Chapter 102. Kikuka Sho Part 1
Today, Kyoto Prefecture basked beneath clear blue skies. Not a single cloud had drifted overhead for several consecutive days.
The management of Kyoto Racecourse had even considered watering the turf on Friday to add moisture, but the plan was ultimately abandoned.
"The track is completely dry. Firm footing—this will be a pure speed track."
Standing behind the grandstand railing, Shuta An reached that conclusion without even needing to secretly test the turf beneath his feet.
"This kind of surface should save quite a bit of stamina," Rice Shower murmured.
"So it's good for Teio-senpai?" Kurofune asked.
Shuta An nodded without hesitation.
"Very good for her. Absolutely. If I claimed otherwise, I'd just be fooling myself."
"I bet the other competitors are cursing their luck right now," Kurofune said with a smile. "A track like this minimizes Teio-senpai's biggest weakness."
"Not exactly."
Shuta An shrugged.
"Everyone benefits from good track. Japanese Uma Musume may struggle on heavy turf, but nobody struggles because the track is fast. This isn't an advantage reserved for Teio alone."
"So, this race will depend more on speed than endurance."
Rice Shower lowered her eyes in thought.
"If that's the case—Teio-senpai won't lose to anyone."
—
Inside the waiting lounge, Tokai Teio sat on the sofa, absentmindedly swinging her legs as she watched the pre-race broadcast.
"Five turf races have already been run today." She quietly organized the information in her mind. "Every winner either led outright or raced prominently near the front."
"Just as Trainer predicted."
"Kyoto rewards positive tactics. Even over longer distances, waiting too long isn't the answer."
She rested her chin on one hand.
"I'm not the only one uncertain about my stamina over three thousand meters. Most of the field will race conservatively. There might be one or two who try to steal the race with an aggressive breakaway—"
She smiled faintly.
"but choosing that strategy already means they're worried they can't last the distance."
"So no matter what happens—" Tokai Teio's smile widened. "this race won't turn into the kind of blistering pace I hate most."
That conclusion alone was enough to put her completely at ease.
When a Kyoto Racecourse official entered to notify her that it was time to report for check-in, Tokai Teio sprang to her feet with unmistakable excitement.
"I can't wait anymore!"
Leaving those words behind, she darted past the staff member toward the check-in area.
"She's confident." The official watched her disappear down the corridor. "It almost looks like she's already certain she'll win."
Tokai Teio signed her name at the registration desk with her usual lively flourish before taking her place near the underground passage leading to the paddock.
The other sixteen competitors kept their distance.
No one approached her.
Only Nice Nature hesitated for a brief moment before finally gathering the courage to walk over.
"Necha?"
Tokai Teio noticed her immediately.
"Congratulations. You achieved the goal you set before summer vacation—you made it to the Kikuka Sho."
"Eh?"
Nice Nature blinked.
She had indeed made that her goal months ago.
But...
"I don't remember ever telling Teio."
Reading the confusion on her face, Tokai Teio smiled.
"It wasn't difficult to figure out. I watched your summer campaign. Once I saw your race schedule, the answer became obvious."
"It's the Classic season. Every Uma Musume wants to seize the chance to stand on this stage."
"But—" Nice Nature answered quietly, "I want more than just the chance to race."
"I want—"
"To win the Kikuka Sho."
Tokai Teio gently finished the sentence for her.
She tilted her head slightly. Her eyes curved into their usual cheerful smile.
Yet her voice carried a certainty that left no room for doubt.
"I'm sorry, Necha. That's the one thing I can't give you today. I made a promise to my Trainer."
Before Nice Nature could respond, the race officials announced that all participants should proceed to the presentation area.
Tokai Teio took a step forward.
Then another.
Just before leaving, she glanced back over her shoulder.
"I've been looking forward to fulfilling that promise for days."
"So..." Her smile remained bright. "I won't let anyone take it away from me."
Without another word, she walked away.
Nice Nature watched her retreating figure in silence.
"That was scary."
She rubbed her forehead.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. It felt satisfying for a moment—"
"but somehow I only made Teio's competitive spirit burn even brighter."
Thinking about it now only gave her a headache. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd completely backfired.
—
As the runner drawn in Gate Eighteen, Tokai Teio naturally became the final entrant to appear during the pre-race presentation.
The instant she stepped onto the display stage—
The grandstands erupted. The TEIO CHANT resounded.
The roar that swept across Kyoto Racecourse was so overwhelming that calling it an earthquake hardly seemed like an exaggeration.
Several members of Team Sadalsuud instinctively flattened their ears before covering them with both hands.
Even Shuta An found himself shielding his ears as the wall of sound rolled toward him with enough force to feel almost physical.
"She's even more popular than I imagined—"
he thought quietly.
"It was the right decision not to let Teio sign endorsement deals yet. If she completes the Undefeated Triple Crown today—the offers will come on their own."
The race announcer's passionate voice echoed throughout Kyoto Racecourse.
"THE UNDEFEATED TWO-CROWN CHAMPION—"
"TEAM SADALSUUD'S ACE—"
"DESPITE DRAWING THE OUTSIDE GATE IN ALL THREE CLASSIC RACES!!! CAN ANYONE STOP TOKAI TEIO?"
"IF SHE CAPTURES TODAY'S KIKUKA SHO..."
"SHE WILL BECOME THE FIRST UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN UMA MUSUME AFTER SYMBOLI RUDOLF."
"AND TEAM SADALSUUD'S TRAINER WILL BECOME THE FIRST TRAINER IN JAPANESE HISTORY TO GUIDE TWO UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN AND TIARA WINNERS."
"HISTORY STANDS ONLY ONE RACE AWAY."
"IN TWENTY MINUTES WILL TOKAI TEIO CONQUER KIKUKA SHO?"
Smiling brightly, Tokai Teio waved toward the cheering grandstands before leaving the presentation stage.
The moment she stepped off, she immediately broke into her familiar Teio Step, heading straight toward the starting gate area.
There was no lingering.
No chatting.
She simply began warming up on her own.
Nice Nature had originally intended to greet several friends before the race. But after watching Tokai Teio disappear toward the track, she quietly abandoned the idea.
"Even Teio prepares this seriously."
She tightened her fists.
"So I can't afford to relax either."
As the runner drawn in Gate 18, Tokai Teio was not only the final Uma Musume to appear during the pre-race presentation, but also the last to enter the starting gates. That left her with the least time of anyone to settle herself inside the stall.
Fortunately, over Kyoto Racecourse's 3000-meter course, the difference between an inside and outside draw was relatively small. As long as she had adjusted her condition beforehand, the brief wait inside the gate would not become a problem.
Just before stepping into the stall, the race commentator's voice rang out once more across the racecourse.
"GATE 18—TOKAI TEIO! WINNER OF LAST YEAR'S ASAHI HAI FUTURITY STAKES, THIS YEAR'S UNDEFEATED TWO-CROWN CHAMPION, NOW CHALLENGING TO BECOME ONLY THE SECOND UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN WINNER IN HISTORY! CAN SHE FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A LEGENDARY EMPEROR?"
"The second undefeated Triple Crown..."
The phrase echoed through every competitor's mind.
Ever since the Japanese Derby, they had all understood exactly what Tokai Teio was attempting.
Yet hearing it announced aloud once again still tightened every heart on the field.
"Can we really stop her?"
"We have to stop Tokai Teio here."
"Just once... I want to beat her."
Every Uma Musume present had watched Tokai Teio's races throughout the Twinkle Series. They had also witnessed her relentless pursuit training at Central Tracen Academy.
Without exchanging a single word, they had all reached the same conclusion.
Tokai Teio hates fast races.
Someone has to force the pace.
Someone has to sacrifice themselves.
The problem was—
Who would volunteer to become that sacrifice?
And even if someone did choose to run away from the field, would it actually accomplish anything in today's Kikuka Sho?
"Would a runaway pace be bad for Teio-senpai?"
Kurofune asked, turning toward her Trainer.
"Not really."
Shuta An casually waved the concern aside. His reasoning was exactly the same as Tokai Teio's own conclusion back in the lounge.
Click!
The starting gates sprang open in perfect unison.
All eighteen Uma Musume exploded forward, immediately scrambling for position.
Tokai Teio reacted without hesitation.
Accelerating cleanly from the outside, she tucked in behind Leo Durban from Gate 17 as the field charged toward the first turn.
Leo Durban immediately sensed Tokai Teio drawing alongside.
"She's taking the initiative?"
A new thought flashed through her mind.
"If everyone sees Tokai Teio racing prominently, they'll probably increase the pace to wear her down. I can't afford to get caught in that. I'd better conserve my stamina instead."
The Kikuka Sho required two complete laps around Kyoto Racecourse's outer course. There was still an enormous amount of racing left.
Leo Durban saw no reason to fight for position this early.
Watching from the stands, even her Trainer remained composed.
"Leo Durban's strongest weapon has always been her wide sweeping run," he quietly reassured himself. "She can adapt if she drops back and switches to a chaser style."
"The first two Classics already proved that matching Tokai Teio stride for stride from a forward position doesn't work. So changing back to her preferred tactics isn't necessarily a bad decision."
Before the race, he had hoped she would stay near the front.
But once the race began—
How an Uma Musume actually ran was ultimately her own decision.
Even Shuta An often entrusted his runners with the freedom to improvise during a race.
—
"For a three-thousand-meter race, this pace is perfectly reasonable."
Watching the large monitor, Shuta An calmly explained the unfolding race to Kurofune and Rice Shower.
"Teio sitting sixth right now is almost ideal."
"Fujiyama Kenzan is breaking the wind for her, while Vraie Etoile behind has no intention of applying pressure. As opening scenarios go—"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"this is about as favorable as we could have hoped for."
"Trainer sounds completely relaxed..."
Rice Shower quietly followed his gaze toward the monitor.
"So Teio-senpai has already secured exactly the position he wanted."
She silently committed every detail to memory.
"I need to remember how Teio-senpai handles Kyoto's 3000 meters. One day, it'll definitely help me too."
—
Leading the field today was no longer their old acquaintance, After Me.
After setting the pace in both previous Classics, After Me had been forced into retirement following an injury sustained after the Japanese Derby.
Her results had never been strong enough to earn a place in the Dream Cup, leaving her to remain at Central Tracen Academy to continue her studies before taking university entrance examinations.
Fortunately, her years at Central Tracen would at least provide a significant advantage during admissions.
There was little time to dwell on her misfortune.
Another familiar face had inherited the role of pacemaker.
Hokusei Ciboulette.
Mindful of her own uncertain stamina over three thousand meters, Hokusei Ciboulette deliberately restrained the tempo, bringing the field through the opening thousand meters in 62.7 seconds.
A comfortably slow pace.
Exactly the kind that allowed the front half of the field to preserve valuable stamina.
For Tokai Teio—
It could hardly have unfolded any better.
Passing the winning post for the first time and approaching the third corner, Tokai Teio remained perfectly patient.
Unlike the increasingly restless Leo Durban behind her, she made no attempt to improve her position. She simply stayed tucked behind Fujiyama Kenzan, cruising smoothly in sixth.
"Leo Durban looks a little impatient," the guest commentator observed.
"There's still a long way to the finish. If she starts advancing now, she's only going to burn unnecessary stamina."
"The third corner is uphill," the main commentator added, frowning slightly.
"Accelerating there is incredibly expensive. For an Uma Musume like Leo Durban, whose stamina over this distance hasn't been fully proven, that's an especially risky decision."
He paused before continuing.
"In fact, you could say the same for every runner in today's field. None of these eighteen competitors has fully established themselves over three thousand meters."
"Which means the winner won't simply be the fastest. It'll be whoever preserves the most energy before the decisive move."
—
"Exactly."
Shuta An nodded in agreement as he listened to the broadcast.
"There's no way Leo Durban's Trainer instructed her to race like that. If she changes tactics on her own—then she'll have to bear the consequences herself."
Beside him, Kurofune couldn't shake the feeling that her Trainer wasn't merely commenting on Leo Durban.
It sounded as though he were deliberately reminding someone else of the dangers of abandoning the race plan.