Chapter 96. Always Drawing the Outermost Gate
Thursday arrived, and the Central URA Association officially announced the final entry list for the Kyoto Nisai Stakes.
A total of nine Uma Musume would participate.
Among them, Tokai Teio stood unquestionably at the center of attention.
Her dazzling debut performance from the front had already ignited heated discussion across countless Twinkle Series forums and fan communities. On various social media platforms, many viewers had even begun proclaiming Tokai Teio as next year's "Undefeated Triple Crown" candidate in advance.
Naturally, praise that excessive also invited backlash.
Many people had already started hoping another Uma Musume in the same race would step forward and shatter Tokai Teio's momentum.
However, regardless of how fiercely the fans argued online, none of it drew the slightest attention from either Shuta An or Tokai Teio.
Because for them—the Kyoto Nisai Stakes itself was merely another step forward.
Considering this was Tokai Teio's first true long distance expedition race, Shuta An personally picked her up from Central Tracen Academy early that morning and brought her directly to a hotel he had already reserved in Kyoto Prefecture.
"Tomorrow afternoon, after the starting gate assignments are announced, we'll hold a strategy meeting before the race."
Inside the hotel room, the young man calmly explained the schedule while organizing their luggage.
"After that, Teio, you'll enter race isolation at Kyoto Racecourse."
"The staff there will call you tomorrow morning for the standard inspection procedures. Remember to personally watch them seal the sample afterward to avoid any future disputes."
"Eat a proper breakfast tomorrow morning. You can reduce lunch slightly if you want. And after you win the Kyoto Nisai Stakes tomorrow afternoon—"
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I'll take Teio somewhere good to eat in Kyoto."
"Okay!"
Tokai Teio's eyes instantly sparkled.
Although her appetite could not compare to monsters like Oguri Cap or the Special Week-senpai from Team Spica, Tokai Teio still considered herself something of a gourmet.
At the very least—
She firmly believed herself to be an authority regarding the honey drinks sold around Central Tracen Academy.
Naturally, Shuta An had not reserved only one room.
After escorting Tokai Teio to the adjacent room, the young man returned to his own suite, changed into his pajamas, and prepared to rest for a while.
Last night, Oguri Cap had returned from Kansai.
And after discovering that Shuta An himself would be leaving for Kansai early the next morning, the gray-haired Uma Musume stubbornly stayed awake beside him until nearly dawn.
When he finally departed in the morning—Oguri Cap was still sleeping soundly.
"I didn't get any chance to rest at all—"
Shuta An muttered quietly while adjusting the air conditioner temperature before climbing onto the bed.
"And tonight, I absolutely can't let Teio randomly try unfamiliar food either. If she gets an upset stomach, or accidentally consumes something problematic before the race, things become troublesome."
"Everything has to remain stable before the race."
While quietly listing the details he needed to pay attention to later, the young man gradually drifted off to sleep.
By the time evening arrived, Shuta An had already been awake for over an hour when someone knocked on his hotel room door.
The young man got up and opened it.
"Trainer! Let's go eat dinner together!"
Tokai Teio stood energetically outside the doorway, smiling brightly at him.
"Alright. Wait a second."
Shuta An agreed almost immediately without hesitation.
After returning to the bedroom to change clothes, grab his wallet, and close the room door behind him, the young man glanced toward Tokai Teio.
"Is there any place Teio wants to go? Your race is the day after tomorrow, so I don't recommend anything too stimulating."
"I know already." Tokai Teio shook her head immediately. "I'm not like El Condor Pasa-senpai. Among everyone I know, she's basically the only one obsessed with spicy food."
"Kaichou also reminded me to keep my meals light before the race. So I won't make things difficult for you, Trainer."
"As if Teio could trouble me even if she wanted to."
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Shuta An's lips.
Tokai Teio seriously lowered her head and thought about it for a moment before nodding honestly.
"That's true. I really don't seem to have any way to deal with Trainer yet."
Then she quietly muttered to herself—
"This won't do—Just like Dober-senpai and Suzuka-senpai—"
"I need something that makes Trainer pay special attention to me too."
Afterward, the two simply had a light duck hot pot meal at a nearby restaurant before returning to the hotel together.
"Trainer, you should sleep early too!"
Tokai Teio waved her hand energetically before returning to her own room.
Only after watching her close the door did Shuta An finally turn around and head back toward his own room.
"Tomorrow's schedule is basically empty—"
Leaning lightly against the bed frame, the young man quietly muttered to himself.
"I might as well use the time to organize contingency plans for different gate assignments. Although honestly—"
"even if Teio simply takes the lead from the start, the others probably still won't be her opponents."
Even so, Shuta An clearly had no intention whatsoever of allowing Tokai Teio to experiment recklessly with unfamiliar race tactics.
Because the objective ahead of them was the Undefeated Triple Crown.
Under those circumstances—caution always took priority.
Whether it involved race selection or tactical decisions, he refused to take unnecessary risks.
"Although forcing Teio through the Kikuka Sho itself is already a gamble considering her distance aptitude—"
The young man quietly recalled the training methods Toyama Tameo once used for Mihono Bourbon in the Dream World.
"Still, based on the overall level of Teio's generation there shouldn't be many terrifying long-distance specialists."
"As long as I can create a slower race environment, Teio should still be able to steadily display her strengths over longer distances."
Even before the Classic Triple Crown had officially begun—Shuta An had already more or less outlined Tokai Teio's future Kikuka Sho strategy inside his head.
"For Teio, the most troublesome scenario is an extremely fast pace. A runaway runner will definitely become a difficult opponent for her in the future."
"If possible— should I deliberately avoid matching Teio against reckless front-runner during her senior year?"
While pondering quietly, Shuta An rolled over and sat up from the bed.
"But that's a problem for after the Kikuka Sho."
The young man stood in front of the mirror, quietly examining himself.
"Not needing to attend endless social banquets really is convenient. Otherwise I'd have to waste time dressing formally again."
—
Meanwhile—
Tokai Teio herself was still fast asleep on her bed.
Because she had been too excited last night after realizing she would finally experience the atmosphere surrounding a true major race expedition, she barely managed to sleep at all.
As a result, she only barely succeeded in waking up this morning, eating breakfast, doing a bit of light exercise—and then immediately fell asleep again afterward.
The following afternoon, the Central URA Association officially released the gate assignments for the Kyoto Nisai Stakes.
Tokai Teio drew—
Gate 9.
The outermost gate.
"Seriously, this isn't just my imagination anymore, right?"
The moment Shuta An saw the results, he immediately complained aloud.
"Why does it feel like Team Sadalsuud keeps drawing the outermost gates at absurdly high frequency?"
The young man silently memorized the matter.
The next time the URA Association came asking for his assistance again, he fully intended to raise the issue properly.
Because constantly assigning the outside gate in major races truly bordered on unreasonable.
If Team Sadalsuud's Uma Musume were not overwhelmingly favorable situation nearly every single time—the disadvantages created by outer gate assignments could genuinely become fatal.
Saturday.
The sky above Kyoto Racecourse was perfectly cloudless.
Warm sunlight hung lazily overhead, making even the atmosphere throughout the racecourse itself feel sluggish and drowsy.
Shuta An sat quietly inside the stakeholder box, narrowing his eyes slightly as he observed the turf below.
Today's track condition was officially rated as Good. That alone was enough to reassure all nine participating Uma Musume.
Still—
If it had turned into a heavy track instead, Shuta An believed Tokai Teio's victory would have become absolutely certain.
"None of the others have proven themselves on heavy ground before. And in the Dream World, Teio actually performs explosively under those conditions."
"She would've been completely in her territory."
The young man carried extremely high expectations for Tokai Teio.
After all, this was the partner who had once conquered both Triple Crown races and overseas G1 stages together with him in the Dream World.
Although Mejiro Dober had already secured seven G1 victories during her Classic year, and surpassing Oguri Cap in total G1 count someday was likely inevitable—
Those victories still belonged exclusively to the Triple Tiara route.
If one truly compared prestige and historical value—they still could not genuinely stand equal to Oguri Cap's achievements.
But Tokai Teio was different.
In Shuta An's eyes—
Among all members of Team Sadalsuud, Tokai Teio possessed the greatest potential to someday surpass even Oguri Cap herself.
Of course, talent alone was not enough.
A genius like Tokai Teio required extremely careful planning and nurturing.
"After the Kyoto Nisai Stakes, Teio's next target will be the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. Next year, she'll only run four races."
"The Classic Triple Crown and the Arima Kinen."
"As for her schedule during the senior year after that—We'll discuss it when the time comes."
Tokai Teio's next five races had already been fully arranged inside Shuta An's mind.
And frankly—
There was no reason to discuss those plans with Tokai Teio herself. If he did, she would almost certainly demand additional races simply to satisfy herself.
But Shuta An understood something very clearly.
Tokai Teio's legs were not particularly durable.
Before she achieved the title of Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume—he would never permit injuries to interfere with her future.
"Even if injuries in reality can never be completely avoided—I still need to delay them as much as possible."
The young man glanced at the time displayed on his phone.
"Besides, I already built a solid foundation for Teio much earlier than in the Dream World. Logically speaking, the probability of injury should decrease."
However—probability was still probability.
Even unlikely things could occur if luck turned against you.
All Shuta An could do was maximize the chances that fortune itself remained standing beside the Uma Musume he trained.
At exactly 2 PM, Tokai Teio stepped onto the paddock display area.
The pre-race presentation for the Kyoto Nisai Stakes had officially begun.
Dressed in simple training attire, Tokai Teio practically bounced onto the paddock with lively energy.
Then she immediately waved toward the grandstand.
Because the distance was not particularly far, she instantly spotted her Trainer among the crowd.
Shuta An stood near the finish-line area, holding a bottle of water in one hand while casually flipping through information on his phone with the other.
Only after Tokai Teio appeared did the young man finally look up.
The moment she waved enthusiastically toward him—Shuta An quietly slipped his phone into his pocket and waved back in return.
"Trainer really hasn't changed at all—"
Tokai Teio's smile instantly became even brighter.
"He still prefers standing outside near the track before the race starts."
And once that radiant smile appeared beneath the paddock lights—
The surrounding crowd's enthusiasm visibly surged upward.
Although today's featured race was technically the Kyoto Nisai Stakes—Most discussions throughout Kyoto Racecourse still revolved around tomorrow's Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse instead.
This year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe champion Montjeu would arrive there together with elite Uma Musume from Hong Kong and other overseas powerhouses.
As for the domestic side—
El Condor Pasa had already retired.
Grass Wonder chose to avoid the race.
Seiun Sky entered in questionable condition.
After everything was considered carefully, the only truly powerful Japanese contenders remaining were Special Week and Stay Gold.
"Again—this year's Japan Cup has nothing to do with Team Sadalsuud."
Shuta An quietly watched Tokai Teio step down from the paddock.
"Next year, I might consider letting Dober challenge the Japan Cup. But this year—"
"I'll let her rest properly."
Because she had drawn the outermost gate, Tokai Teio naturally became the final Uma Musume to enter the starting gate.
After yesterday's gate assignments were announced, Shuta An had already thoroughly analyzed all eight of her opponents for her.
"Just maintain a solid Senko position— And then—whoosh!—blast through the final straight!"
Tokai Teio clasped one wrist with her other hand while rotating it lightly, then stepped into the gate with a confident smile.
Soei Muteki, positioned in Gate 8, glanced sideways toward Tokai Teio.
"So this is the girl everyone's calling next year's Undefeated Triple Crown— I don't feel any pressure from her at all."
Even so—
She had absolutely no intention of underestimating Tokai Teio.
The name "Sadalsuud" alone was already enough to force every local Uma Musume into maximum vigilance.
"The only real opponent here—should I use a marking strategy against her?"
Soei Muteki silently made her decision.
After the gates opened, she intended to stay directly behind Tokai Teio and pressure her throughout the race.
Unfortunately—
What she did not know was that Tokai Teio herself had already prepared mentally for being heavily marked in races.
"I need to get used to this sooner or later anyway. There are only nine runners here including me. But the Triple Crown races usually have eighteen or even twenty participants."
"The Kyoto Nisai Stakes and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes are basically homework assignments for me. I need to identify my weaknesses and correct them beforehand."
Tokai Teio slowly lowered into her starting stance and adjusted her breathing rhythm.
"Even if it's homework—I'll still hand in a perfect score."
A few seconds later—
Click.
The sound of the gate unlocking rang clearly inside Tokai Teio's ears.
Her body reacted instinctively.
She exploded out of the gate the instant it opened.
In the very next moment, Tokai Teio glanced toward the inside lane and immediately realized her start had surpassed several runners positioned further inward.
Without hesitation, she accelerated diagonally inward to secure position.
Soei Muteki's eyes instantly brightened.
"Perfect! This makes marking Tokai Teio much easier!"
Naturally, Tokai Teio herself also understood that forcibly cutting inward from an outside gate would make it easier for opponents behind her to target and follow her.
But she simply did not care.
"My first objective is becoming an Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume. A G3 race won't stop me."
Tokai Teio aggressively cut toward the rail while maintaining an ideal Pace-chaser position around fourth place.
At the same time, she minimized the distance lost from the wide outside gate as much as possible.
"For now, I'll maintain this position."
She did not even bother trying to analyze the pace intentions of the front-running Uma Musume.
Because regardless of whether the pace became fast or slow—She intended to break through everything head-on with absolute force.