Chapter 37. Rice Shower's Gate and Prayer for Rain
The gate positions for the Japanese Derby were released.
Rice Shower came to the Team Sadalsuud activity room after training, waiting for the notification of the gate draw results. And Shuta An had been with her all along.
"If nothing changes, Rice Shower should be in Gate 13, and Mihono Bourbon in Gate 15."
Shuta An, who had studied the Dream World, thought to himself.
"I hope there are no changes."
For races he had participated in in the Dream World, the young man hated it most when unexpected changes occurred.
"Of course, it would be good if the results did change."
He added in his mind as an afterthought.
In the afternoon, an email from the URA Association arrived in Shuta An's inbox. The young man opened it and projected it onto the whiteboard in the activity room.
"I'm in Gate 13! Mihono Bourbon is in Gate 15!"
Rice Shower loudly reported the results. Seeing this, Shuta An also breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good, everything is as I expected."
Shuta An said with relief.
"This way, the developments before the race should be no different from the Dream World."
For Shuta An, one of the most frustrating things in the Dream World was being beaten in the Japanese Derby by Kojima Sadahiro, who had no advantage in jockey skills but a stronger Horse at the time.
Now, in the real world, he had a chance to make up for his dissatisfaction.
Naturally, Shuta An had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
"Although Trainer Kuronuma doesn't seem like that Kojima Sadahiro fellow, more like Trainer Toyama, I believe there must be a counterpart to Kojima Sadahiro around Mihono Bourbon in this world. Perhaps it's Mihono Bourbon's own mind."
The young man thought of this and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The gate positions were out, and Shuta An no longer had any lingering doubts. He immediately started the pre-race meeting with Rice Shower, preparing to instruct her on how to race in this Japanese Derby.
In fact, the strategy was a simple sentence—
"Stay with Mihono Bourbon and apply pressure to make her set a fast pace."
"I don't guarantee that I can adapt to such a fast pace." was the Black Deer-haired Horse Girl's initial reaction.
"I know you might not adapt, but Mihono Bourbon definitely won't adapt. If you want to win, then you must consider using this risky strategy now. If we play it safe, we'll be aiming for second place in this race."
"I understand."
Hearing this, Rice Shower, knowing she had no other choice, responded in a deep voice.
"I will exert my full pressure on Mihono Bourbon to make her set an extremely fast pace."
"It's good that you have this resolve." Shuta An patted Rice Shower's shoulder. "After all, it's the Japanese Derby. We can't give up without putting up a fight, right?"
"Yes, I haven't thought of giving up here."
Rice Shower continued to respond.
"I've wanted to get even on Mihono Bourbon in the Japanese Derby. The day after tomorrow, I will fight with all my might!"
"Fighting with all your might is fine, but health is very important. Don't hurt yourself. If we can't win the Japanese Derby, we can wait for the Kikuka Sho. By then, we'll have over 90% chance of winning."
"No, I don't want to." Rice Shower mustered her courage. "I don't want to wait until the Kikuka Sho!"
"Because I don't want public opinion to question Trainer until this autumn!"
Rice Shower only dared to say this in her heart.
"Then let's seize the day."
The young man said, seemingly unsurprised by Rice Shower's reaction.
—
Saturday evening, Shuta An drove Rice Shower to Tokyo Racecourse for isolation.
Throughout the journey, the Black Deer-haired Horse Girl remained silent.
It wasn't until Shuta An dropped her off at the entrance to the passage that Rice Shower spoke—
"Trainer, if I can win the Japanese Derby, there's something I want you to forgive."
"I forgive Rice Shower now." Shuta An replied without hesitation. "Don't go into the race with a burden. As long as it's not something illegal or disorderly, I promise to forgive you now."
"No, but please, Trainer, wait until I win the Japanese Derby before saying these things."
Rice Shower pursed her lips, then turned and walked away.
"Tomorrow, please witness my all-out effort."
"I'll be watching Rice from the sidelines."
—
When Shuta An returned home, the empty house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"It probably won't be this desolate when everyone isn't running in the Dream Trophy Series anymore."
The young man thought.
But he smiled and shook his head.
"It's not bad to be a bit quiet now, otherwise, if Suzuka and Dober were alone at home, they'd probably cling to me all night again."
If he didn't have much work tomorrow, it would be fine, but tomorrow was the Japanese Derby race day, so Shuta An definitely needed a good night's sleep to recharge.
"Someone like Oguri, who can cling to me all night without sleeping, is really a bit—"
The young man shivered involuntarily at the thought of the Gray Uma Musume lately; as she almost outlasted him.
He then walked up the stairs, first took a bath, and then returned to his bedroom to rest.
—
The night passed without incident, and Shuta An woke up very early the next day.
As on the previous two weekends, the young man first picked up the Uma Musume of Team Sadalsuud from Central Tracen Academy, then took them to Tokyo Racecourse.
When Shuta drove to Tokyo Racecourse, he found that his group was probably the earliest arrivals among the stakeholders today.
"I won't go to the main entrance to chat with reporters today."
After parking the car, Shuta An made up his mind and led the Uma Musume of his team towards the stakeholder Box.
"The weather is nice today, and the track condition will most likely be 'Good,' which is good news for Mihono Bourbon."
Shuta An and his group heard the Tokyo Racecourse staff discussing as they walked.
"That's not exactly favorable for Rice Shower-senpai, is it?"
Kurofune asked Shuta An, who was walking ahead.
The young man waved his hand.
"It's not particularly favorable, nor particularly unfavorable."
"But it is favorable for Mihono Bourbon, so it's still relatively unfavorable." Tokai Teio interjected. "In short, a little rain would be more suitable for Rice."
"Rain doesn't fall just because you want it to." Shuta An shrugged. "No choice, we can only depend on the weather."
At the same time, the young man continuously prayed in his heart for a heavy rain to turn the Tokyo Racecourse turf from 'Good' to 'Heavy,' or at least 'Soft'
—
After the sixth race of the day at Tokyo Racecourse concluded, dark clouds gathered over the Tokyo Racecourse, followed by a torrential downpour.
Spectators in the stands quickly opened their umbrellas or put on raincoats; unlucky ones who hadn't prepared could only run to the upper level of the stands where there was shelter from the rain.
"It really rained."
Shuta An was a bit surprised, but he quickly composed himself.
"There's nothing more to say." Shuta An clenched his fist. "Even heaven is helping us."
"Tokyo Racecourse's drainage system is very efficient. For the turf to remain 'Heavy' during the Japanese Derby with this amount of rainfall, it would have to rain for at least an hour."
"It should be fine." Shuta An said. "The thickness of these rain clouds looks like it can last for quite a while."
"If it really rains for over an hour, the track condition should be posted as 'Soft' which would definitely be beneficial for Rice." Tokai Teio said.
"Is it also beneficial for Mihono Bourbon? After all, she has performed well on heavy tracks before."
The young man said, though he sounded quite relaxed.
As Shuta An had hoped, the rain continued until just before the Japanese Derby Uma Musume were to begin their parade.
The air was fresh with a hint of earthy scent, and the ion-rich air made Rice Shower feel refreshed.
Her steps onto the parade stand were incredibly light, and the Black Deer-haired Horse Girl stood steadily on the stand with a smile on her face.
"What an amazing older sister!"
Rice Shower could hear a child outside the railing exclaiming about her steady steps as she walked onto the stage.
The Black Deer-haired Horse Girl's smile became even brighter at the compliment.
"For these compliments, I must interact with everyone a bit more."
With this thought, Rice Shower waved vigorously towards the stands.
After the parade, Rice Shower stepped onto the turf of Tokyo Racecourse.
After being soaked by the heavy rain, the Tokyo Racecourse turf, known for being fast and dry, became wet and heavy.
Rice stomped her foot, feeling the rebound of the turf, and came to a conclusion.
"Although it's listed as slightly heavy, it's essentially already a heavy track."
Especially looking at the mud splatters on her shoes, Rice frowned.
"It's a good thing the shoes paired with my winning uniform aren't satin, otherwise they'd be too much trouble to clean. And it's a good thing they're paired with black stockings; the mud splatters aren't so easy to see. If they were white stockings, they'd be dirty by now."
Rice held down her skirt and carefully walked towards the starting gate, planning to start her warm-up once she got there.
—
Meanwhile, Mihono Bourbon finished her presentation segment, turned, and walked off the stage.
Looking at the Tokyo Racecourse turf already marked with footprints, she silently raised an eyebrow.
Before entering the Tokyo Racecourse last night, her Trainer/Master had given her a strict order—
"No matter what the track conditions are tomorrow, Mihono Bourbon, you must run at the front, maintain your leading position, and not allow any opponent to challenge you."
Mihono Bourbon kept this instruction firmly in mind; even if the track changed from fast and dry to wet and heavy, she had no thought of questioning it.
"I will follow master's instructions."
Mihono Bourbon repeated, her tone as cold as a robot's.
However, her winning uniform already had a robotic style—though it looked a bit suggestive.
Stepping onto the turf, ignoring the splashing mud, Mihono Bourbon walked single-mindedly towards the starting line.
After Rice Shower finished her warm-up, it was her turn to enter the gate within two minutes. With the help of the staff, Rice Shower, holding up her skirt, stepped into the gate.
Listening to the sound of the gate closing behind her, Rice closed her eyes and began to adjust her breathing rhythm, trying to match the pace she would maintain when she burst out of the gate.
Between Rice and Mihono Bourbon was Golden Zeus.
This unlucky Uma Musume was sandwiched between the top two of the Satsuki Sho, and could only find humor in her predicament.
"I'll just consider myself the third-place finisher of the Satsuki Sho. How many Uma Musumes get to experience such treatment?"
Rice Shower and Mihono Bourbon were completely unaware of Golden Zeus's attempt to find humor in her situation.
Their eyes were only on each other. Rice knew her biggest opponent was Mihono Bourbon, and Mihono Bourbon also remembered this Uma Musume who was closest to her in the Satsuki Sho.
"This time, being close, master said she would mark me and not give her a chance."
Mihono Bourbon mused to herself.
This was also Kuronuma's instruction.
After seeing Rice Shower's gate position, he judged that Shuta Ann would have Rice mark Mihono Bourbon, but in Kuronuma's mind, Shuta Ann would at most keep Rice at a certain distance from Mihono Bourbon, not stick close to aggressively take Mihono Bourbon's pace. So he merely instructed Mihono Bourbon not to worry about Rice's mark and just run her own race.
If Shuta Ann knew Kuronuma's thoughts, he would surely burst into laughter.
A Trainer who would arrange Slope Road training for a Uma Musume to run desperately, yet was so conservative in tactics—in the young man's eyes, this contrast was too great.
When Stant Man in gate 18 was the last to step into the starting gate, all 18 Uma Musume were ready for the start.
Shuta Ann also brought the Team Sadalsuud's Uma Musume to the side of the Racecourse. The rain had stopped now, but Shuta Ann still brought an umbrella.
"I hope it doesn't rain during the race, otherwise I'm afraid Rice will get a fever after she finishes."
The young man prayed.
"If anyone gets a fever, it probably won't be Rice." Tokai Teio blinked. "I feel like the rain will be blocked by Mihono Bourbon, who's running ahead of her, and in terms of winning uniforms, isn't Mihono Bourbon's much more revealing?"
"Too bad Teio couldn't pull it off even if she wore it."
Shuta Ann glanced at the Undefeated Triple Crown in the team, teasing her.
Tokai Teio stomped her foot hard and pouted.
"Darn it!"
Just as her words fell, the sound of the starting gate opening came from the big screen in the center of the Racecourse—
"CLICK!"
"THE ANNUAL BATTLE TO DETERMINE THE PINNACLE OF THE GENERATION! THE JAPANESE DERBY IS NOW STARTING!" the commentator shouted loudly.