Chapter 111. Generational Representative
Because Shuta Jockey deliberately restrained Sakura Bakushin O at the start, the horse that seized the lead in this race instead became this year's CBC Sho winner, Yuki Top Run.
At the same time, Shuta also chose not to have Sakura Bakushin O directly follow Yuki Top Run. Instead, he intentionally dropped back by one position and began marking the second-place runner, Narcisse Noir, the winner of this year's Tokyo Shimbun Hai.
"A senko strategy… he didn't choose to take the lead himself."
Standing near the grandstand, Horse Owner Jeon Yeon-Sik quietly observed Shuta's positioning.
"He failed to win the previous two graded races. I just hope he can finally win this one now that the distance has been shortened."
Truthfully speaking, Jeon Yeon-Sik did not hold especially high expectations for this race.
After all, the field also contained Daitaku Helios, a two-time Mile Championship winner, Yamanin Zephyr, the reigning Yasuda Kinen champion, as well as Nishino Flower, this year's Oka Sho winner.
Within a lineup like this, Sakura Bakushin O could not truly be considered outstanding.
In fact, comparatively speaking, he was actually among the weaker competitors in the field.
If Shuta himself had not continued riding him, Sakura Bakushin O likely would never have even maintained the position of third favorite in this race.
However, Trainer Katsutaro Sakai remained unusually optimistic.
"Although the opponents certainly look powerful—I believe Shuta-kun's unusually restrained senko tactics this time will definitely produce a very good result."
"I hope so."
Jeon Yeon-Sik's tone remained cold and indifferent.
He was someone who valued results above everything else. Until the moment Shuta Jockey truly won a G1 race for him, Jeon Yeon-Sik's attitude would never fundamentally change.
—
Nakayama Racecourse's 1200-meter turf course almost completely inherited the opening structure of the Arima Kinen layout.
Immediately after the start came a curve, followed directly by the downhill slope used during the Arima Kinen course.
Because of that, once Shuta successfully maneuvered Sakura Bakushin O into his desired position, he no longer needed to actively urge him forward.
His speed naturally began increasing on its own.
"What a fast pace…"
Kawachi Hiroshi, riding Nishino Flower while deliberately choosing to stay toward the rear of the field today, instantly sensed the dangerous rhythm developing within the race.
As a result, he became even more determined to commit fully to a sashi strategy.
"The first 600 meters are clearly heading toward a thirty-two-second range."
From beside the track, Nishino Flower's Trainer, Matsuda Masahiro, also quickly noticed the race tempo.
"Kawachi-kun's positioning choice was absolutely correct."
Then, deliberately raising his voice loud enough for Nishino Flower's Horse Owner nearby to hear, Matsuda Masahiro continued:
"On the other hand, Shuta Jockey…"
"Using a senko strategy under such a brutal pace—Won't Sakura Bakushin O completely run out of stamina?"
Nishiyama Masayuki's lips slowly curled upward.
"I already said he's just an ordinary person in the end. He's naturally going to make mistakes eventually."
However, Shuta—himself was not worried about this problem whatsoever.
Although he had failed to win the previous two mile-grade races with Sakura Bakushin O, those same races had instead allowed him to discover a very important truth about him.
"This horse's stamina is absolutely sufficient for 1600 meters. He could probably even handle longer distances."
"But during the latter stages of those mile races, when I used Take-san's breathing-judgment method—Sakura Bakushin O's breathing pattern completely collapsed."
"He simply doesn't understand how to regulate his breathing rhythm during the latter half of races."
This was not a problem humans could directly teach.
A horse could only gradually comprehend this kind of thing through its own experience.
Fortunately, however, today's race was only 1200 meters.
Shuta did not believe Sakura Bakushin O would encounter that same problem under these conditions.
"In short—I'll take advantage of Nakayama's downhill section and fully unleash Sakura Bakushin O's speed. By the time we enter the final straight, I can immediately overtake NarcisseNoir and YukiTopRun."
"After that, it'll simply become a matter of resisting the late charge from behind."
While Shuta calmly organized his strategy internally, YukiTopRun had already crossed the 600-meter marker.
At the same time, both the live commentary and the giant screen simultaneously displayed the opening-half split time.
0:32.8.
"32.8 seconds! An astonishingly fast first-half pace! Can YukiTopRun really maintain this until the finish line?!"
The live commentator directly voiced the exact concern currently occupying every spectator's mind.
Although the only thing Shuta himself could hear was the violent sound of wind tearing past his ears, his internal rhythm already allowed him to estimate that the first half had indeed been completed at approximately thirty-three seconds.
And he clearly understood exactly what that implied.
Even in sprint races, this pace was frighteningly fast.
"Fortunately, Sakura Bakushin O's stamina isn't actually a problem in sprint races."
Shuta quietly muttered inwardly.
"Still, perhaps I should delay the timing of my move slightly. That way, I can remain more cautious against the chasing runners behind me."
Sprint races inherently offered very little time to carefully observe opponents during the run itself.
Because of that, Shuta currently had no idea who among the field had chosen a reserved strategy.
If he had known Kawachi Hiroshi intentionally held Nishino Flower back from the start, he absolutely would have guarded against him specifically and never allowed Kawachi Hiroshi an opening later.
"32.8 seconds is simply too fast…"
Sakai Katsutaro spoke with visible concern.
"This race condition is overwhelmingly advantageous for chaser horses like Nishino Flower…"
Just like Sakura Bakushin O, Nishino Flower herself naturally possessed absolutely no stamina concerns at sprint distance.
Unexpectedly, however, it was Jeon Yeon-Sik who instead began comforting Sakai Katsutaro.
"It's fine."
"Eh?"
Sakai Katsutaro looked visibly surprised. Normally speaking, Jeon Yeon-Sik should have been far more anxious than him.
"I can feel it."
Jeon Yeon-Sik slowly straightened his back.
"A certain aura is continuously radiating from Sakura Bakushin O. A very powerful aura…It even gives me the feeling of…"
Halfway through his sentence, Jeon Yeon-Sik abruptly stopped himself.
Because he suddenly realized the comparison he nearly made involved someone from the northern side of the peninsula.
However, what Jeon Yeon-Sik himself did not realize was that the aura he sensed did not entirely originate from Sakura Bakushin O alone.
—
The moment they entered Nakayama Racecourse's final straight, the completely focused Shuta Ann once again stepped into the Zone.
At that instant, every other opponent vanished from his world entirely.
Within Shuta's eyes, only three things remained:
Sakura Bakushin O.
Himself.
And the finish line.
Meanwhile, Kawachi Hiroshi and Nishino Flower, who had launched their move earlier from the rear, had already rapidly climbed into ninth position.
Only three horse lengths separated them from Sakura Bakushin O.
At the same time, Yamanin Zephyr, who had been deliberately tracking Sakura Bakushin O throughout the race, also began accelerating under Tanaka Katsuaki's instructions.
However, Shuta himself still did not use the whip.
Instead, he merely increased the strength of his pushing ride.
Because of that, Sakura Bakushin O's initial acceleration naturally lagged behind both Yamanin Zephyr and Nishino Flower.
The moment Tanaka Katsuaki and Kawachi Hiroshi noticed this, excitement instantly surged through them.
They immediately prepared to overtake Sakura Bakushin O.
But at that exact moment—
Shuta Ann suddenly experienced a flash of inspiration.
His left hand continued maintaining the pushing rhythm. Meanwhile, his right hand abruptly drew out the whip.
One strike.
Only a single strike.
The instant Sakura Bakushin O received the instruction, his speed exploded forward with a violent "whoosh."
The leading position that had just seemed within reach instantly widened once again.
Nishino Flower and Yamanin Zephyr were abruptly thrown further behind.
"We absolutely cannot enter a prolonged pushing battle against Shuta Ann!"
At nearly the exact same moment, both Tanaka Katsuaki and Kawachi Hiroshi reached this same conclusion internally.
Unfortunately, from the moment Shuta Ann intentionally delayed the timing of Sakura Bakushin O's final burst, the outcome of this race had already been decided.
"Ann-san won."
Far away inside Hanshin Racecourse's jockey lounge, Yutaka Take calmly declared the result in advance.
Several seconds later—
"Shuta Jockey raises his right hand!"
"IT'S SAKURA BAKUSHIN O!"
"He washes away the humiliation of the Spring Stakes here today!"
"The representative of this generation—will be me, Sakura Bakushin O!"
"He only won the Sprinter Stakes, so how did this suddenly escalate into becoming the representative of the entire generation?"
After hearing the commentator's passionate shouting, the young man could not help complaining inwardly.
However, the exhilaration brought by winning today's Sprinter Stakes was far greater than the joy of merely winning a G1 race.
Today, he had once again defeated Nishiyama Masayuki's ace.
"Trying to surpass the record for most short-distance G1 victories? Keep dreaming."
After dismounting inside the underground passage, Shuta glanced toward Nishiyama Masayuki and silently muttered to himself.
Naturally, Nishiyama Masayuki noticed the young man's gaze immediately.
And he instantly understood the meaning hidden behind it.
"He really just got lucky." Nishiyama Masayuki grumbled unwillingly.
"How can a Kanto racehorse still primarily be ridden by a Kansai jockey? Kojima Futoshi, you're honestly too disappointing."
In Nishiyama Masayuki's opinion, if Kojima Futoshi had been riding Sakura Bakushin O in this race instead, then Nishino Flower would absolutely have won.
What Nishiyama Masayuki himself did not know was that Kojima Futoshi happened to be thinking almost the exact same thing.
"Should I really say Shuta-kun deserves to be called a champion jockey?"
Inside the waiting room, Kojima Futoshi sighed helplessly toward Kamimura Hiroyuki beside him.
"That combination of pushing rhythm and whip timing during the final straight—no matter how many times I watch it, I still can't learn its moment."
"That's simply talent."
Kamimura Hiroyuki casually waved his hand.
"That kind of thing can't truly be learned. At best, you can improve your balance. But reaching Shuta-kun's level of intuition with our physical condition—is still far too difficult."
"Still, I heard Shuta-kun also trains himself constantly during his spare time."
Kojima Futoshi sounded genuinely admiring.
"So it's not strange that he can maintain that kind of condition."
"At the very least, I definitely can't devote all my free time entirely toward work-related matters. I still need my own personal life. I also haven't heard that Shuta-kun has a girlfriend or anything."
Kamimura Hiroyuki sighed emotionally.
"He practically lives like some kind of ascetic monk."
Meanwhile, Shuta Ann himself knew absolutely nothing about the discussion currently happening around him.
And even if he had somehow heard it, he probably would have only smiled awkwardly and let it pass.
After all, could he really explain that he was not actually as diligent as they imagined?
—
After waking up, Shuta habitually opened the attribute viewer. Naturally, the effort from last night had already produced its reward.
"Won the Sprinter Stakes."
"Reward obtained — 'Curren Chan Observation Diary' written by Dragon King. Increases training efficiency for Curren Chan-related Uma Musumes."
"What exactly is this?"
Shuta's mouth twitched slightly.
"Why is it specifically an observation diary about Curren Chan? And who exactly is this Dragon King?"
The moment he saw that name, the young man inexplicably imagined someone with a crooked grin appearing inside his head.
After shaking away the strange image, Shuta decisively chose not to even open the item before immediately deciding to hand it over to Kurofune instead.
"In any case, she should currently be the only one connected to Curren Chan."
After muttering that quietly, the young man finally climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom to wash up.
—
Today, Silence Suzuka did not accompany the young man back to the Academy.
Instead, she remained at home together with Berno Light while discussing her Dream Trophy Series schedule for next year.
"My workload just doubled…"
Berno Light silently complained inwardly.
"I should discuss this with Ann over Line and establish a proper studio team to help share some of the work. Otherwise, all the tasks that don't necessarily require my direct involvement, yet also aren't suitable for Oguri or Suzuka to personally handle—will continue piling endlessly onto my own schedule."
After arriving at Central Tracen Academy by car, Shuta read Berno's message and immediately agreed with the idea.
"Is there anything else I can help with?"
However, Berno declined his assistance this time.
"I already have a rough draft in mind."
She intended to personally handle things herself one more time first.
—
After reading Berno's reply, the young man parked his car and walked toward his office.
"After clocking in, I should head over to inspect the training grounds."
That thought naturally surfaced in his mind after he entered the Academy gates and exchanged his usual morning greeting with Hayakawa Tazuna, who stood there consistently every single day.
This week happened to be Arima Kinen race week.
Even so, most of the Academy's Uma Musumes still continued studying and training normally as usual.
When Shuta arrived at the training grounds, he immediately saw Mejiro Dober, Kurofune, and Rice Shower jogging laps together.
Tokai Teio, however, was unusually absent today.
Naturally, this was not because she was slacking off.
Rather, Shuta Ann had personally granted her a three-month vacation period.
After finishing her final exams, Tokai Teio would be free to spend her time however she wished.
And since this week happened to be examination week, she had simply arrived early to warm up before returning to the dormitories to retrieve her textbooks and continue reviewing inside the library.
Standing quietly beside the field, Shuta carefully observed the running forms of the three Uma Musumes for a while before eventually nodding in satisfaction.
Although he had already confirmed usage of the "Curren Chan Observation Diary" on Kurofune earlier this morning, only one day had passed so far, and he estimated the effects would not become obvious yet.
"Rice Shower will definitely specialize toward long-distance training in the future."
"Eventually, their training menus will need to become completely separated as well."
Although the timing for dividing their individual training programs had not yet arrived, Shuta still firmly kept this matter in mind.
Kurofune's future battlefield would be dirt races.
Rice Shower's would be turf long-distance races.
Mejiro Dober's would focus on turf mile and middle-distance races.
Meanwhile, Tokai Teio would continue pursuing the traditional Classic royal-road route.
From this perspective, the probability of direct internal clashes between them in the future was actually very low.
"When I think about it like this…things suddenly feel much easier. If they all competed in overlapping divisions, I'd definitely end up with a stomach ache of worry."
Shuta secretly rejoiced inwardly.
—
Before leaving the training grounds, Shuta as a Trainer first praised all three Uma Musumes for their condition today.
Then, he specifically reminded Mejiro Dober once again to deliberately reduce her training intensity this week.
"When race day arrives this weekend…I'll negotiate with them regarding Dober at Nakayama Racecourse. As long as you can safely stand on that stage—that alone will already be the greatest help you can give me."
Listening quietly to her Trainer's instructions while staring at his face from such a close distance, Mejiro Dober could not stop herself from recalling Mejiro McQueen's words from yesterday.
"To be more direct and honest—"
She lightly pursed her lips.
"can I really do that?"
Shuta noticed the slight flickering within Mejiro Dober's eyes and mistakenly assumed she was merely worrying about the upcoming matters.
As a result, he gently continued reassuring her.
"Just leave everything to me."
"Leave everything to the Trainer…"
Mejiro Dober's cheeks immediately became slightly flushed. Then, she hurriedly nodded several times in succession.
"I will do my best."
—
After returning to his office, Shuta Ann sat down in front of the computer and began preparing this week's training schedules and training reports.
Fortunately, he had already become extremely familiar with this kind of clerical work.
Otherwise, with his mind currently occupied almost entirely by thoughts of how to secure greater advantages during this weekend's negotiations, he would very likely have ended up making mistakes in the task before him.
"Fortunately, the person with the greatest authority inside the Mejiro Family isn't the one I'll be meeting this weekend."
The young man quietly thought to himself.
"And since the meeting location has been arranged inside my associate box—that effectively makes it my home field."
"When the time comes—I absolutely need to seize the initiative first. I can't allow the momentum of the conversation to fall into their hands."
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