Chapter 129. Dober's Plan
Mejiro Ramonu was quite sensible.
After accompanying Mejiro Dober to Hong Kong, she rested briefly in the room and then left in the afternoon to return to Japan, leaving the suite entirely to Shuta An and Mejiro Dober.
After finishing his sweet soup with Kitahara-san and Tojo Hana and checking the Arima Kinen fan vote totals, Shuta An returned to the hotel intending to take a short nap.
But just as he changed into his pajamas and was about to get into bed, Mejiro Dober returned after seeing Mejiro Ramonu off.
"Woo—"
Seeing what her lover was doing, Mejiro Dober took three quick steps forward and hugged him from behind.
Shuta An could clearly feel the soft warmth pressing against his back.
He took her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
"The food at Ms. Ardan's place was pretty good?"
"Am I getting fat?"
Mejiro Dober immediately tensed up the moment she heard that.
Shuta lowered his head and looked her over carefully.
"The weight has gone to all the right places."
Mejiro Dober understood exactly what he meant and rolled her eyes at him.
Holding her, he went into the living room and let her sit on his lap.
Only then did Shuta An smile, preparing to chat with her about her recent days at Mejiro Ardan's place.
"There are so many children there. It's rare to see a place in Japan with that many children. Even though the Uma Musume there have dreams of racing, most of them don't think becoming an Uma Musume is the only path."
"They're more used to studying and taking exams like ordinary children. But girls with outstanding talent naturally focus on this path. The local races may not be integrated with overseas systems, and foreign Uma Musume can't follow overseas customs when they race there, but the local resources are rich enough to support a self-sustaining system."
Mejiro Dober's answer surprised Shuta An a little.
"It's already impressive enough to sustain a self-contained system."
He glanced at her and then at Mejiro Ramonu in his mind.
"I also saw that Ms. Mejiro Ramonu seems to really like children."
"She does like them."
Mejiro Dober nodded softly.
"I think it would suit her very well to open a kindergarten."
"Then let's not do that."
Shuta An breathed in the faint fragrance from her hair and replied, "I actually have a better idea for the Mejiro family's future industry."
"What idea?"
Mejiro Dober already had a guess, but she still wanted him to say it himself.
"How about the Mejiro family opens a tutoring center for Uma Musume who haven't enrolled in Central Tracen Academy yet? It could popularize training knowledge, provide basic exercise guidance, and establish the right mindset for competition."
Mejiro Dober's ears twitched and brushed against his cheek.
"That sounds really good. I think the girls around my age in the family would agree, but the elders might be harder to persuade."
"If it's hard to say, then don't say it."
Shuta An snorted lightly.
"As long as we get Ms. Ramonu's support, this won't be hard to handle."
Mejiro Dober estimated inwardly that her lover had probably already reached some kind of agreement with Mejiro Ramonu and was just waiting for the right opening within the family.
Providing a safe, profitable job for the family's Uma Musume who retired from the Twinkle Series and could not enter the Dream Cup was certainly a good thing.
So the undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume decided to stay out of the way and not interfere.
After a long period of closeness, Shuta An finally let the flushed Mejiro Dober go, remembering that the race was still on the weekend.
"The main event can wait until after the race. We have to endure for now."
Hearing that, Mejiro Dober rolled her eyes.
"There are still five days until race day."
As she spoke, she turned in his arms and pressed even closer, hanging onto him like a sloth on a branch.
"If you don't satisfy me now, I won't let go at all."
Seeing that she had clearly gotten into the mood, Shuta An realized he had gone a little too far earlier and had stirred her up.
—
By the time Mejiro Dober was finally satisfied, half of dinner time had already passed.
After ordering room service, the young man changed into a fresh pair of pajamas and prepared to check the entry list for the Hong Kong International Races, which had been released that afternoon.
Unlike the registration list, this one would remove the lower-rated Uma Musume and place them on a reserve list.
If anyone on the official entry list failed the physical examination or suffered an accident that prevented them from racing, replacements would be drawn from the reserve list according to ranking.
"This year's Hong Kong Cup entry list has 13 Uma Musume from 8 countries and regions, including Dober. It really deserves the name international race."
Hong Kong itself had fielded Precision, Housemaster, Come See You, Cellini, and DrMore.
Among them, DrMore was the strongest, having won a Class 1 race.
But that was all. He had never won a major stakes race.
As for the Uma Musume sent by other countries and regions, the most notable were UAE's Grandera and the USA's Sarafan.
Grandera had won three G1 races this year: the Singapore Airlines International Cup, the Irish Champion Stakes, and the Prince of Wales's Stakes.
Sarafan had won the American turf G1 Eddie Read Stakes.
"Still, in terms of strength, Dober is the strongest."
Shuta An was confident of that.
While Grandera's G1 victories were prestigious and impressive, she might not adapt well to the turf at Sha Tin Racecourse.
As far as he knew, Grandera still had not fully adjusted to the turf conditions after arriving in Hong Kong.
"Dober, at least, is already at Sha Tin Racecourse checking out the track."
He mused slightly.
Such energy.
Unlike her lover, Mejiro Dober did not stay in the hotel.
Instead, she showered, changed into sportswear, and headed out to Sha Tin Racecourse for a few laps of jogging.
As she stepped onto the turf, she felt that the grass here was much more comfortable than in Europe.
"Next year will be my last year in the Twinkle Series," she murmured while jogging. "Do I want a stable year or a glorious one?"
She thought it over deeply.
Soon, she reached her answer.
"I never intended to chase the status of Oguri-senpai or Suzuka-senpai. Stability is better."
For example—
"First, I'll aim for a three-peat in the Yorkshire Oaks."
Dober had no intention of telling Shuta An about that plan yet.
Right now, the Hong Kong Cup was the priority.
Although she had been helping out at Mejiro Ardan's place, she had never stopped training.
In fact, thanks to Ardan's connections, she had even borrowed a training ground in Guangfu, giving her exclusive access to facilities and terrain that made her practice much more effective than training alongside the other Uma Musume at Sha Tin Racecourse.
"For the next few days, though, it's just warm-up and keeping the racing feel. No need to think about anything else."
So neither Mejiro Dober, Kikousazan, nor Sabuno Hana Park increased their training intensity in the final days.
"The gate positions will be drawn tomorrow. I hope I don't lose my composure during the ceremony," Shuta An complained in the Central Tracen Academy trainer Line group chat.
"Congratulations, Shuta-kun, for sweeping the top two spots in the Arima Kinen fan vote. How's the temperature in Hong Kong right now?"
Minamizaka replied after congratulating him.
"What? Minamizaka-kun, are you interested in campaigning in Hong Kong next year? The climate here at this time of year is actually very pleasant. It's a good choice for an end-of-year campaign."
Shuta An typed back at once.
"Honestly, Ms. Nice Nature's ability is absolutely G1-winning level. She just lacks a little luck. I strongly recommend trying a different venue for a G1 challenge. Maybe her luck will turn around."
"Well—I'll think about it."
Minamizaka replied vaguely.
When it came to overseas campaigns, his main lack of confidence was not his own team members, but himself.
I don't have experience adjusting a Uma Musume's training for an overseas campaign. What if something goes wrong?
He did not want to disappoint Nice Nature and the others.
Of course, he had never admitted that to anyone.
Otherwise, Shuta An would have already complained at him:
If you never try, you'll never get experience.
—
By the next afternoon, the draw ceremony officially began.
The three participating Uma Musume, along with their trainers and assistant trainers, went to the Hong Kong URA headquarters for the meeting.
"Unless something unexpected happens, everyone will have to go on stage to speak later."
Shuta An glanced back at the girls behind him.
Though his words were aimed mainly at Kikousazan, he was clearly also reminding Mejiro Dober.
"Start thinking about what to say now. It doesn't have to be brilliant, just don't make any mistakes."
"Understood."
Mejiro Dober nodded gently, while the two girls behind her nodded with seriousness.
Kitahara-san and Tojo Hana stayed silent.
When it came to overseas campaigning, Shuta An's experience was so extensive that he could easily outclass all the other trainers at Central Tracen Academy combined.
Listening in would never hurt.
As for Tojo Hana, she had volunteered to accompany Kikousazan on behalf of her relative partly because she wanted to learn more about overseas adjustments from Shuta An.
However, because Hong Kong was not far from Japan and Mejiro Dober had been diligently training, she ended up learning almost nothing.
Looks like I'll have to wait until next year, when Shuta-kun goes abroad to Europe or somewhere similar, and bring the Team Rigil girls along.
She thought this with quiet seriousness.
Although El Condor Pasa from her team had once spent nearly a year on an overseas expedition, Tojo Hana had not gone with her at the time, so she had gained no experience at all.
The reason she had begun to study expedition adjustments now was simple.
She had a hunch.
If the girls from Team Rigil kept racing domestically, Shuta An would eventually lead the girls from Team Sadalsuud to break Team Rigil's highest overseas honor:
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runner-up.
It was almost laughable.
The team's most iconic overseas achievement was second place.
But Tojo Hana did not find it funny at all.
—
The Hong Kong Sprint was the first race to draw gates.
Sabuno Hana Park drew gate 3.
"Tsk."
Kitahara was not pleased with the result, but she still forced a smile as she stepped onto the stage. Anyone could tell he was not truly happy.
Shuta An understood why he was dissatisfied.
The Sprint was only 1200 meters, and positioning was fiercely competitive.
Sabuno Hana Park currently preferred to run from mid-pack or slightly behind, relying on her explosive finish to win.
But with an inner gate, she would have to consider returning to an earlier senko-style or front-running tactic to avoid getting boxed in.
If the rivals were not aggressive enough, she might even have to lead the race herself.
In short, it was not an easy task for Kitahara-san.
Tojo Hana also understood that much and muttered under her breath.
After the Hong Kong Vase draw ceremony ended, it was time for the Hong Kong Mile draw.
Kikousazan was considered the weakest of the entrants, but luck was on her side.
She drew gate 3.
Unlike Sabuno Hana Park, Kikousazan was already suited to senko tactics, and this gate would greatly reduce the effort needed for positioning.
When Tojo Hana saw the draw, her eyebrows rose in obvious relief.
Finally, it was time for the Hong Kong Cup draw, the race with the highest purse.
This year's total prize money was 22 million Hong Kong dollars, with the winner's share equivalent to about 240 million yen.
It was naturally the final draw.
Even though Shuta An did not need to go on stage himself, he still rubbed his hands together in anticipation as the guest pressed the button.
"No matter what gate I draw, I'll win," Mejiro Dober whispered.
Shuta An turned to look at her determined face and replied,
"Of course, I believe in Dober. I'm just curious since so many outer gates were assigned this year — I wonder if it'll be a wide gate again."
"It can't happen again, can it?"
Even Dober did not quite believe that.
Then her number was called.
She drew fourth.
Gate 3.
"Well, so she's stuck with 3 again."
Shuta An shook his head with a smile.
Logically speaking, gate 3 might be a little disadvantageous for Mejiro Dober, who was not especially good at aggressive positioning.
But he had already started thinking about how to use the inner gate to set traps and build tactics around it.
"A very good gate. I like it very much."
When he spoke to the cameras, his smile was so bright that no one could find fault with it.
Only Mejiro Dober knew that after they returned to the hotel, he did not agree to go for a walk with her. Instead, he sat down in front of the computer and began analyzing race flow and tactical setups.
And the undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume secretly decided that after she won the Hong Kong Cup, she would definitely give him the gift she had prepared with Sister Ardan's help.