Chapter 16. Oka Sho Part 2
"Click!"
Accompanied by the sound of the starting gate opening, Vega cleanly broke from the gate.
Noticing that Shuta did not use his familiar trick—the special technique capable of explosively improving a Racehorse's start—Norihiro Yokoyama quietly let out a long sigh of relief. At the same time, he successfully guided Mother Tosho into the leading position.
However, only one horse length behind, Shuta and Vega steadily stretched out their stride, maintaining a smooth rhythm that seemed to consume almost no energy at all. Half a horse length behind Vega followed Osumi Shine, ridden by Kawachi Hiroshi, and Yamahisa Laurel, ridden by Saruhashi Shigetoshi.
The intentions of the two riders were obvious.
They wanted to closely pressure Vega, forcing her to accelerate early and waste stamina.
Shuta had naturally anticipated this scenario long ago. Because of that, he consciously tightened the reins slightly, preventing Vega from becoming impatient and charging forward prematurely under external pressure.
Meanwhile, Yutaka Take guided Hokuto Vega through the middle of the pack, adopting a stalking tactic from mid-group. He could clearly feel that Hokuto Vega remained extremely calm. Although he had joked earlier that morning about Shuta making another fortune today, Yutaka Take had absolutely no intention of giving away the race.
After all, Shuta had more than once snatched victory away with absurd last-minute performances while Yutaka Take himself rode the heavily favored horse.
"Still... Vega's stride is incredibly stable. The pressure from the others doesn't seem to be affecting her at all."
Yutaka Take could not help but sigh inwardly.
"At this point, it depends entirely on what kind of pace Mother Tosho sets."
In the VIP seating area, Yoshida Katsumi unconsciously glanced toward the upper-right corner of the large screen, waiting for the sectional time to appear.
"I just hope the pace isn't too fast. A fast pace would be somewhat disadvantageous for Vega."
Soon afterward, the number "35.5" appeared on the screen.
For a moment, Yoshida Katsumi did not know what expression to make.
It was neither fast nor slow.
One could only say that Norihiro Yokoyama had controlled the race with textbook precision, setting an extremely standard pace. Whether a horse preferred conserving energy for a late charge or securing position near the front, every participant could comfortably find their own rhythm.
Last year's Hanshin Juvenile Fillies winner, Suehiro Jo O, had already dropped all the way to the rear of the pack. Despite being the only Grade 1 winner in this race, her popularity ranking had already fallen outside the top ten.
The reason was simple.
In the previous Tulip Sho, she had been completely overwhelmed by Vega, nearly losing by enough to trigger a time-over suspension.
Tamemoku, seated in the saddle, silently felt his scalp tingle.
"Terrifying...she's not even from the same world as us."
"This time, I just need SuehiroJoO to safely maintain eligibility and avoid getting completely left behind by Vega again."
Shuta accurately judged the pace of the race.
"Standard pace, but for Vega, it could actually be slightly faster."
Considering that Kawachi Hiroshi and Saruhashi Shigetoshi remained glued directly behind them, Shuta did not even need to think to understand their intentions.
"They just want to pressure Vega into accelerating early. Before, I truly didn't dare let Vega move too soon. But with the pace controlled like this—"
The young man immediately made his decision.
He sharply tightened the reins once, then released them, while simultaneously driving forward with his body.
Receiving the signal from her partner, Vega instantly began to accelerate.
At first, the increase in speed was not particularly obvious. But after exiting the bend section, Shuta and Vega smoothly overtook MotherTosho and moved directly to the front of the field.
When Norihiro Yokoyama noticed Vega taking the lead, he showed no intention whatsoever of trying to accelerate and reclaim the position.
Because he could already feel it clearly.
Mother Tosho's stamina no longer supported another explosive acceleration.
"That's ridiculous—How much pressure did Vega apply just by sitting behind us...?"
The still-inexperienced Norihiro Yokoyama genuinely could not understand it.
In the stands, Mother Tosho's Trainer, Ohira Shinji, also could not comprehend the situation.
He merely felt that Shuta possessed some strange suppressive effect over the horses trained by others. (Charming Whisper?)
"Otherwise, how do you explain Mejiro Ryan never being able to beat him!?"
As a Trainer who had once guided a mare Triple Tiara winner, Ohira Shinji truly felt a degree of fear whenever Shuta and his horses appeared in the same race.
Although his relationship with the Mejiro Family was excellent, and he almost never directly cooperated with Shuta, that did not mean he was ignorant of Shuta's terrifying capabilities.
The moment Vega overtook Mother Tosho, Ohira Shinji almost felt as though funeral bells had begun ringing for him.
"Yeah!!"
The instant Shuta and Vega became the first pair to enter the final straight, Yoshida Katsumi could no longer suppress his excitement and shouted aloud.
The nearest rivals behind them were already three horse lengths away.
With such an advantage, Shuta no longer needed to employ exhausting high-intensity riding techniques such as simultaneously whipping and driving.
Two indicator whips.
A powerful forward push.
That alone was enough.
Yutaka Take had noticed Shuta's decision to accelerate early. For a brief moment, he hesitated over whether he should immediately follow and launch Hokuto Vega's move as well.
That tiny hesitation instantly cost him the ideal lane.
His acceleration path was blocked.
Left with no alternative, he could only guide Hokuto Vega toward the outermost lane and begin a wide charge from the outside.
But by the time Hokuto Vega finally found open space, Shuta had already extended Vega's advantage to three and a half horse lengths.
The young man could clearly feel it.
Vega was running more and more smoothly. It was as though the entire race had unfolded exactly according to her preferences.
He barely needed to push her, yet Vega's speed continued increasing naturally.
That realization filled Shuta with joy.
After maintaining a Senko-style pace for over 1500 meters, Vega still retained another layer of acceleration.
That meant she could likely handle even longer distances.
And if that was true—
Then her chances in the Japanese Oaks next month were extremely promising.
Yes.
With only 100 meters remaining before the finish line, Shuta was already thinking ahead toward the second leg of the future mare Triple Crown.
When Shuta raised a single index finger toward the stands, the live commentator's voice exploded across Hanshin Racecourse—
"She crosses the finish line alone!"
"Beneath a clear and cloudless sky, a first-magnitude star rises over Hanshin Racecourse!"
"1:36.7!"
"An undefeated Oka Sho champion is born!"
"Vega and Shuta claims theirs very first Oka Sho victory!"
"And today, he takes yet another brand-new step toward even greater achievements!"
Shuta rode Vega into the underground tunnel, dismounted, and exchanged high-fives with Yoshida Katsumi and Matsuda Hiroshi.
"That was far too overwhelming, wasn't it? There was a complete class difference between her and the other competitors."
Matsuda Hiroshi widened his eyes exaggeratedly as he spoke.
"Honestly, Shuta-kun, was that raised index finger at the end your declaration that Vega would challenge for the first Triple Tiara since Mejiro Ramonu?"
"Something like that, I suppose." Shuta shrugged lightly. "Vega has the ability. At least, that's how I see it. But we still have to pay attention to how the other competitors develop over the summer."
"That's true," Yoshida Katsumi agreed with a nod. "Still, after winning the Oka Sho, Vega will already have a place secured at Shadai Farm after retirement."
"I won't comment on racehorse production," Shuta An replied as he spread his hands. "But this year should also be the debut season for the first foal crop of Sunday Silence and Oguri Cap, right?"
"That's right. The evaluations for Sunday Silence's progeny have been quite positive… Oguri Cap's side, however, is a little awkward."
Yoshida Katsumi spoke frankly, without hiding anything.
"To be honest, we've already started preparing ourselves for the possibility that Oguri Cap's stud career might fail. Over the past two years, we've provided him with excellent breeding partners, but the foals produced so far have shown rather poor performances."
"It's already good enough if his bloodline can continue," Shuta An replied with an open expression. "Even if it only survives through the female line in the future, Oguri's bloodline will still remain."
However, his mood was nowhere near as relaxed as his expression suggested.
"If the real world truly corresponds to the Dream World, does that mean the children between Oguri and me are destined to lack the talent to become outstanding Uma Musume?" The thought surfaced uncontrollably within his mind.
Yet Shuta An did not feel despair or regret. Instead, another realization immediately followed.
"The Dream World and the real world are not completely identical. Just like Tokai Teio and Symboli Rudolf are not mother and daughter in reality."
"So there's no reason to jump to conclusions yet," the young man silently reassured himself.
After completing the post-race interview, Shuta An met up with Trainer Nakano, Horse Owner Mori Shigeru, and Yutaka Take. Hokuto Vega had ultimately finished fourth in the Oka Sho. Both Yutaka Take and Trainer Nakano stated that they and Hokuto Vega had already given everything they had.
Trainer Nakano and Mori Shigeru naturally understood that result. Still, when Trainer Nakano saw Shuta An passing by, he could not stop himself from wondering what kind of outcome Hokuto Vega might have achieved if Shuta An himself had ridden her in this race.
"Mr. Mori, Trainer Nakano, Take-san." Shuta An proactively greeted the three men.
"Congratulations, Shuta-kun." Mori Shigeru slightly bowed as he offered his congratulations.
"Thank you, Mr. Mori. Hokuto Vega's fourth-place finish today was also excellent," Shuta An replied immediately. He did not casually accept the bow, instead returning one of his own while praising Hokuto Vega's performance.
"Is Hokuto Vega's future really on dirt?" Mori Shigeru still sounded somewhat unwilling to accept it. "Her performance on turf in the Oka Sho was clearly very strong as well."
"Now that she's already won the Flower Cup, Hokuto Vega has more than earned back her value as a racehorse, hasn't she?" Shuta An gently reminded him.
"That means you can afford to try more options. As for the Japanese Oaks… there's no harm in challenging it. After all, it's a stage a racehorse can only stand on once in her life."
"That's true." Mori Shigeru turned toward Yutaka Take and Trainer Nakano. "Then Hokuto Vega's next race will be the Japanese Oaks. I'll leave everything to the two of you."
Yutaka Take glanced sideways at Shuta An before nodding. "I'll do my best."
Though inwardly, he could not help but mutter to himself:
"She probably still won't be able to beat Vega. Vega's condition right now makes it feel like even the Japanese Oaks will be an easy victory for her."
Mori Shigeru and Trainer Nakano were naturally aware of that reality as well. Unfortunately, there simply were not any more suitable alternative races available at this stage.
"After the Japanese Oaks, I'll ask Shuta-kun whether he has any suggestions regarding a switch to dirt," Trainer Nakano quietly considered the possibility.
Shuta An woke up from the Dream World, headed to the restroom to wash up, then returned to his seat. After checking the time and confirming there was still around an hour left before landing in Sydney, he casually opened the attribute viewer to check the reward he had obtained for winning the Oka Sho with Vega the previous night.
"It was at least a G1. Surely it won't be another good luck charm or something strange like that," the young man muttered to himself.
Then the reward appeared before his eyes—
"To oppose the overlord, the era requires a first-class star. Congratulations on winning the Oka Sho with Vega. You have obtained clue fragment AD."
"AD?" Shuta An frowned deeply. "An advertisement? What kind of thing even is this?"
He genuinely could not understand the meaning behind this unfamiliar reward. In the end, he could only temporarily set the matter aside.
"Maybe after winning the Japanese Oaks, I'll obtain the follow-up fragment."
—
After landing at Sydney International Airport, Shuta An was picked up almost immediately by the hotel's private vehicle after leaving the terminal. Since it only took around nine minutes to drive from the airport to the hotel, the young man felt as though he had barely warmed his seat before they had already arrived.
Because he had already washed up on the plane, Shuta An simply tossed his luggage into the room after arriving at the hotel, changed his clothes, and headed downstairs toward the training grounds. There was no need for another shower, nor did he intend to immediately go to sleep.
As expected, Mejiro Dober was not in the suite.
"It looks like she's already out doing her morning exercise."
Without any surprise, Shuta An immediately turned around and hurried downstairs once more.
"After morning exercise, I'll need to give Dober her first palpation in quite a while," the young man muttered quietly to himself. "Hopefully she hasn't secretly increased her own training load during this period and added unnecessary strain to her body."
The moment Mejiro Dober noticed Shuta An from the corner of her vision, she waved toward him before immediately returning her focus to training once more.
Shuta An stood quietly beside the field without any intention of interrupting her session. He simply watched silently as Mejiro Dober completed her standard morning exercise routine, carefully observing both her gait and the way she distributed power through her movements.
Only after the session ended did the young man finally nod in satisfaction.
"It seems Dober really has been strictly following the training program I prepared for her during this period."
While quietly speaking to himself, he walked toward her.
"Let's head back to the room first. I'll give you a palpation afterward. Once I've checked your condition, I'll decide whether your training plan needs any adjustments."
"Okay!" Mejiro Dober nodded repeatedly.
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