"I watched this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe."
Kitahara explained casually, "Tony Bianca participated as well."
"Besides her, the king of Italy, there was the British Derby winner Reference Point, the French Derby winner Natroun and runner-up Trempolino, Triple-stakes winner Netosh, the French Uma Musume Grand Soir with 12 starts, 8 wins and 5 stakes wins, the Hardwicke Stakes champion Orbaan"
"To be honest, we always say that the Japanese Central races are 'nests of monsters,' but if we're talking about the Arc… I think only something like 'a battle of the gods' or 'Ragnarök' could describe it."
He had meant to make a little joke, but didn't expect Komiyama and Kyoko Miyamura to just stare at him wide-eyed, full of awe and longing.
"Hey, hey, senpai, so who won this Arc then?"
Komiyama urged him on, "I was busy that period with reviewing for exams and sorting Tamamo's records, didn't have time to watch the livestream, later I forgot to check. Senpai, tell us!"
Kyoko Miyamura also looked at him with anticipation.
"It was…"
"It was Trempolino."
Kitahara had just started to speak, but Taro Yuzuhara answered first, then gave a wry smile.
"Jesus, if I didn't already know about Kitahara's background, I'd really think you, like me, had also studied abroad in Europe."
He sighed, "Some trainers might pay attention to international races, but the majority think that our Uma Musume are way behind Europe and America. Watching those races only piles on pressure; very few look into them as deeply as you."
"Or some may watch, but treat themselves as regular spectators, not as trainers — they won't watch from a professional angle."
"Same reasoning: they don't feel analyzing a race like the Arc has any meaning. At least for our Uma Musume, no meaning at all."
Kitahara fell silent; he knew Yuzuhara was right.
At this stage, Japanese Uma Musume weren't at the same level internationally; paying attention to such elite Uma Musume and races offered Japan very little practical help.
Tony Bianca herself was proof.
In another world, next year, that Uma Musume would participate in the Japan Cup.
The Japan Cup is one of the few internationally open races, which is precisely why the field includes not only Japan's top horse girls but also world-class competitors.
In that Japan Cup, Tony Bianca didn't win; she only placed fifth — but that was because she fractured a leg during the final sprint, finishing only fifth.
That's the level of strength of a European king-class horse girl of this era.
Absurd.
The current Japan Cup is also further proof of how Japan's horse girls lag behind the world.
As one of the few internationally open races, it bears the name "Japan," yet the champion often isn't Japanese.
In the Japan Cup Tony Bianca entered, even peak Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross competed — and while they beat an injured Tony Bianca, they themselves only placed third and second.
First place went to America's Pay the Butler.
The next year's Japan Cup champion wasn't Japanese either — it was the New Zealand horse girl Horlicks.
Not just those two editions: historically, after Katsuragi Ace and Symboli Rudolf won in 1983 and 1984, "the Japan Cup champion not belonging to Japan" persisted for nearly ten years until Tokai Teio finally ended the streak.
[That's my Goat fr]
So, Oguri Cap, Tamamo Cross, Inari One, and so many other horse girls… how far away are they still from the world's peak…
The melancholy drifted for a moment, but Kitahara quickly gathered himself.
"All right, let's leave that aside. Maybe with our generation's efforts, our Uma Musume might one day challenge top races like the Arc — even stand at the very peak."
At those words, disbelief instantly flashed across Komiyama and Yuzuhara's eyes — clearly they felt Kitahara's idea was a bit too outrageous.
But Kitahara didn't care about their reactions; he turned to Yuzuhara and asked,
"I haven't read through this Tony Bianca file yet, but since we're already on the subject, why don't you tell us directly?" He slightly shifted how he addressed him.
Yuzuhara pondered briefly, then nodded.
"All right."
"The events weren't complicated — they just happened a few months before this year's Arc."
"At that time, Tony Bianca had already won her fourth race of the year, becoming Italy's strongest Uma Musume. Her team then decided to begin a grand European campaign."
"The first stop was France's Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, G1, turf, 2400 meters. In that race, she lost to Moon Madness."
(Moon Madness, career 23 starts, 10 wins, 2 G1 victories — also a world-class Uma Musume… unless something changes, she'll also compete in next year's Japan Cup, Kitahara thought silently.)
[Actually lost to Village Star, Moon Madness entered 1 year earlier]
Yuzuhara continued, "After that, Tony Bianca's team headed to the UK, preparing for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes — also G1, same conditions as Saint-Cloud."
"The incident happened on their flight from France to Britain."
His expression turned serious. "That short flight encountered a sudden storm. The plane shook violently. Though they landed safely, Tony Bianca seemed to have developed PTSD."
"Her team requested aid from the UK URA Association and the international FUI Association, hoping for professional help."
"My mentor was among the responding experts, and at that time, I happened to be short of some psychological research data for my thesis, so my mentor took me along."
"The eventual diagnosis was that Tony Bianca did not have PTSD — but a mild 'bipolar tendency,' what's commonly called a 'manic-depressive tendency.'"
"Although the actual illness was different, during the early discussions, many experts proposed PTSD-related treatment plans. Those include PTSD protocols that I think we can use as reference."
"Psychological issues are very complex to treat. Even for a powerful Uma Musume like Tony Bianca, with only a mild bipolar tendency, it still affected her — she only placed third in the subsequent Queen Elizabeth Stakes."
At that, Komiyama, who had been listening intently, suddenly grew anxious.
"Wait — if even a Uma Musume like Tony Bianca couldn't resolve the problem, then Tamamo…" She trailed off, her uneasy gaze flicking around at the others.
Seeing this, Kyoko Miyamura hurried to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Komiyama. We have Dr. Kuku's medical advice, we have excellent trainers like Kitahara and Yuzuhara, plus Uma Musume like Oguri Cap, Super Creek, Inari One — and you're amazing too. It'll definitely be fine."
Yuzuhara also meant to reassure Komiyama, but his straightforward nature made comforting people awkward. He just gestured at the two women, opened his mouth without saying anything, then turned his pleading gaze toward Kitahara.
Hey now, this passing-the-buck skill — did you pick it up from the Brits or the French?
Kitahara gave a bitter little smile inwardly. Seeing his junior so distressed, he couldn't quite bear it either.
In his haste, a thought struck him.
"...Um, maybe the psychological impact isn't that big."
He tried to comfort her from another angle: "From what I know, that Queen Elizabeth Stakes Tony Bianca ran in had very strong opponents."
"Britain's Derby winner Reference Point, Britain's top stakes winner Moon Madness, America's triple G1 winner Triptych, Germany's stakes winner Acatenango — no weaker than Moon Madness…"
"Against those opponents, Tony Bianca losing wasn't astounding."
"And after returning home to rest for a month, her comeback was a six-length victory…"
"So I think Tamamo's situation — a month can fix it!" he emphasized the final words.