Chapter 35. Good News for Tokai Teio
Unfortunately, Shuta Ann did not draw the middle gate position he wanted. Fortunately, however, the young man did not draw the innermost lane either, but instead drew the outermost gate, Gate 8. Meanwhile, the horse's saddlecloth number is 1.
"It's a bit too extreme," Shuta Ann complained to the staff after coming off the stage.
"But it's also a stroke of luck. If we had drawn Gate 1, it would have been miserable. I certainly don't want to let Teio play Longchamp bumper cars with those big, tall horses."
"So, it really is quite lucky," the staff members said, agreeing with Shuta Ann as they understood his perspective.
"Next, let's head back and start discussing tactics with Trainer Matsumoto," the young man said as he walked ahead. "The outermost gate—ll I can say is, it's a good thing this is Longchamp Racecourse."
"If it were a track where you have to enter a turn shortly after the start, both the outermost and innermost gates would be 'poison' positions," Shuta Ann thought of certain other racecourses and couldn't help but complain.
—
Matsumoto Seiichi had no complaints about drawing the outermost gate. In his view, the outermost lane was actually more suitable for Shuta Ann to operate boldly.
"In that case, should we consider a back-chase?" Matsumoto Seiichi suggested.
"After all, it's the outermost lane. If Shuta Ann-kun doesn't want to engage in physical confrontation with opponents, then a back-chase tactic is practically inevitable, right?"
"I think a back-chase tactic is far too extreme at Longchamp Racecourse," Shuta Ann disagreed.
"Taking a position in the middle of the pack and waiting for an opportunity on the outside of the group would be better."
"Then we'll go with your idea, Shuta Ann-kun. Since I can't make it to France, I'll leave everything in your hands." Matsumoto Seiichi simply continued to delegate his authority.
"Regardless, Trainer Matsumoto is Tokai Teio's trainer; the race tactics still need your approval." Shuta Ann did not simply accept the responsibility directly.
"Go ahead and do everything boldly." Matsumoto Seiichi pursed his lips. "Ultimately, I will take responsibility for everything."
"I understand." Although it was a phone call and they couldn't see each other, Shuta Ann still bowed deeply.
—
With two days left until the Prix Ganay, Shuta Ann arrived at the Tracen Academy early in the morning. He watched Mejiro Dober's morning training by the track, confirming that this year's Oka Sho winner was in excellent condition
Kurofune is also making steady progress, while Tokai Teio is acting a bit strange.
"It feels as if Tokai Teio is suppressing her desire to run," the young man frowned. "I'll ask her later if something has happened."
However, when faced with Shuta Ann's questioning, Tokai Teio was also very puzzled,
"I haven't had any special feelings lately!? It's just that sometimes I feel like I could go a bit faster, but didn't the trainer ask me to control the intensity? So I just ignored that thought."
Listening to Tokai Teio's response, Shuta Ann narrowed his eyes and sized up the horse girl standing in front of him,
"Request a leave of absence for this morning's classes; I'm taking Teio to the hospital."
"Eh, eh, eh!?" Tokai Teio cried out in surprise, shouting loudly, "Go to the hospital? No! I'm not injured! I don't want to see a doctor!"
"It's not a bad thing." Shuta Ann's mouth twitched. "I want to confirm if Teio is starting her Honkakuka (maturation)."
Upon hearing the keyword, Tokai Teio stopped making a fuss. She dashed to Shuta Ann's side in a single stride and grabbed his sleeve: "!!!"
"Honkakuka?! Am I going to start my Honkakuka?!"
"We'll only know for sure after getting a check-up," Shuta Ann said, not wanting to make any guarantees.
"Anyway, Teio, go request your leave first."
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Tokai Teio had already run off.
"I know! I'm going right now! Trainer, wait for me here for a bit! I'll be right back! Then let's go to the hospital for the check-up together!"
Perhaps because those words were a bit ambiguous, many horse girls on the training field who hadn't heard the previous part of the conversation showed strange expressions. However, with the help of other trainers, the buds of "rumors" were quickly nipped in the origin.
—
Fortunately, the conversation between Shuta Ann and Tokai Teio wasn't intentionally hushed, so Mejiro Dober and Kurofune both heard the details and didn't need the young man to explain further.
"Teio is going through her Honkakuka—doesn't that mean she'll debut this year?" Mejiro Dober's eyes widened.
She turned to look at her own trainer: "Trainer won't make Teio and me participate in the same race at the same time, right?"
"Why?" Shuta Ann was a bit puzzled. "If Dober wants to compete on the same stage as Teio, I have no objection; I can arrange for you to compete in the same race. I respect your opinions on this matter."
"No, no, no..." Mejiro Dober waved her hands with a bitter smile. "I definitely don't want to run in the same race as Teio—it's too demoralizing."
As Tokai Teio's long-time "training partner," there was likely no other horse girl in the entire Tracen Academy who understood Tokai Teio's talent better than Mejiro Dober.
"Seriously, Teio is the one in the team most likely to inherit the popularity of Oguri-senpai, right?" Mejiro Dober's face showed a look of longing as she sighed with emotion. "Sometimes I really envy Teio's talent."
"Don't think about those things." Shuta Ann couldn't resist flicking Mejiro Dober's forehead—mainly because her expression made the young man really want to tease her.
"Dober is Dober; you don't need to be any other Uma Musume. As long as you work hard to win the Triple Tiara, no one will ever treat you as a substitute for someone else."
After flicking her forehead, Shuta Ann realized something was wrong; he had actually touched Mejiro Dober. But what surprised the young man even more was that Mejiro Dober didn't have an extreme reaction to his touch.
"That would be good." She just murmured to herself, as if she were thinking about something.
—
Kurofune was also very envious, but she clearly knew that it wasn't time for her own Honkakuka yet; after all, she wasn't even in the middle school division yet.
"I still have a few years to go," Kurofune thought silently to herself.
However, she suddenly thought of something, and her expression turned bitter,
"Training with Teio-senpai is already quite stressful for me now. Once Teio-senpai starts her Honkakuka, will I be unable to keep up with the training intensity again?"
Shuta Ann noticed Kurofune's small expression and guessed what she was worried about, so he spoke up,
"Even if it's confirmed that Teio is starting her Honkakuka, I won't adjust her training intensity before her official debut. Kurofune, you can use this time to improve yourself."
"Even if you can't keep up, it doesn't matter; there's no need to force it." Shuta Ann paused for a moment. "In any case, I will arrange everything related to Kurofune's training properly."
"Mm-hmm!" After receiving this guarantee, Kurofune felt at ease.
—
Later on, after leading Mejiro Dober through low-intensity training during the day, Shuta Ann left Tracen Academy. He needed to go to the hospital to pick up Tokai Teio's test results.
The hospital has a duty of confidentiality regarding Honkakuka test reports, so Shuta was not worried that the information about Tokai Teio's imminent Honkakuka would be leaked. After receiving the report and confirming that Tokai Teio was indeed about to welcome her Honkakuka, Shuta simply hurried back to the academy. He didn't return to his own office, but instead went straight to find Symboli Rudolf.
"Does Shuta Ann-kun have something to discuss with me?" Symboli Rudolf was somewhat surprised. "At this time, shouldn't you be researching the preparations for Mejiro Dober's Japan Oaks?"
"It's about Teio." Shuta Ann handed the test report to Symboli Rudolf. "This is the report from Tokai Teio's visit to the hospital two days ago. Please take a look."
Symboli Rudolf took it, glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow: "This is—the start of her Honkakuka?"
"It's about to begin," Shuta Ann corrected. "In other words, if everything goes smoothly, Tokai Teio should be able to debut in the second half of this year."
"This early?" Symboli Rudolf's eyes widened. "Aren't you considering waiting until next year? That way she could grow a bit more, right?"
"It's not necessary." Shuta Ann waved his hand. "The current Teio will have no problem handling the debut-year restricted races in the second half of the year. Furthermore, barring any surprises, I only plan to arrange two to three races for her this year. if things go well, I'll consider letting her go straight through the Classics just like Mejiro Dober."
"To minimize consumption, right?" Symboli Rudolf immediately understood Shuta Ann's plan. "I shouldn't interfere too much in this regard; I believe Shuta Ann-kun has his own ideas."
"Anyway, this is just to let you know. The specific arrangements will depend on Teio's status," Shuta Ann paused.
"However, I first need to focus more energy on Silence Suzuka and Mejiro Dober. After all, one has reached her retirement year in the Twinkle Series, and the other is currently charging through the Classics."
"Teio will understand," Symboli Rudolf responded.
"I believe so as well," Shuta Ann nodded.
—
In the evening, after a good soak in the bath, Shuta Ann went to bed early. Tonight, he was going to challenge the Prix Ganay in the Dream World. This was Tokai Teio's first overseas expedition, and since he didn't know if there would be a second chance, he naturally had to bring one hundred percent of his focus.
Opening his eyes, he was already in Tokai Teio's saddle. By this time, the paddock parade for the Prix Ganay had already concluded, and all participating horses were heading toward the racecourse.
Passing through the path by the track, he listened to the cheers of the spectators who were almost within arm's reach. Shuta Ann could even hear a perfectly pronounced "Tokai Teio!"—cheers like that generally came from Japanese people traveling in France.
"There is a television broadcast back in Japan today." Shuta Ann took a deep breath.
Although the status of the Prix Ganay is lower than the American Triple Crown, the psychological pressure on Shuta Ann is much greater. This is because he has known Tokai Teio since he was a foal and has communicated with her extensively in the real world.
"I must give 100%—no, exceed 100%—for this race," Shuta Ann thought with a grave expression as the television cameras focused on him.
Back in Japan, jockeys at Ritto and Miho gathered to watch the broadcast.
"Shuta-kun looked very nervous." Okabe said
"Yeah" Take Yutaka agreed, "it was rare to see him this tense"
"You guys, while riding a G1 race abroad is also a big deal, Shuta-kun is leading an undefeated Triple Crown winner to challenge a European G1 on turf. This must be as nerve-whacking as Oguri Cap retirement race" Minai Katsumi added.
The discussion going on about what-if scenarios. In the end, Tahara Seiki, yawning in a corner, told them to trust Shuta Ann, calling him a genius even more obsessed with horse racing than himself and certain the Goddess of Victory would favor him.
—
Shuta Ann had no idea what his colleagues back in Japan were saying about him. After leading Tokai Teio onto the track at Longchamp Racecourse, a slight smile played on his lips as his back faced the cameras.
"Not bad. It looks like the turf at Longchamp Racecourse today is perfectly suitable for Teio." Noticing that Tokai Teio had started his "Teio Step" again, the young man felt much more at ease.
Under the guidance of the Longchamp Racecourse staff, Shuta Ann and Tokai Teio arrived at the gate. Since they had drawn the outermost post, Tokai Teio would be the last one to enter.
Therefore, the young man purposefully brought Tokai Teio to the front of the gates, reaching out to rub his neck to soothe her emotions.
"We won't be given time to adjust our condition after entering the gate. We must let Teio adjust right here," he thought to himself, while glancing at the other opponents.
The most high-profile entry in this race was, of course, last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, Suave Dancer, with Cash Asmussen in the saddle—a jockey who is also quite famous in Japan. Before the first Japan Cup, Japanese professionals were full of confidence, only for him and a mare who had been struggling in the U.S. to shatter the Tokyo Racecourse 2400m record.
"No wonder even Okabe Yukio has been contacting me these past few days, hoping I'll do my best in the Prix Ganay," Shuta Ann laughed inwardly. "The sting of that defeat in the Japan Cup all those years ago—these jockeys still remember it even now."
Of course, Shuta Ann would work hard with Tokai Teio to win the Prix Ganay, but it had nothing to do with seeking "revenge" for those seniors. Shuta Ann simply wanted to win more honors together with Tokai Teio.
While his mind was wandering, a staff member reminded Shuta Ann that it was time to enter the stalls.
The young man snapped back to reality and urged Tokai Teio to enter the gate. The partner beneath him stepped obediently into the gate.
Tokai Teio had a very sharp mind; he noticed he was competing in a place completely different from before, and his concentration did not relax in the slightest.
"Phew~ next is our battle!" Shuta Ann took a deep breath, gripped the whip in his right hand, and tightened his hold on the reins, ready to push for the start at any moment.
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