After leaving the Racecourse, Nakano Takayoshi once again extended an invitation to Shuta An on behalf of the Horse Owner.
"Hokuto Vega?"
Shuta An raised an eyebrow slightly before imdiately replying:
"I'll need to confirm whether the schedule conflicts."
"January 5th next year," Nakano Takayoshi answered directly. "The third race on the first race day of the year at Nakayama Racecourse. Dirt, 1200 ters."
"I understand."
Shuta An imdiately recalled the debut schedule for AntiqueValue90, which had already been reserved on the other side. After confirming there was no overlap, he nodded lightly.
"It doesn't conflict with the other horses I've already booked, so I'll take the Maiden Race."
However, imdiately afterward, the young man changed his tone slightly.
"Still, because I'm stationed in Kansai, I won't be participating in Hokuto Vega's training."
Shuta An could make special trips to Kanto for Rice Shower's training because Rice Shower possessed enough value to warrant that level of investnt.
But Hokuto Vega was different.
Not only had she not even debuted yet, but Trainer Nakano had also specifically chosen a dirt sprint race for her first appearance. To be honest, Shuta An was not particularly optimistic about Hokuto Vega's future prospects.
If she could not successfully extend hers racing distance later, there would be very few dirt races suitable for her.
Not to ntion that in dirt racing itself, male horses held an almost overwhelming natural advantage over mare. As a mare, Hokuto Vega would inevitably be placed at a major disadvantage once she entered dirt Stakes-level competition.
However, despite all that, Shuta An still did not mind accepting the request.
"Today's cooperation was quite pleasant. Making a trip to Kanto to improve my relationship with Trainer Nakano and Hokuto Fill's Horse Owner is completely acceptable," the young man thought calmly.
At the sa ti, however, Shuta An still had not decided whether Hokuto Fill would beco his primary Classic Race contender next year.
After all, Tokai Teio would be participating in several overseas campaigns next year, and there was a considerable possibility he would not return in ti for the Classic Race season.
In Shuta An's opinion, sacrificing the Classic Race for Tokai Teio's overseas battles was completely unacceptable. Once Tokai Teio retired at the end of next year, he could still rely on Rice Shower afterward. Then, during next winter, he could simply begin searching for a partner for the following year's Classic Race instead.
As for the Triple Tiara route on the mare side, Shuta An currently leaned slightly more toward AntiqueValue90.
"It's about ti AntiqueValue90 receives her official na," the young man thought. "I wonder what Mr. Yoshida plans to call her."
Shuta An had already seen photographs of AntiqueValue90 before.
Frankly speaking, the mare's appearance was genuinely difficult to complint.
Calling her pockmarked-faced would honestly not be an exaggeration.
Just as Shuta An finished today's interview and left Nakayama Racecourse, Yoshida Katsumi inford him of AntiqueValue90's official na.
Vega.
"What a coincidence. One Vega, and one Hokuto Vega."
Shuta An could not help inwardly complaining.
anwhile, Vega's debut race had already been decided long ago. She would officially debut on January 9th at Kyoto Racecourse in a turf 1800-ter Maiden Race.
"With Shuta-kun around, I believe Vega will definitely complete her debut smoothly," Yoshida Katsumi said confidently.
"I'll do my best."
Shuta An had not yet ridden Vega during training, so he still lacked a clear understanding of her current condition.
"The week after next, I'll ride Vega during her pre-debut training. Once I get a proper feel for her, I can give Katsumi-san a more accurate assessnt."
"Although Vega is registered under my mother's na, I'm the one handling the actual arrangents," Yoshida Katsumi replied. "In any case, I trust Shuta-kun's judgnt."
That answer imdiately made Shuta An feel much more comfortable.
It was far better than dealing with a certain representative from the Biwa family.
However, the thing that truly surprised Shuta An the most happened after he woke up once more with Silence Suzuka sleeping in his arms.
A familiar prompt from the attribute viewer suddenly appeared before him.
"Received riding requests for Vega and Hokuto Vega. Series Quest triggered: 'Vega of the East, Vega of the West'—Please achieve excellent results as the main jockey for both Vegas!"
"Both are called Vega, and that alone is enough to trigger a quest?"
Shuta An was genuinely startled inwardly.
The last ti a series quest had appeared was for Sunday Silence. Considering that this ti the quest had been triggered jointly by two horses, the young man estimated that neither Vega nor Hokuto Vega individually possessed strength on the level of Sunday Silence.
However, they likely still possessed the ability to win multiple G1 races.
"There must be so special condition behind triggering this quest—Either way, I'll probably discover the reason sooner or later next year."
Thinking that, Shuta An temporarily set the matter aside.
Because the Uma Musu lying in his arms had already clearly awakened.
"We're leaving this afternoon," the young man softly reminded her while lowering his head slightly. "Suzuka can sleep a little longer."
"Mmm…"
Silence Suzuka responded drowsily.
"Then I'll sleep a little longer…"
While Silence Suzuka was taking her nap, Shuta An began investigating this year's Arima Kinen.
A total of fourteen Uma Musus would participate in this year's race.
jiro Dober had received the third-highest number of fan votes, ranking only behind Special Week and Grass Wonder. Because of her extrely high placent in the popularity poll, she successfully obtained qualification for the race.
"This participation announcent was made far too late," Shuta An thought quietly. "If Dober's participation had been announced earlier, her popularity vote probably would have surpassed both Special Week and Grass Wonder."
After all, neither Special Week nor Grass Wonder possessed two Classic Race victories combined.
Japanese fans still placed trendous value on achievents like that.
"Still…"
"In this race, from a rational perspective, Dober aiming for third place would actually be more realistic."
Shuta An narrowed his eyes slightly as he analyzed the race conditions internally.
"If the race turns into a slow pace, Dober's final burst probably won't be as explosive as Special Week's or Grass Wonder's."
"A faster pace might suit her better—But Nakayama's turf 2500 ters demands enormous stamina, and Dober may not be able to sustain herself until the very end."
After carefully analyzing every possibility, the young man ultimately realized the sa conclusion remained regardless of pace.
For jiro Dober, the risks clearly outweighed the advantages.
"If this weren't about appeasing the jiro Family, the Arima Kinen would never have appeared in Dober's Twinkle Series schedule at all," Shuta An muttered softly to himself.
"Even if she eventually runs a retirent race in the future, Dober would still be more suitable challenging an overseas G1 rather than the Arima Kinen."
At seven in the evening, the plane finally landed at Narita International Airport.
Considering that a large number of dostic reporters were already waiting outside the airport, Shuta An still chose to personally escort Silence Suzuka back to the Academy.
At the Academy gates, Silence Suzuka accepted interviews from the reporters. She briefly discussed her retirent race and also expressed her intention to participate in next year's Dream Trophy Series.
By that point, the reporters were already quite satisfied with today's harvest of information.
However, unexpectedly, Silence Suzuka herself proactively brought up jiro Dober's upcoming participation in the Arima Kinen.
"Dober-chan's temporary additional entry was influenced by external factors," the Uma Musu said calmly into the microphones. "But I know both Dober and her Trainer will definitely fight with everything they have."
"If the result ultimately falls short of expectations—I hope everyone can still treat Dober-chan with understanding and continue supporting her warmly."
—
After a full day of rest, Shuta An arrived at Central Tracen Academy early on Wednesday morning.
Today was the day for recording the two-week pre-Arima Kinen chase video.
Although he had already sent jiro Dober the pacing arrangent for this morning's chase session while holding Oguri Cap last night, the Line ssage only displayed "read." jiro Dober herself never replied.
Because of that, the young man planned to discuss the pace distribution with her again in person this morning.
Although Silence Suzuka had already retired from the Twinkle Series, her retirent procedures had not yet been fully completed. Because of that, she could still appear at the chase recording site as a sparring partner.
Today, Shuta An intended to have Silence Suzuka maintain a deliberately slow leading pace, allowing jiro Dober to unleash as much explosive power as possible during the final 400 ters.
"The leading runner in the Arima Kinen, 'Going Suzuka,' will most likely choose a slow pace to increase her chances of resisting Special Week and Grass Wonder's final burst in the stretch."
That was Shuta An's judgnt.
The terrifying finishing power of both Special Week and Grass Wonder had already been fully displayed during the Takarazuka Kinen. Both Uma Musus belonged to the type capable of creating miracles even on extrely short straights. Therefore, even though the final straight at the Arima Kinen was comparatively short, if the pace could be controlled, then conserving stamina through a slow pace would almost certainly beco the preferred strategy.
For jiro Dober, the advantage of this situation was obvious.
A slow pace would greatly reduce the burden on stamina throughout most of the race, easing her problems with distance adaptability to a certain extent.
However, the disadvantage was equally obvious.
That would an directly competing against Special Week and Grass Wonder in a pure final burst showdown.
And Shuta An had also noticed another problem.
Because the Arima Kinen was not a Triple Tiara Route Limited Race, the skill jiro Dober had always been able to activate in previous races—
"Queen's Reign: Strengthen all abilities of the Uma Musu (small) in Triple Tiara Route Limited Race"—
would beco completely ineffective in this race.
"The opponents are becoming stronger, while Dober herself is actually weakened slightly"
The young man softly murmured to himself while walking toward Central Tracen Academy's training grounds.
"This really is difficult."
By the ti he arrived at the training grounds, Silence Suzuka and jiro Dober had already begun warming up. The URA Association's filming crew was likewise busy making preparations.
Shuta An imdiately called jiro Dober over and once more explained today's pace arrangent to her carefully.
"What about Suzuka-senpai?"
After listening to the Trainer's instructions, jiro Dober raised her head and asked quietly.
"Suzuka's only maintaining a low-intensity lead today, so Dober doesn't need to worry about her."
Shuta An shook his head lightly.
"In any case, don't raise the intensity too high for a two-week pre-race chase recording."
"I understand."
jiro Dober nodded obediently, but afterward hesitated slightly, as though she wanted to say sothing more.
"Regarding your family matters, I'll fight for you, Dober."
Shuta An gently rubbed jiro Dober's head.
"I'll definitely help you obtain the freedom you want."
"Freedom—"
jiro Dober silently repeated those words inwardly.
Ever since that brief exchange between them in the courtyard that day, this was the first ti they had discussed anything outside of training again.
"What exactly is the freedom I seek for?"
Without realizing it herself, she accidentally voiced the thought aloud.
"Does freedom need a reason?"
Shuta An lowered his head slightly, gazing at the suddenly philosophical young lady before him.
"This is your inherent right. That reason alone is already enough."
In truth, Shuta An himself did not fully understand why jiro Dober had suddenly beco noticeably softer lately.
Although this softer side of Dober possessed a kind of contrasting charm compared to her usual cold deanor, the young man also understood clearly that if jiro Dober remained in this softened state for too long, it could potentially affect his future plans.
Because of that, he needed jiro Dober to recover herself again.
Fortunately, after remaining silent for quite so ti, jiro Dober finally nodded softly.
"Yes. I understand."
Only then did Shuta An quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
"That's good."
"Dober, continue warming up. Although this Arima Kinen will beco the most difficult battle you've faced since your debut, we still have to strive to do our best. Otherwise, we wouldn't be worthy of the fans supporting us."
jiro Dober bowed lightly before turning around and leaving.
However, what Shuta An did not know was that although jiro Dober had verbally agreed just now, she did not completely agree with his reasoning in her heart.
"Because now—I already know why I must fight for freedom."
As she thought that, jiro Dober subconsciously turned her head back, her gaze eting her Trainer's from afar.
"Ever since I stopped fearing being alone with Trainer…"
—
"Wow! Miss jiro Dober's chase data today is incredible!"
Inside the observation room, the URA Association's filming staff suddenly cried out in astonishnt after seeing the newly displayed data.
"…?"
Even Shuta An himself raised an eyebrow slightly after seeing the numbers.
A 1200-ter ti of 84.6 seconds was not especially eye-catching.
However, the 800-ter split of 53.6 seconds and the 600-ter split of 37.8 seconds were already extrely impressive for cone-cutting training.
Most astonishing of all was the final 200-ter sprint.
11.7 seconds.
That final split was already good enough to appear directly in an actual race.
More importantly, jiro Dober had not even pushed herself particularly hard during this training session. Her leg movents still appeared quite relaxed throughout.
To produce this level of performance under such conditions, anyone would have to admit that jiro Dober's current form was extraordinarily hot.
"It feels like Trainer Shuta really ca prepared this ti."
"Maybe he really can defeat either Special Week or Grass Wonder?"
So mbers of the staff had already begun entertaining such thoughts internally.
However, the mont Special Week's and Grass Wonder's own training data was released, those thoughts imdiately vanished completely.
"…"
"…"
"Damn it…"
Both Nishizaki Ryu and Tojo Hana were visibly shaken.
"Special Week's condition is this good?"
"Grass Wonder too?!"
Shuta An rely shook his head calmly.
"It really will be difficult to defeat Special Week and Grass Wonder in this condition at the Arima Kinen."
jiro Dober imdiately noticed her Trainer's reaction, causing her heart to tighten unconsciously.
"In half a month— I have to face opponents like Special Week and Grass Wonder—"
Without realizing it, she clenched her fists tightly.
"I'm an undefeated Uma Musu. Can I truly protect that undefeated honor?"
This ti, jiro Dober did not ask the Trainer beside her that question.
Because she could already tell.
Even Shuta An himself was not especially confident.
"Let's do our best."
However, just as jiro Dober was silently lost in thought, Shuta An suddenly reached out and grasped her hand firmly before staring directly into her eyes.
"Show the spirit of an Undefeated Triple Tiara. No matter how strong the opponent may be, we cannot retreat. Because we represent the face of our entire generation."
"Yes!"
For a brief instant, jiro Dober was completely swept up by Shuta An's aura, and responded loudly in a manner utterly unlike her usual self.
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