Chapter 118.
After Rice Shower's breathtaking Winning Live concluded, Shuta An corralled his three Uma Musumes and took them out for a modest, private celebration at a quiet restaurant near the academy.
By the time he dropped the girls back at the Tracen dormitories, the night had settled in. Just as the young Trainer was putting his car in gear to head home, his phone buzzed. A LINE notification from Kitahara illuminated the screen.
"The usual spot. You're the only one missing."
"If I reply saying I'm too tired to show up, are they going to accuse me of putting on airs because I just won the Kikuka Sho?"
Shuta chuckled to himself. He quickly typed out an affirmative reply, parked his car, and made the short walk toward the familiar bar where their small, tight-knit circle of Trainers frequently gathered to decompress.
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, the warm scent of alcohol and fried food hit him. However, as Shuta scanned the usual booth, his eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. Sitting amidst the familiar, relaxed faces of his colleagues was a man looking entirely out of place: Trainer Kuronuma.
"Well, since the dust has finally settled on this year's Classic Triple Crown, I figured it was the perfect time to get everything out in the open and clear the air."
Nishizaki Ryu announced the moment Shuta slid into the booth.
"Tonight, the drinks are entirely on me. My only condition is that Ann-san graciously accepts an apology, and Mr. Kuronuma graciously delivers one."
"Honestly, I really don't care about the press drama."
Shuta waved his hand dismissively, flagging down a waiter to order a non-alcoholic cocktail.
"Given the intense rivalry, Trainer Kuronuma's aggressive comments targeting Team Sadalsuud back in the spring were tactically understandable."
"Understandable or not, they were incredibly offensive." Kuronuma interjected, lowering his head, his hands gripping his glass tightly. "I am truly sorry."
"I just said I don't care."
Shuta replied, his tone polite but firm as he looked directly at the older Trainer.
"However, I suspect Teio cares a great deal. So, you don't need to apologize to me. Save it for her."
"Tomorrow morning. I will be at the training turf bright and early to formally apologize to Miss Tokai Teio."
Kuronuma agreed instantly, almost desperately.
In truth, following the absolute catastrophe at the Kikuka Sho, Kuronuma recognized a desperate need to repair his diplomatic relationship with Shuta An. If he didn't defuse the situation now, he had a terrifying premonition that the next time Mihono Bourbon drew Tokai Teio in a bracket, Teio's notoriously competitive personality would unleash absolute, unholy 'retaliation' upon his girl on the turf.
Later that evening, after returning to his quiet, empty home, Shuta uncorked a bottle of red wine and carried a glass out to his garden pavilion, sitting alone under the night sky.
Securing a victory at the Kikuka Sho wasn't a new experience for him. But witnessing Rice Shower achieve it with a performance that was structurally and aesthetically far more beautiful than the tragic reality of the Dream World still caused his heart to hammer with genuine, lasting pride.
However, when he closed his eyes tonight to enter the Dream World, Shuta would not be participating in the Kikuka Sho. In that alternate reality, he was already stateside, deep in preparations for next week's monumental Breeders' Cup series in America.
"It's a rare luxury... not having to ride a grueling G1 in the Dream World on the exact same day I'm coaching a G1 in the real world."
Shuta murmured to himself, taking a slow sip of the rich wine.
"Next up on the real-world calendar is Dober's retirement race. Looking at the preliminary entry list, the field lacks any overwhelming, apex-tier opponents. But knowing Dober, she is going to give this race absolutely everything she has."
This was it.
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup would be Mejiro Dober's final curtain call in the Twinkle Series, marking the absolute conclusion of her racing career. Her fierce, uncompromising attitude during their recent training blocks had made her resolve crystal clear.
"My tactical directive is simple: ensure Dober secures the victory as beautifully as possible, while maintaining an absolute guarantee that she finishes the race safely, without a scratch."
This was the solemn vow the young Trainer had made to himself.
As the calendar turned, they were entering a rare anomaly in the late-season Twinkle Series: a week completely devoid of a major G1 clash, replaced instead by four prominent, heavily contested stakes races. However, none of these races concerned Team Sadalsuud, as Shuta hadn't debuted any new junior Uma Musumes this season. His entire focus remained locked on Dober.
"The Queen Elizabeth II Cup. A 2200-meter course at Kyoto. Tactically, that specific track layout places a significantly higher premium on sustained cruising stamina rather than pure, explosive burst acceleration."
Shuta analyzed, swirling the wine in his glass.
"Factoring in that Mejiro Victoria is the only true pace-setter registered in the field, the overall race tempo shouldn't be blisteringly fast. Assuming a moderate-to-slow pace, securing the victory shouldn't pose a massive hurdle for Dober's parameters. The true challenge lies in how we execute the win. It needs to be flawless. Beautiful."
Reviewing the data, Shuta quickly arrived at a definitive tactical conclusion:
"Given the field composition, we are undoubtedly running a Senko strategy."
As for the exact positioning and gate-break mechanics, he would have to wait until the official starting gate lottery next Thursday to finalize the tactical blueprint.
—
Meanwhile, across the dimensional veil in the Dream World, Hokuto Vega was undisputedly the massive, burning sun orbiting this year's Breeders' Cup series.
Consequently, Shuta An found himself suffocated by an avalanche of international media attention.
Every racing journalist in America was desperate to secure an exclusive sit-down with the famous Japanese jockey. But the young man understood the value of media scarcity; handing out interviews recklessly diluted their impact. Ultimately, he granted exclusive access to only two premier media outlets, keeping his answers strictly focused on his competitive aspirations for the upcoming festival.
His media pull wasn't solely tied to Hokuto Vega. This year, the young jockey had been aggressively recruited, securing riding invitations for an astonishing five additional G1 races across the Breeders' Cup weekend.
It was a staggering international achievement—a fact that made Yutaka Take, who was also flying stateside next week to ride, profoundly, openly envious.
To be fair, Yutaka Take had also secured an impressive three rides for the festival, capitalizing on the formidable reputation he had built over the summer in Europe.
One of those rides would see him clashing directly on the same dirt as Shuta and Hokuto Vega.
His second assignment was the Breeders' Cup Mile, where he was locked in to ride Ski Paradise. Having piloted Ski Paradise to a brilliant victory in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp earlier in the season, Take had successfully secured the primary riding rights.
His final mount was in the Breeders' Cup Turf, piloting Intrepidity. Because Intrepidity hailed from the exact same stable as Ski Paradise, Take had masterfully leveraged his existing relationship to secure the extra mount through pure, undeniable skill.
"Although Intrepidity hasn't crossed the wire first at all this year, she consistently hits the board in major G1s. If the pace collapses, she absolutely has the late speed to contend for the upset."
Shuta had noted during a deep tactical discussion with Yutaka Take before departing Japan. Because Intrepidity had directly challenged Tokai Teio in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe the previous year, Shuta possessed an intimate, firsthand understanding of the horse's mechanics.
Take had been deeply, genuinely grateful for the tactical breakdown. It was his inaugural appearance at a spectacle of the Breeders' Cup's magnitude, and although the veteran jockey's face remained a mask of cool professionalism, internally, he was battling severe nerves.
After completing his two agonizing press obligations, Shuta finally shifted his focus to networking with his equine partners for the upcoming weekend.
While Hokuto Vega was the undeniable priority, a professional jockey could not afford to neglect his other mounts. He had to approach every single race with lethal, absolute seriousness.
For the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Shuta had been booked to pilot Serena's Song, the highly touted second-string filly from the powerhouse D. Wayne Lukas stable. Their primary target, and the undisputed ace of the stable, was Flanders—a monster who currently boasted three G1 victories and had completely annihilated the field in the Champagne Stakes by an absurd 7 lengths.
For the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Shuta had aggressively poached the mount on Timber Country—the colt fresh off a dominant victory in the G1 Champagne Stakes—directly out from under Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day.
For the Breeders' Cup Turf, Shuta secured the reins on Tikkanen, who was entering the race off a victory in the Turf Classic. The owner of the horse had pulled the young jockey aside, his expression dead serious, explicitly demanding a victory. The rationale was brutally capitalistic: a Breeders' Cup victory would exponentially inflate the horse's syndication value at auction.
For the Breeders' Cup Mile, Shuta's options had been incredibly thin. He ultimately accepted a ride on a G2-winning horse named Johan Quatz. However, the mount inspired little confidence; the horse had only managed a weak third-place finish in its most recent G2 prep race, its physical condition was completely uninspiring, and it was entirely ignored by the betting public.
Finally, and most critically, for the marquee event—the Breeders' Cup Classic—the young jockey had been flooded with lucrative offers from several premier camps, including an invitation to ride the reigning American Triple Crown winner, Tabasco Cat.
However, after reviewing the tapes and witnessing Tabasco Cat's absolutely disastrous, floundering performance in the Travers Stakes, Shuta An ruthlessly declined.
Instead, utilizing his flawless, clinical judgment, he locked in his mount: Concern, the resilient colt who had secured a gritty second-place finish in that very same race.