Cherry blossoms bloomed quietly in the rainy night, pink petals standing out against the grey like Tokyo's finest decoration.
The classic races had officially begun. The first GI race of the season: the Oka Sho.
Since the current Takamatsunomiya Kinen and February Stakes hadn't been elevated to GI status yet, this Oka Sho also held the distinction of being the entire year's first GI race.
Over one hundred fifty thousand people had flooded into the venue. The crowd was like an ocean, individual voices merging together into thunderous waves of sound.
"Hurry up, Trainer! Thank goodness we reserved VIP seats way in advance, or there wouldn't even be a place to sit anywhere." King Halo kept urging from up ahead, practically pulling him along. "We can only watch from up high in the stands. There's definitely no close-up viewing spots left at all."
Early that morning, Hayato had been dragged out by several uma musume to attend the race, even though it wouldn't actually start until noon.
He'd severely underestimated what attending a GI race would be like. Before they'd even entered the venue proper, just the entrance hall alone was absolutely packed with people. If you showed up late without pre-purchased tickets, you genuinely couldn't get inside.
He'd initially thought arriving early might somehow save them money on tickets. That idea had proven completely impossible.
But it didn't really matter in the end. Suzuka would definitely win this. Whether or not to actually exchange betting tickets for winnings was another question entirely.
To properly support Suzuka, King Halo had even bought three tickets for each person in their group. After the race concluded, they could exchange two for the winnings and keep one as a memento.
"Alright, race time is rapidly approaching. A full year after the last Oka Sho, what kind of performance will this year's rookie uma musume display for us?"
"After yesterday's heavy rain baptism, the track conditions are admittedly somewhat terrible. Although staff have been working on repairs since early this morning, there are still inevitably some puddles scattered across the course. Staff have reported that it seems a bit slippery out there. This is pretty concerning news for the competitors."
"However, fortunately for us, today has turned into a beautiful sunny day. We can fully enjoy this race and cheer enthusiastically for your favorite Uma Musume!"
"Today, they are all protagonists on this stage!"
The moment they entered the venue itself, various cheering and encouraging voices hit them with especially intense volume. The sound was absolutely deafening.
"Next up is stage presentation time. What kind of victory outfits will the Uma Musume competing for the Oka Sho crown be wearing today? I'm sure you're all eagerly waiting to see!"
"Please welcome our number 1 uma musume, Hokkai Hoku... wait, wait, please wait just a moment!"
The announcer stopped abruptly mid-sentence abruptly, then turned away to answer a phone call. This left the number 1 Uma Musume who'd already walked halfway down the presentation runway, standing there in extreme embarrassment. She had no choice but to retreat back the way she'd come.
"What's going on here?"
Quite a few boos erupted throughout the venue in response to the awkward interruption.
Before long, the announcer returned to his position and continued the broadcast.
Sorry for that interruption, everyone. We've just received notice that one of the participating uma musume has withdrawn due to illness. Those of you who purchased Air Groove support tickets can apply for a ticket exchange or refund.
If you choose not to exchange your ticket, it will be automatically treated as a Silence Suzuka support ticket instead. Of course, Silence Suzuka's popularity ranking still won't change, the numbers won't increase because of this transfer. Silence Suzuka, simply accepting Air Groove's hopes to win this race in her place!
"Accepting another uma musume's hopes to compete, this is actually the first time such a concept has appeared on the track!"
The impact on the event itself wasn't particularly major. If fans didn't want to accept the change, they could exchange their tickets without issue, so there were no real protests demanding refunds.
Air Groove's fans felt the news was deeply regrettable, though. They'd genuinely believed she had a strong chance to claim victory today.
At the Tulip Sho, Air Groove had been the only uma musume who could truly battle against Silence Suzuka on equal footing. They'd carried great confidence in Air Groove's abilities going into today. The great escape running style still wasn't favored by many of them as a reliable strategy.
If you asked who else could realistically stop Silence Suzuka's great escape dominance, the answer could only be Air Groove, couldn't it?
Many measured uma musume purely by their performance in the previous race, though there were also genuine fans who worshipped and supported their favorites regardless of tactics or odds.
Ignoring the disappointed commotion rippling through the crowd below, the two hosts chatted casually about the development.
"Really didn't expect Air Groove to withdraw her participation like this!"
"Yeah, getting sick right before such an important race. She should have been one of the key protagonists of this entire event. At the press conference, she even declared she wanted to become the next Uma Musume like Rudolf herself. Such a shame."
"Enough dwelling on that, though. Let's continue with the victory outfit presentation from where we left off. Please welcome once again our number 1 Uma Musume, Hokkai Hoku, currently ranked 13th in popularity."
...
"Next, we have our number 4 Uma Musume, Vega. She placed fourth in the trial race and is currently ranked 10th in popularity!"
Vega's appearance carried a distinctly cold quality to it. She removed her coat from behind in one smooth motion and threw it off dramatically, displaying what should have been a proper uma musume's bearing and confident smile.
The smile came across as reluctant though, barely there. She clearly wasn't very confident about this particular race.
Speaking accurately, she hadn't originally possessed the qualifications to participate in this race at all. Fourth place in the trial race already meant automatic disqualification, and her career prize money total also hadn't reached the threshold required to support her entry.
After her debut, her very first race had been the OP-level Ume Stakes. Unfortunately, she'd only managed to claim second place.
It was Silence Suzuka who had squeezed out her qualifying spot in the first place.
But then, who knew if the goddess of luck had descended or what, several uma musume with higher career prize money totals than hers had all withdrawn for various reasons. Only then had Vega gotten incredibly fortunate enough to participate in this race after all.
Next up, we have our number 6 Uma Musume, Biwa Heidi. Due to Air Groove's unfortunate absence, she's now moved up to become the second favorite. Though from her expression, it seems like she's not particularly satisfied with how she earned that position.
After all, she was last year's Best Rookie Uma Musume and the champion of her first GI race at Hanshin.
Biwa Heidi appeared on the runway, immediately showing off her lively and energetic competitive side. She planted one hand firmly on her hip and struck a bold pose. "What do you mean by 'because Air Groove isn't here'? So what if she were competing today? Victory in this race still belongs to me!"
"And now, up next is this race's absolute top favorite!"
"The other-dimensional escape runner herself!"
"Number 13 uma musume, Silence Suzuka!"