Chapter 19. Hectic Schedule; QES Aus 1999 Part 1
The discussion with Freedman was not filmed. The two of them only discussed matters such as which Racecourse in Australia should host the race, along with the race distance and prize purse.
"I don't mind sponsoring it every year. But I suppose the local URA Association wouldn't allow me to become the sole sponsor and naming rights holder, right?" Shuta An finally shrugged.
"I don't think any URA Association would miss an opportunity like this." Freedman grinned. "When the time comes, the various URA Associations will probably take turns hosting it, and naturally, they'll have to sort out the sponsorship arrangements themselves."
"That works too." Shuta An had never been particularly attached to sponsorship rights. He spread his hands lightly. "If it's set as a 1600-meter race, and the schedule lines up properly, I'll arrange for Miss Mejiro Dober to make an overseas expedition for it next year."
"That would be even better. I imagine the different URA Associations would fight tooth and nail over the rights to host the inaugural edition." Freedman laughed. "After all, if an Uma Musume like Miss Mejiro Dober participates in the very first running, it would become outstanding promotional material."
After seeing Freedman off, the NHK film crew resumed their work.
Although the director and cameramen had overheard the conversation between Shuta An and Freedman, the two had spoken entirely in English from beginning to end. Neither the director nor the staff actually understood what had been discussed.
And because the young man had specifically requested that the previous conversation not be filmed, the director tactfully refrained from asking further questions.
"The West Australian Derby is about to begin. It's surprising that a Derby race is only graded as a G2," the director remarked, choosing another topic.
"After all, Australia has too many Derbies."
Shuta An explained casually.
"There's the Queensland Derby, South Australian Derby, Victoria Derby, Australian Derby and besides those, there are even Derbies held at some rural Racecourses. Since there are so many Derby races, it's impossible for all of them to be G1s."
"I see. So this West Australian Derby would be considered a lower-status Derby," the director said thoughtfully. "Something similar to the Ishikawa Derby, Kochi Derby, or Tokyo Derby."
As today's feature race, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes was scheduled as the final race at Randwick Racecourse. Because of that, Shuta An told the film crew to relax a little and not feel obligated to keep filming continuously.
"Save your energy for later. Otherwise, how are you going to film the main race properly?" the young man said.
So the crew remained inside the Box and enjoyed the day's races together. Since they no longer needed to keep the cameras rolling nonstop, they freely asked Shuta An questions whenever something confused them while watching. The young man answered every race-related question with ease, earning sincere admiration from everyone present.
"As expected of the most capable Trainer at Central Tracen Academy—truly knowledgeable," the director said with clasped hands.
"For Trainers who aspire to send their Uma Musume overseas, this is merely basic common sense." Shuta An shook his head lightly.
The West Australian Derby was won by Voile D'Or, who defeated the runner-up Latest Ploy by seven lengths. Yet what shocked everyone most was not the winning margin itself, but something else entirely.
"Voile D'Or is an Uma Musume who originally chose the Triple Tiara Route. Before this, all of her focus had been on Triple Tiara races. This was her first time facing opponents from the Classic Triple Crown Route, and she still won." Even Shuta An sounded impressed.
The surrounding staff widened their eyes.
"A feat like this was only accomplished by a handful of Uma Musume in Japan decades ago," the director murmured softly.
The following G2 sprint race, the Sapphire Stakes, was won by Ry, who had already spent years competing on the Twinkle Series stage.
"If she hadn't produced results, people would've said she was merely staying active to accumulate seniority." Shuta An crossed his arms. "But once she wins a major race, everyone suddenly praises it as perseverance instead."
The film crew immediately broke into cold sweat.
The next G2 Perth Stakes produced an upset victory from Katima. Shuta An himself had never seen any prior reports about this result, leaving even him momentarily speechless.
He could only shrug helplessly. "That's the nature of sprint races. Everything is decided in an instant, and unexpected developments happen constantly. Just like this."
In the following G2 Royal Sovereign Stakes, Lawyer — who had suffered a crushing defeat in the Australian Derby only a week earlier — managed to start over from scratch.
"The Uma Musume who defeated Lawyer last week was Sky Heights." Shuta An paused slightly. "And later today, Sky Heights will face Dober in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes."
"Does Shuta Trainer think Sky Heights is a major threat?" the director immediately followed up.
"Not really." The young man answered without hesitation.
"Lawyer won because the Royal Sovereign Stakes is only 1200 meters. The Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a middle-distance race, so Sky Heights' stamina remains questionable. Besides, Dober will most likely choose a late-closing tactic in this race, while Sky Heights' mental resilience isn't particularly strong. If Dober deliberately marks her, there's a good chance she'll collapse mentally before the race even enters its decisive phase."
Shuta An had already discussed this possibility with Mejiro Dober beforehand. However, she had not yet decided whether to specifically target SkyHeights in such a manner. After all, Intergaze remained the true rival in this Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
After that came today's first G1 event, the Queen of the Turf Stakes, where Camino Rose — who had previously shocked everyone by winning the Cool more Classic — successfully claimed consecutive victories.
"The previous race might've been called an upset," Shuta An murmured. "But winning again proves genuine strength. Still, since Dober won't be returning to Australia again this year, there's no need to pay too much attention for now."
Today's second G1, the Australian Oaks, was won by Grand Archway, who had finished third in the Australian Derby just one week earlier. This victory marked her fourth G1 title.
"Another Uma Musume running a G1 only a week after her previous race—" The director shook his head repeatedly. "This kind of schedule is unimaginable in Japan. Aren't they worried about accidents?"
"Probably not."
Even Shuta An could not answer with certainty. At the very least, if he were training an Australian Uma Musume himself, he absolutely would not arrange a schedule like this.
Running consecutive 2000-meter-plus races over back-to-back weeks?
The young man felt his conscience would ache just thinking about it.
Today's penultimate race, the G1 Sydney Cup, was a 3200-meter turf race. However, its prestige and prize money were far inferior to the Melbourne Cup. The winner here would receive only 1.16 million Australian dollars, while the Melbourne Cup champion could earn 4.4 million.
And the winner of this Sydney Cup was a familiar name — Tie the Knot.
After previously finishing behind Mejiro Dober, Tie the Knot now crushed the field by five lengths, instantly becoming the overwhelming favorite for the Melbourne Cup later this year.
"Next, it's Dober's turn to perform." Shuta An rose to his feet. "I should head to the stands and cheer for her as well."
The film crew followed closely behind him as they stepped outside toward the grandstand, preparing to record the moment Mejiro Dober was about to make history.
At 3:10 PM Sydney local time, the Uma Musume participating in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes emerged from the underground passage one after another, preparing to begin the parade.
Because Mejiro Dober was competing overseas in this race, Green Channel had decided to provide a live broadcast. However, since she was the only Japanese Uma Musume participating, Green Channel ultimately chose not to dispatch its own broadcast crew, instead using the live footage provided by the Australian television station.
And almost the instant Shuta An appeared alongside the NHK TV Station documentary crew, the local Australian photographers immediately turned their cameras toward them.
The Green Channel commentator paused briefly upon seeing the footage before quickly continuing:
"On screen now is Mejiro Dober's Trainer, Shuta Trainer Shuta. Following behind him appears to be the NHK TV Station production team. NHK previously announced that they were filming a documentary covering Team Sadalsuud's activities during the first half of the year, so this should be part of that production. We can see that Shuta Trainer appears very composed at the moment. Earlier this morning, he also accepted interviews from the media after arriving at Randwick Racecourse, and at the time, he expressed tremendous confidence in Mejiro Dober's condition."
"Although Mejiro Dober's undefeated streak ended in last year's Arima Kinen, her performance in the Ranvet Stakes already proved that her strength remains at the highest level. Furthermore, after that race, Shuta Trainer himself stated that Mejiro Dober had not yet reached her peak condition at the time, and that she would only truly display her best form today. Before the race, Australian racing experts have also overwhelmingly favored Mejiro Dober. Let us look forward to seeing what kind of performance this undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume can deliver today!"
Shuta An led the film crew toward the stands near the finish line. Leaning lightly against the railing, he twisted open a bottle of chilled mineral water, took a small sip, and calmly said,
"Tonight, we'll be flying back to Japan."
Before the director could even ask why, the young man continued explaining on his own:
"Tomorrow is Tokai Teio's Satsuki Sho. Back at the Academy, I already promised Teio that I would be at Nakayama Racecourse to watch her race in person."
"But isn't that schedule far too rushed?" the director complained instinctively.
"If I've made a promise, then I have to fulfill it."
Shuta An merely shrugged.
"The flight departs a little after 9 PM tonight and lands at Haneda Airport around 5:20 tomorrow morning. After that, I'll head directly to a hotel near Nakayama Racecourse, take a quick shower, sleep for a few hours, and enter the Racecourse once it opens at 8 AM."
"Just hearing that schedule already sounds exhausting," the director sighed. "Has Shuta Trainer always traveled around this much?"
"It's manageable." Shuta An did not seem particularly concerned. "At least tomorrow morning I'll still have time to bathe properly at the hotel, so it's not too terrible. I've handled schedules much busier than this before."
—
While the two continued speaking, the parade had already begun.
Because Mejiro Dober was starting from the outermost gate, she naturally appeared last among all the participating Uma Musume.
Dressed in the same victorious outfit she had worn before, she stepped onto the parade stage beneath the countless lights and cameras. Unlike during the Ranvet Stakes, Mejiro Dober could clearly feel that her condition today was significantly better. In fact, it was so good that she considered this to be the best state she had entered since debuting in the Twinkle Series.
"Trainer's control over my condition is terrifyingly precise…"
Standing beneath the lights, Mejiro Dober waved toward the stands while quietly speaking to herself inwardly.
"He adjusted my form perfectly so that everything would peak today."
And naturally—she had not forgotten the promise Shuta An made to her in the hotel room several days ago.
"And after tonight's race…"
Her fingers unconsciously tightened slightly.
"Mejiro Dober's condition appears extremely good today. One can clearly observe that her gait is more stable than during the Ranvet Stakes, and her mental state is also noticeably more positive. It seems last year's defeat in the Arima Kinen truly left no lasting shadow on her. I'm very much looking forward to her performance today."
The Green Channel guest commentator sounded openly impressed while watching Mejiro Dober's parade footage.
"This is also Team Sadalsuud's second major race appearance this year. Tomorrow, at Nakayama Racecourse, Tokai Teio from the same team will participate in the Satsuki Sho as the overwhelming favorite. Yet today, Shuta Trainer remains here at Randwick Racecourse. Could this perhaps indicate that he possesses absolute confidence in Tokai Teio as well?"
"One could certainly interpret it that way."
The guest commentator nodded.
"After all, Tokai Teio's performances in her three races last year already established her as the clear TOP1 of her generation. Even Uma Musume such as Ibuki Kagura, Shin Horisky, and Iide Saison, who performed excellently in this year's Satsuki Sho trial races, still have not demonstrated ability on Tokai Teio's level. Frankly speaking, as her fans said even if Tokai Teio merely reproduces the performance she showed in last year's Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, that alone might already be sufficient for tomorrow's Satsuki Sho."
It was obvious that the guest commentator thought extremely highly of Tokai Teio.
"But Tokai Teio drew the outermost gate, number 18. That should still be an enormous disadvantage, shouldn't it?"
The commentator frowned slightly as Mejiro Dober continued her warm-up on screen, and the broadcast naturally shifted toward discussion of tomorrow's Satsuki Sho.
Meanwhile, as the official start time gradually approached, the anxiety within Shuta An continued to grow heavier.
In front of the cameras, he still forced himself to maintain a composed expression. Yet beneath that calm exterior, his nerves had already tightened to the limit.
"Trust Dober. Trust the adjustments I made before the race. Trust the strength she has accumulated."
Again and again, the young man silently repeated those words to himself.
Because he was focused entirely on stabilizing his emotions, Shuta An no longer spoke with the director or the rest of the NHK staff for a period of time.
And at this moment, everyone present could clearly tell that although Shuta An appeared calm on the surface, inwardly he was anything but composed.
Still, nobody found this strange.
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes was the centerpiece race of the second week of Australia's autumn Twinkle Series festival. In terms of prestige alone, it unquestionably ranked among Australia's top races. Facing a stage like this, it would have been stranger if Shuta An had not felt pressure.
Even though Mejiro Dober no longer carried the burden of preserving an undefeated record, this race still determined whether this entire Australian expedition could truly be called a success.
If they placed themselves in his position, none of them believed they could remain calm either.
And just as Shuta An's breathing was beginning to lose its rhythm slightly, Intergaze, starting from gate 1, became the first Uma Musume to enter the starting gate with assistance from the staff.
"They're beginning to load into the gates!"
The director's voice suddenly rang out.