Chapter 262: Are We Planning an Overseas Expedition Next Year?
In order to break this convention—or rather, to challenge the dominance of overseas Umamusume in the Japan Cup—many Japanese Umamusume stepped forward to take on the race. Among them were powerful and legendary figures.
For example, Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap.
However, neither of them appears on the list of Japan Cup champions.
To be honest, when Makoto looked back on that period of racing history, he had to admit the gap between Japan and the rest of the world.
Take the Japan Cup that Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap participated in as an example. One of their opponents was Tony Bianca from Italy.
Before coming to the Japan Cup, she had just won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Media coverage at the time heavily promoted her with headlines like "Challenging the World's Strongest."
In that race, Tony Bianca did not win—she only finished fifth.
However, post-race examinations revealed that she had fractured a bone during the final stretch, yet still managed to finish the race in fifth place despite the injury.
When Makoto saw this, he was completely stunned.
He himself currently had a fracture—just a minor crack—and it was already affecting his daily life.
He simply couldn't imagine how, at speeds reaching 60 km/h in such an intense race, Tony Bianca could not only finish with a fracture but also place fifth.
More importantly, her opponents included not only the strongest active runner at the time, Tamamo Cross, and the future strongest, Oguri Cap, but also other powerful international competitors.
Unable to fully comprehend it, Makoto could only sigh in disbelief.
That said, the effort to challenge and break through did bear fruit—represented by Tokai Teio on the screen, followed by Special Week.
From that point onward, Japanese Umamusume began appearing more frequently on the list of Japan Cup champions.
However, Makoto believed that using Tokai Teio and Special Week as a dividing line did not mean Japan had already caught up with the rest of the world.
Because from that time on, for reasons unknown to him, the URA Association took a rather unusual direction in improving Japan Cup results.
The condition of the racecourse is closely related to the speed that Umamusume can achieve.
Generally speaking, the closer the track is to natural conditions—that is, softer turf—the more comfortable it is for runners.
On the other hand, the more artificially treated and hardened the track is, the faster speeds Umamusume can achieve after adapting to it.
Internationally, most tracks follow the former approach. European tracks, for example, are very close to natural grass conditions. In the United States, although dirt tracks are more common, the underlying philosophy is similar.
Japan, however, chose the latter approach—making tracks increasingly harder.
Under such conditions, with runners adapted to these tracks and capable of achieving higher speeds, Japan Cup and other increasingly international races naturally saw improved results.
As for this approach and its implementation, Makoto chose not to comment.
However, the fact that overseas Umamusume still managed to win in unfamiliar track conditions over the years was enough to show that the gap between Japan and the world still existed.
It was precisely because he understood all this that Makoto frowned.
Even with home advantage, victory was not guaranteed. As for competing away...
Wasn't that exactly why, after so many years, there still hadn't been a single victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe?
After frowning in thought for a while, Makoto did not directly answer Tokai Teio's question. Instead, he asked in a low voice:
"Is this your idea, or… the position of the academy's board of directors, or the association?"
He understood very well that these were not the same.
For the Umamusume themselves, things were simple: train, race, and win—at most, they would consider that bigger stages meant more exciting opportunities.
But for those initiating such plans, it was a completely different matter, involving various considerations and resource allocations.
For example, someone like Kitasan Black, who is currently at the height of her popularity—if a campaign themed around an "overseas expedition" were launched, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation and generate all kinds of returns.
Hearing Makoto's question, a hint of approval flashed in Tokai Teio's eyes.
She quickly exchanged glances with Mejiro McQueen and the others, then looked back at Makoto and said seriously:
"I knew you'd understand."
"From our perspective, we… don't recommend that you and Kitasan Black consider an overseas expedition just yet."
"Even though… we actually thought about it a long time ago."
That statement surprised Makoto, and he couldn't help blurting out:
"A long time ago? You all?"
At that moment, Mejiro McQueen leaned slightly forward and explained in a clear, organized manner:
"Actually, one of the main reasons Teio wanted you to coach Kitasan Black was because she felt you were different from most Japanese trainers."
"Judging from your family background, your parents follow the conventional training philosophy here, but your personal style is actually much closer to that of Europe and America."
She crossed her arms, lightly touching her cheek, her gaze flickering with recollection and thought:
"We've observed that when you train Kitasan Black, you place great emphasis on drawing out her individual potential and stress personalized training methods, rather than blindly following traditional models."
"This kind of approach is quite common in Western training systems."
"At the same time, you're very well adapted to the racing style here… no, rather, this is also a concrete application of Western methods."
"Before races, you conduct extensive—one could even say massive—amounts of research, calculations, and simulations, meticulously designing strategies and tactics."
"I'm not saying that the emphasis here on spirit, willpower, and mental resolve is useless."
"But compared to those abstract and generalized concepts, your approach is clearly more controllable, and it can be replicated and promoted more easily."
"So, we've long imagined that if the right opportunity arose, you might be able to lead our runners to showcase a different kind of brilliance on the international stage."
As Mejiro McQueen delivered this structured analysis, Tokai Teio, Deep Impact, and Orfevre all wore expressions of strong agreement.
It was clear they had discussed this at length and reached a consensus—this moment was simply Mejiro McQueen conveying it to Makoto.
On Makoto's side, he was even more surprised, while also deep in thought.
Thinking back on his past training experiences, he indeed hadn't fully followed Japan's traditional training philosophy.
As Mejiro McQueen said, most Japanese trainers place heavy emphasis on things like "guts," emotional drive, or even the idea of "being in sync with the runner's heart," and their training methods are built around those ideas.
To Makoto, these concepts felt very "Anime-like," highly subjective, and frankly difficult to grasp.
He preferred methods that were tangible and measurable. That was why he designed various specialized training programs based on Kitasan Black's individual traits—maximizing her strengths while compensating for her weaknesses.
Even as he thought through all this, he didn't lose sight of the main point.
"So, what you're saying is—you want me and Kitasan Black to prepare more, wait a bit, observe the situation, and then consider an overseas expedition later?"
Looking at the screen, he asked cautiously:
"And the board and the association… are hoping that we'll carry out an overseas expedition as early as next year?"
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