Inside Team Spica.
"Grass is truly Grass, she's so gentle in the real world too. But Little Spe's comment was a bit much— meeting seven passersby who beat Grass in G2s just by buying groceries? How savage!" El Condor Pasa was dying of laughter, she almost couldn't keep a straight face.
"Yeah, it's hilarious. It seems everyone in the Golden Generation was corrupted by Seiun-san. Even Grass Wonder-san became like that after retiring, either standing still, eating, or sleeping." Twin Turbo remarked.
"Hey, hey! Don't generalize to the whole Golden Generation! I'm not like that! I, King Halo, would never become like that. Even retired at a farm, I'd be the most hardworking and glamorous girl there!"
"Oh— hohohoho~~~~" King Halo tossed her hair and laughed.
Grass Wonder turning into a lazy cow has nothing to do with me, King Halo!
"Wait a minute, King Halo-san, how can you say that? Did you forget? Trainer Mizuki said your real-horse version was the hardest to train! He had a bad temper, difficult personality, hated rain, hated sand, hated hard turf, and often refused to put in effort on soft turf."
Cesario said with a serious face.
"Jockeys called you the 'Purebred Young Master.' In no way does that scream 'hardworking'!"
"True. Looking at it now, King Halo was actually the hardest to please— even more ridiculous than Gold Ship. You didn't do a single thing a normal horse would do!" Tosen Jordan complained.
Then she reconsidered, and decided that the two were neck-and-neck.
At least King Halo wasn't aggressive, Gold Ship would literally physically attack his jockeys.
"If you ask me, Gold Ship is still more ridiculous. The 2015 Takarazuka Kinen sent 12.1 billion yen in betting tickets down the drain instantly. That's hard to top," Tosen Jordan added a finishing blow.
Gold Ship immediately rolled up her sleeves. "Hey, hey! You guys looking for trouble?"
King Halo was momentarily embarrassed since the real horse was indeed like that, but she quickly defended herself: "Ahem! The real horse is the real horse, and I am me! We're different! When I meet the real horse, I'll work hard with it. I believe we are both first-rate existences! Ohohoho~~~"
Buena Vista added, "But Special Week-senpai... why did she and Seiun Sky-senpai leave in such a similar way? One hit her head, the other hurt her hip. Both were completely avoidable."
Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi nodded. "Yeah, looking at them one by one, it's getting scary."
T.M. Opera O: "I seem to have died of natural causes. As the Overlord of the Century's End, my passing seems a bit too simple. Compared to Special Week-san and Seiun Sky-san, I feel quite inadequate."
Meisho Doto was horrified: "Awa-wa-wa! Opera O-san, don't compete in that! Don't say such unlucky things!"
Doto was panicking, she needed to find Matikane Fukukitaru to pray for Opera O later.
Admire Vega was speechless. Opera O's words were always shocking, but coming from her, they actually sounded quite logical.
Silence Suzuka was also very concerned about Spe, Sky, and El. "Regardless, everyone must learn from this. You can't be so reckless."
Tokai Teio laughed. "Ni-shi-shi! Expecting Little Spe not to be a reckless airhead is like expecting President Rudolf not to tell dad jokes. Just leave it to the Great Teio-sama! I'll keep an eye on Spe-chan to protect her!"
Special Week looked at Tokai Teio with deep admiration. "Thank you, Teio-san!"
Buena Vista was lost. She was confused— wasn't Special Week-senpai technically a year senior to Tokai Teio? Why did the roles feel completely reversed?
And how was Teio even going to "watch" her? She couldn't figure it out, but she agreed on one thing: Special Week-senpai was indeed an airhead.
Sometimes she'd zone out while being walking and run into something. It wasn't surprising if that happened three or four times a day.
Teio put her hands on her hips. "Don't worry! The combination of Teio-sama and Spe-chan is definitely reliable!"
McQueen was worried. "Teio and Spe-chan... no matter how I think about it, 'reliable' is the last word that comes to mind. I feel like many accidents are about to happen."
Silence Suzuka put a finger to her lips. "But it's quite nice, isn't it? One is cute and ditsy, the other is quirky and mischievous. When they're together, interesting things are bound to happen."
Cesario smiled. "I see. So Suzuka-san's meaning is that Special Week-senpai looks very slow."
Buena Vista: "No offense, but Special Week-senpai is indeed a bit of a ditz."
The great 'Supreme General of Japan,' Special Week was now being ruthlessly roasted by her two daughters behind her back.
If she knew, she'd definitely be heartbroken. She'd surely say she's just a bit scatterbrained, not 'slow'!
At that moment, King Halo saw Yuichi Fukunaga's brilliant 27-year record and offered sincere praise. She truly admired those with great talent who started at the peak, but she also deeply respected those who could keep fighting.
It seemed Fukunaga had refined hisskills after experiencing a slump to finally fulfill his dreams.
However, many people, including King Halo, were curious about terms like "jockey" and "trainer." At first, they thought "jockey" meant someone like a Trainer, and "trainer" (in the real world) meant something like a track drill instructor— just different names.
But she later discovered new terms, like Fukunaga's father "falling from a horse." She wondered if they were actually running while carrying the jockeys on their backs?
If so, that was incredibly dangerous and weird.
Because an Uma Musume's physical fitness is incomparable to a normal person's. If an Uma Musume ran while carrying a "Trainer-san" and accidentally tripped, the poor trainer on her back could indeed be crippled or die on the spot.
Even with good luck, they'd suffer internal injuries or broken bones.
So she found the concept of a "jockey" very strange. Did it really mean Trainer?
She discussed this with everyone. Everyone looked confused, then disturbed. No matter how they tried, they couldn't picture what that looked like, or what the point was.
Gold Ship couldn't figure it out either.
'Could it be that we run while carrying the Trainers, and the two Trainers on our backs mock each other, trash-talk, or even get into a fistfight or throw bricks at each other?'
'Then I'd better carry a younger one. Someone like old man Take Yutaka would go down in one punch, right?'
In short, they still felt "jockey" probably meant Trainer. As for how Fukunaga's father got hurt, maybe he was accidentally bumped into by an Uma Musume?
It's understandable that they couldn't imagine it. It's like telling you that in another parallel world, humans are actually a type of animal you've never seen.
Based on imagination alone, you simply can't grasp it. They didn't even know that in the other world, they were actually four-legged beasts.
T.M. Opera O said, "Wada and Fukunaga were from the same period, right? That means Wada has also been running for at least 27 years. He must be holding a grudge in his heart, hoping to win two G1s in one go someday."
"At least that way, he'd qualify for the Hall of Fame."
Opera O knew she was a Hall of Fame horse, but Wada Ryuji was still a bit short.
She knew he was born in 1977 and was 41 in 2018. If it really took 17 years for a G1 after she retired, and if his next would be at age 58, then he'd probably get his tenth G1 at age 75.
Opera O thought: 'Good luck, Wada! Run well and get those last few G1s before you retire! But it's fine if you don't, you don't have great horse resources anyway. Just run in your own style.;
Then, Almond Eye spoke: "The Japanese Derby winner..."
Win Variation: "I just had something to do and missed the last part. What happened? Equinox, Liberty Island, Titleholder, Panthalassa, Almond Eye, Kitasan Black, Contrail... and King Halo-san... which one of you won the Derby?"
As soon as Cavalier asked, the room fell into an awkward silence.
Kitasan Black: "Ahem... as you know, it definitely wasn't me. I was 14th in the Derby."
King Halo: "Even less likely to be me. I... I was also 14th."
Equinox: "Come to think of it... it wasn't me either."
Contrail couldn't keep her smirk down. she burst out laughing. "Ahahaha! What's this? None of you are Tokyo Derby winners? Well then, I guess it's up to me!"
"I'm sorry, but I actually won the Tokyo Derby. Life as a Derby horse is just so simple, unpretentious, and— dare I say— monotonous."
Contrail was laughing with pure joy in the middle of a group of horses who had failed their Derby bids, making everyone feel incredibly depressed.
Almond Eye was particularly indignant.
'This guy is so arrogant, she's truly annoying!'
Equinox, on the other hand, was smiling. She had come so close, it was such a shame about that wide outermost draw.
Win Variation was full of envy. "That's amazing..."
In reality, many people aren't familiar with Win Variation, but if you want to understand his career, you only need to look at Meisho Doto.
His career was almost identical, except that while Meisho Doto was suppressed by T.M. Opera O, Win Variation was suppressed by a whole crowd of legendary horses.
He spent his entire life without a single G1 victory, the classic definition of a punching bag character.
For example: In the 2011 Tokyo Derby, Win Variation took 2nd.
As for 1st? No need to ask— it was Orfevre.
In the 2011 Kikuka Sho, she took 2nd.
1st place? Orfevre.
In the 2013 Arima Kinen, she took 2nd.
1st place? Orfevre again.
Finally, he outlasted Orfevre's retirement, only to take 2nd again in the 2014 Tenno Sho Spring, losing 1st to Fenomeno.
In Cygames' setting, Win Variation secretly watches Orfevre during training, often using her as motivation to push herself. The "Golden Tyrant + Little Punching Bag" combo was officially complete.
Of course, in the story, besides being constantly crushed by Orfevre, Win Variation is often terrified by Gentildonna's absurdly ridiculous strength.
It's like a person walking into a gym full of enthusiasm, only to open the door and find someone doing squats while carrying a treadmill— and even more ridiculous, there's someone else actually running on that treadmill while it's being carried.
One can only say that living alongside these famous horses, Win Variation suffered critical emotional blows daily. A classic punching bag.
At this time, Contrail was very eager to see when the logs would finally get to her. Special Week was called the "General of Japan," and Grass Wonder was called the "Phoenix." Would her nickname be just as badass?
However, Contrail's nickname was undoubtedly one of the worst. He was known as the "Weakest Triple Crown."
If you want to be more generous, you can use his other nickname: Stretch.
Many people might wonder why he has these two nicknames. After all, any Triple Crown winner is strong, and an undefeated Triple Crown winner is even stronger.
The truth is, Contrail ran during the peak of the COVID-19 Era. It's common belief among some fans than when he ran, certain horses faced restrictions on whether they could enter the Classic Triple Crown races, leading to the roster being overall weaker.
When you combine that with the fact that Contrail lost his next three races after achieving the Triple Crown, it's no wonder that some fans think he's so weak.
As for his other nickname, Stretch?
He's called that because he stretches like a cat while on stallion duty.
But enough about that.
As everyone read further in the diary entry, their eyes widened in shock.
Super Creek, Inari One, Oguri Cap, Mejiro Ardan, and Tamamo Cross were especially stunned. They hadn't expected that after the Golden Generation, the logs would move to their era.
How would their era compare to the Golden Generation in terms of excitement?
They also had a lingering doubt. They knew that Uma Musume were categorized by their hair types. For instance, Grass Wonder is a bay horse, while Oguri Cap, McQueen, and Gold Ship are gray horses.
Many young Uma Musume knew of many fast gray horses, and grays were never looked down upon at Tracen Academy.
But according to the text, in the real-horse world, did everyone believe gray horses couldn't run fast before that era?
Could it be that these two gray seniors, Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross, were the ones who changed everyone's perception?
Of course, the older generation like Yayoi Akikawa found this very interesting. Due to the timeline distortion, many of the Tracen Uma Musume hadn't run their races yet, or some races took place in the "Phantom Cup" of the dream world.
Winning in the Phantom Cup still granted the training rewards from the logbook.
However, Director Akikawa had missed some of the historical races because of this. Now, she wanted to see exactly what kind of stories took place in that era.
What caught everyone's attention most— even driving them wild— was the final sentence in the log, the highest praise the JRA ever gave a horse:
"God exists! It's the super horse!"
Who... exactly was that describing?
"It seems there are some terrifying Uma Musume in this era too," Seiun Sky remarked.
She was currently wearing a cute hat. Matikane Tannhauser, hearing that Sky might be in danger, had given her a beret symbolizing good luck.
However, given Sky's lazy personality, she felt a more casual hat suited her better. Sky didn't usually have a habit of wearing hats, but she wore this one now.
Honestly, when it came to looks, Seiun-chan never lost.
"A Uma Musume described as a God... how scary. That's not an opponent you can win against, is it?" Meisho Doto was shaking with fear, feeling that if she met such a person, she'd have no ability to resist.
But she quickly shook her head.
'No, no, I just said I'd make my generation shine. I have to do my best!'
"God... interesting." T.M. Opera O felt her fighting spirit ignite. All fear stems from a lack of strength. As the "Overlord of the Century's End," she feared no opponent, even a God.
Who said a God couldn't be defeated?
Despite her words, Opera O was deeply focused, her eyes shimmering. Who exactly was that person?
At this point, Opera O hadn't realized that the person in question was, in a sense, her benefactor: Oguri Cap.
And in a certain sense, Oguri Cap was indeed a "God."
Even Opera O wouldn't dare compete with Oguri Cap in an eating contest, that would be suicide.
In the UK:
"Interesting, very interesting. I wasn't even born during the era of this 'God,' was I?"
Frankel looked at the screen seriously. She was indeed a Horse of the Year, an existence standing at the pinnacle, but her respect for her predecessors remained deep in her heart.
She realized that whether in the UK, Ireland, or Japan, horse racing was a legacy passed from generation to generation, constantly evolving.
She wanted to see more. She believed that regardless of the era, the races she dedicated herself to, the fighting spirit she showed, and the dreams she gave to everyone would never disappoint.
At Team Spica:
Mizuki had finished today's log entry. Her tasks for the day were mostly done. Since it was almost Chinese New Year, she was going to go shopping with some of the Uma Musume later.
After returning, she would continue writing the interesting stories between Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross.
After finishing the log, Mizuki wanted to see what today's reward would be. Soon, a voice rang in her head:
[Notification: Host log uploading...]
[Notification: Reward granted: Golden Spirit.]
[Notification: Golden Spirit (The greatness of humanity lies in their noble posture when facing fear. When encountering an enemy countless times stronger than yourself, a miracle will happen.)]
Mizuki was stunned for a moment. she had spent quite some time teasing the "Golden Family" Uma Musume, but she didn't expect to awaken a "Golden Spirit" herself.
But looking at the description, this Golden Spirit seemed to be the human version— the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure version.
What kind of miracles would this awaken?
She knew the Golden Spirit in JoJo involved bloodline inheritance. Was the system asking her to go full JoJo in Tracen Academy?
Like Jotaro, eating at a restaurant without paying, calling her mom a"bitch, beating up classmates, bullying a hundred-year-old man?
Or like Giorno, becoming a Gang-Star?
Or like Joseph, dressing up as Tequila Girl?
She felt the reward was a bit absurd, but since it was a system reward, it had to have a use.
She'd try it out first.
As it happened, she was about to go on a massive shopping spree at the mall. Could she "skip the bill"?
But she was a law-abiding citizen, there was no need for that.
Just then, the voice rang again:
[Notification: Host has awakened Golden Spirit. In the mall, you can enjoy an expensive meal, if you find it doesn't suit your taste, you can simply walk away without paying.]
[Notification: Due to system empowerment, the Host can skip the bill for any set meal without consequences. The system will automatically settle the bill. This 'Golden Spirit' lasts for only three days, with the countdown starting the first time the Host dines and dashes.]
Mizuki was floored.
'This is amazing!'
In JoJo, the Golden Spirit was actually quite noble, and people mostly used it for memes, but this function was pure luxury.
Eat a huge meal with the Uma Musume and just walk out? Sweet.
This was the "I can pay, but I don't have to" lifestyle.
She was basically becoming a Passione member now.
Mizuki decided that she would take the Spica girls and the other cute horses she knew to a luxury hotel for a massive feast.
But then, another voice rang:
[Notification: Host can take people to enjoy food, but Host must say the line: "Boss, I don't think your food suits my taste, so I won't be paying."]
A bit cocky, but no problem.
Mizuki emerged from her private office and entered the Spica lounge.
"Orfevre, you need to work on your posing. Everyone, let's study this together," Gentildonna said.
Since she was the spokesperson for the Japanese side in this Japan-France exchange, everyone was very focused on Orfevre's posing for her photoshoot.
"Trainer Mizuki, you're here. Do you have any suggestions for the photos? You often film videos for Machan and the angles are always good. Why don't you give Orfevre some guidance?" Agnes Tachyon suggested.
"I'm not great at picking angles, Hokko Tarumae usually handles that. But she's not here right now... Orfevre, how about I take one of you first? Or better yet, let's get a few more people to strike some poses so I can see which movements look best on camera," Mizuki said.
Orfevre nodded indifferently. "Remember, I am the King who rules this era. Trainer Mizuki, you must use this opportunity I give you to record the majesty of my reign."
Mizuki looked at Orfevre and was speechless.
This Orfevre was a complete drama queen. Hearing her speak almost made Mizuki visually cringe.
Her, Gentildonna, and Win Variation were quite a trio. One is overdramatic, one is a muscle-obsessed powerhouse, and the last is a punching bag.
Incredible.
"Everyone, strike a pose then," Mizuki said.
Orfevre nodded majestically, her expression overflowing with dominance. Beside her, Gentildonna, McQueen, Win Variation, and Air Shakur all joined in to provide reference poses for Orfevre.
McQueen advised, "Ahem, Trainer-san, remember to find a good angle. Our eyes see things in 3D, but cameras take 2D photos, which can make us look wider than we actually are. So you absolutely must find a good angle... don't make me... I mean, don't make us look fat."
"Oh? Is that how it works? Got it," Mizuki promised.
However, she really wasn't great at photography. McQueen's pose was elegant and cute, Gentildonna's was tall and straight, with hands on her hips.
Orfevre just stood there like a statue. Even though she was trying to sell her image, she wasn't doing much. Win Variation and Air Shakur just stood on either side doing peace signs.
How was that helpful for reference?
Mizuki fell silent. This was too hard. Should she ask them to do their winning post-race celebrations? But those were too specific and a bit unoriginal.
But as Mizuki hesitated, a flash of inspiration hit him. It was the system— the JoJo "Golden Spirit" reward was taking effect.
Everyone knows the "JoJo Pose." Even people who haven't watched the anime know it, it's incredibly iconic.
Although JoJo poses are exaggerated, they follow the "Golden Ratio" and are full of dynamic tension.
Because of this, JoJo-style art has been featured in top fashion magazines and at the Louvre.
She didn't need the Uma Musume to do the literally impossible bone-breaking poses from the manga, but by incorporating the essence and reaching that "Golden Ratio" point, the effect would be powerful.
Mizuki transformed into a creative director, commanding Orfevre, McQueen, and the others to strike high-tension poses. She adjusted them based on their personalities, which uncluded giving Orfevre a hint of murderous intent in her eyes.
After finishing the directing, she crouched down and began taking photos. Every shot's lighting, composition, and angle were perfect, finding that "Golden Ratio."
Orfevre was shocked when she saw the result. Although the poses felt awkward to hold, the resulting photos were incredible, perfectly capturing her majesty as the King of her era.
Afterward, the Spica girls headed back. Mizuki announced she would take everyone for a luxury feast tomorrow at noon, which made everyone cheer.
Soon, Mizuki went to bed. Living at Tracen, her life was regular and her skin was noticeably better. No 9-9-6 work schedule, no worrying about mortgages or car loans.
Every day was spent with entertaining ponies. Life was good.
She woke up the next morning ready for another day of effort. It was January 31st, a Wednesday.
The Uma Musume had classes, so she headed to the cafeteria first. On the way, she ran into Buena Vista.
She looked a bit dazed, clearly having not slept well, her ears were drooping.
"Good morning, Trainer Mizuk-san," Buena Vista greeted her, yawning incessantly.
"Go to class. Come to Spica at noon. You can bring people, I'm treating everyone to lunch today," Mizuki said generously.
"Really? Then I'll call Cesario, and Super Creek-san too. Super Creek takes care of me a lot," Buena Vista said.
Mizuki nodded. Speaking of Super Creek, she planned to write her story today.
Mizuki reached the cafeteria and looked for Oguri Cap. Sure enough, in the corner sat a girl with a mountain of fried rice. She was too easy to find.
Tamamo Cross came from a poor family and never dreamed of being able to eat like Oguri.
This "poor" setting for Tamamo was taken from reality, at the time, her owner was heavily in debt from horse breeding and lived very frugally.
After eating, Mizuki returned to the Spica office. she decided to finish today's log while the girls were in class.
[Last time, I wrote about the Golden Generation who debuted around 1998. Today, let's talk about the horses who debuted around 1988.]
[The stories of this era, the "Heisei Big Three" era, are in no way inferior to the Golden Generation. The legends they created are just as brilliant.]
[First, let's start with the oldest, Inari One. Like Oguri Cap, Inari One came from the regional circuits and didn't start in the Central races.]
[Inari One came from Edogawa. He was born on May 7th at the Yamamoto Mitsunori Farm in Monbetsu, Hokkaido. On December 9, 1986, as a two-year-old, Inari One made his debut at Ohi Racecourse.]
[In January 1987, he was registered as a regional horse.]
[Similarly born in Hokkaido was Oguri Cap, born on March 27th at the Inaba Farm. He was about a year younger than Inari One.]
[But Oguri Cap's start was far less smooth than Inari One's. In fact, he started with a horrific disadvantage.]
[Usually, a foal can stand on its own within an hour of birth, but Oguri Cap couldn't stand because his right front hoof was naturally deformed and splayed outward. The farm owner had to hold him up to help his mother nurse him.]
[It was only after corrective hoof-trimming treatments that he improved.]
[One can see from this that Oguri Cap's innate physical deficiency made everyone at the farm very worried about his future.]
[But now that I think about it, this scene is actually quite heartwarming— an owner cradling a foal to help it nurse.]
[I'll chip in 200 yen, can I get a turn to hold one? I promise to be steady and careful. Cuddling a little pony, wouldn't that be pure bliss?]
[Back to the topic: The difficulties Oguri Cap faced at the time didn't end there. His mother had poor lactation, so Oguri was malnourished after birth. The entire horse looked like a bag of bones.]
[Fortunately, Oguri was born with a voracious appetite. He would even eat the weeds around him, and he had a powerful digestive system to boot. Over time, he miraculously grew into a healthy horse.]
[The farm owner, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief. To pray for his healthy growth, he gave him the nursery name "Hatsuratsu," which means "energetic" or "cheerful."]
[He hoped this little pony would live up to the name and be full of vitality.]
[But as time passed, new problems followed. Although Oguri Cap grew up healthy, his pedigree at the time held no advantage whatsoever. He was labeled a second-rate or even third-rate racehorse.]
[People thought the chances of him winning even in regional circuits were slim, some extremists even questioned if he could grow up healthy at all.]
[Furthermore, the farm where Oguri Cap was born primarily produced Gray horses. Before 1987, Gray horses that showed real strength on the track were few and far between— almost non-existent.]
[At that time, rumors persisted that "Gray horses can't run fast." With all these negative buffs stacked against him, Oguri Cap's market value plummeted to freezing point.]
[For example, Super Creek, another of the "Heisei Big Three," had an incredibly low transaction price. He failed to sell twice at auction. Finally, after the farm owner sought help from multiple parties, he was barely sold for the ultra-low price of 8.1 million yen.]
[But how much was Oguri Cap sold for? He was traded to his first owner, Koichi Oguri, for a mere 2.5 million yen.]
[Everyone's judgment of Oguri Cap was that he was a horse with basically no future, just someone who could eat a lot. No one expected that the name Oguri Cap would eventually become a legend that moved an entire generation.]
[Of course, it wasn't just the two regional horses, Oguri Cap and Inari One. Their generation was packed with powerhouses.]
[Besides them, Tamamo Cross, Mejiro Ardan, and the previously mentioned Super Creek were all exceptionally strong.]
[Among them, the fellow Gray horse Tamamo Cross arrived at Nishino Farm in Niikappu, Hokkaido, on May 23rd. As a foal, his nickname was "Nishino Cross," and he was considered the hope of the farm.]
[Although he was a Gray horse like Oguri Cap, he was the polar opposite in one regard: His appetite was tiny, even smaller than that of a typical filly.]
[Speaking of Nishino Farm, the owner was an ambitious man. He was very willing to breed strong horses and invested huge sums of money. But the world of horse racing is cruel, not everyone can have the luck of the owner of Urban Sea.]
[The owner of Nishino Farm failed repeatedly in breeding, leading to mounting debts. By 1987, he owed over a hundred million yen.]
[Despite the debt, his dream lived on. When Tamamo Cross appeared, he looked at the foal and felt he was the "ideal horse" he had been chasing for years.]
[He pinned all his hopes on Tamamo Cross, hoping he would receive good training, sell for a high price, win many races, help the farm pay off its debts, and escape the crisis.]
[However, the high-paying owner the farm anticipated never appeared. Due to financial distress, the owner could no longer hold on and was forced to give up ownership. Tamamo Cross, along with two other foals, was eventually purchased by the owner's friend, Michio Mitsuno.]
[After their negotiations, Mitsuno purchased Tamamo Cross for a price between 4 and 5 million yen, citing reasons such as him being too frail and having a poor pedigree.]
[Even so, Michio Mitsuno didn't initially place much importance on this Gray horse, he simply entrusted him to Isami Obara's stable at the Ritto Training Center.]
[From this, you can see that Tamamo Cross's experience was actually harder and more painful than Oguri Cap's. He was of low birth and met with family misfortune, his mother passed away shortly after he was born, leaving him to eat alone.]
[Not long after, his home farm went bankrupt. After being bought by a new owner, he was completely disregarded and placed in a small stable.]
[His birth seemed burdened by sorrow and misfortune. In this cruel reality, how would the youth named Tamamo Cross respond to such a destiny?]
[Meanwhile, as Tamamo Cross was experiencing family tragedy, Super Creek arrived at Kashidai Farm in Monbetsu, Hokkaido, on May 27, 1985.]
[As a foal, Super Creek was found to have a splayed left front foot. However, Shuji Ito, the trainer at the time, said: "There's no big problem with his walking. Even if there's a leg issue, there's always a way."]
[The farm cared a lot about Super Creek, but many owners didn't agree. Because of his pedigree and his splayed foot, people were unwilling to buy a racehorse with innate defects.]
[In the summer of 1985, Super Creek went up for auction but failed to sell. In the auction the following year, there were still no buyers.]
[By this point, there was a high probability that Super Creek would have been lost to history. A horse that fails to sell twice often faces being sent away because they can't race. As for where they are sent... it goes without saying.]
[But Trainer Ito felt a deep sense of regret. He felt Super Creek was definitely a horse that could achieve great results. Through his connection with the farm owner, Kazutane Soma, she found owner Makoto Kiura and pleaded with him to buy the foal.]
[Sometimes, a trainer's bond with a horse is deeper than an owner's.]
[Because trainers spend day and night with the horses, watching them grow. Foals are emotional, when they see their trainer, they jump for joy or even nudge them affectionately.]
[Super Creek was an especially affectionate horse, so Trainer Ito used every connection in his network just to get Creek a chance to debut.]
[Perhaps it was his emotion and the fighting spirit shown by Super Creek that moved Makoto Kiura.]
[Kiura eventually bought him for the low price of 8.1 million yen— only 100,000 yen above the starting auction price.]
[Thus, the birth and debut stories of these four "Heisei Big Three" members have been roughly laid out. But why do I say there are four horses in the "Big Three"?]
[That's a well-known bit of trivia.]
[In truth, Tamamo Cross's strength fully deserves the "Big Three" title, but because he debuted earlier, he is considered a Showa-era horse. ]
[However, because his time overlapped with the Heisei era, many like to include him in the group.]
[Actually, there is a fifth horse who possessed the strength to challenge the Heisei Big Three, putting immense pressure on powerhouses like Oguri Cap and Super Creek. But due to constant injuries, he never had the chance to show his true running form.]
[This was the fragile, glass-like Mejiro Ardan.]
[So, if you insist on asking how many people can be in the Heisei Big Three, the answer might be five.]
[How should I put it? There are five members of the Heisei Big Three. But generally, the focus remains on these four.]
[Looking back, most of these four horses had very rough starts. Inari One was slightly better, but the one who had it hardest was undoubtedly Tamamo Cross.]
[Many might remember Tamamo Cross as the horse Oguri Cap constantly challenged, leading people to think Oguri had it tougher. In reality, Tamamo's birth was the most tragic, and his ending was much the same.]
[While Super Creek was overlooked, he was at least born in the Central circuit, which helped. Incidentally, the year Super Creek debuted, a jockey named Take Yutaka was still called a "rookie," having just debuted himself.]
[And his "first love" was Super Creek.]
[In later recollections, Take Yutaka evaluated the horse like this: "Super Creek was the first horse of my life, and no matter what, I would never give him up to anyone else."]
[Yes, Take Yutaka and Super Creek— their destinies were remarkably similar.]
[Even on that day in 1988, when Take Yutaka had three horses to choose from for the Kikuka Sho, he passed by Super Creek's stall. Facing Super Creek's silent pleas to stay, the 18-year-old felt the horse's frustration at being overlooked, matching his own.]
[In that moment, he officially announced: "If Super Creek cannot participate in the Kikuka Sho, then... I'm not going either."]