Chapter 11. Ranvet Stakes as a Warm-up
March 13th. The day of the Ranvet Stakes had finally arrived.
The NHK production team followed Shuta Trainer to Rosehill Racecourse, located only 450 meters from the hotel. Since all arrangements had already been made in advance, the crew smoothly followed him into the Box for Stakeholders without encountering any obstruction.
Even with cameras trailing him the entire way, Shuta Trainer remained completely composed. As usual, he casually took a can of sparkling water from the refrigerator, turned around, dropped onto the sofa, cracked the can open, and drank it down in one breath.
"Make yourselves comfortable," the young man said after letting out a long breath, gesturing casually toward the room. "There are still more than three hours before the race begins. Rosehill hosts two G1 races today. The Ranvet Stakes is the later one. Before that, there's also the Coolmore Classic, which is restricted to Southern Hemisphere Classic-year Uma Musume. Otherwise, that race would actually suit Dober very well too."
"Shuta Trainer really seems to know Australia's G1 circuit well," the director remarked after taking his seat.
"I'm fairly familiar with the G1 races of most major Twinkle Series regions around the world," Shuta Trainer replied with a faint smile. "South America is the exception. I would never let any Uma Musume under my care go there. Not even for sightseeing."
Remembering the recent news reports, the director instinctively nodded in agreement.
"I'm not interested in having the Uma Musume I train run into kidnappings, robberies, or drug cartel problems," Shuta Trainer muttered with a displeased expression.
Of course, with Secretariat and Sadalmelik LLC backing him, those issues could likely be resolved afterward without much difficulty. But that was beside the point. For Shuta Trainer, knowingly allowing the Uma Musume entrusted to him to walk into danger was itself unacceptable.
"That would simply be irresponsible," he thought silently to himself.
This year's Coolmore Classic was ultimately won by Camino Rose in an upset victory, narrowly defeating Bonanova by a neck.
"This is Australia," Shuta Trainer said while turning toward the camera. "Upsets happen here all the time. But I intend to prove something today — in middle-distance races, Mejiro Dober stands at the absolute top here."
"Then, Shuta Trainer, do you plan to let Miss Mejiro Dober challenge the Cox Plate after Miss Silence Suzuka?" the director immediately asked, deliberately steering the topic in that direction in hopes of uncovering Shuta Trainer's plans for the latter half of the year.
"I have no such intention," Shuta Trainer denied without hesitation, shaking his head immediately. "I've already won the Cox Plate once. For the next two years at least, I doubt I'll have any interest in challenging it again."
"I see." The director could not conceal a trace of disappointment. He had deliberately laid out the topic, yet it had been shut down cleanly in a single sentence.
At noon, the group had a simple lunch together at a nearby restaurant, the entire meal paid for by Shuta Trainer.
"Regardless of whether we win or lose, I've already contacted the hotel and had them prepare a small banquet tonight," Shuta Trainer informed the director on the way back to the Box, before the photographers resumed filming. "Everyone is invited."
"Wouldn't we be intruding on Shuta Trainer and Miss Mejiro Dober?" the director asked somewhat nervously. "A celebration banquet like this usually isn't meant for outsiders, is it?"
"It's just a simple dinner gathering," Shuta Trainer replied while waving a finger dismissively. "There's no need to think too much about it. Dober won't mind either."
"In that case, I'll gratefully accept on behalf of everyone," the director answered in relief after receiving Shuta Trainer's reassurance.
As the Ranvet Stakes parade was about to begin, Shuta stood and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Dober should be the final one to appear on the parade stage," he remarked calmly.
"Will Miss Mejiro Dober still be wearing her first racing outfit today?" the director asked from behind him, smoothly following the filming flow.
"The URA Association informed me that her second racing outfit is still under design,"
Shuta replied with a shrug.
"So not only today, but likely for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes as well, Dober will continue wearing her first outfit. Fortunately, we prepared five complete sets in advance. That's enough to deal with any emergencies."
"I'm really looking forward to seeing Miss Mejiro Dober's second racing outfit," the director commented sincerely, while inwardly understanding exactly why Shuta Trainer had arranged for this question to be asked on camera earlier.
"He's using the documentary to pressure the URA Association into speeding up the design process…"
To be honest, the director completely supported Shuta Trainer on this matter.
As a Triple Tiara Uma Musume, Mejiro Dober should have received her second racing outfit long ago. Yet for reasons nobody understood, the URA Association's design department continued dragging things out without even submitting a finalized concept.
Shuta had already reminded them several times, only to repeatedly receive vague responses like "We're working on it."
This time, however, he clearly intended to leverage NHK's documentary coverage to force the issue into public attention.
If the documentary aired and Mejiro Dober still lacked her second racing outfit by then, the URA Association's design department would likely face severe consequences.
"A departmental purge honestly wouldn't be surprising," the director thought inwardly.
After all, Shuta had very little faith in the efficiency of the URA Association's design division.
"I understand that designing race outfits for every G1-level Uma Musume is an exhausting, high-pressure job,"
Shuta Trainer silently grumbled while staring toward the parade stage.
"But Dober's second outfit should've already been proposed before the Shuka Sho even happened. It's been more than half a year now. They probably haven't even created the project folder yet. Do they really think I won't deal with them just because I rarely contact them directly?"
When it came to matters involving the Uma Musume of Team Sadalsuud, Shuta could be extremely vindictive.
After the first six Uma Musume completed their parade appearances, Mejiro Dober finally stepped onto the parade stage as the last entrant. Although this was her very first appearance at an Australian racecourse, the atmosphere instantly erupted due to Shuta Trainer's presence and her own reputation.
"Number 7! The undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume from Japan! Winner of last year's Yorkshire Oaks! From the same team as last year's Cox Plate champion, Silence Suzuka! Trained by the genius Trainer Shuta — Mejiro Dober!"
The moment Mejiro Dober stopped at the center of the parade stage, the live commentator's voice thundered across the venue.
An overwhelming roar of applause erupted immediately afterward.
"She's unbelievably popular…"
All six Uma Musume who had already completed their parade shared the exact same thought at that moment.
"I definitely didn't receive cheers on this level when I walked out earlier."
After the parade concluded, Mejiro Dober stepped down from the platform, politely bowed toward the other Uma Musume, and immediately headed toward the track. She intended to begin her warm-up exercises near the starting gate.
Since none of the six locally registered Uma Musume were particularly familiar with Mejiro Dober, they only returned the gesture with brief nods. However, the moment they noticed Mejiro Dober walking toward the starting area, every single one of them subconsciously followed behind her.
Their thoughts were nearly identical.
"Let's observe how an overseas Uma Musume prepares before a race and see if there's anything worth learning."
Although Mejiro Dober did not turn around, the chaotic footsteps behind her were impossible to ignore.
"As expected, they all followed," Shuta thought calmly to himself. "But it shouldn't affect Dober."
He slowly clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and silently prayed inwardly,
"Dober only needs to stay focused, complete her warm-up properly, and enter the starting gate smoothly."
"We hope Miss Mejiro Dober has a successful race as well," several NHK staff members quietly murmured among themselves.
Meanwhile, the cameramen continued filming either Shuta Trainer's back or the distant scenery across the racecourse.
After completing her warm-up, Mejiro Dober closed her eyes and carefully calmed her breathing while assessing the condition of her body.
"Just as Trainer predicted, today I'm probably only at around eighty percent of my Yorkshire Oaks condition. But that's enough," she analyzed silently.
"If I maintain this progression properly, then by the Queen Elizabeth Stakes next month, my condition should reach an entirely new peak."
After reaching that conclusion, Mejiro Dober lifted her gaze toward the outermost starting gate — the final gate she would enter.
"The outside gate means I'll naturally stay behind at the start," she thought calmly. "Then I'll surge from the outside and show them exactly what kind of Uma Musume I am."
At that exact moment, InJoyment — who intended to take the lead today — suddenly shivered.
"Why do I suddenly feel cold?" she muttered in confusion. "That shouldn't be possible."
Sydney was currently in autumn, yet the daytime temperature still hovered around twenty-five degrees Celsius. There was absolutely no reason to feel chilly.
"That's strange…"
At the reminder of the staff members, InJoyment shook her head and stepped into the starting gate, dismissing the feeling as imagination.
As the Uma Musume assigned to Gate 7, Mejiro Dober naturally entered last.
Without requiring any staff assistance whatsoever, she stepped into the gate proudly with her head held high.
Immediately afterward, she lowered herself into her starting stance, her full concentration fixed upon the gate directly ahead.
Choosing a late-surger tactic did not mean the start itself was unimportant.
Mejiro Dober understood this perfectly well.
If she wanted to win the Ranvet Stakes cleanly and efficiently, then every single detail mattered.
A poor start, poor positioning, or flawed pace management would force her to spend unnecessary stamina later, even if her overall strength exceeded everyone else's.
And Mejiro Dober absolutely did not wish to waste excess energy here.
After all, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes awaited her on April 17th. The recovery period between races was already relatively short. She needed to ensure she conserved as much endurance as possible today.
The undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume was not particularly confident in her own recovery speed.
"All seven Uma Musume are now inside the gates! The final race of the day at Rosehill Racecourse — the Ranvet Stakes, 2000 meters on turf — officially begins!"
The commentator's voice thundered across the venue as the gates burst open.
The moment the race began, Mejiro Dober exploded forward sharply from the outside gate.
At the same time, InJoyment — who intended to lead — also achieved an excellent start. As a result, Mejiro Dober angled slightly outward for several strides, deliberately following behind InJoyment. Only after confirming that InJoyment was accelerating forward to seize the front position did she gradually guide herself inward, settling calmly into second-to-last place.
"Has Bluebird The Word lost her mind?" Shuta silently complained the instant he noticed the positioning.
"Isn't she usually a senko-type runner? She didn't accelerate at all after the gates opened and directly dropped to dead last, three lengths behind Dober. What is she even doing? Is she just here to make up the numbers?"
Only after finishing his internal rant did he finally speak aloud.
"Her positioning matches our pre-race expectations. Now it depends entirely on the pace of the race."
"Shuta Trainer's pre-race expectation was?" the director immediately asked cooperatively.
Shuta An turned slightly toward the camera.
"InJoyment is leading. I judged beforehand that this race would likely develop into a slow pace. That means Dober needs to accelerate earlier than usual."
"I see," the director nodded thoughtfully. "So from here onward, the key factor becomes Miss Mejiro Dober's judgment regarding acceleration timing?"
"Exactly." Shuta An fully turned around and pointed toward the lower stands. "I'm heading downstairs now. Follow me."
The director's eyes widened.
"This is another one of your habits? You're not staying here to watch the rest of the race?"
"I'll watch from below," Shuta An replied while pointing toward the railings beside the spectator stands. "There's a direct elevator from the Box. It'll take less than thirty seconds."
As Shuta An led the film crew toward the lower viewing area, Mejiro Dober had already completed the first 400 meters while maintaining sixth position.
"This slope is far too gentle," she thought with slight dissatisfaction. "Compared to Kyoto Racecourse's Yodo Slope, this is nothing at all. The front runners aren't exerting themselves in the slightest."
InJoyment passed the opening 200 meters in 13.51 seconds.
After naturally seizing the lead through that slightly faster opening burst, she immediately switched into an energy-saving rhythm. Meanwhile, because of Mejiro Dober's presence, none of the other Uma Musume wished to overtake InJoyment themselves and become the next target for Dober's overtake later.
As a result, the pace of the race gradually descended into something absurdly slow.
At the exact moment Shuta An exited the Box, the giant screen displayed the next split:
1800 meters remaining — 13 seconds.
"What an unbelievably slow pace!" Tokai Teio complained while watching the live broadcast. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to resist moving up here. There's no way I'd obediently stay behind. Dober-senpai is too obedient to Trainer's instructions — she should be more flexible in situations like this."
"This is only a preparatory race," Symboli Rudolf calmly reminded her. "You must also learn to distinguish which races matter most and reserve your full effort for those occasions. Winning the Yayoi Sho and losing the Satsuki Sho, versus losing the Yayoi Sho and winning the Satsuki Sho — those are completely different outcomes."
"Then wouldn't it be fine if I simply never lost any race at all?" Tokai Teio tilted her head and offered her own straightforward solution.
"Well... that's true..." Symboli Rudolf's expression twitched slightly by her matter of fact response, clearly reminded of her own final Twinkle Series race.
Meanwhile, beside them, Maruzensky had already burst into uncontrollable laughter.
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