Shuta An's assessment of this generation was soon validated—at the Satsuki Sho.
In mid-April, the Satsuki Sho, the opening race of Japan's Classic Triple Crown, concluded amid unexpected turns. The winner of this G1 was not the pre-race favorite Mejiro Bright—one of the Mejiro family's young ladies who had taken the Kyodo News Hai—but Sunny Brian, a name that had drawn little attention beforehand.
(It seems Mejiro Ryan was pushed back into Mejiro Bright to accomodate the fic plot.)
Silk Lightning finished second, losing by a mere neck. Fujiyama Bizan followed in third, three-quarters of a length behind. As for Mejiro Bright, she could only manage fourth, edged out by Fujiyama Bizan by a nose.
According to Mejiro Dober, after returning to the Mejiro family's ancestral home, Mejiro Bright first paid her respects to the family's elderly matriarch. She then returned to her room and did not emerge for the rest of the day. The following morning, Dober noticed her sister's eyes were swollen like peaches—clear evidence of a night spent in tears. As her younger sister, Mejiro Dober felt deeply pained and later recounted all of this to Shuta An, hoping he might help share the burden.
But Shuta An felt no such pressure.
Mejiro Bright was not a member of Team Sadalsuud—and more importantly, in his view, her defeat in the Satsuki Sho was hardly surprising.
"A Mejiro of endurance," he murmured. "And the Satsuki Sho is a race for the fastest. There was always going to be a mismatch."
"It'd be better for the Mejiro family's Uma Musume to focus honestly on the Kikuka Sho," Shuta An continued, recalling a familiar name. "Speaking of which, Mejiro McQueen should also be preparing for the Kikuka Sho in the Dream World, right?"
By this point, he had already encountered that world's Mejiro McQueen. Frankly speaking, he found him less pleasing to the eye than the one in reality—even setting species differences aside. The Dream World's McQueen was in an awkward phase of his coat fading to gray, which did his no favors.
The Dream World's Satsuki Sho itself featured entirely different participants. Shiroi Taisei, ridden by Katsumi Minai, claimed victory. Meanwhile, Shuta An—astride the fifteenth favorite, Nichidou Thunder—somehow "stole" third place.
"That was insane," Yutaka Take complained after watching the replay. "You practically forced Nichidou Thunder's head down. In the end, you only beat fourth and fifth combined by four centimeters. Going against the rhythm like that could've ruined his stride—or thrown you off entirely."
"I didn't have a choice," Shuta An shrugged. "At that point, gambling was the only option. And it paid off. Third place was already more than his popularity deserved. Unless something unexpected happens, I'll be riding the horse Manager Kohara found for me in the Japanese Derby. I won't continue with Nichidou Thunder."
"Then I won't be taking your place either," Yutaka Take said with a pout. "I'm riding Shiroi Taisei in the Derby."
"Oh? Snatching the Satsuki Sho winner already?" Shuta An grinned. "Minai-kun must be thrilled—deep down."
"This is probably why you don't want to share a manager with me," Yutaka Take shrugged. "He won't be happy, sure—but that's the jockey world. A higher-ranked jockey taking over a main ride is normal. Just like if you made a call, Tai'an-kun, Shiroi Taisei's Derby ride would shift from me to you."
"That won't happen," Shuta An shook his head. "I hired a manager precisely so I wouldn't have to do that kind of thing myself. I've also told Manager Kohara not to actively poach other people's main rides."
"'Actively,' huh?" Yutaka Take chuckled, seizing on the word—but said nothing further.
Time passed swiftly. After Silence Suzuka's departure, no other Uma Musume or unexpected matters disturbed them, finally granting Team Sadalsuud a stretch of genuine leisure.
"Tomorrow is the Principal Stakes," Oguri Cap suddenly said, breaking the calm after watching Saturday's Central Twinkle Series broadcast.
"Right," Berno Light echoed—and at the same time, both Uma Musume turned their gazes toward Shuta An.
"So?" He raised an eyebrow. Of course, he hadn't forgotten Silence Suzuka's participation in the listed race—but there was no way he would bring it up himself. To him, Oguri Cap and Berno Light were testing him, and the bait was far too obvious.
Seeing his reaction, both Uma Musume pouted.
"No matter what," Oguri Cap insisted, "Ann should at least send Miss Tojo a message wishing Suzuka-san good luck."
They had even taken appearances into account for him.
Shuta An's mouth twitched. "There's no need. It's just a listed race. And if I congratulate this one, what about the graded or G1 races Rigil's Uma Musume run in? That'd be far too deliberate."
"Deliberate or not," Oguri Cap complained, "you, Miss Tojo, and Suzuka-san clearly understand each other. You're just making excuses now."
"One still has to maintain appearances," Shuta An admitted at last.
"But Ann doesn't think highly of Suzuka-san's talent, does he?" Berno Light cut straight to the point. "You've always been pessimistic about her Classic prospects."
"An Uma Musume's Twinkle Series career isn't defined solely by the Classics," Shuta An replied calmly. "There are many races beyond them. Even domestically, there are middle-distance turf G1s like the Takarazuka Kinen and the Autumn Tenno Sho—this is already considering 2400 meters."
"When you put it that way, there aren't actually that many," Oguri Cap mused. "But you can also arrange overseas races. Trainers in Central don't understand overseas Twinkle Series at all. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't know how."
"Just like your situation back then," Shuta An said, his tone firm. "Who in Japan would've dared send a local debutant overseas for Classic races?"
His pride surfaced unmistakably—the French Two Crowns remained his most audacious and satisfying achievement.
"Indeed," Oguri Cap and Berno Light agreed in unison.
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