Chapter 81. Melbourne
To be honest, Shuta An was quite disappointed after watching the replays of Australia's mid-distance turf Twinkle Series G1 stakes races from the first half of the year. In his assessment, the currently active Uma Musume in Australia had already lost the level of talent once embodied by Folkqueen and Ellerslie Pride; the overall caliber of mid-distance competitors now appeared plainly ordinary.
"Australia is a country founded by people exiled from Britain, so Uma Musume going from Europe to make a name for themselves in the local Twinkle Series is, in essence, little different from being exiled."
(I don't know if this is true? If it isn't please remind me to change it)
These were not Shuta An's own words, but something he had overheard during conversations among British trainers at the Ebor Festival.
However, this held little significance for the young man; the prize money for the Cox Plate was considerable, the track configuration was highly suited to Silence Suzuka, and the turf was not particularly soft—closer in nature to Hong Kong—so adapting to it would not pose much difficulty.
In any case, after arriving alone in Melbourne, Silence Suzuka was already able to perform well on the local turf, and she could clearly feel that her speed had not been significantly affected.
It took twenty minutes by car to travel from Melbourne Airport to the Quest Hotel Moonee Valley. When Shuta An arrived at the hotel entrance, the hour hand pointed precisely to "9."
As he followed the attendant carrying his suitcase and prepared to enter the lobby, the young man, glancing aside almost instinctively, noticed Silence Suzuka running laps on the training ground beside the hotel.
"This is exactly the time for morning training," Shuta An thought, yet his steps did not slow.
He intended to check in quickly, place his suitcase in the room, and then come back down to observe Suzuka's training.
Shuta An's room was adjacent to Silence Suzuka's. After setting his suitcase beside the bed, he changed clothes and headed downstairs.
By the time the young man reached the training ground, Silence Suzuka had just completed her laps. She wiped her face with a towel, and without allowing herself much rest, immediately prepared for the next set of training.
Shuta An walked to the side of the field, glanced down at the towel Silence Suzuka had left on the bench, then moved to the opposite side and sat down.
Unless Silence Suzuka noticed him first, he had no intention of interrupting the carrot-haired Uma Musume's training. With only a few days remaining before the Cox Plate, every moment carried weight.
Silence Suzuka's training regimen was, by all appearances, rather unremarkable—consisting largely of rhythmic runs, followed by stretching exercises using training equipment. As Shuta An watched, he gradually leaned back against the bench and drifted into sleep.
Silence Suzuka, who had already noticed her lover sitting by the field, waited until the young man had fully fallen asleep before shaking her head with quiet helplessness.
"Since you just got off a plane and are exhausted, why not rest properly in your room?"
However, the carrot-haired Uma Musume did not pause her training. If Shuta An had not woken before she finished, she would then consider waking him herself.
Yet half an hour later, Shuta An awoke—as though he had slept for an entire century.
Pulling out his phone to check the time, the young man felt a trace of relief.
"Fortunately, I didn't sleep for too long. Sleeping like this on a bench for too long would only lead to back pain. That would easily affect my work performance."
After unlocking his phone, Shuta An posted an update on Twitter announcing his arrival in Melbourne, then uploaded several photos of the sea of clouds he had taken during the flight.
At present, Team Sadalsuud's social media accounts were far more active than before. Shuta An had instructed the Uma Musume within the team to take turns submitting photos and captions suitable for promotional use—even Rice Shower, who had only recently joined, had received such instructions.
The black deer-haired horse girl's first submission had been a photo of rice balls she made during home economics class, but the caption was far too gloomy, so Shuta An returned it and rewrote one himself.
"Today should be Teio's turn to submit photos and captions. I hope it can be used as is," the young man thought.
In contrast to Rice Shower, Tokai Teio's submissions were consistently mischievous—on one occasion, she had sent an extremely blurry photo, and when Shuta An asked what it depicted, Tokai Teio replied that it was "a streetlight taken from Maruzensky-senpai's car." The young man had nearly been amused into frustration.
He was not foolish; with a single glance, he could tell the photo had been taken from a vehicle moving at considerable speed—who knew what the speed limit on that road had been.
Shuta could not guarantee that Maruzensky had not violated any regulations, so the image was entirely unsuitable for posting. He could not allow such a potentially controversial matter to become associated with Tokai Teio.
Watching Silence Suzuka complete her training, Shuta An rose and approached her, carrying a towel and other necessities.
"Today's training results look promising. Has Suzuka already tested the turf at Moonee Valley Racecourse? How does it compare to the hotel's training ground?"
Because he asked several questions in succession, Silence Suzuka—who had no opportunity to comment on her lover having just fallen asleep—could only answer them one by one.
"I've already tested it at Moonee Valley Racecourse. The turf there retains less moisture than the hotel's, but the grass growth is significantly poorer, likely due to a longer turf renewal cycle. In short, running here is more demanding than at Moonee Valley Racecourse, so the Cox Plate should not present any issues."
"That's good," Shuta An nodded in satisfaction. "It proves that choosing this hotel was the right decision."
"The Moonee Valley Racecourse is only thirty meters away in a straight line. I've never stayed in a hotel this close to a racecourse where I was scheduled to compete," Silence Suzuka said, before shifting the topic.
"Also, congratulations, Ann, on becoming an undefeated Triple Tiara Trainer. This is your first Triple Tiara in Japan, isn't it?"
"That's true, but I haven't secured the classic three crowns yet, so there's still work to be done," Shuta An replied with a faint smile, giving a slight shrug. "Let's head back."
"Then Teio will have to work hard," Silence Suzuka followed alongside him as the two returned to the hotel.
After lunch, Shuta An went back to his room for a proper rest—the Victoria URA Association would be hosting a gala that evening, and as Silence Suzuka's Trainer, his attendance was required. It was said that the event would include a ball and a charity auction, and even if he chose not to participate directly, he still needed to make an appearance.
"Thinking about it, I'm somewhat tired," Shuta An stretched after waking, preparing to change into a suit. "I wonder what Suzuka plans to wear tonight."
The invitation from the Victoria URA Association had not specified a dress code. The young man chose a suit as the safest option, but he had no clear idea what Silence Suzuka would choose.
When he arrived outside the hotel, Silence Suzuka was already seated on a bench.
Although both had received invitations from the Victoria URA Association, the Cox Plate itself was organized by the Moonee Valley URA Association. Australia had a total of eight URA Associations, all of equal standing, reporting to the Australia URA Association—however, despite being the nominal governing body, real authority in practice rested firmly within these eight associations.
Within Victoria Province, known as "Australia's Home of the Twinkle Series," there were three such bodies: the Victoria URA Association, which oversaw Flemington Racecourse; the Moonee Valley URA Association, which controlled Moonee Valley Racecourse; and the Melbourne URA Association, which managed both Caulfield Racecourse and Sandown Racecourse.
Among them, the largest in scale was not the Melbourne URA Association, despite owning two racecourses, but the Victoria URA Association, which also held a dominant position during the annual Spring Carnival.
Therefore, even though the Cox Plate was organized by the Moonee Valley URA Association, many of the surrounding events were still hosted by the Victoria URA Association—such as tonight's gala and charity auction.
Shuta An took Silence Suzuka's hand as they walked toward the venue, presented their invitations, and were then led by an attendant into the ballroom.
"Ann, do you have any activities you plan to participate in today?" Silence Suzuka asked softly. "The auction, perhaps, or anything else?"
"Just taking a look around. Since they sent an invitation, it wouldn't be appropriate not to show up," Shuta An turned his head slightly as he answered. "I've already looked through the auction catalog—there's nothing that really interests me."
After all, it was only a charity auction, and most of the items provided by the three URA Associations were various non-private belongings contributed by G1-winning Uma Musume from Victoria Province.
"If I win the Cox Plate, would I also receive an invitation to provide something for auction later?"
Silence Suzuka suddenly considered this.
"I don't even know what kind of item would be appropriate to offer—anything I can think of feels a little strange."
"For Suzuka, it's perfectly fine to refuse," Shuta An said, having found a seat, giving a small shrug. "Besides, you won't be coming here a second time to race, will you?"
The young man understood why his lover felt uneasy—among the items listed in the auction catalog, the most common were shoes worn during past races. Perhaps guests with particular inclinations would find such things appealing—
The opening banquet was no different from those they had attended before; the two ate lightly and were soon finished. Most of their time was spent in conversation. To the carrot-haired Uma Musume's quiet surprise, most of those who came to greet them were primarily there for her Trainer—they were not using Shuta An merely as a bridge to speak with her.
Whether they were unfamiliar Uma Musume, Trainers, or officials from the URA Associations, nearly everyone who approached was able to converse with Shuta An at length.
"Ann, have you been here before?" Silence Suzuka asked during a brief lull.
"Yes, once. Though I don't recognize any of these people," Shuta An replied with a casual shrug. "The last time I came to Australia, Suzuka was probably still in kindergarten."
"Ha—" Silence Suzuka puffed her cheeks slightly. "Then Ann is more famous than anyone in Team Sadalsuud."
"That's hardly surprising, is it?" Shuta An said, holding the carrot-haired Uma Musume's hand as he continued.
"I've appeared in quite a number of industry magazines and newspapers, even across Europe and America. Not long ago, Suzuka, Dober, and I won both the International Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks. Umamusume running here is heavily influenced by Britain and America, so it's only natural that many people would recognize me."
"That makes sense," Silence Suzuka reflected for a moment, finding that her lover's reasoning was entirely sound.
At that moment, another guest approached Shuta An. "Hello, Mr. Shuta. It's a pleasure to meet you here."
The young man looked closely; the middle-aged man before him was yet another unfamiliar face.
Shuta An stood and extended his hand first. "Hello, the pleasure is mine."
"My name is Lee Freedman—Freedman," the middle-aged man said with a smile as he shook hands with the young man. "I am the Trainer of Doriemus, who will be competing in the Cox Plate, and I have long wished to meet Mr. Shuta."
"Oh?" The young man's curiosity was evident. "Have I done something that drew Mr. Freedman's attention?"
"Most certainly," Freedman's smile widened.
"Miss Oguri Cap, whom you trained, defeated FolkQueen in the Japan Cup, and Miss Sullivan, Folkqueen's Trainer, later trained another Uma Musume who completely overwhelmed my strongest runner, Super Impose, in the Cox Plate several years ago."
"Super Impose was an eight-time G1 winner, yet she was utterly powerless against her opponent. And that very Uma Musume, in an interview, stated that she was no match whatsoever for FolkQueen—It is a pity that none of my trainees ever had the chance to face FolkQueen."
"So, I have long been curious about what kind of Trainer could develop an Uma Musume capable of defeating Folkqueen," Freedman continued, his tone carrying unmistakable interest. "I have also followed your subsequent expeditions—they were truly remarkable."
At this point, he turned toward Silence Suzuka and gave a slight nod.
"Ms. Silence Suzuka is the undisputed favorite for the Cox Plate this time. Whether it is myself, Mr. Denham—Might and Power's Trainer—or the Trainers of the other competitors, we will all prepare with the utmost seriousness."
"I will also do my best to contend with all of you. After all, we are the away side," Shuta An replied evenly. "Let us meet on the track at Moonee Valley Racecourse."
"Naturally," Freedman turned back, meeting Shuta An's gaze directly. "No one here would resort to banned substances like that scoundrel Baffert, so you may rest assured, Mr. Shuta."
"I've never concerned myself with such matters," Shuta An said with a faint grin. "Even when facing Baffert in America, I had no such worries."
Freedman paused for a brief moment before his smile returned. "I spoke out of turn, didn't I?"
At that moment, word spread throughout the ballroom that the charity auction was about to begin. He turned and raised a hand in farewell. "The auction is about to start, so I will take my leave."
"I look forward to seeing Mr. Freedman again at Moonee Valley Racecourse in a few days," Shuta An said, watching his departing figure.
At the same time, the young man quietly added in his heart, "But when that time comes, I will be the one smiling."