After the Tokai Oka Sho, Zhou Tai'an didn't stay with Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine to watch the last race of the day at Nagoya Racecourse. He took them back to the academy.
"We've already seen the main course for today. The next B-group race isn't worth watching," he replied when Brand New Shine asked why.
As for Oguri Cap, after hearing the Tokai Oka Sho winner declare her challenge to Central, she had been silent, her head down in thought.
Zhou Tai'an noticed Oguri Cap's behavior but wasn't surprised.
In fact, this reaction was exactly what he had hoped for. He would have been worried if Oguri Cap had reacted like Brand New Shine.
As he started the car, he said to himself, "Now that she's seen a stronger competitor from the Tokai region, Oguri Cap should understand how much effort she needs to put in, right?"
"Without a goal, you can never climb the mountain."
Given Zhou Tai'an's expectations for Oguri Cap, making Kitahara's Fujimasa March her "goal" would be almost cruel. A "rivalry" between a locally talented Horse Girl and one whose goal was to defeat Central...
In his opinion, it was more appropriate for this unfamiliar Horse Girl, who was preparing to challenge Central, to be the "goal."
…
Back at the academy, after watching Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine head to their classroom, Zhou Tai'an leisurely returned to his office.
Unsurprisingly, Kitahara and a few other colleagues were waiting for him at the door.
"Tai'an-san, someone saw you drive your Horse Girls out during the lunch break. What were you doing?" one of the trainers couldn't help but ask directly when he saw Zhou Tai'an.
"Nothing much," Zhou Tai'an waved his hand. "Just took them to Nagoya to watch the Tokai Oka Sho."
"The Tokai Oka Sho?" Kitahara's brow furrowed in worry upon hearing his friend's reply. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"What's the problem?" Zhou Tai'an raised an eyebrow. "It's just an SP1 race."
"But for Kasamatsu's Horse Girls, a race like that is on a level they can only dream of," another trainer interjected. "Making your Horse Girl watch a race like that—"
"But what does that have to do with my team?" Zhou Tai'an cut him off. "I've said it before, right? Oguri Cap and I are challenging Central. If even an SP1-level Horse Girl can crush her spirit, it just proves that, mentally—"
He tapped his temple and continued, "—I need to give her some serious extra lessons."
Poor Brand New Shine had been inadvertently forgotten by the other trainers again, but Zhou Tai'an hadn't. "As for the other Horse Girl I'm in charge of, she told me that considering she isn't very talented, she plans to try one debut race and then switch to logistics work."
"So your team already has a logistics person, Tai'an-san?" Kitahara looked disappointed. "I was thinking that if I couldn't make it as a trainer, I'd come work for you."
"I don't have a spot for you either," Zhou Tai'an retorted. "As long as you work hard, Kitahara-san, there's no way you won't make it."
"Ha—" Kitahara-san grinned.
For the rest of April, Zhou Tai'an had Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine at the Kasamatsu Tracen Academy six days a week for regular training, maintaining a frequency of two high-intensity sessions and three low-intensity relaxation warm-ups.
On the remaining day, the young trainer would take them to a shrine near the academy.
The first time they went, Oguri Cap stood at the bottom of the slope, looking up at the torii gate at the top of the hill, confused.
"Trainer, did you bring us here to pray?" Brand New Shine asked on behalf of her teammate.
"Pray?" Zhou Tai'an smiled. "If you want to, I have no objection. But the main reason we're here today isn't to pray."
His smile faded, and he spoke seriously to his two Horse Girls, "The training facilities at the academy are extremely outdated. This isn't just a Kasamatsu problem; Central is the same."
"Huh?" The two Horse Girls didn't understand why their trainer would say that.
"But it can't be helped. Japan's training level for the Twinkle Series really isn't up to par." Zhou Tai'an's tone was matter-of-fact. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to this country."
"As for the training facility the academy is missing, it's a hill track (slope)." He continued, "I don't understand what these academies are thinking. Since some of the Central racecourses have exaggerated slopes in their terrain, why don't they build slopes in their training facilities?"
"Kasamatsu's academy doesn't have a slope, so for the past six months, I've been looking for a 'substitute' on my way to work, and I've even run on them myself to test the effect." Zhou Tai'an pointed to the slope behind him. "This is the final result."
"It's quite interesting. Although it connects to the shrine's torii gate, it's not a tall staircase, but a smooth uphill road. It can not only be used as a slope for training, but it's also safer than stairs." He was clearly very satisfied with this road. "Aside from a purpose-built slope, this is the most suitable option."
"So we have to run up this?" Oguri Cap pointed. "It looks a lot harder than running on the training track."
"It is difficult," Zhou Tai'an didn't deny it. "So your training time today will also be shorter than at the academy."
"And considering this is your first day running the slope, I'll allow you to run at a more relaxed pace." He shook the stopwatch in his hand. "Any pace in the 20-second range per furlong (200m) is acceptable."
Even though Zhou Tai'an said that, neither Oguri Cap nor Brand New Shine planned to run that slowly.
The two Horse Girls looked at each other, nodded, and began their warm-up exercises.
Zhou Tai'an sat down to the side, took out his notebook, and prepared to record Oguri Cap's slope times.
"Manual timing is inaccurate and troublesome, but in a place like this, I just have to make do," he muttered to himself. "Let's see how well you adapt to the slope, Oguri Cap."
If Oguri Cap showed that she struggled with slopes, Zhou Tai'an would unhesitatingly eliminate Kyoto Racecourse and Nakayama Racecourse from their future challenges at Central.
The "Yodo no Saka" slope and the extreme uphill climb 200 meters from the finish line were no joke.