to leave enough recovery time between Open and Listed races, her debut race must be decided and won in either June or July."
After hesitating for a moment, he circled one location.
"Sapporo."
"Indeed, a debut race at Sapporo Racecourse is more suitable."
"If we go to Niigata, it'll be disadvantageous for a Uma Musume like Rice Shower, whose finishing burst isn't particularly explosive. Fukushima would actually suit her quite well, but most of the debut races there during those months are held on dirt."
Shuta An could tolerate letting Rice Shower debut over a shorter distance.
But dirt racing was absolutely out of the question.
Rice Shower was not Kurofune.
She simply did not possess dirt aptitude.
—
The result of the Spring Tenno Sho ultimately contained no surprises.
Mejiro McQueen, who had thoroughly dominated her rivals in last year's Kikuka Sho, effortlessly defeated the field once again.
She widened the margin over the runner-up to two and a half lengths and finished four lengths ahead of her fellow Mejiro Family member, Mejiro Ryan.
The performance fully demonstrated that Mejiro McQueen was the rightful inheritor of the Mejiro Spirit.
Although Shuta An had declined Nishizaki Ryu's invitation, he still watched the race from home.
There honestly was not much to discuss regarding the race itself.
Mejiro McQueen employed a steady senko strategy. She started around seventh position, gradually advanced with each corner, reached third place upon entering the final straight, then accelerated slightly.
That small increase in pace was enough.
She effortlessly overtook the two runners ahead of her, immediately opened daylight between herself and the field, and cruised to victory.
The strength she displayed in this race firmly established her as Japan's strongest active long-distance Uma Musume in her generation.
Even among the senior generation, very few could challenge her.
"She's truly incredible—"
Sitting comfortably in Shuta An's arms, Silence Suzuka could not help but sigh in admiration.
"Her long-distance ability really makes me jealous."
"A long-distance front-running strategy is much harder to maintain than a middle-distance one." Shuta An gently rubbed her slender back as he comforted her. "Suzuka doesn't need to envy anyone's stamina."
"Your talent is something countless Uma Musume envy as well."
"I know, I know."
Silence Suzuka flicked her ears upward and lightly patted his cheek.
"Don't fool around right now. I'm trying to discuss something serious."
"I am discussing something serious." Shuta An answered with a perfectly sincere expression. "Helping Suzuka maintain her condition is also important training."
"Hmph..."
Silence Suzuka rolled her eyes before deciding to ignore him and continue.
"Regarding the newly established Dream Trophy Series race, I've already found a charity organization willing to sponsor it."
"Oh?"
That genuinely caught Shuta An's attention.
"Which organization?"
"The Traffic Orphan Education Association."
Silence Suzuka paused briefly before continuing.
"They provide support for children who lost their parents in traffic accidents, as well as children whose parents became unable to work because of severe disabilities."
"Last year's traffic accident statistics were reported in the news. The number of accidents reached a historic high of seven hundred twenty thousand, and annual fatalities have exceeded ten thousand for six consecutive years."
"So I asked Berno-senpai to help contact them."
Her ears swayed slightly.
"And the cooperation agreement was reached surprisingly quickly."
"Traffic safety, huh..."
Shuta An nodded thoughtfully. He was genuinely satisfied with Silence Suzuka's choice.
At the very least, it was far better than partnering with one of those organizations that called themselves charities while functioning primarily as tax shelters.
If he ever wanted to cooperate with such organizations, he might as well use Sadalmelik LLC directly.
At least his own company genuinely invested money into supporting the Twinkle Series industry throughout the Tokai region and across Japan every year.
—
Late that night, Shuta An held the exhausted Silence Suzuka in his arms.
After confirming that she had completely fallen asleep, he finally closed his own eyes.
Soon afterward, he entered the Dream World.
The moment consciousness returned, Shuta An found himself sitting inside the jockey waiting room at Kyoto Racecourse.
A smile gradually appeared on his face.
"Just watched Mejiro McQueen win the Spring Tenno Sho in the real world. And now I'm about to ride Rice Shower against her in the Spring Tenno Sho here."
The contrast amused him.
"This is actually pretty interesting."
"It seems Shuta-kun is quite confident today."
A familiar voice suddenly sounded nearby.
The speaker was Yukio Okabe, who would be riding the third favorite, Matikanetannhauser, in today's Spring Tenno Sho.
Rather unusually, he had taken the initiative to greet Shuta An first.
"Okabe-senpai."
Shuta An immediately stood and bowed slightly.
Although the two had experienced disagreements in the past, there was no hostility between them at present.
"Indeed."
After straightening up, Shuta An answered honestly.
"I'm very confident. If I can't defeat the strongest long-distance Uma Musume in Japanese history here, then there's no point in talking about challenging overseas long-distance races."
"Overseas, huh..."
A complicated look flashed through Yukio Okabe's eyes.
As a jockey, he had enjoyed success abroad as well and even won the Macau Derby.
However, compared with Shuta An's dazzling international achievements, those accomplishments inevitably appeared modest.
Every jockey in Japan understood that Shuta An's position at the pinnacle of the profession was inseparable from the extraordinary overseas record he had built.
Now that he was speaking seriously about Rice Shower's future overseas campaign, Yukio Okabe immediately realized that the young man truly meant it.
"Then good luck." He reached out and patted Shuta An's shoulder. "But I won't hand victory over to you."
"No victory is ever handed over by someone else."
Shuta An's answer came without hesitation. His eyes carried absolute certainty.
"I'll prove that Rice Shower's long-distance ability surpasses even Mejiro McQueen's."