Chapter 17. Familiar Gate Draw Results
After finishing her morning exercise, Mejiro Dober informed Shuta An that she needed to return upstairs to prepare herself first.
The young man could roughly guess what "prepare" meant, so he merely nodded in understanding.
Thus, while Mejiro Dober hurried back to the suite to "get ready," Shuta An headed alone toward the hotel restaurant, planning to eat a simple breakfast first.
Sydney's breakfast selection was extremely abundant. Strictly speaking, however, none of the dishes could truly be considered local specialties. Still, whether it was French onion soup, shakshuka, or pancakes paired with smoked cheese, Shuta An found all of them quite delicious, so he did not particularly care whether the so-called "special breakfast" here was genuinely special or not.
"Once I finish checking Dober's condition today, I'll need to immediately make a judgment. Judging from her morning exercise performance, continuing with the current training regimen shouldn't be a problem. Starting tomorrow, I'll have to begin focusing on the opponents in the same race."
Because only seven Uma Musume, including Mejiro Dober, would participate in this Queen Elizabeth Stakes, positional differences would not be especially significant regardless of whether one chose a late-closing tactic or a mid-pack stalking tactic. As for leading or front-running tactics, Shuta An had no intention whatsoever of letting Mejiro Dober attempt them in this race.
"No matter how I think about it, the pace of this race shouldn't become especially fast. There's no reason to gamble on front-running or leading tactics that Dober has never used before," Shuta An concluded inwardly.
And regarding Mejiro Dober herself, the young man was certain she would not suddenly transform into some tactical genius who would surprise both her fans and her Trainer with an improvised live performance on race day.
After estimating that Mejiro Dober should already be "prepared," Shuta An left the restaurant and returned toward the suite by elevator.
The moment he stepped into the living room, he saw Mejiro Dober seated on the sofa, absentmindedly swinging her legs while watching the morning news broadcast on television.
Walking over to her side, Shuta An sat down on the sofa and lightly nudged her exposed thigh. Perhaps because she had only recently come out of the bathroom, the sensation beneath his fingertips felt slightly different from usual.
Mejiro Dober turned her head toward him, lazily propped herself up with her right hand against the sofa, then shifted farther away with a gentle movement before rotating sideways and placing both of her legs directly across Shuta An's lap.
She said nothing.
Naturally, Shuta An understood what she meant, so he quietly began the palpation she had waited so long for.
Unlike the warmth of her thighs, however, Mejiro Dober seemed to have taken her "preparations" very seriously. When his fingers touched her skin, he did not feel even the slightest trace of moisture.
Her toes curled unconsciously, as though she still could not fully adapt to undergoing palpation again after being separated for such a long time.
Still, that did not prevent Shuta An from carefully assessing her condition while comparing it to the state her legs and feet had been in before he left Australia.
After a long sequence of pressing, kneading, and palpating, Shuta An finally concluded today's examination. He looked up toward Mejiro Dober, who appeared to be watching television yet whose attention had clearly remained fixed on him the entire time.
"Your condition has improved even further since I left Australia," he said calmly. "It seems Dober really did strictly follow the training regimen I prepared."
"Yes. After all, with Trainer absent, and without you staying by my side, I wouldn't dare adjust the training plan on my own."
Something about Mejiro Dober's tone made the young man feel a subtle sense of strangeness.
And in the very next second, that strange feeling immediately materialized.
Mejiro Dober slowly turned around, adjusted her sitting posture on the sofa again, then quietly whispered:
"Trainer hasn't forgotten our promise before leaving Australia, right? When Trainer returns from Japan, there's something I want to tell him."
She repeated the very same words from before.
"Of course, I haven't forgotten," Shuta An immediately replied.
However, his tone soon softened slightly.
"And I also know what Dober wants to say."
He gently took hold of Mejiro Dober's left hand and spoke quietly.
"On the day the Queen Elizabeth Stakes ends, I'll give Dober every answer she wants."
"If Trainer says things like that, then I'll only become more anxious little by little." Mejiro Dober lowered her gaze toward the back of her own hand. "And if Trainer continues to delay things…"
After raising her eyes to meet his directly, she quietly continued:
"Then I'll use my own actions to find the answer myself."
For some reason, the Mejiro Dober before him suddenly gave Shuta An an unusually dangerous and cold impression.
Yet rather than nervousness or panic, what he felt instead was calm composure.
"Because the upcoming race is extremely important," he replied teasingly. "And I don't want anything affecting Dober's condition simply because I failed to restrain myself."
"Ha…"
A flush instantly spread across Mejiro Dober's cheeks, and she hurriedly stood up before fleeing from the sofa almost as if escaping.
"Oh dear." Shuta An covered his mouth with one hand, pretending to look surprised. "Looks like I accidentally said it out loud."
Naturally, he had done it intentionally.
—
Even after returning to Sydney, Shuta An did not neglect matters back in Japan. Since Japanese races took place on Sunday while Australian races were held on Saturday, the final preparations before race day needed to proceed simultaneously.
In this Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Mejiro Dober would face six opponents, and nearly all of them were already G1 winners. The overall level of accomplishment in the field was extraordinarily high.
Intergaze currently possessed three G1 victories, including the Queen Elizabeth Stakes from two years prior, alongside victories in the Champagne Stakes and the Randwick Guineas.
Istidaad held one G1 title, having recently won the Australian Cup before choosing to force her way directly into this Queen Elizabeth Stakes with minimal recovery time.
Sky Heights, already a dual G1 winner, had consecutively captured both the Rosehill Guineas and the Australian Derby this year. As a Derby winner, her momentum was immense.
LeaseI had not yet won a G1, but she had finished runner-up in this year's Doncaster Mile, one of Australia's premier races.
Then there was Horizon.
This was the opponent Shuta An had anticipated for a very long time. Back when he discussed her with Silence Suzuka last year, Australian Trainers unanimously believed Horizon possessed Hall of Fame-level potential and an extraordinarily bright future.
Yet after half a year had passed, the number of G1 victories she possessed still remained only those original two.
As for the final opponent, Darazari had already been defeated by Mejiro Dober in the Ranvet Stakes, making her the rival Shuta An felt most confident about facing.
"Thinking about it carefully," Shuta An muttered while seated before the computer, "the pressure here is actually much lighter than Teio's situation."
On Shuta An's second day in Australia, the NHK documentary crew also arrived and checked into the same hotel as him.
"After this race, Dober's part in the documentary will basically be finished," Shuta An said to Mejiro Dober in the gym after meeting with the production team.
Mejiro Dober glanced at her Trainer. "You're saying that as if this Queen Elizabeth Stakes is my final race of the first half of the year."
Shuta An shook his head. "Of course not. Dober's final race of the first half should either be the Takarazuka Kinen or the Yasuda Kinen."
"I see—" Mejiro Dober nodded in relief. "If I only ran two races in the first half of the year, I'd start worrying that I wasn't racing enough."
"Really?" The corners of Shuta An's lips lifted slightly. "Then how about this—Dober won't take a summer break this year."
"Huh?" Mejiro Dober immediately stopped moving. She turned around and stared at her Trainer with widened eyes. "What do you mean? You're planning races for the summer too?"
"That's right," Shuta An admitted openly. "If Dober wants to race more often, then starting from the second half of the year, we can compete once every month and a half, then finish the year with the Queen Elizabeth Cup."
"So four races in the second half?" Mejiro Dober raised an eyebrow. "Six races a year is acceptable."
"Can Dober guarantee victories in all of them?" Shuta An deliberately provoked her in a subtle tone. "In any case, we still need to train properly."
"Let's start by winning this Queen Elizabeth Stakes first," Mejiro Dober replied before resuming her training.
The young man simply stood to the side, smiling faintly as he watched her continue her focused routine.
On Wednesday, the NHK documentary crew woke up especially early. However, by the time they arrived at the training ground, Mejiro Dober had already completed her warm-up and was preparing to begin her official morning exercise.
Meanwhile, Shuta An was sitting near the entrance to the training ground. After hearing footsteps behind him, he turned his head and greeted the NHK staff.
"Good morning, everyone. Did you all rest well?"
"Did Shuta Trainer rest well?" the director asked as he walked over to stand beside him. "Do you really have to wake up this early every day during the final stage of pre-race preparation?"
At the same time, the cameramen had already begun filming.
Shuta An nodded naturally. "Of course I have to wake up early. If you want good results, there's no room for sleeping in."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"To become an Uma Musume capable of standing on a G1 stage in the Twinkle Series, who among them isn't a genius? If they don't work even harder than others, how could they possibly succeed?"
"Then has Shuta Trainer ever seen an absolute genius?" the director asked.
When he posed the question, he had already prepared himself for names such as Oguri Cap, Symboli Rudolf, or Tokai Teio. He had even considered the possibility that Shuta An might simply say he had never seen one before.
But Shuta An's answer was none of those.
"I have," he said. "For example, Miss Secretariat, the Student Council President of West Coast Tracen Academy."
"But even she isn't absolute." The young man shrugged lightly. "After all, she wasn't undefeated in the Twinkle Series."
At that point, the corners of Shuta An's lips curved upward again.
"To achieve a career like Oguri Cap's... is still far too difficult."
"I didn't expect even Miss Oguri Cap wouldn't qualify as an absolute genius in Shuta Trainer's eyes," the director said in amazement.
"Because Oguri wasn't particularly suited to many European racecourses," Shuta An replied calmly.
"For example, after El Condor Pasa's unsuccessful challenge, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp suddenly became a major topic in Japan. Although Oguri once won a G1 there, the level of exhaustion was terrifying. Personally, I judged that Oguri wouldn't perform well in the 2400-meter turf race at Longchamp, so I never considered sending her to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe."
"I see~" The director hesitated slightly.
After El Condor Pasa's second-place finish in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, countless Twinkle Series fans in Japan had discussed which local Uma Musume might have achieved better results there.
Among those names, Oguri Cap was undoubtedly mentioned the most.
Yet now, Oguri Cap's own Trainer had personally denied the possibility.
"Yes... this part will probably need to be edited out later as well," the director quietly confirmed to himself again.
At noon, after the morning training session ended and lunch was finished, Mejiro Dober entered her usual nap schedule. Meanwhile, Shuta An remained in the hotel lobby together with the production crew.
Today was the day the Queen Elizabeth Stakes gate positions would be announced.
"Shuta Trainer, do you have any expectations regarding the draw?" the director asked.
Sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee in hand, Shuta An took a sip before looking up.
"As long as it isn't the innermost gate. That position makes it difficult for Dober to secure a comfortable spot early on, so I'd prefer something in the middle. That way, regardless of whether she races from the front or settles mid-pack, it'll be easier to find rhythm."
"Then I wish Shuta Trainer the best of luck," the director replied with a smile.
Shuta An placed the coffee cup back onto the table. "The draw results should arrive in a few minutes."
Almost immediately after he finished speaking, a courier from the Australian URA Association entered the hotel lobby.
The young man stood up, walked over, and accepted the sealed gate assignment with both hands.
"Thank you."
After bowing slightly and seeing the courier off, Shuta An returned to the lobby. Without the slightest hesitation, he tore open the envelope directly in front of the cameras, pulled out the document, unfolded it, and the corner of his mouth twitched faintly.
The cameraman captured the entire reaction perfectly.
"What happened?" the director immediately asked, not daring to peek himself.
"Another outermost gate."
Shuta An folded the paper back up, returned it to the envelope, then shrugged after turning around.
"But it doesn't really matter. Randwick Racecourse isn't a short final-straight course like Moonee Valley, so an outside gate isn't especially troublesome for Dober. Looking at the other gate assignments, the race development should actually end up favoring her."
"Then what is Shuta Trainer's evaluation of this draw?" the director pressed further.
Shuta An tilted his head slightly, organized his thoughts for a moment, then ultimately summarized everything in a single concise sentence.
"Neither good nor bad. We'll win anyway."