Chapter 35. Respect Your Dream, Fulfill My Dream [Part 3]
Shuta An and Rice Shower once again entered the outer straight opposite the stands, and their positions remained unchanged. The first three runners still occupied the same places as before, but Monsieur Siecle's stride had begun to look unstable. From a single glance, Shuta An could already tell that its stamina was approaching its limit.
"I can't let it block my route forward. Rice Shower needs to pull away from it now."
With that thought in mind, Shuta An lightly flicked the whip beside Rice Shower's right ear. Understanding the signal, Rice Shower drifted several steps outward at an angle, creating space between himself and Monsieur Siecle. If the horse ahead suddenly lost momentum later, he would not be trapped directly behind it.
To Yutaka Take, however, that movement looked completely different.
"No way. There's still more than a thousand meters left. Is he really preparing to move already?" Yutaka Take frowned. "Ann-san can't possibly be this aggressive, can he?"
Yet he knew better than anyone that not every jockey in a race could be expected to act according to conventional logic. His grip tightened around the whip as he prepared himself to ask Mejiro McQueen for an immediate response at any moment.
"Even if the finish is still far away, McQueen has the ability to sustain a long-distance sprint."
Holding the reins firmly, he devoted part of his attention to guarding against his closest friend—and greatest rival.
—
Stepping onto Kyoto Racecourse's famous Yodo Slope for the second time, Rice Shower showed no signs of difficulty whatsoever. It was as though he were running across level ground.
Monsieur Siecle, however, was not nearly as fortunate.
Its speed began to drop almost immediately.
Yutaka Take did not even need to urge Mejiro McQueen forward. Maintaining a steady rhythm, he gradually swept past both Monsieur Siecle and its jockey, Matsunaga Mikio. Sweat soaked Matsunaga's body, but no matter how desperately he pushed, he could not stop his partner from fading.
All he could do was watch as Mejiro McQueen and Rice Shower passed him one after another.
"Damn it! Why did Yamada set such a fast pace?" Matsunaga cursed inwardly. "I got dragged into this rhythm by Yutaka Take and Shuta An!"
If Shuta An had heard that complaint, he would certainly have defended himself.
The fast pace had been created entirely by Yutaka Take and Yamada Taisei. One had been willing to pressure, the other willing to respond. What did it have to do with him, quietly sitting behind them on the rail after the gates opened?
—
With Monsieur Siecle dropping away, Rice Shower advanced into third.
He was now only a single length behind Mejiro McQueen, while Mejiro McQueen herself sat slightly more than a length behind Mejiro Palmer.
The rest of the leading group had already been left behind.
Glancing backward through the bend, Shuta An noticed that Matikanetannhauser, currently fourth, was roughly four lengths behind Rice Shower.
His eyebrow twitched.
"Don't tell me Okabe-san thinks Take-san and I have been dragged into Mejiro Palmer's pace and will run out of stamina later."
It was obvious that Yukio Okabe was deliberately controlling his tempo. If he had truly wanted to close the gap, the separation between the leaders and the pursuers would never have grown this large.
Of course, the other jockeys in the group behind had also shown little desire to chase. Their collective hesitation was equally responsible for allowing the first three runners to establish such a clear advantage.
—
As they entered the final bend, Mejiro Palmer's stamina finally began to reach its limit.
Left with no alternative, Yamada Taisei tightened the reins slightly while increasing his urging. By reducing Palmer's workload, he hoped to preserve enough energy for the stretch run.
The price was immediate.
The nearly two-length advantage Palmer had enjoyed over Mejiro McQueen began to disappear as they approached the end of the turn.
"Mejiro Palmer is slowing down! Has he already exhausted her stamina?!" the race commentator shouted.
Yutaka Take had no intention of showing mercy.
The moment he sensed Yamada Taisei trying to conserve energy, he asked Mejiro McQueen for more. The horse responded immediately, accelerating as he prepared to seize control of the race entering the homestretch.
"Yutaka Take! Mejiro McQueen is moving forward! He's preparing to take the lead from Mejiro Palmer!"
The commentator was not surprised in the slightest.
Before the race, Mejiro McQueen had been the overwhelming favorite. Most of the spectators filling Kyoto Racecourse had come expecting to witness his victory, and up to this point he had looked every bit the champion they believed him to be.
Yet just as Mejiro McQueen obediently shifted outward and prepared to sweep past Mejiro Palmer, Shuta An made his move.
—
The whip switched into his right hand.
Then, instead of using it merely as a signal, he drew a circle through the air.
Three consecutive windmill whips.
Rice Shower instantly understood.
It was time.
So, before the horrified eyes of the Mejiro Family's associates, Shuta An and Rice Shower launched their challenge from even farther outside than Mejiro McQueen.
"Rice Shower! Shuta An's windmill whip! Charging from behind! He sweeps past Mejiro Palmer without hesitation!"
Yamada Taisei was stunned.
Being overtaken by Mejiro McQueen here was completely expected.
Being overtaken by Rice Shower as well was not.
In his calculations, Shuta An should have waited until the final two hundred meters before making his move and engaging Yutaka Take directly.
"How is he this fast?!"
His mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
"Is he really launching his attack here? Does Shuta An actually believe Rice Shower's stamina can match Mejiro McQueen's?"
—
Shuta An had no attention to spare for Yamada Taisei's questioning stare.
As he swept past, his entire field of awareness narrowed.
Only Mejiro McQueen and Yutaka Take remained.
Everything else disappeared.
One thought occupied his mind.
Overtake Mejiro McQueen.
Nothing else mattered.
"RICE SHOWER IS STILL ACCELERATING! HE'S DRAWING LEVEL WITH MEJIRO MCQUEEN!"
As the commentator's voice echoed across Kyoto Racecourse, the expressions of the Mejiro Family members watching from the stands gradually darkened.
Even someone with little racing experience could see what was happening.
Rice Shower's momentum was visibly fiercer.
"What is this...?"
The Old Madam's eyes widened with undisguised shock.
The horse she had always taken pride in for his stamina was being challenged in the very domain she considered invincible.
—
"Only fifty meters remain to the finish!"
As the commentator shouted those words, Rice Shower surged forward.
In a single instant, he swept past Mejiro McQueen.
The stands erupted with cries of disbelief.
Something seemed to seize the commentator at that moment.
Unable to stop himself, he roared:
"MEJIRO MCQUEEN'S DREAM OF THREE CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES IS SLIPPING AWAY!"
—
As he drew ahead of Mejiro McQueen, Shuta An turned his head briefly toward his friend.
Yutaka Take's expression was complicated.
The race was not technically over.
Yet the bitterness on his face revealed that he already understood the result.
Still, if Shuta An's eyes were not deceiving him, there was also a trace of relief hidden within that bitterness.
Turning back toward the finish, Shuta An continued to drive Rice Shower forward.
He no longer needed the whip. Fully accelerated, Rice Shower was running entirely on his own strength.
All Shuta An did now was match his rhythm, pushing against the back of her neck with every ounce of strength he possessed.
Only after they crossed the finish line did he finally stop.
—
When Mejiro McQueen caught up beside them, Shuta An turned his head once more.
Yutaka Take was looking downward, quietly sniffing.
"I'm sorry," Shuta An said. "I stopped Mejiro McQueen from achieving something historic."
Yutaka Take looked up and forced a smile.
"That's my lack of ability," he replied. "It isn't your fault, Ann-san."
Then Shuta An's expression grew serious.
"But I needed this victory."
Yutaka Take initially assumed the reason was obvious.
Winning here would complete Shuta An's sweep of the Eight Great Races.
Instead, the answer that followed caught him completely off guard.
"Only by winning the Spring Tenno Sho can I take Rice Shower to challenge the long-distance kings of the world."
"Is that Ann-san's dream?"
Yutaka Take lowered his head once more, concealing the bitter smile that threatened to appear.
"Destroying Mejiro McQueen's great achievement... and turning it into a stepping stone for Rice Shower's dream."
By then, Rice Shower had fully eased down.
Shuta An guided him toward the stands, preparing to acknowledge the crowd.
As he passed beside Yutaka Take, he spoke one final time.
"I'll prove that losing to Rice Shower in a long-distance race is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Ha..."
Yutaka Take let out a quiet sigh.
Even if that were proven, what would it change?
Deep in his heart, the genius jockey had a feeling. He might never again receive another opportunity to pursue a G1 three-peat with the same partner.