Chapter 118. The Queen Elizabeth 2's Cup Upset
Shuta An could also discern what Tokai Teio was confused about.
He felt that this superstitious belief in long-distance races was something Teio had to break free from herself. The young man could only go as far as not signing Tokai Teio up for the Spring Tenno Sho — what was so good about that race? If he were Nishizaki Ryu, Mejiro McQueen would definitely have been taken to Dubai this year.
"However, if Mejiro McQueen doesn't go to Dubai, then Teio will seize the opportunity."
Shuta An thought.
"After the Arima Kinen, she can sign up for the Dubai Sheema Classic. I wonder what opponents we'll encounter this year; I'm a little excited."
In any case, the young man was confident that Tokai Teio had the 2400-meter turf course at Meydan Racecourse in the palm of her hand. At this distance, Shuta An thought carefully, there should be few active Uma Musumes in the entire world who could contend with Tokai Teio.
"But first, we have to prepare for the Arima Kinen starting at the end of the month."
Shuta An turned around, ready to face the reporters, leaving Tokai Teio in the restricted area — he figured Tokai Teio would soon be holding an impromptu autograph session there.
"The audience in front of the stands must have noticed Teio here for a while, they're probably about to lose their patience." the young man muttered to himself as he walked.
By the time Tokai Teio was surrounded by the spectators who came to watch the race today, Shuta An had finished the press conference and arrived at the underground passage exit, where he met Rice Shower.
"Trainer, I did it!"
Rice Shower quickly walked a few steps in front of her Trainer and exclaimed.
Although it wasn't a G1, it was still a major graded race, and winning a major graded race here meant she wouldn't have to worry about entry qualifications for most of the races she wanted to run next year. Rice Shower was quite happy deep down.
"I knew Rice could do it."
Shuta An reached out and patted her shoulder, then brushed away the sweat-dampened hair from her temples.
"You can rest this year. Next year, we'll aim for the Satsuki Sho prep races, with the goal of running all classic three crowns races and winning the Kikuka Sho."
"Rice will do it!"
Rice Shower clenched her fists in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Noticing Rice Shower's expression, Shuta An was in a good mood. "You can have a good rest for a while now; we still have enough time to grow."
"Time is on our side." He turned around, making way for Rice Shower. "Go prepare for the winning live."
Rice Shower didn't know why her Trainer's last words were so strange, but she believed it was a good prophecy for her.
"Trainer's judgment has always been accurate."
She firmly believed this.
For tomorrow's Queen Elizabeth Cup, the big favorite was, of course, Air Groove, and the second favorite was Grace Admire.
Before the race, KiTabara had sought out Shuta An, wanting his friend to help him check for any flaws in his chosen tactics.
Shuta An looked it over and found no problems, but he did remind his friend of one thing.
"Even the best tactics must be executed by the Uma Musume herself, and ultimately, the race is decided by strength."
"I understand what Ann-san means." KiTabara waved his hand. "My goal isn't for Grace Admire to necessarily win; a top-five finish is enough."
It wasn't that KiTabara was short-sighted or lacked ambition; it was simply that Grace Admire's performance this year hadn't been ideal.
This G1, restricted to the Triple Tiara Route, was her last hope for a good result this year. If she couldn't get a top-five finish again, Grace Admire would probably try to run one more Triple Tiara Route-restricted G3 at the end of the year. If she couldn't win that, she would have to choose retirement and prepare for the Dream Cup to earn money.
The Dream Trophy Series, of course, wouldn't all feature Uma Musumes whose racing abilities remained at a sufficiently high level. The organizers needed "protagonists" who still maintained strong abilities, but they also needed "supporting roles."
However, KiTabara didn't mention this to Shuta An. This was because no Uma Musume who retired from the Twinkle Series from Team Sadalsuud had ever failed to achieve success in the Dream Trophy Series.
"It's truly been smooth sailing all the way from the Twinkle Series to the Dream Cup—" KiTabara couldn't deny feeling envious deep down.
However, compared to his friend, KiTabara had one thing he felt more confident about.
"Speaking of which—Ann-san, aren't you planning to have children?" KiTabara's eyes darted around as he said this.
The young man clenched his fist, lightly swung it out, and as he did, he laughingly chided.
"We're all busy with work. Are you suggesting Oguri should run in the Dream Cup races with a pregnant belly?"
"We'll talk about it later." he added.
However, this year's Queen Elizabeth Cup saw a minor upset. Air Groove lost to Run for the Dream by 3/4 lengths, finishing second. Grace Admire, close behind Air Groove, finished fourth, two lengths back.
"A bit unexpected." Tokai Teio said. "Air Groove's strength should be among the best, yet she lost to a Uma Musume, Run for the Dream, who had only won one G3 before. Run for the Dream, like me, started from the far outside gate. Could it be that the far outside gate has good luck this year?"
"Nah!" She turned her head, her eyes lighting up. "Trainer, I want the far outside for the Arima Kinen too — Ouch!"
Before she could finish, Shuta An quickly flicked Tokai Teio's forehead.
"That's enough. Teio, you should know the results for the far outside gate in the Arima Kinen."
"I know, but I overcame it in the Satsuki Sho, Derby, and Kikuka Sho before. I believe the so-called curse of the far outside gate in the Arima Kinen won't affect me either!"
Teio was much more confident when it came to such "far outside gate curses." When it came to the number of times she started from the far outside gate in her Twinkle Series career, Tokai Teio was confident she was absolutely at a historical level in Japan.
"Forget it, it's good if we're not affected even a little bit." Shuta An waved his hand. "Let's see what Air Groove plans to do next. After losing this race, I feel Tojo-san probably won't let her rest directly; she'll most likely choose a major stakes race to contend for a win."
"One race? Maybe she'll run both the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen." Tokai Teio raised an eyebrow, expressing her guess. "Trainer, your race schedule is always too conservative."
"Am I the conservative one?" Shuta An's eyes widened, a bit shocked. "I think one race a month is the fastest. But those truly conservative ones race twice a month as if it's nothing, right? I should be considered a reformist."
"Well~ no matter what faction, I really like the race schedule Trainer arranges anyway." Teio turned her head.
—
Shuta An, who left work on time, returned home and—along with Silence Suzuka—reviewed the Queen Elizabeth Cup.
They concluded that the upset loss in this race was primarily Tojo Hana's fault.
Silence Suzuka strongly agreed.
"How could she possibly misjudge the pace before the race?" the young man muttered to himself. "Air Groove's start was clearly Tojo betting that some Uma Musume would go for a runaway. She positioned herself at the back. That completely different positioning from before directly confused her judgment of the rhythm."
Strictly speaking, there might have been issues with Air Groove's own ability, but she ran strictly according to the tactics Tojo Hana had laid out before the race. Therefore, Shuta An still firmly believed Tojo Hana should bear full responsibility.
"But it's not the first time she's made such a mistake."
The young man thought, holding his lover's hand. Although Silence Suzuka's own immaturity largely caused her poor early performance in the Twinkle Series, Tojo Hana was, after all, the Trainer. Just as if Teio had some accident, Shuta An could certainly say it was due to Tokai Teio's physical condition—but deep down, he would also believe he hadn't fulfilled all his duties. Even if the injury was truly just an accident, it wouldn't change his mind.
Although Tojo Hana knew she sometimes "committed crimes" and often discussed race tactics with Shuta An and others, when it came to such races, as the Trainer of Team Rigil, she still preferred to handle things herself.
And then she suffered the consequences.
"But she's usually quite confident, so I shouldn't have to worry about her getting depressed or even having psychological problems due to a few failures."
Shuta An almost smiled at this thought.
Though he wasn't sure if the Uma Musume of Team Rigil would feel a bit frustrated.
"But that has nothing to do with me, and I wasn't involved in their race plan development."
After a quick bath, Shuta An dried himself. Wrapped in pajamas, he got into bed, ready to sleep. Tonight, he still had to strive to give Vega's Classic Race season a perfect ending in the Dream World.
"Win this race, and all the clue fragments will be collected."
As for whether he could successfully persuade that Uma Musume to join the team after collecting them, the young man never worried about that problem.
It was only because he had a good relationship with Tojo Hana. Otherwise, if the young man wanted to, the Uma Musume in Team Rigil weren't impossible to poach—a certain Uma Musume feigning sleep in bed was not an entirely accurate example.
After Silence Suzuka went from pretending to sleep to truly sleeping, Shuta An held her and gently drifted into the Dream World.
—
Today, he was fighting on home turf at Kyoto Racecourse. Returning to Japan to participate in a G1 after a long time, Shuta An was a bit unaccustomed to the atmosphere.
"How does it feel compared to Europe and America?"
Yutaka Take chuckled as he rode his partner for the day, catching up to his friend and asking.
"It's more lively, less restrictive. Europe feels like races are social events for Horse Owners, while here, races belong to the majority." Shuta An offered his thoughts.
"I really do prefer the atmosphere here."
"Today's race, if Ann-san wins, it will be the Triple Tiara. Undefeated Triple Crown and Undefeated Undefeated Triple Crown. I wonder if anyone will ever achieve such a record again."
Yutaka Take couldn't deny feeling envious deep down.
"There will always be opportunities."
Shuta An responded, twirling the whip in his hand.
As for whether his friend would have such an opportunity, the young man felt the chances were still very high. Even with Shuta An's huge appetite, he couldn't monopolize all of Japan's riding resources. And he wasn't the type of person who would brazenly poach a friend's resources.
Today, Vega was assigned gate number 12.
Before preparing to enter the gate, Tabara Seiki, riding Kei Woman, slowly approached.
"Shuta-kun's performances in Europe and America were very convincing, truly spectacular."
He spoke first.
Then, without waiting for Shuta An to politely respond, he continued.
"However, I noticed that the pace of races in Europe is very slow, so today I'm going to test Shuta-kun."
After speaking, Tabara Seiki turned Kei Woman's head, preparing to enter the gate.
"Test me?"
Shuta An combined Tabara Seiki's previous words, and a guess emerged in his heart.
"He wouldn't be planning a runaway lead in this race, would he?"
With that thought, Shuta An tightened his reins.
"Let Vega stay back at the start."
The young man felt that Tabara Seiki wasn't the type to come over and deceive people before a race, nor was he a fool like Air Groove who would miscalculate her pace by getting caught behind.
After the gate opened, Shuta An suppressed Vega's desire to go forward, just as he had planned before the race. Vega was also very obedient. She had thrown tantrums during training, but Shuta An could easily suppress her every time. Now, Vega had no rebellious thoughts towards the person in the saddle.
Shuta An turned his head to glance at Tabara Seiki. He pushed hard from the start, and Kei Woman immediately rushed to the front of the pack.
And after taking the lead, Tabara Seiki had no intention of letting Kei Woman control her speed. Instead, she continued to accelerate, constantly widening the gap between her and Alpha Cute, who was currently in second place.
Because today's Queen Elizabeth Cup was a 2400-meter race at Kyoto Racecourse, Shuta was not in a hurry to let Vega move forward. Therefore, he had plenty of leisure at this early stage to observe Tabara Seiki's actions.
The first time they passed the finish line, Tabara Seiki and Kei Woman were about to enter the bend.
"It really is a runaway lead—Isn't Tabara-san too honest?" Shuta An thought to himself. "Although some in the leading group have realized the problem, they are clearly caught up. The leading group's time for the first 1000 meters will definitely be under one minute."
To reiterate, this was a 2400-meter race, and it was at Kyoto, not Tokyo Racecourse. Considering the age of the horses participating in this race, this pace was a devastating blow to the leading group.
"It's a good thing I positioned myself at the back." The young man was very relieved. "But I also need to be prepared for the leading group to collectively lose speed and block my acceleration path."
Facing this situation, Shuta An, riding the race's top favorite, knew the simplest way to handle it.
"It's nothing more than an outside burst."