At Longchamp Racecourse, Paris, a pair of Uma Musu stood side by side at the edge of the racetrack—one with long, golden hair, and the other sporting short, pink hair.
Pointing toward the lengthy straight track ahead, the pink-haired Uma Musu nodded with a smile, explaining in fluent French:
"If you really want to get accustod to this course, the best option is the Prix Ganay."
"It's the first G1 race of the season. The distance is 2100 ters, but the track shares many similarities with the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Historically, many great Uma Musu won the Arc the sa year they won this race."
"These are all things my ntor taught ."
The golden-haired Uma Musu listened silently for a mont, her expression indifferent. She finally replied, also in French:
"I recall your schedule last year included Prix Ganay, Prince of Wales's Stakes, and the Prix Verille... but that wasn't your plan the year before, nor is it this year."
"The year before last was my Classic year, so naturally it was different," the pink-haired Uma Musu nodded as if stating the obvious. "As for this year, it's my ntor's recomndation. She said I still need to make adjustnts, so I skipped registering for this one. My next race isn't until May."
She paused, looking curious.
"But didn't you say previously that Japan isn't planning any overseas expeditions this year? Why did you suddenly drag here today?"
"Could it be that soone's coming from Japan to race in France? But isn't April and May an important ti for G1s over there?"
The golden-haired Uma Musu nodded slightly.
"April and May… For Classic-year Uma Musu, there's the Satsuki Sho and Oka Sho. For older horses, there's the Spring Tenno Sho…"
As she spoke, her expression subtly shifted, and she rubbed her temples.
"Speaking of which, a certain soone is currently preparing for the Spring Tenno Sho…"
"A certain soone? Who—?"
Just as the pink-haired Uma Musu tilted her head curiously, a phone ringtone suddenly interrupted.
"Sorry, let answer this."
Pulling out her phone, the golden-haired Uma Musu glanced at the screen, smirking lightly.
"What timing… Want to say hello to 'a certain soone'?"
Intrigued, the pink-haired Uma Musu leaned in and quickly spotted the familiar figure with silver-gray hair and distinctive gray ear covers on the screen.
"Ah, it's Golshi-chan!"
Realizing who it was, she enthusiastically waved at the screen.
"It's been so long, Golshi-chan! How have you been?"
"Hello? Orfevre? Can you hear ? Over!"
A cheerful greeting ca through the phone's speaker.
A mont later, a startled cry followed.
"Wait a second! Treve?! What're you doing with Orfevre?!"
…
A few monts later.
"Kita-chan… You ntioned her before, right? Your kouhai."
Sweeping an indifferent glance toward Kitasan Black, who stood next to Gold Ship on the phone's screen, Orfevre nodded slightly.
"Winning the Satsuki Sho... Clearly she's got talent."
"As for helping with a training race before the Japanese Derby—no issues here."
"Also, Golshi—take the Spring Tenno Sho seriously. I don't want to see you pulling any nonsense there."
Ignoring Gold Ship's loud protests of, "Who do you think you are, lecturing after finishing 11th in your Spring Tenno Sho?", Orfevre calmly shifted her attention to the others.
"Good morning—or wait, it must be evening in Japan. Good evening, President Teio, President McQueen."
"My Europe inspection is nearly over, and I'll be returning to Japan soon. Chairwoman Yukishiro and President Deep Impact should already be back in Japan, correct?"
Hearing this, Gold Ship reluctantly handed the phone to Tokai Teio, still muttering grumpily under her breath.
"Hello? Can you hear clearly? Good work, Orfevre."
After greeting her warmly, Tokai Teio quickly adopted a serious, businesslike expression.
"The Chairwoman arrived yesterday and handled many duties related to the Satsuki Sho. Deep Impact-san is still in Dubai, but she ntioned she'd be returning around this ti as well."
"Understood. I'll contact you all again after I get back."
With a final nod, Orfevre ended the video call.
Handing the phone back to a still-scowling Gold Ship, Tokai Teio gave Yasui Makoto and Kitasan Black a reassuring smile.
"With that settled, there shouldn't be any problems regarding Kita-chan's training race."
"Orfevre's abilities need no introduction. Plus…"
Teio thought for a mont before continuing.
"Deep Impact-san is also returning to Japan soon. I'll talk with her later to see if she can join as well."
"Consider this my way of making up for not being available myself, Kita-chan."
Yasui Makoto nodded, accepting Teio's words without hesitation.
The Classic Triple Crown races were a once-in-a-lifeti challenge for every Uma Musu. Even winning a single race ant overcoming thousands of rivals from the sa generation.
Winning all three ant undoubtedly standing atop one's generation.
Since the start of the Twinkle Series, only seven Uma Musu had achieved this feat.
Orfevre and Deep Impact were two of them.
Orfevre, though hailing from the famously eccentric Gold Ship lineage and known for her quirky personality, undeniably possessed exceptional strength. During her Classic year, she not only won the Satsuki Sho, Japanese Derby, and Kikuka Sho, but also secured victory in the fiercely competitive Arima Kinen at year's end.
Unlike the Triple Crown races, the Arima Kinen allowed entries from all generations, aning Orfevre had bested senior elite competitors as well.
Deep Impact not only captured the Classic Triple Crown but was also among the rare few to achieve the remarkable milestone of winning seven G1 races throughout her career.
The strength of Uma Musu of this caliber was unquestionable.
More importantly, both had experience winning the Japanese Derby, so training with them would undoubtedly teach Kitasan Black valuable lessons.
With such goodwill offered, Yasui had no reason to refuse.
"Thank you all so much. I'll make every effort to prepare well for this practice race."
He solemnly promised, then fell briefly into thought.
Unlike other schools, the positions within Tracen Academy's Student Council were akin to full-fledged jobs. As Council President, Tokai Teio oversaw overall planning and Japan's racing events, while jiro McQueen primarily assisted in these duties.
As international interest in Uma Musu races grew, Vice-President Deep Impact focused exclusively on overseas affairs. Orfevre, as Overseas Events Committee mber, directly supported Deep Impact.
Based on their conversation, Deep Impact had been managing affairs in Dubai, while Orfevre had been in Europe.
As far as Yasui knew, the URA had no plans for international expeditions this year, so the two returning Uma Musu likely wouldn't have overly busy schedules.
However, they could potentially be assigned dostic race duties, so Yasui decided to clarify their availability:
"Could I know more details about their upcoming responsibilities within the Student Council? It'll help us coordinate the practice races."
"About that…"
Tokai Teio exchanged a glance with jiro McQueen before shaking her head apologetically.
"I can't discuss too much about their roles officially. But don't worry, it definitely won't interfere with the training."
"Trainer Yasui, just focus fully on Kita-chan's training. McQueen and I will handle everything else."
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