After an entire day spent poring over reports on American turf Twinkle Series races, Shuta An arrived at a rather dispiriting conclusion—
America truly did not value turf racing.
Reviewing the Uma Musume who had recently competed in major American turf events, he found no one who could genuinely pose a threat to Oguri Cap.
"Looking at it this way, the real challenge lies in helping Oguri adapt to the turf at different American racecourses as quickly as possible." The young man shook his head, saying no more.
This year's Breeders' Cup Series would be held at Gulfstream Park Racecourse. Oguri Cap had never raced there before. Located in Florida, less than three and a half kilometers from the coastline, the venue hosted races year-round and enjoyed a mild, pleasant climate.
"Perhaps I should consider having Oguri focus on the East Coast," Shuta An mused. "Although that would mean losing Dr. Grace's support on the West Coast, it would allow Oguri to properly adapt to East Coast turf conditions."
With that thought, he immediately began searching through the major turf races held at Gulfstream Park, hoping to find something suitable that wouldn't interfere with the already scheduled Arlington Million.
Unfortunately, after a brief scan, he was left stunned.
Despite being open all year, Gulfstream Park hosted very few major races—only a single G1, the Florida Derby.
"I really don't understand how Americans think—" Shuta An muttered helplessly, abandoning the idea altogether. "Let's widen the scope and look at other East Coast racecourses."
Before long, he reached a decision.
"I'll register for the Turf Classic Invitational at Saratoga Racecourse. That way, Oguri only needs to run one additional race—" He paused, brows furrowing. "But I still need a way to assess the turf conditions at both tracks."
At that, his eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Perhaps I can gather information through the Dream World."
—
That evening, despite it being Monday and not requiring his presence at Ritto Training Center, Shuta An still made the trip. He sought out Trainer Setoguchi Tsutomu and expressed his desire to travel to America before summer for a short-term riding stint, gaining experience in advance of Oguri Cap's expedition.
Since he was still officially affiliated with Setoguchi Stable, going abroad naturally required the trainer's consent—though there was little chance of refusal.
After hearing him out, Trainer Setoguchi Tsutomu nodded. "Then I'll contact Mr. Yoshida at Shadai Farm and use their connections to arrange some riding opportunities for you."
"I'm grateful for your kindness, Trainer," Shuta An replied with a bow, "but this time I plan to focus on the East Coast. Last year, we were mainly active on the West Coast, so those connections won't be very useful."
He continued calmly, "Once I arrive, I'll try contacting owners and trainers active in the East. I won the American Triple Crown last year—so I should be able to secure some opportunities."
Hearing this, Trainer Setoguchi sighed. "Alright. Since you've already decided, I won't interfere. I'm not familiar with America anyway—trying to help might just hold you back."
Then, with a hint of resignation, he added, "If you're gone for a few months, Take-kun will probably reclaim the title of Japan's top jockey this year."
"It's fine." Shuta An grinned. "It's only one year. If I want that title, I can take it back anytime."
Even so, Trainer Setoguchi still contacted the Yoshida Family, informing them of Shuta An's plans for another short-term American stint.
—
"With Shuta-kun's ability, does he really need to go abroad again?" Yoshida Zenya asked, puzzled.
Yoshida Katsumi offered a different perspective. "Perhaps Shuta-kun still isn't satisfied with his skills and wants to continue refining himself."
"That makes sense." Yoshida Zenya nodded easily. "After all, he's only been active for a few years. It's natural that he wouldn't feel fully settled yet. Going out now to broaden his horizons and compete with strong opponents can only be beneficial."
"On the other hand," Yoshida Katsumi added thoughtfully, "aren't the jockeys in Central—aside from Take-kun—lacking ambition? Their skills lag far behind, yet none of them think about going abroad to improve."
"That's also because it's hard for them to get riding requests overseas," Yoshida Zenya pointed out succinctly.
"In that case—" An idea flickered through Yoshida Katsumi's mind. However, knowing it couldn't be realized anytime soon, he kept it to himself.
With Sunday Silence set to arrive in Japan for breeding after this year, he had no time to pursue anything else.
—
Unlike reality, Shuta An had few connections in the American racing world within the Dream World. Considering that Sunday Silence's trainer was also based on the West Coast, he didn't attempt to contact anyone and instead went out shopping.
"I'm heading to America in June—That gives me less than a month." He thought quietly. "I should prepare things that'll be useful on the East Coast."
The next morning, upon waking, Shuta An shook his head. "I didn't accomplish anything serious—but at least I figured out what to wear and what to bring."
After washing up, he recalled the list he had compiled in the Dream World and carefully entered everything into his computer.
"Another idle day," he muttered.
Finishing up, he rose from his desk, stretched, and prepared to head downstairs for breakfast.
Just then, his phone rang.
Shuta An quickly picked it up and saw that Symboli Rudolf had sent him a Line message.
"Shuta-kun, do you happen to have time for a commentary job?"
"Commentary? Live broadcast?" He typed back immediately. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline."
"No, it's a pre-race preview," Symboli Rudolf clarified. "It'll be published in the URA Association's official Twinkle magazine—an evaluation of the Uma Musume participating in the Japanese Derby."
"That sounds like a pretty offensive job," Shuta An grumbled.
"But if it's your evaluation," the Emperor replied calmly, "then I believe every participating Uma Musume will accept it."
Hearing that, Shuta An felt inexplicably more at ease.
This year's Japanese Derby was not a full gate.
That fact alone surprised Shuta An.
Out of the twenty available slots, only eighteen Uma Musume had registered to participate in the Japanese Derby. And his new assignment was to evaluate all eighteen within a week—and predict their prospects in the Derby.
"That's not too difficult." The young man thought calmly. "Fortunately, I've been following this generation closely and prepared plenty of material beforehand."
Yet once he actually began working, Shuta An quickly realized the task was far less straightforward than he had imagined.
The materials he had compiled earlier were meant for personal reference. Many of the phrases were blunt, casual, and unfiltered—perfectly acceptable for his own eyes, but wholly unsuitable for publication in an official magazine.
Those expressions needed revision.
And that revision was precisely where the real difficulty lay.
For instance, Shuta An found himself staring at a sentence he had written earlier:
"On Tokyo Racecourse's 2400-meter turf, leading from the front has the lowest winning rate."
No matter how he tried, he couldn't find a way to rephrase it without offending fans of front-running Uma Musume.
"Forget it." He exhaled quietly. "I'll first write my evaluations of all eighteen participants. Then I'll let Berno handle the wording."
He paused, then added inwardly,
"This kind of work really needs Berno's gentle temperament. If I write it myself, I'll just offend people for no reason."
It wasn't that Shuta An feared offending Uma Musume or trainers within Central Tracen Academy—his status alone made that irrelevant.
But no one liked making enemies without cause.
Having decided, Shuta An immersed himself fully in his work. To give Berno Light sufficient time for revision, he planned to complete the entire draft in a single day.
—
That evening, Berno Light—who had originally planned to go shopping with Oguri Cap—was handed an unexpected task.
"So much?!" She held the printed manuscript in both hands, shaking it slightly. "Ann wrote all of this in one day?!"
"A lot of it was written earlier. I just organized it this time." Shuta An explained casually, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Berno, make my words gentler within a week. Otherwise, I'm afraid some Uma Musume might cry after reading it."
He smiled faintly. "I'll have to entrust everything to you—to make sure no one sheds tears of injury."
"It is pretty harsh." Berno Light skimmed the manuscript, immediately spotting his sharp phrasing. "But Ann's evaluation of this generation is really low—"
"How could it be high?" Shuta An shook his head. "If Oguri Cap were part of this generation, I'm confident I could make her a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume." (If I remember correctly in Oguri last year Arima Kinen, Mejiro Ryan was in the generation right? Then, the Derby must be Ines Fujjn and Kikuka Sho is Mcqueen. But here is Suzuka also going for the Derby. Thus, from this point you guys should be ready to accept the timeline or characters might differ a little bit.)
"But Oguri would struggle greatly in a 3000-meter long-distance turf race," Berno Light reminded him quickly.
"That may be true," Shuta An replied calmly. "But given the overall level of this year's Classic generation—I'd only need to adjust Oguri's training. That alone would be enough to defeat all of them."
"Including Miss Suzuka?" Berno Light pressed on, surprise flickering in her eyes at her lover's assessment of her close friend.
"Of course." Shuta An answered without hesitation. "Miss Suzuka's adaptability to long-distance races is even worse than Oguri's." (Oguri's Long Attribute is B, slightly good but not the best to win if the stats lacking)
He continued evenly,
"If the Kikuka Sho were a head-to-head between Oguri and Miss Suzuka, then even without special long-distance training, Oguri would still defeat her easily."
"That's really—" Berno Light's lips twitched, unable to find a proper response.
—
After entrusting the manuscript to Berno Light, Shuta An headed to the gym to loosen the stiffness from sitting all day.
"Compared to others, I need to pay more attention to physical training," He muttered while checking his reflection in the full-length mirror.
"That's right." A voice responded from the corner.
Oguri Cap, pedaling slowly on a stationary bike, turned her head. "Otherwise, surrendering in bed would be too—"
Before she could finish, Shuta An snapped his head around in surprise.
"Oguri? Why are you here? I thought you went for a walk."
"I wanted to," Oguri Cap pouted. "But Ann gave Berno new work, so no one could come with me. The pool isn't open at this hour, so I had no choice but to exercise here."
She frowned slightly. "It's all Ann's fault."
"Your periostitis doesn't allow this kind of exercise," Shuta An immediately walked over, pressing a hand to her shoulder. "Stop now. Don't delay your recovery any further."
Oguri Cap's body trembled as she reluctantly stopped pedaling.
"But I can't run right now—" Her voice carried a trace of grievance. She buried her face against his chest, complaining softly, "It's been so long since I've had a proper run."
"It's alright" Shuta An gently stroked her head, his voice lowered. "Once you recover, Oguri will definitely be able to run freely again."
For a fleeting moment, he even considered letting Oguri Cap race for another year in the Twinkle Series. After all, the combination of her two injuries had effectively stolen an entire year of her racing career. But he quickly suppressed the thought.
Oguri Cap's retirement at the end of this year was still in her best interest. Uma Musume did not have long careers on the track—and staying too long in the Twinkle Series would severely shorten her time to earn in the Dream Trophy Series.
"It doesn't matter—" Shuta An murmured while holding her. "Even now, Oguri is still one of the strongest contenders in the entire history of Japan's Twinkle Series."
—
That night, Shuta An soaked alone in the hot spring. Leaning against the edge of the pool, he idly scrolled through his phone.
"Is scheduling four races for Oguri in the latter half of the year too much?" He frowned slightly. "She's been so eager to run lately—What if she can't restrain herself and gets injured again?"
"Or should I find a way to reduce her desire to race?"
His eyes narrowed. An idea—one he had never considered before—quietly surfaced. After drying off, he sent a Line message to the gray Uma Musume.
"Want to come over tonight?"
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