Chapter 32. Calculations within the URA Association
In the media area, some reporters who hadn't encountered Shuta An in the morning beat their chests, expressing deep regret.
Who would have thought that Japan's number one Trainer would appear unexpectedly at the main entrance of Tokyo Racecourse?
Reporters who had missed the morning interview opportunity were eager, waiting for Shuta An to arrive and start calling on them.
So, when the young man arrived at the media area, he glanced at the reporters separated by a railing and was secretly surprised.
"This is a bit scary; why are all these reporters' eyes lit up, like they haven't eaten for days?"
However, Shuta An quickly found the reason,
"It must be because some reporters missed me this morning, right?"
The young man was well aware of how popular he was with reporters.
"Well, let's just start now, no more idle talk. Everyone knows my routine."
Shuta An cleared his throat and said,
"One question per person."
Then he called on the reporter from Twinkle magazine.
The first question was also one that Shuta An had answered many, many times.
"Shuta Trainer, how do you feel after winning the inaugural Victoria Mile?"
"Great. This race was also established at my suggestion to President Symboli Rudolf, and I didn't expect to win it myself. I feel like I've made a huge profit."
Shuta An grinned, seemingly very happy.
The second question—
"Miss Mejiro Dober used a senko tactic today. Was that designed for her gate position?"
"No, we originally planned to run that way." Shuta An denied it again. "Miss Tojo also asked me this, and I gave the same answer. Don't always assume that Tokyo Racecourse must be run with a late chaser tactic. Haven't there been any important races won here with a front-running or senko tactic!?"
"So, Shuta Trainer, are you saying that Mihono Bourbon has a high probability of winning the Japanese Derby in half a month with a front-running tactic?"
Another reporter asked.
Shuta An glanced in the direction of the voice, then responded,
"A front-running tactic is to take an early position, and a senko tactic is also to take an early position. What's the difference? Is Mihono Bourbon's tactic the only one that fits my description?"
The clever reporters already understood that Shuta An's implication was that Rice Shower would also use an aggressive, forward-positioning tactic.
"As for the Japanese Derby, this isn't a Japanese Derby press conference. Let's talk about the Victoria Mile Cup again." the young man continued.
"Has Miss Dober's next race been confirmed as the Yasuda Kinen? Are you not considering the Takarazuka Kinen?"
The next reporter asked.
"Not considering the Takarazuka Kinen. The next race is still the Yasuda Kinen. We aim to achieve the historic accomplishment of winning both the Victoria Mile and the Yasuda Kinen consecutively."
Shuta An simply replied.
After most of the reporters had asked their questions, one reporter suddenly asked.
"Shuta Trainer, what are your thoughts on Miss Oguri Cap's statement yesterday at Kasamatsu?"
"Oguri's statement?" Shuta An was taken aback, then shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I haven't been following Kasamatsu. Did something happen?"
So the Twinkle magazine reporter relayed Oguri Cap's statement at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy to Shuta An.
In summary, it was—
"Although the local racing scene doesn't prioritize dirt races, local Uma Musumes shouldn't give up. Everyone should unite and work hard to make dirt races more popular."
"Isn't that just telling the truth?" Shuta An countered. "What do you want me to comment on? I don't quite understand. What Oguri said is all plain truth."
"..."
The reporters exchanged glances, and then a Young reporter couldn't help but speak up—
"As Miss Oguri Cap's Trainer, Shuta, you haven't trained any dirt Uma Musumes, have you? Does Miss Oguri Cap's statement also include Shuta?"
"What's there to include or not include?"
Shuta An pouted,
"I can't find suitable dirt Uma Musumes at the Academy yet, and there are no suitable dirt races in Japan. If you want me to train excellent dirt Uma Musumes, then the URA Association should organize more dirt races! Can you even put together three G1 races in a year? It seems you still can't, even now. So, as a Trainer at Central Tracen Academy, how am I supposed to train pure dirt Uma Musumes? Make them compete for G2 victories in a this environment? Watching their teammates running on turf win G1s while they fight for G2s? You might not care about the internal stability of Team Sadalsuud, but I do."
"Furthermore." without waiting for the reporters to speak, Shuta An continued on his own. "in fact, I already have a Uma Musume in my team who will target dirt races in the future. But if the URA Association still cannot integrate dirt races by the time she becomes fully developed, I will take her to the West Coast to seek better development opportunities."
The young man paused.
"Losing a future genius might not move the URA Association, but I guarantee that from the day she debuts, I will no longer recruit new members at Central Tracen Academy, and I will resign after all Uma Musumes in Team Sadalsuud retire from the Twinkle Series. I have a strong aversion to rigid bureaucracy and am unwilling to work with such individuals."
"This is huge."
The same thought flashed through the minds of the reporters present.
No one expected that merely mentioning Oguri Cap's statement would lead to Shuta An's bombardment of the URA Association's race scheduling.
Although currently there is only one dirt G1 in the Central Twinkle Series, the February Stakes, no one at the URA Association's annual meetings in recent years has suggested adding more races. Everyone's attention has primarily been on turf races.
Shuta, however, was just saying it, as Kurofune's full development was still far off, and only he knew about it—but the young man believed that the URA Association would certainly react after seeing today's interview. At the very least, they wouldn't just ignore his criticism this time.
Moreover, Shuta believed that what he was complaining about was inherently unreasonable, and the young man felt it was long overdue for a change.
"Only one dirt G1 in Central a year, and none in the regions. What more can I ask for?"
Shuta An grumbled inwardly after leaving the media area,
"I'm seriously considering having Kurofune debut locally and then directly station her long-term in America."
Anyway, if it came to focusing on dirt races, Shuta An was pessimistic about how many races Kurofune could run in Japan.
He didn't care what the URA Association and local audiences would think then. He wasn't wrong; the URA Association, which discriminated against dirt races in its scheduling, was wrong.
—
While Shuta An was driving the Uma Musumes of Team Sadalsuud to the restaurant booked by Silence Suzuka for a celebration banquet, URA Association officials and relevant staff gathered to discuss the race scheduling issue that the young man had specifically mentioned in his post-race interview.
"As far as I know, the Uma Musume in Team Sadalsuud most likely to focus on dirt races in the future is still a long way from full development. She's currently in elementary school, so there's no need to be so anxious."
Complained a staff member who was privy to internal Central Tracen Academy information.
"Are you planning to wait until Shuta An leaves before trying to fix things? You idiot!"
An official sitting next to him cursed.
"The representatives of West Coast Tracen Academy are now mocked everywhere they go about how they let Shuta leave. You don't have to go on international visits, so how could you understand my feelings! If I end up being mocked by Tracen Academies in various countries and regions like the West Coast Tracen Academy representatives, I swear I'll come back and fight you all!"
"The President will definitely get an earful too, so watch out, he might come back and get you guys."
Another staff member quipped—this one belonged to the department responsible for designing winning outfits, so this meeting had nothing to do with their department, and he wasn't stressed at all.
"Establishing a new dirt G1 isn't something you can just add on. Moreover, Shuta An's demand isn't just for one more dirt G1, but for the overall development of the dirt racing circuit. We need to have dirt races available for debut year, classic year, and senior year—this is a huge project, and one that we can't directly decide on our own; it requires discussion with the regional URA Associations."
"Exactly! It's even on the level of needing to completely overhaul next year's race schedule—Shuta An just opens his mouth, and all our previous work is supposed to be wiped out?!"
"Shut up! Can the benefits you all generate for the URA Association amount to even a tenth of his?"
The senior staff member quipped back, his face sour.
"Gulp—"
The younger staff members could only lower their heads. Although the words were hurtful, they were true, so there was no way to refute them.
The strategy that Shuta An had Team Sadalsuud adhere to—promoting their reputation through overseas expeditions and solidifying their performance foundation domestically—was extremely successful.
It could be said that Team Sadalsuud was the most important calling card the URA Association had on the international stage, with some overseas Twinkle Series operators only recognizing Team Sadalsuud and being unfamiliar with Japan's URA Association.
The biggest problem facing the Central URA Association was that developing the dirt racing circuit would sacrifice a certain number of turf races—which was somewhat unacceptable for the URA Association, as it valued turf far more than dirt.
Of course, a solution to this problem was proposed by some clever staff:
Collaborate with local URA Associations, provide them with a certain amount of funding to help them establish more races, with the condition that these races be open to Uma Musume from the Central URA Association.
But a new problem emerged—
"Our relationship with the local URA Associations isn't good. In their eyes, we're the bad guys who stole most of the talented Uma Musume. Are they really willing to cooperate with us? And it's not enough for one or two local URA Associations to agree; all these local URA Associations across the country must approve."
"All the local URA Associations—"
The attendees present turned pale.
Excluding the Obihiro URA Association, which hosts local specialty races rather than Twinkle Series, the remaining Minami Kanto URA Association, Mombetsu URA Association, Iwate URA Association, Ishikawa URA Association, Kasamatsu URA Association, Nagoya URA Association, Hyogo URA Association, Kochi URA Association, and Saga URA Association—the Central URA Association needed the cooperation of all these associations; it would be difficult without any one of them.
"Due to the hosting of the Japan Breeders' Cup (JBC), the local URA Associations are much more closely connected than usual, so persuading them should be much easier than before."
The URA Association Chairman pointed this out.
"If we persuade Minami Kanto, we should be able to persuade the URA Associations in other regions, right?"
A staff member spoke,
"After all, they are the strongest among the local URA Associations."
"Ohi, Urawa, Funabashi, and Kawasaki—the Uma Musume trained at these four Racecourses and their respective Tracen Academies can compete with slightly weaker Uma Musume from the Central Tracen Academy. If we persuade the Minami Kanto URA Association, the other regions aren't actually that important."
"Exactly, exactly. Then we can sponsor Minami Kanto to host some races that allow Uma Musume from the Central URA Association to participate, which would also prevent us from reducing the number of turf races."
"So, how do we persuade them?"
When this question was posed, the conference room fell silent.
"Do I still have to call them personally one by one to show my sincerity?"
The URA Association Chairman narrowed his eyes and pulled out his phone.
The next second, his secretary pushed open the door and whispered something in his ear.
—
"It's really troubling Miss Oguri Cap. Yesterday's statement has already caused an uproar. It's said that reporters went directly to ask Shuta for his opinion today."
The Kasamatsu URA Association Chairman stood opposite Oguri Cap, smiling apologetically.
"Ann will definitely stand with me." Oguri Cap took a sip of carrot juice, then replied. "There are too few dirt races. Any clear-headed person can see this."
"But we are still truly grateful to Miss Oguri Cap. Even though you are an Uma Musume who achieved fame and success in the turf Twinkle Series, you are willing to speak out for the development of the Dirt Twinkle Series."
The Kasamatsu URA Association Chairman bowed.
"No, I guess I'm also doing it for myself." Oguri Cap shook her head, not taking credit. "I have a premonition that the development of the Dirt Twinkle Series will be very important for my future."
The URA Association Chairman couldn't understand Oguri Cap's thoughts, but he knew he didn't need to understand that aspect. It was enough to know that Oguri Cap's actions would have a positive impact on him, on the entire local URA Association, and on the local Uma Musume.
"Miss Oguri Cap has already stepped forward; now it's our turn to make demands to the Central URA Association."
He returned to his desk and picked up the phone.
"I need to contact the Central URA Association."
He said to the Gray Uma Musume sitting on the sofa opposite him.
"Hmm, if you call now, they should still be in a meeting? Probably discussing how to cooperate with the local URA Associations."
Oguri Cap looked up, staring at the Kasamatsu URA Association Chairman,
"Don't sell out the interests of other regions."
"Of course not!"
The Kasamatsu URA Association Chairman repeatedly thumped his chest.