Chapter 49. The Yasuda Kinen Unfolds with Surprises [Part 1]
On Sunday, Shuta drove early to Central Tracen Academy to pick up the three Sadalsuud team Uma Musume and head to Tokyo Racecourse to cheer for Mejiro Dober.
"Once Dober-senpai wins today, can we start preparing for our summer training camp in Hokkaido?"
Teio clearly couldn't stop thinking about the summer training camp.
"Yes, the three-month training camp will begin after your final exam results are out," Shuta explained while driving. "If any of you have to retake exams, I won't stay in Tokyo to wait for you."
"How could I possibly fail?!" Tokai Teio was very confident. "I've already taken all my classes early! It's confirmed, no problems!"
"Me too," Rice Shower quietly echoed. "Because Trainer reminded me earlier that I needed to prepare for my debut race, Teio-senpai pulled me along to apply for early exams, and I passed them all."
"No wonder when I wanted to have a study session with Rice Shower-senpai last time, she didn't agree!" Kurofune-chan held her head. "Am I the only one taking exams next week?!"
"Dober doesn't seem to have applied for early exams either," Shuta gave Kurofune some good news. "It seems you two will have the same exam schedule."
"But our grades are different…" Kurofune leaned back. "I guess I still need to find someone else for a study session."
"Which subject are you struggling with, Kurofune?" the young man asked out of curiosity.
"Math…it's a bit bad," Kurofune replied softly. "I feel like if I don't work hard to catch up, I might fail."
"I'm good at that!" Tokai Teio raised her hand. "I can tutor Kurofune-chan!"
"Then I'll leave it to Teio," Shuta settled the matter.
However, the young man was unaware that Tokai Teio's math exam this semester was rumored to have been a narrow pass.
Upon arriving at Tokyo Racecourse, Shuta first escorted the three Uma Musume through the VIP passage, handed the key to the VIP Box to Teio, and told her to open the door. Then, the young man turned and walked to the media area. As last week, he was there to receive some pre-race interviews and wait for the staff of the NHK TV Station documentary crew.
"Shuta Trainer, does Mejiro Dober have confidence in winning today's race?"
"I am not Mejiro Dober, so I cannot answer that question. But if you ask me, I would say I am very confident," Shuta Trainer shrugged.
"We'd like to know if Miss Mejiro Dober's next race has been decided?"
"Not yet. The race plan for the second half of the year will depend on Mejiro Dober's recovery status after this race."
"Who does Shuta Trainer consider the biggest opponent in this race?"
"By popularity, it's Daitaku Helios, but there's more than just her to contend with, so I can't give a precise answer to that question."
"How is Tokai Teio's recovery after the Japanese Derby?" This was the first reporter to ask about Tokai Teio.
Shuta showed a satisfied smile,
"Very good. Just like after every previous race, her appetite was strong during the celebration party on race day evening. Although she hasn't trained this past week, she's had a medical check-up, and the report shows only shows a little above normal levels of fatigue from the race. There will definitely be no problem with a good rest this summer. Her next race will be directly the Kikuka Sho."
"Are you not considering a warm-up race?" a reporter couldn't help but ask.
"Not considering it," Shuta Trainer replied seriously. "Because Tokai Teio is not the type who needs to participate in a race to find her racing feel. She can regain her race form at any time; that is her advantage which I already verified."
By the time the NHK TV Station documentary film crew staff arrived at Tokyo Racecourse, Shuta had also concluded his pre-race interview session.
Then, the young man led the film crew to the VIP Box, "Today is the last day, I hope everyone's filming work can also conclude smoothly."
"We hope so too, thanks to your auspicious words," the director said with a smile. "The documentary's promotional work has already begun, and the surveys collected so far show that many users are eagerly anticipating the final documentary."
"After all, many of the filming angles are ones not usually seen," Shuta turned back and said. "For example, the Sadalsuud team's activity room is being publicly shown for the first time. Even other Trainers in the Academy rarely entered our team's activity room before this."
"We also have to thank Shuta Trainer for his cooperation," the director chimed in. "Being able to see Shuta Trainer appear extensively in this documentary is also very appealing to many potential viewers."
"I'm not that popular, am I? After all, I'm a behind-the-scenes worker." Shuta shook his head, not quite believing it.
After entering the Box for those involved, Tokai Teio and the others noticed the cameraman following them and immediately became reserved.
"There's no need to be so stiff," Shuta Trainer said, taking a bottle of water. "Just be yourselves, especially Teio."
"Huh?" Tokai Teio was startled.
"You've been filmed messing around in private before. Being so prim now would just be unnatural,"
Shuta teased — he had seen Teio trying to steal the spotlight everywhere in the Central Tracen Academy promotional video. This version of the Tracen Academy promotional video is now very popular online, and many fans are thrilled to see the short promotional video.
After all, it's rare to see Tokai Teio in various settings.
Shuta accurately predicted the outcome of the morning's races. When lunchtime arrived, he went downstairs to the trackside and stepped onto the turf.
"Dry, good to almost firm ground." The young man turned to the cameraman and Tokai Teio. "It looks like the race times won't be slow today."
"So is that good news or bad news for Dober-senpai?" Kurofune asked in return.
"Of course, it's good news." Shuta strode past everyone. "Let's go, it's time to figure out what to eat for lunch. Do you have any preferences?"
"I want Vietnamese pho!" Tokai Teio immediately suggested. "I saw someone on Twitter showing off their fruit spring rolls with rose honey, and it looked delicious!"
"As expected, she was attracted by the rose honey, wasn't she?" Shuta thought to himself.
Kurofune and Rice Shower had no objections, so the group followed Tokai Teio to the Vietnamese pho restaurant she had been craving for a week.
The film crew's staff did not follow; their lunch was naturally handled by NHK TV Station's logistics.
"Was what Trainer said by the trackside just now sincere?"
Tokai Teio asked in a low voice.
"If the track is fast, it's generally beneficial for Dober-senpai, but this race is a mile, which is inherently a fast-paced race. I imagine other mile-specialist Uma Musumes would be better at handling a fast pace than Mejiro Dober, wouldn't they?"
"That's true," Shuta said, breaking apart a pair of chopsticks, ready to taste the pork hock pho he ordered, while explaining, "but the leading Uma Musume in this race is Daitaku Helios, and she really loves to run away from the pack."
"Indeed—" Tokai Teio had also seen this senior's races. "She really is the type of Uma Musume who loves to run away from the pack like Mejiro Palmer-senpai."
"A naturally fast-paced track, combined with the habitually fast pace of a mile race, plus Daitaku Helios from an inside starting gate," Shuta continued after swallowing a small piece of pork hock, "the race's unfolding is pretty clear. It will definitely be an extremely fast pace, exceeding that of a typical mile race."
"If it enters a fast pace that even mile-specialist Uma Musumes aren't accustomed to, then it will come down to a test of stamina and grit," the young man said, stopping there.
"In that case…" Kurofune's eyes lit up. "Both of those are areas where Mejiro Dober definitely has an advantage over the other Uma Musumes in the same race!"
"So we have to thank Daitaku Helios." Shuta nodded to Kurofune in affirmation, then continued, "This Yasuda Kinen will definitely be an extremely fast-timed race, and I believe Dober's grit can play a huge role."
As the eleventh race of the day at Tokyo Racecourse, the Yasuda Kinen's Uma Musume presentation segment officially began at 3:15 PM.
According to gate order, 18 Uma Musumes stepped onto the presentation stage one by one. Mejiro Dober clutched the hem of her clothes, muttering to herself,
"The URA Association said my second winning outfit would be ready after the Yasuda Kinen. I hope it's a winning outfit that can be worn normally in both summer and autumn, otherwise I'll have to keep wearing this one, and I'm a bit tired of it."
Just as Mejiro Dober was anticipating her second winning outfit, Yamanin Zephyr lowered her head and carefully examined the light and airy winning outfit she was wearing.
"Today is my first time wearing this outfit at a Racecourse. It really suits my taste," Yamanin Zephyr grew more and more satisfied the more she looked at it.
However, the top favorite for this race, Daitaku Helios, showed no signs of being the favorite.
After finishing her presentation segment, she rushed over to Daiichi Ruby and began to strike up a conversation with her, though somewhat aimlessly.
Daiichi Ruby, however, seemed uninterested in chatting with Daitaku Helios, and her replies were rather perfunctory. Daitaku Helios, though, either didn't notice or deliberately ignored this, continuing to discuss race-related topics with Daiichi Ruby.
Mejiro Dober watched Daitaku Helios's performance and couldn't help but think of herself, "When I first started interacting with Ann, did our conversations look like this in other people's eyes?"
Thinking of this, she crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip hard, "After the race, I really should apologize to Ann, shouldn't I?"
—
Soon, it was Mejiro Dober's turn to step onto the presentation stage. She waved to the audience in the stands, receiving cheers that were even more enthusiastic than when Daitaku Helios came on stage.
"It feels like Dober-senpai is more popular than Daitaku Helios, so why did everyone still favor Daitaku Helios when voting?"
As a Uma Musume who had been the top favorite in all five of her races, Tokai Teio truly couldn't understand why this situation occurred.
"Because this is a mile race. Dober's G1 mile record is the Oka Sho. Although her final burst of speed is very impressive to watch, it ultimately doesn't give fans as much reassurance as her middle-distance performances. It's completely understandable that everyone favors Daitaku Helios, who has won the Yasuda Kinen. Even Dober herself, I've explained this to her and told her not to mind it."
"What did Dober-senpai say then?" Tokai Teio's curiosity was always strong.
"She said she would prove that whether it's a mile or middle-distance, she is the strongest of this generation," Shuta Trainer didn't hide anything and directly relayed it to Tokai Teio.
"I want to have that kind of ambition too!" Tokai Teio clenched her fists. "Trainer! During this holiday training camp, I want to swim more to train my cardiorespiratory endurance!"
"Even if Teio didn't say it, I would do that," the young man flicked the forehead of the undefeated Two-Crown Uma Musume. "Not only that, but you also need to do extra Slope Road training."
—
When the presentation segment ended, the Uma Musumes entered the Tokyo Racecourse.
Mejiro Dober arrived at the starting gate and stomped her foot hard, feeling the recoil from the turf.
"The track today is indeed on the dry side," she confirmed this herself, giving her more confidence in the tactics Shuta Trainer had devised for her.
"Mid-pack positioning—then I'll need to pay close attention to Meiner JooB and Kamino Cresse, whowill be starting on either side of me." She recalled Shuta Trainer's assessment of these two opponents.
"The former is a leading Uma Musume, who will definitely accelerate at the start to contend with Daitaku Helios for a while, while the latter runs a stalker strategy like me. So after the start, I'll follow MeinerJooB, and when the time is right, I can cut into the inside lane. As for how Kamino Cresse runs, I won't worry about her; as long as I follow Meiner JooB forward, there definitely won't be any conflict with her."
Mejiro Dober's gaze fell on Daitaku Helios, the top favorite for the Yasuda Kinen, who looked eager to race. However, she was also doing warm-up exercises and didn't continue chatting with Daiichi Ruby, which somewhat surprised Mejiro Dober.
"She looks quite spirited, she is like Palmer-nee-san," the undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume, who had withdrawn her gaze, continued her warm-up. "But I will defeat all of you here. I want to prove that my adaptability to mile races is also the strongest!"
"I am the undefeated Triple Tiara, I will not lose here!"