Chapter 115. Gratitude
Although Shuta An also wanted to ride this momentum to win the Breeders Cup Turf, Fraise's condition was clearly not as good as last year. Shuta An, riding it as it showed signs of decline, ultimately lost to Kotashaan by 1 and 3/4 lengths, taking second place.
Kotashaan, I remember Teio ran an unofficial race against her when she was in America, didn't she? Shuta An couldn't help but recall events from the real world a few years ago. At that time, Teio taught her a lesson, and in the Dream World, he's the Breeders Cup Turf champion.
The young man gently shook his head.
If Tokai Teio had come here, she would definitely have won.
But Shuta An knew clearly that even if Matsumoto Shoichi advocated running the Breeders Cup Turf, he wouldn't agree. After all, Tokai Teio had just run the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and if it weren't for the Horse Owner's insistence on the Arima Kinen as his retirement race, the young man actually thought retiring after the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe would also be good.
After all, it's her last year. I really hope Tokai Teio retires safely and doesn't get injured or anything. Shuta An thought.
However, on the sidelines, André Fabre had no such concerns and said.
"If Tokai Teio had come, she would definitely have won this race. She would have been the first horse to win both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders Cup Turf consecutively. What a pity he didn't come."
"Hearing that might displease the Kotashaan camp." André Fabre's assistant told him. "Let's just talk about it privately."
"I'm just speaking the truth."
André Fabre touted.
"For the upcoming Arcangues, I hope Shuta does his best. There's not much hope for a good result. If he can win, that would be even better."
Although it's highly unlikely. the assistant added in his mind.
It wasn't that the two were overly pessimistic; it was just that since the Breeders Cup Classic was founded, European racehorses had never won this race—to be precise, all winning horses were American. Just as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe before this year had always been won by European racehorses.
Arcangues was also challenging dirt for the first time. If it hadn't achieved more excellent results after the Prix d'Ispahan, André Fabre wouldn't have experimentally run it in the Breeders Cup Classic.
To be honest, when he invited Shuta to ride Arcangues in the Breeders Cup Classic, he was prepared for a refusal. But the young man considered that even if he refused this seemingly low-probability invitation, there were no high-probability camps inviting him to ride, so he simply accepted.
In André Fabre's view, Shuta An was his only guarantee of victory.
"If we can win this, I really need to think of something extra to reward him." André Fabre told his assistant.
"I feel like the only way is to invite him to race in Europe more often." the assistant thought.
Unfortunately, although Shuta An had discussed with André Fabre before the race about having Arcangues run a senko (leading) tactic, Arcangues itself got distracted when leaving the gate, forcing Shuta An to fall to the very back with it.
The young man frowned, and could only start pushing hard early, making Arcangues constantly move forward to gain position.
By the time they reached the straight opposite the stands, Arcangues had moved from the back of the pack into the mid-group. After veering slightly outwards a few steps to avoid being blocked, Shuta paused his vigorous pushing, allowing himself to catch his breath and rest for a moment.
"Sigh~ as long as we don't finish last, it'll be fine."
André Fabre himself had no more hopes. The assistant, meanwhile, was relieved that Arcangues's Horse Owner, Wertheimer, was not present today.
Otherwise, that hot-tempered fellow would most likely rush over after the race to point his finger at André Fabre's nose and harshly insult the jockey currently in the saddle. The assistant could fully imagine the nasty things that would be said.
Wertheimer was truly capable of such things—because his foul mouth had already deeply offended people like Pat Eddery, Sir Suers, and Weiderly in the racing world. Weiderly said in an interview that Wertheimer was "a born bad loser." For a jockey to comment on a Horse Owner like that, and not be criticized by those involved, only goes to show that everyone knew Wertheimer's reputation.
At this moment, Nakano Takayoshi had already begun to devise how to comfort André Fabre and Shuta An—it had to be both comforting and not lead to overthinking, which was also a skill—
But as they turned into the final bend, Shuta An once again started pushing hard, and Arcangues's position steadily rose. Throughout the entire bend, they gradually moved from the middle of the trailing group to the front of the leading group. By the time they were about to exit the final bend, there were only three horses still ahead of Arcangues.
And Shuta finally drew his whip.
He wielded the whip in his right hand with powerful, whistling strokes, while his left hand repeated his characteristic pushing motion. Arcangues, having shed its initial sluggishness, adapted to the dirt Racecourse, its limbs moving with great agility, and in just a few strides, it overtook Kissin Kris ahead.
With 150 meters left to the finish line, Shuta An continued to swing his right-hand whip, urging Arcangues to close in on Bertrando, who was now half a length ahead. The young man intended to use this method to further ignite Arcangues's fighting spirit.
He believed that Bertrando's remaining stamina was definitely not as much as Arcangues's, and even if both horses' fighting spirits were fully activated, his side would be the one to win.
Gary, in Bertrando's saddle, cursed inwardly. Watching Arcangues gradually close in, he only felt that Shuta An, perhaps because he lost the previous race, had gone mad and was acting erratically.
Are you really not afraid of an accident? Do you think Arcangues can collide with Bertrando and win? Gary decisively used a left-hand whip, deciding to let Bertrando and Arcangues make contact.
But to his disappointment, the two horses did not collide—although Bertrando did move a few steps to the right, at that moment, Arcangues, running a standard straight line, overtook him and instantly opened up a horse-length gap.
F***!
Gary had no time for further action. He could only lower his body's center of gravity and begin pushing with all his might, hoping to regain the lost horse length in the final 50 meters.
But Shuta An wouldn't give him the chance.
Arcangues's speed grew faster and faster, and Shuta An's pushing became more vigorous.
It wasn't until Arcangues crossed the finish line and another 10 meters had passed that the young man came to his senses and realized the race was over.
ARCANGUES TAKES THE VICTORY! WHAT THE F—ARCANGUES, THE LAST-PLACE FAVORITE, HAS DEFEATED ALL OPPONENTS! SHUTA'S SECOND BREEDER'S CUP WIN! the commentator shouted.
For all the spectators, including the commentator and experts, this victory was even more unexpected than Hokuto Vega's Breeders Cup Distaff win.
And when Shuta An arrived in the underground passage, his arms were so sore that he needed a Groom to help him dismount.
"I didn't let you down." the young man grinned at André Fabre. "Arcangues did it."
André Fabre bit his lip. Only then did he realize why he seemed to have no emotional reaction after Arcangues crossed the finish line.
"My gratitude to Mr. Shuta is endless." André Fabre hugged the young man and said loudly. "Even if you told me to blow up the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, I'd do it right now."
—
Waking up the next day, Shuta An rubbed his head with a groan. Mejiro Dober, who had been curled in his arms through the night, was gone — she had clearly risen before him.
"Not morning practice, right? Let's take a rest today. We're returning to Japan tomorrow."
He glanced at the clock — almost 9 o'clock.
After sliding out of bed, he prepared to wash up while opening the attribute viewer, eager to see what rewards he'd earned from last night's race.
"Congratulations on winning the Breeders Cup Distaff with Hokuto Vega, obtaining clue fragment GA."
"Congratulations to Arcangues for making history with the lowest popularity upset, winning the Breeders Cup Classic, and receiving a one-time skill: Adaptability — Fully enhances the Uma Musume's condition when the track type of the current race is different from the previous race."
"A one-time skill—track type—so, if the last one was turf and this one is dirt, or vice versa." Shuta An thought carefully, muttering to himself. "It feels like neither Dober nor Teio can use it."
After all, neither of the two Triple Crown/Tiara Uma Musumes had dirt adaptability, and Shuta An didn't share the European Trainer's habit of sending top turf horses to the Breeders Cup Classic.
So the young man immediately realized this item was most likely for Kurofune.
"When scheduling races, I'll have to arrange a turf race before the Kentucky Derby to meet the skill's activation conditions."
He didn't write this down yet — Kurofune's full potential was still far off.
Although it might be tough for Kurofune, Shuta An was actually quite relieved. If Kurofune also reached her peak soon, he'd have to worry about four Uma Musumes' races next year, needing to be present for all of them. Just thinking about it made his head ache.
—
The next day, Shuta An did not return to Japan with Mejiro Dober. She was going to visit Mejiro Ardan with Mejiro Ramonu.
"After seeing Miss Ardan, Dober needs to return to Japan to refresh her entry record and meet the URA Association's requirements."
He instructed before leaving.
"I know." Mejiro Dober nodded vigorously. "I don't want to be suspended right at the start of next year."
Even though the URA Association had given Shuta a sweet deal, every time he encountered this situation, he secretly grumbled about a policy only a crazy person could devise.
"I wonder if this policy has achieved its goal of encouraging more excellent local Uma Musumes to participate in local races?"
Speaking of this, Shuta An planned to make a suggestion to Symboli Rudolf after returning to Japan — if adopted, Mejiro Dober's racing schedule next year could change.
Moreover, he was very confident the URA Association would adopt his suggestion, and his colleagues at the Academy and many Uma Musumes would thank him.
—
By the time Shuta An landed at Narita Airport, it was past 2 PM Tokyo time.
He yawned, ready to go straight home and rest.
Work could wait a couple days.
Anyway, by the time he returned to normal work, there would still be over a week until Rice Shower's Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes.
Unlike Tokai Teio and Mejiro Dober, Shuta An had no high hopes for Rice Shower's performance in her debut year's limited stakes races — or rather, no high hopes for any non-long-distance Twinkle Series races before next year's Kikuka Sho.
His only requirement for Rice Shower was to accumulate enough prize money to qualify for the Kikuka Sho.
However, considering Rice Shower's results in the Dream World, Shuta An believed she could at least take second place in next week's Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes.
While in the US, he had instructed Rice Shower to train long-distance acceleration with Kurofune to cope with Tokyo Racecourse's extremely long straight.
"From the training data, Rice Shower's training effect is indeed good. When we return to the Academy the day after tomorrow, I'll have Rice Shower run a 1400-meter long-distance chase-up to see the effect firsthand."
Shuta An muttered to himself in the taxi, looking at Rice Shower's training log on his phone.
—
After two days adjusting back to a normal routine, Shuta returned to Central Tracen Academy. After checking in, he didn't go directly to the Sadalsuud team's activity room but rushed to the training ground to personally observe Rice Shower's second-to-last official chase-up.
"Today, run 1400 meters. Accumulate leg strength at the beginning, start accelerating at 600 meters, and sprint at full speed at 400 meters. I want to see how long you can maintain this state, Rice Shower."
He instructed Rice Shower after arriving.
"I copy!"
Rice Shower raised her hand and responded loudly.
"Who taught you that?"
Shuta An turned to look at Tokai Teio, sitting idly beside him, swinging her legs, asking knowingly — he had only heard this verbal tic from Mayano Top Gun, Teio's roommate.
"I've been having Maya-chan train with Rice Shower-chan recently." Tokai Teio explained with a smile. "She probably picked it up then."
"Maya-chan is also very strong. Even without reaching her full potential, she runs well whether she's leading or chasing." the newly crowned Undefeated Triple Crown continued. "As expected of my roommate, her talent is very high!"
Tokai Teio said this while glancing at her Trainer.
Shuta An noticed Tokai Teio's little gesture but said nothing. To be honest, Mayano Top Gun did seem very talented, but her personality was also quirky.
The young man felt that one Tokai Teio was enough; adding Mayano Top Gun would probably make his head split from pain.
When Rice Shower finished her chase-up, Shuta An looked at the segment speeds and nodded with satisfaction.
"If you can perform at this level next weekend, winning the race will definitely not be a problem."
He told Rice Shower.
"Mhm!"
Rice Shower nodded along.
Among the Sadalsuud team's seniors, excluding Silence Suzuka who was in the Rigil team in her debut year, every other senior had won a stakes race in their debut year. Rice Shower naturally hoped to follow in the footsteps of her great seniors. After receiving her Trainer's praise, she was in a very good mood.