Chapter 71. André Fabre's Arrangements and Shuta An's Invitation
In the Dream World's Yorkshire Oaks, Shuta An and Only Royale effortlessly defeated User Friendly and Duffield, claiming victory in both the Dream World and reality at the same time.
"I still have forty days before I return to Japan,"
Shuta An remarked to André Fabre after speaking with Only Royale's Trainer following the race.
"Mr. Shuta, aside from riding Tokai Teio in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, do you have any other scheduled rides on Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Race Day?"
André Fabre asked, immediately understanding the implication behind the young man's words.
"I'll be riding Rice Shower in the Prix du Cadran. She's also one of my main horses in Japan," Shuta An replied.
"Then that means you still have no riding assignments for the remaining races."
André Fabre wasted no time and extended an invitation directly.
"In that case, allow me to arrange mounts for Mr. Shuta in the other races on Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Race Day."
Fabre had clearly prepared this proposal in advance, speaking almost without pause.
"For the G2 Royal Turf Stakes, Mr. Shuta can ride Apogee, who previously won a G3 over the same course."
"For the G1 French Principle Stakes, Mr. Shuta can partner Signe Divin, the leading new horse from my stable this year."
"For the G2 Dollard Stakes, Mr. Shuta can ride Aika Kingdom, with whom he has worked before."
"For the G3 Laidy Stakes, Mr. Shuta can ride Raintrap, winner of the G2 Grand Prix de Jacgari."
"For the G2 Wisden Stakes, Mr. Shuta can ride Kitwood, this year's Yasuda Kinen winner."
"For the G2 Opera Stakes, Mr. Shuta can partner Elizabeth Bay, with whom he previously achieved success at Ascot."
"For the G1 Marcel Boussac, Mr. Shuta can ride Flagbird from my stable, who finished second in the French G2 Prix Aime Man."
"And for the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, Mr. Shuta can ride Monde Bleu, who is about to contest the G2 Prix de Mortel."
Across the two-day Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Race Day program, there were ten graded races in total. André Fabre was offering Shuta An eight mounts, each aboard a horse with legitimate winning prospects.
Adding Tokai Teio and Rice Shower to the list, Shuta An could now confirm a full schedule across both days of the festival.
"No problem on my side," Shuta An replied immediately, appreciating the sincerity behind Fabre's offer.
—
After spending another day resting in York, Shuta An and Mejiro Dober began their journey back to Hokkaido. Mejiro Dober would remain there for two days before traveling alone to Paris to acclimate herself to the local climate and turf conditions in preparation for the upcoming Prix Vermeille.
As for Shuta An, he planned to stay with Tokai Teio and the others until the end of the summer break before heading to Paris himself to reunite with Mejiro Dober.
"Now I can finally understand why Kitahara-san and the others are reluctant to arrange overseas expeditions for the Uma Musume on their teams,"
Shuta An reflected.
"With only Dober overseas, my schedule is already constantly in chaos. I can't even imagine how much worse it would be if every member of a team was traveling abroad."
For perhaps the first time, he felt genuinely grateful that Team Sadalsuud had never pursued a quantity-over-quality philosophy.
When the two arrived at New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, it was exactly noon.
"Should we eat lunch at the airport, or head back and eat with Teio and the others?" Shuta An asked, turning toward Mejiro Dober while pulling his suitcase.
The undefeated Triple Tiara winner, fresh off her eleventh G1 victory, raised a hand to shield her eyes and looked around the terminal. After a moment of consideration, she shook her head.
"I'm not really interested in anything here. Let's go back to the resort. I think Teio and the others are probably waiting for us."
"Then straight to the resort it is." Shuta An snapped his fingers. "If it weren't for that ridiculous URA Association regulation, Dober wouldn't have had to make this extra trip with me."
"But if the URA Association didn't feel indebted to Ann, would the IFUA Japan Regional Scoring Committee have handed authority over to you?"
Mejiro Dober asked as she walked lightly beside him, showing no signs of fatigue from the long journey.
"A lot of people seem to covet that power."
The airport was bustling with travelers rushing back and forth. Few people paid attention to strangers around them.
In addition, Mejiro Dober had deliberately worn sunglasses as a disguise. As a result, even though they could hear countless discussions about the Yorkshire Oaks from two days earlier, nobody realized that the undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume responsible for that historic performance had just walked past them.
Once they settled into the car, Mejiro Dober leaned against her lover's shoulder and let out a soft sigh.
"Everyone at the airport was talking about the Yorkshire Oaks."
"Winning by eighteen lengths tends to have that effect,"
Shuta An replied knowingly.
"After all, it's an unprecedented result in the history of Central Tracen Academy's overseas expeditions. It's just unfortunate that Dober still has to prepare for the Prix Vermeille. Otherwise, she'd probably be signing endorsement deals nonstop right now."
"I don't really care about those."
Mejiro Dober puffed out her cheeks slightly before explaining,
"And I'm not just being modest. Even if I never accepted a single endorsement deal, Ann already earns more than enough to support me, right? So hearing about those missed opportunities doesn't really bother me."
"I'm not trying to make Dober feel bothered. I'm just stating facts."
Shuta An shrugged.
"Still, Dober should only say things like that to me and to everyone on the team. If outsiders hear it, they might misunderstand."
"I know, I know." Mejiro Dober extended a finger and pressed it lightly against his lips. "I'm not a child anymore. I wouldn't say something like that in public."
Shuta An subtly brushed his tongue against her fingertip.
Startled, Mejiro Dober immediately withdrew her hand. Her face flushed red as she turned away.
"Don't tease me here."
"But Dober always seems to enjoy it whenever she gets excited—"
Before he could finish speaking, Mejiro Dober pinched his waist.
"Hiss—"
Shuta An immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
After returning to the hotel at Hoshino Tomamu Resort, Mejiro Dober and the others headed to the restaurant for dinner, while Shuta An took his phone and prepared to enjoy a bath.
He sorted through the photographs he had taken in York, edited them into several sets, and uploaded them across Team Sadalsuud's official social media accounts.
The comment sections exploded almost instantly with enthusiastic fans.
Shuta An didn't bother reading the reactions or interacting with anyone. He simply closed the apps and opened Line instead.
"Is anyone planning an overseas expedition for this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Race Day or the Breeders Cup Series?"
For the first time in quite a while, Shuta An appeared in the shared Line group for Central Tracen Academy Trainers.