Chapter 101. Rice Shower's Appetite
(Rice was a big eater too. I found out that in her dialogue scenario, Gold Ship mention it and Rice herself list several dish to eat)
Saturday. Tomorrow was the Kikuka Sho.
After finishing work that afternoon, Shuta An returned home, packed a small bag, boarded the shinkansen bound for Kyoto, and checked into a hotel near Kyoto Racecourse.
Yet when night fell, he didn't turn in early.
Instead, he took out his phone and placed an international call to Mejiro Dober.
Today was Dober's final tune-up. Shuta An needed to determine the target pace, review the training footage Mejiro Ramonu would record, evaluate Dober's condition from the video, and then finalize her race tactics after the Breeders' Cup Turf draw was announced the following day.
"If only I knew how to do kagebunshin," Shuta An thought as he waited for the call to connect. "One of me could stay with Teio in Japan, another with Dober in America... and I'd still need more for Oguri, Suzuka, and everyone else."
The moment Mejiro Dober answered, Shuta An immediately laid out the tune-up schedule.
"Six furlongs in eighty-one seconds. Three furlongs in thirty-eight. Final furlong in eleven."
The workload was only slightly more demanding than Tokai Teio's.
"So this is to sharpen my acceleration over the final two hundred meters?"
Dober asked. Having worked with him for so long, she immediately understood the intention behind those splits.
"Exactly."
Shuta An nodded.
"Santa Anita's home straight is too short to rely on a deep-closing run. You already know that, so I won't belabor the point. I want you to be able to explode the instant you straighten for home. Though, judging by the course, I'll most likely have you race prominently."
"No matter which tactic we choose, that kind of acceleration is essential on this track,"
Mejiro Dober replied.
"I've already adapted well to the footing here. It's much closer to Japanese turf, and far more comfortable than York."
"That's reassuring."
Hearing Dober speak so confidently about Santa Anita's turf eased a weight from Shuta An's mind.
"Go finish your warm-up. I'll review the recording afterward."
"Okay!" Dober answered brightly before adding, "And don't forget to cheer Teio on for me."
"I'll pass the message along tomorrow."
He hadn't expected Dober to ask him to relay her encouragement, but he smiled all the same.
Before going to bed, Shuta An received Mejiro Ramonu's ultra-high-definition recording of Dober's final tune-up.
He replayed it several times on his computer before finally nodding in satisfaction.
"Dober's condition is clearly better than it was for either the Yorkshire Oaks or the Prix Vermeille. Unless something unexpected happens, this should be the peak of her form this year heading into the Breeders' Cup Turf."
Even if he managed to keep her in excellent shape for the Hong Kong Cup afterward, she was unlikely to reach this same peak again. That was simply how conditioning cycles worked.
Besides, the Breeders' Cup Turf posed a far greater challenge than the Hong Kong Cup. Saving her very best for this race had always been the plan.
Satisfied with his assessment, Shuta An sent his evaluation to Mejiro Dober through LINE before finally calling it a night.
—
Sunday morning.
The members of Team Sadalsuud remaining at Central Tracen Academy arrived in Kyoto together by shinkansen. Shuta An got up early and headed to Kyoto Station to meet them.
"Have either of you eaten breakfast?" he asked after finding Kurofune and Rice Shower, glancing briefly at the time on his phone. "If not, let's eat before heading to the racecourse. We've still got plenty of time."
With access to the owner's box, there was no reason to rush in for seats.
"We haven't," Kurofune admitted with a casual wave. "Rice wanted breakfast, but I figured getting to Kyoto earlier was more important, so I dragged her out of bed right after she got dressed."
"You two must be exhausted."
Shuta An looked toward Rice Shower, whose sleepy expression made her fatigue obvious.
"Let's eat inside Kyoto Racecourse first. After that, Rice can take a nap in the box."
"Rice is really okay!"
Rice Shower instantly straightened when she heard her Trainer mention her, waving both hands vigorously.
"Trainer don't have to worry about me."
"I'm not worrying. I'm planning."
Shuta An simply shook his head and turned toward the racecourse.
"So stop arguing and follow me."
"Yes!"
The two Uma Musume answered in unison before hurrying after him.
After entering Kyoto Racecourse, Shuta An led them to a ramen shop that had been operating there since the venue first opened.
"The broth here is fairly light," he explained. "It's one of the few ramen places that's perfectly fine for breakfast."
"No problem." Kurofune smiled. "Curren dragged me out with that princess from Tracen Academy once, and somehow we ended up eating Jiro-style ramen first thing in the day. It was surprisingly good."
"I'm fine too," Rice Shower added.
Shuta An wasn't surprised by Rice Shower's answer. Ever since the gathering at his house, he had learned exactly how astonishing her appetite was.
It was roughly eighty percent of Oguri Cap's.
Using Oguri Cap as the measuring standard, Rice Shower's appetite became easy to understand. Tokai Teio, Mejiro Dober, and Kurofune combined still wouldn't match how much she could eat.
Then another thought suddenly occurred to him.
I'm treating Rice to breakfast today.
Fortunately, it was ramen.
"Good thing we're not eating sushi," Shuta An thought with quiet relief. "Otherwise my wallet might not survive, and I'd probably have to run to the nearest ATM halfway through the meal."
Sure enough, while Shuta An ordered nothing more than a large bowl of ramen, Rice Shower calmly selected every size upgrade and every available topping without the slightest hesitation.
"Incredible."
Even Kurofune, who already knew about Rice Shower's appetite, stared in disbelief at the mountain of noodles, meat, and toppings piled before her.
"I don't think I could finish that in two days."
Rice Shower, however, simply picked up her chopsticks and began eating as though the portion were completely ordinary.
By the time she finished every last drop of broth, Kurofune had only managed to get halfway through her own standard-sized bowl.
"It's funny," Shuta An thought as he watched the scene unfold. "Back when I first saw Oguri's appetite, I honestly believed every Uma Musume ate like that."