After Affirmed came to see her, it seemed the matter with those two American Triple Crown winners had finally come to an end.
A few days passed after that, and Kagura saw a post from Affirmed. The location tag on it was somewhere in New York, so it looked like she and Seattle had gone back home.
Kagura also got in touch with Galileo, who had contacted her before, and asked whether they should set another time to meet. Galileo's reply, however, was: "No rush. Miss Kagura's race is getting close. We can pick a more suitable time to meet later." She also took the chance to ask Kagura for another batch of recommended sightseeing spots, so it seemed Galileo was planning to stay in Tokyo a while longer.
Galileo-san really is considerate... When there's a chance, I should say yes and go out with her.
Kagura was very happy with Galileo's decision to postpone their meeting. After all, once Rudolf's Japan Cup at the end of November was over, there were only a few days left until the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in early December. Her race schedule for December had two G1 races on it. If she had not happened to be resting, and if she had not wanted to tie up the loose end with Seattle, she would not have agreed to meet Affirmed either.
That said, while Galileo's decision was definitely good news for Kagura, the more she thought about it, the more curious she became. Galileo was the Student Council President of European Tracen, and yet compared to how Rudolf was worked to the bone every day over here, Galileo seemed to have all the free time in the world to stay abroad wandering around for that long.
Europe really is different from Japan, I guess...
After washing up, Kagura was just about to change clothes and head down to the track for training when she picked up her phone and saw a message from Tojo.
[Tojo]:The entry list for the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes was released today. You can check the runners on the race registration site now, Kagura. Make sure to pay attention to your opponents.
"Ah... I almost forgot about that."
Seeing Tojo's message, Kagura stopped looking for clothes, sat back down on the bed, and skillfully opened the race registration site to check the newly posted update.
Guess that's what you'd expect from a G1 race to decide the strongest rookie... these records are on a completely different level.
Compared to the records of the opponents she had looked up back when she was running GIII races, the entry records for the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes looked far more impressive. At a glance, nearly all of them were Umamusume with graded race wins under their belts. Eclipse was always complaining that lower-level races had no weight to them, but in reality, being able to break out of open class at all—even with only a single GII win—already counted as a respectable accomplishment for many Umamusume. After all, the overwhelming majority spent their time hovering below GII.
"Huh... Scrum Dyna? I know that name..."
As she scrolled, Kagura suddenly spotted a familiar name on the list.
It was not like they had much contact in daily life. It was just that she had seen this Umamusume called Scrum Dyna before during the School Selection Race. Scrum Dyna had been in the same race as her that day. Kagura had not expected them to run into each other again now in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes.
Just as Kagura was about to look through Scrum Dyna's race history and learn a little more about her opponent, a DM notification popped up at the top of her screen. She glanced at the sender and saw it was from Wu Di.
[Wu Di]:Kagura-sensei! I saw that you entered the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes! So you're finally planning to challenge G1 races?
[Inari Kagura]:That's right. By the way, you're up awfully early, Wu Di-san. Don't tell me you were camping the official site waiting for the data refresh?
[Wu Di]:My fans and I all figured a powerhouse like Kagura-sensei wouldn't miss the year-end battle for strongest rookie Umamusume, so we got up early and camped the official race site waiting for the records to refresh. So, just like we expected. Going by that, does this mean you're planning to run in the Hopeful Stakes too?]
[Inari Kagura]:Yep! Though really, Wu Di-san, you're full of energy first thing in the morning. You came to find me the moment you saw the data.
[Wu Di]:It just so happens I'm off today~ Speaking of which, it's been a long time since Kagura-sensei did a fan livestream, hasn't it? Everyone misses you a lot, but they all know you're usually busy with work, so they feel bad about bothering you.
Almost every day, Wu Di's backend received a pile of messages asking when Kagura planned to do her next livestream. Wu Di usually answered that Kagura was very busy with work, but as time went on and more and more people asked, Wu Di felt it was about time to ask Kagura whether she had any plans for one.
[Inari Kagura]:I was thinking about that this morning when I saw the entry list, actually. But I really have been pretty busy lately... How about I do a livestream after the Hopeful Stakes?
[Wu Di]:Sounds good to me, as long as Kagura-sensei has time then~
[Inari Kagura]:No problem. After the Hopeful Stakes, I won't have any other races for the rest of the year. Oh, right—could you make a post for me too, saying I'm planning to run?
...
"Dyna, why are you frowning so hard?"
"Mm... Trainer, did you see the entry list for the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes?"
That same morning, when the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes entry list was released, another Tracen entrant in the race saw it as well.
The other runners did not matter much. But on that list, one name in particular looked especially glaring to Scrum Dyna.
"I just saw the announcement and was looking through it... What did you find?"
"Inari Kagura's on it."
The moment Scrum Dyna said that, the office fell into a brief silence.
As Scrum Dyna's trainer, there was no way he could forget that little monster who had flown across the track in the School Selection Race. That terrifying speed, and the enormous gap she had opened by the end, were probably unprecedented in Tracen's history. That alone was enough to prove Inari Kagura's strength. Scrum Dyna had performed quite well ever since her successful debut, but Inari Kagura had undoubtedly left a deep impression on her.
"No, Dyna. There are no absolutes on the track. Don't be so tense. Your physical condition wasn't good during the Selection Race, so that race doesn't prove everything. You've been performing very well these past few months, and your training has been more than sufficient. Inari Kagura may not necessarily be able to stay that far ahead of you like she did in the Selection Race."
"I know... I'm not afraid. It's just that, against someone as strong as Inari Kagura, I have to take this seriously."
The reason Scrum Dyna had trained so hard this whole time was precisely so she could show what she was capable of at the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and prove that she was the strongest rookie Umamusume of the year. Inari Kagura's performance in the Selection Race had been terrifying, but Scrum Dyna had not shrunk back because of it. After all, her physical condition on the day of the Selection Race had not been good, while now she was in perfect form and had put in so much training since then. So although seeing Inari Kagura's name on the entry list had shaken her a little, what came after that was an even stronger fighting spirit—a desire to wipe away that earlier humiliation.
"Trainer, can we find out any more about Inari Kagura? I want to try putting together some kind of countermeasure. At the very least... it'd help me feel more at ease."
---
T/N: changed stuff from old stuff! scrum dyna used to be dyna challenge! but now its changed to scrum dyna!
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