Chapter 79. Oguri One and Tasan Tsuyoshi
On Sunday, Shuta An didn't go to work but stayed home obediently. Oguri had made the rare trip back from Kasamatsu.
"It's been a long time since we've spent time together like this."
The Gray Uma Musume sighed, resting her head on her lover's lap.
"Oguri seems much sharper than before."
The young man responded, stroking Oguri's sideburns.
"Is it because you've been interacting with people more outside?"
"Maybe?" Oguri herself wasn't sure. "After all, Kasamatsu has so much more that needs to be built compared to Tokyo."
"Does Oguri want Kasamatsu's urban development to catch up to Tokyo? That's impossible."
Shuta An pinched the Gray Uma Musume's cheek.
"If it's just Tracen Academy, it's actually very difficult, but some equipment and such are fine."
"The Uma Musume at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy are all working very hard now, but everyone finds it quite difficult to catch up to the Uma Musumes of Central Tracen Academy."
Oguri sighed.
"Although I'm reluctant to admit it, talent is still very important in the world of Uma Musumes. On average, everyone at Kasamatsu is far less talented than those at Central Tracen Academy, and even with hard training later, they can't close the gap much."
"That's why what I did back then was to let Oguri go out, so your talent wouldn't be buried."
Shuta An paused.
"For the Uma Musume at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy now, as long as they have the talent to go out, they will definitely not be buried. It's much better than it was for Oguri back then."
"Thinking about it that way, it's true."
Oguri responded after a long silence.
"What do you want to eat tonight?" Shuta An asked, rubbing her head. "If we don't have enough ingredients at home, we can go grocery shopping."
"Ugh! I don't particularly want anything. Ann, just make whatever you like." Oguri got up. "It's just the two of us at home tonight."
"Yes." The young man stood up with her. "Then I'll go to the kitchen to experiment."
—
After the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, Oguri nestled in her lover's arms, listening to him talk about Tokai Teio and Mejiro Dober's future plans.
"Everyone has plans for their future."
The Gray Uma Musume rubbed against the young man's chest.
"Only I am thinking of having a child after retiring from the Dream Trophy Series."
"But Oguri didn't seem surprised about Teio."
Shuta An muttered to himself.
Although he didn't speak, Oguri saw through the young man's thoughts and said softly.
"Teio's gaze towards Ann has been off for a long time. Berno and I discussed when Teio would finally give in. Originally, I guessed after winning the Kikuka Sho, but Teio has more patience than I thought."
"It was also because the Arima Kinen was coming up soon, and Teio's attitude towards races was clear, so neither of us brought it up."
The young man chuckled awkwardly, explaining.
Oguri extended her index finger and pressed it against his lips.
"It's my turn."
"Once everything settles down later." Oguri leaned into Shuta An's embrace and continued. "I plan to return to Kasamatsu, like Tama, and focus on revitalizing the local area. For me, Kasamatsu is my only hometown."
"Then I'll move there too?"
Shuta whispered into her ear, blowing a puff of air.
The Gray Uma Musume's ears flattened, and she shook her head.
"No need. Ann, as a Trainer, will definitely need to be based in Tokyo. We can't delay Kurofune-chan and the others because of my matters, can we?"
"Oguri, why don't you just split your time, half a month in each place?"
Shuta An suggested.
"Hmm, that's what I was planning anyway." The Gray Uma Musume looked up, pouting. "Does Ann really think I could resist being away from you for more than half a month after I'm free?"
"I don't think so."
Shuta An's mouth twitched. The Uma Musume in his arms had been as passionate as fire just moments ago, almost setting the sheets ablaze.
The two chatted until late into the night, then embraced and fell asleep.
—
After the young man fell into the Dream World, he opened his eyes to find himself in the jockey waiting room at Sapporo Racecourse, just as he had been last night.
"Today I have five riding commissions."
Shuta An muttered to himself.
The most important, of course, was Oguri One's Maiden Race, followed by Tasan Tsuyoshi's debut race.
To be honest, between these two races, Shuta An had the most confidence in the latter. After all, the SS Creator skill's effect in the Dream World was:
"All horses in the Dream World with Sunday Silence's genes in their bloodline will obey your riding commands and develop a fondness for you."
It could be said that although Shuta An hadn't met Tasan Tsuyoshi yet, he was certain he could work well with Tasan Tsuyoshi. This was also a major reason why Shuta An wasn't angry when his agent said Tsurudome Akio might partner Tasan Tsuyoshi with other jockeys in the future. As long as it was a Sunday Silence bloodline, Shuta An could make it do his bidding at any time.
"Considering that Tasan Tsuyoshi himself doesn't belong to the Yoshida Family's three brothers, he probably isn't among the most anticipated Sunday Silence foals this year."
The young man mused.
Today's main race at Sapporo Racecourse was just an OP race, and today's Central major stakes was the Sekiya Kinen held in Niigata, but Sapporo Racecourse today gathered several top-tier jockeys—Shuta An, Yukio Okabe, Matoba Hitoshi, Minai Katsumi, and Tahara Seiki.
While Shuta An was deep in thought, Tahara Seiki leaned over.
"Shuta-kun's riding in America was truly splendid. Hokuto Vega is also incredibly powerful."
"Everyone in the stable worked very hard to take good care of Hokuto Vega."
Shuta An turned his head, shrugging.
"She still has a G1 race in half a month."
"Give me a hint." Tahara Seiki was very curious. "Is Hokuto Vega not planning to return to Japan?"
"No, that's not the case; she will definitely come back."
Shuta An waved his hands repeatedly.
"That's good." Tahara Seiki breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll tell you something. This Wednesday, I drank with some friends from the local circuit, and they said that starting next year, some local races will be open to Central Racehorses, and the prize money for those races will also increase. Hokuto Vega absolutely cannot miss out then."
"Local?"
Shuta An was startled. He hadn't been in contact with Kasamatsu for a long time.
Then he smiled.
"Thank you, Tahara-san, for the information. I think Trainer Nakano will also make his own judgment."
"This is just a small repayment for Shuta-kun helping me out back then with Sanei Thank You."
Tahara Seiki waved his hand, responding with a wry smile.
"And this bit of information isn't nearly enough to offset it."
"You can't hold back on the Racecourse."
Shuta An, seeing that the first race he was to participate in was approaching the parade ring, quickly got up and left with this remark.
"Of course! I would never fix a race!" Tahara Seiki couldn't help but laugh and curse.
—
Shuta An's first race today was the second race at Sapporo Racecourse, a 1000-meter dirt Maiden Race.
In such a super-short distance race like 1000 meters on dirt, the earlier the position, the better. After the starting gate opened, Shuta An directly pushed hard on his partner for this race, Platina Card.
Platina Card was very cooperative, and after feeling the push from the saddle, it burst out of the starting gate at an extremely fast speed, then easily took the lead at the front of the pack.
Immediately after, it didn't even need Shuta An to give other instructions; after turning into the final straight, Platina Card very consciously began to accelerate.
It wasn't that its running instincts were extremely sharp; it was simply because Platina Card had already run on the Sapporo Racecourse 1000-meter dirt track three times, and all three times it had finished second.
Even the dullest Racehorse should have learned from experience and applied it to this race.
As they were about to cross the finish line, Shuta An looked back and saw that Nishiyama Family's Brand Fancy had been left four lengths behind by him and Platina Card.
"The gap in strength is too big; this race was won effortlessly."
Shuta An muttered to himself.
"This 250,000 yen was earned too easily; I almost feel a little embarrassed."
That being said, the young man would not dislike less money. One must know that prize money won in the Dream World would be converted to the real world.
"I'm also running in the next one, so I'd better dismount, say hello to Platina Card's Trainer and Horse Owner, and then go get ready."
Having made up his mind, Shuta An guided Platina Card to the dismounting area.
After a brief chat with Platina Card's Trainer and Horse Owner, Shuta An bid them farewell and left.
He first returned to the changing room to put on the jockey silks he would wear for the next race, then went back to the lounge and got a glass of water.
The next race was a 1700-meter dirt race, and he was to ride Flaring Life from the Japan Diners Club.
However, Shuta An, no, everyone in the industry knew that the so-called "Japan Diners Club" was essentially a syndicate club co-operated by Diners Club credit card company and Yoshida Katsumi, with Yoshida Katsumi himself in charge.
Although Flaring Life's previous race results were very poor, out of respect for Yoshida Katsumi, Shuta An still accepted the riding commission for Flaring Life.
In the end, Flaring Life finished third in this race. Shuta An shook his head after dismounting and looked at Flaring Life's Trainer, Okubo Yoshio.
"With all due respect, Flaring Life is a turf horse; on dirt, it's just a waste of time. Its strength is simply not enough to handle dirt. I've done my best in this race."
Okubo Yoshio really wanted to complain that Flaring Life's debut race was on turf and it lost terribly, but everyone knew that Shuta An and Yoshida Katsumi were close friends, so he could only pinch his nose and "hmm" in agreement.
"I will study it thoroughly later."
He replied.
"This horse can probably win two or three races in JRA." Shuta An patted Flaring Life's head. "Its ceiling is indeed not high, but it's still decent."
After all, so many Racehorses each year don't even make it to their debut race.
—
The next two races were Shuta An's main events today.
For the first 1000-meter dirt debut race, the young man rode Oguri One onto the track.
"He really looks like his father."
When Shuta An saw Oguri One in the waiting area, that was his first reaction.
"I'm counting on you, Shuta-kun!"
The Groom bowed deeply after helping him onto the saddle.
"Oguri One is Oguri Cap's first offspring, and it's been three months since this 2-year-old debuted this year. Oguri Cap's offsprings' currently have 0 wins in JRA, and I naturally have to break this awkward situation."
Shuta An mused.
"However, my initial worries seem to have actually come true—Fortunately, I received that reward earlier, otherwise, if Oguri's child was an Uma Musume but had no talent; that would be too cruel for that child."
It was another 1000-meter dirt race.
This time, to achieve his pre-race goal, Shuta An slowly coiled the reins after entering the starting gate, making sure his movements weren't noticed by the jockeys on either side.
When the starting gate opened, he pulled up, then relaxed the reins, and then pushed. Oguri One's starting speed was significantly faster than the other Racehorses.
"Wow, it's just a debut race, and Shuta-kun is already using such techniques?"
Matoba Hitoshi complained.
"Everyone will be on guard for the later races today."
"Because he wants to give Oguri Cap her first JRA foal win, right?"
Tahara Seiki, however, could understand.
"Three months with 0 wins, that record is indeed a bit awkward."
"Anyway, I heard that Shadai is preparing to reduce resources for Oguri Cap." Matoba Hitoshi sighed. "But the Yoshida Family said they wouldn't send Oguri Cap away and would care for him until old age, which should be enough."
"If the current results continue, Shadai has no reason to invest resources." Tahara Seiki expressed his understanding. "You know, business is business."
Shuta An also knew this. He knew that even if he helped Oguri One win today's race, Oguri Cap's breeding resources would decline starting next year, but he still focused entirely on riding in this race.
Until Oguri One crossed the finish line first.
"I did it."
He waved a fist towards the stands, muttering to himself.
—
In the next race, a 1200-meter turf race, Shuta An and Tasan Tsuyoshi started from gate 1.
Since they were assigned this gate, the young man didn't think much and directly chose to let Tasan Tsuyoshi lead the race and set a fast pace.
Yukio Okabe, who started from gate 4 and was the first favorite, chose to follow and endure this pace.
As a result, after turning into the final straight, Shuta An and the well-endowed Tasan Tsuyoshi directly outran Yukio Okabe.
"TASAN TSUYOSHI! SUNDAY SILENCE'S FOAL, PARTNERED WITH SHUTA AN, FOR HIS FIRST JRA WIN! AS EXPECTED, THE MAIN JOCKEY UNDERSTANDS HIS PARTNER'S CHILD THE BEST!"
The live commentator shouted loudly.
Shuta An heard these words, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
"That's right, that's right, so all good Sunday Silence foals, hurry up and entrust them to me!"
He kept shouting in his heart.
—
Perhaps Shuta An's soliloquy was heard by the three goddesses, as the young man received his riding list for the week on Wednesday night.
Among them, a name highlighted by his agent caught his attention.
"Fuji Kiseki?" The young man raised an eyebrow and looked back. "Shadai Farm's breeding staff consider him the most like Sunday Silence among the first batch of Sunday Silence foals, and the most anticipated horse."
Shuta An, of course, knew this name. Fuji Kiseki was a dormitory leader at Central Tracen Academy.
The young man had a thought.
"Speaking of which, Fuji Kiseki was a G1 winning Uma Musume in the Twinkle Series."
Although Fuji Kiseki quickly retired from the Twinkle Series due to health issues and did not participate in the Dream Trophy Series, the young man didn't care whether Fuji Kiseki in the Dream World would have health problems. Unlike Tokai Teio and the others, Shuta An had no bond with Fuji Kiseki.
Fuji Kiseki's Horse Owner, Saito Shishiji, only appointed Shuta An as Fuji Kiseki's main jockey on the recommendation of Yoshida Teruya. He had originally intended to use Koichi Tsunoda based on the Trainer's recommendation.
Once this news broke, Fuji Kiseki immediately became the most discussed two-year-old Racehorse among fans.
"The performance of Tasan Tsuyoshi, whom Shuta An rode last week, was already impressive, so this one shouldn't be bad either."
Many people thought this way.
When Shuta An encountered Fuji Kiseki at Central Tracen Academy during the day, he unconsciously took a few extra glances at her.
"In the Dream World, I'll be riding that world's Fuji Kiseki."
Just thinking about it made Shuta An look forward to it.
Fuji Kiseki noticed the young man's gaze and averted her eyes.
"I always feel like Trainer Shuta is looking at me with a gaze that isn't like he's looking at a person." She muttered to herself. "It's really strange."
—
On Sunday, after finishing his rides for the day, Shuta An had to rush back to the United States to ride Hokuto Vega in the Ballerina Stakes.
Naturally, Shuta An hoped to send himself off with a victory.
Today, he only had three riding assignments at Niigata Racecourse.
There were no major graded races held by the JRA this week, so most top jockeys hadn't moved from their locations—except for Shuta An, who had traveled from Sapporo to Niigata for Fuji Kiseki.
In Niigata 3R, a 1700-meter dirt race, Shuta An rode Professional for Shadai Race Horse Club.
This maiden Racehorse, which had lost more than ten consecutive races, finished three lengths behind the winner under the young man's riding, securing second place, which also set a new personal best.
Her previous best was fourth.
"I did my best; this Racehorse has probably reached its limit."
Shuta An said regretfully to Yoshida Teruya after dismounting, truthfully describing his feelings.
"I don't think this Racehorse has the ability to move up in class. I personally recommend cutting losses in time."
"If Shuta-kun says there's no hope, then it's probably true."
Yoshida Teruya had already decided to arrange for Professional's retirement.
In the next race, Shuta An continued to compete.
This time, in a 1600-meter turf Maiden Race, he rode Praise Me More, trained by Nohira Yuji, Symboli Rudolf's Trainer.
This Racehorse had previously only run on dirt, with generally poor performances.
Nohira Yuji remained unhurried, and it wasn't until now, believing Praise Me More was well-adjusted, that he entered her in the 1600-meter turf Maiden Race.
Unlike other Trainers, Nohira Yuji gave Shuta An a simple tactic before the race: lead the race at a fast pace that no other Racehorse could catch up to.
"Praise Me More's stamina is the best among the participating Racehorses in this race, so naturally, we must make good use of it." Was Nohira Yuji's reasoning.
Shuta An was happy not to have to think of tactics himself and simply nodded in agreement.
Upon entering the track, Shuta An easily guided Praise Me More from the pack to the leading position.
Surprisingly, no one chose to press him.
The young man raised an eyebrow and simply performed a pace trick, first accelerating to open up a gap, then slowing down to recover energy when entering the turn.
When there were 300 meters left to the finish line, he re-accelerated, completely tricking his opponents, and finally crossed the finish line easily, five lengths ahead of the second-place Racehorse.
"Amazing!" Nohira Yuji gave Shuta An a thumbs-up in the waiting area. "To execute my tactics so masterfully, should I say it's worthy of a champion jockey? It's a pity that I, an old man, don't have good resources here, otherwise, I would really want Shuta-kun to be our stable's main jockey."
Shuta An smiled awkwardly, nodded, and said nothing.
Nohira Yuji had a dispute with Symboli Rudolf's Horse Owner over Symboli Rudolf's expedition, and his own Trainer record was far inferior to his jockey record.
As a Trainer, Nohira Yuji had trained Symboli Rudolf, a Undefeated Triple Crown, but he was his only G1 Racehorse.
However, as a jockey, Nohira Yuji had ridden four G1 winners, including Symboli Rudolf's maternal grandfather, Speed Symboli.
"So, the me in this Dream World, I must not become a Trainer after retiring as a jockey—A good jockey doesn't necessarily make a good Trainer. I don't want my current reputation as a jockey to be affected by poor Trainer results."
The young man walked towards the changing room, muttering to himself.
—
After changing into Saito Shishiji's running silks, Shuta An returned to the jockey waiting room.
"Although the next race is just a Maiden Race, it's highly anticipated. It seems that 20,000 spectators have flocked to Niigata Racecourse today, all for this race."
Nakadate Eiji said to Shuta An.
"Then everyone, give me some face and let Fuji Kiseki and I win easily."
Shuta An joked lightheartedly.
"Fuji Kiseki's debut race is so highly anticipated; it would be unacceptable if he doesn't win a G1 in the future."
Umana Masayoshi joined the conversation.
"I hope to lose to a future G1 Racehorse, not some Racehorse that can't even run well in a 5 million yen race."
"Most Racehorses find it difficult to win even one race."
Shuta An spread his hands.
"Shuta-kun doesn't have confidence in Fuji Kiseki either?" Nakadate Eiji guessed. "Is there a problem?"
"No. I believe Fuji Kiseki can win a G1." Shuta An denied outright. "I'm just a little worried that the Racehorses you're riding in the next race won't win any races in the future, and then everyone will say that Fuji Kiseki won so many races because his opponents were weak."
"…"
Umana Masayoshi's mouth twitched as if he wanted to hurl abuse to this young man.