Yugi quickly found a suitable hot spring inn — Biratori Onsen Yukara.
The facility had a public swimming pool a few kilometers away and its own exclusive training ground.
After dialing the contact number from the yellow pages, Yugi explained his needs to the inn’s proprietress.
Following her recommendation, he booked a Japanese-style suite with two guest rooms, enough for three people, complete with a private open-air hot spring bath.
The suite cost 18,000 yen per day, including three meals.
Incidentally, Yugi specifically confirmed with the proprietress that the included three meals were buffet-style, which made him inwardly exclaim his luck.
If it had been the usual set-meal system, Yugi estimated his budget would need an extra 1 million yen just for Oguri Cap’s food expenses.
Even so, the base cost for accommodation alone was over 1.1 million yen.
“Adding in an extra reserve fund for safety, I’d probably need to bring at least 2 million yen, right?” Yugi muttered.
Just preparing for one expedition to Hokkaido required 2 million yen… Only after calculating the actual expedition costs did the young trainer realize why local Uma Musume disliked long-distance expeditions and often only ran in races within their own region.
“Luckily, I won’t need to spend this much money when challenging Central in the future.” He secretly felt relieved.
Even so, Yugi decided to prepare for a rainy day and do something very important.
In the evening, after calculating the time difference, he made a long-distance overseas call.
“Sell the house on the West Coast,” Yugi mumbled.
“If my parents knew in the afterlife, they would also agree with me selling that house to save up expedition funds for the Uma Musume I’m training.”
What Yugi didn’t know was that after hanging up, the agent who took his business immediately called the student council president of West Coast Tracen Academy.
“Is he selling the only inheritance his parents left in America?” Secretariat’s tone was neither happy nor sad — very calm.
“Then I’ll buy it at market price.
Consider it my sponsorship of a junior pursuing his dreams on the other side of the Pacific.”
“If he ever comes back… forget it.” Secretariat shook her head, recalling the disappointed expression Yugi had when he slammed his resignation letter on her desk.
“He won’t come back,” she muttered to herself.
“It’s better not to fool myself.”
===
The journey from Kasamatsu to Biratori Town in Hokkaido took over four hours — more than one hour was the flight time from Nagoya to Sapporo, and the remaining three-plus hours were the bus ride from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo to the hot spring inn.
One week after the Wakakoma Sho ended, Yugi bid farewell to his colleagues and set off on the expedition to Hokkaido with Oguri Cap and Berno Light.
When they departed, the three of them were no different from other passengers.
There were no fans seeing them off, nor any reporters waiting to take photos.
Oguri Cap and Berno Light didn’t find anything amiss, but Yugi felt somewhat unaccustomed — during his internship at West Coast Tracen Academy in America, every time the Uma Musume he was responsible for went on an expedition, they were chased by hordes of reporters for interviews, and fanatic fans would come to the airport to see them off.
Only after sitting in his seat did Yugi fully snap back to reality.
“That’s right, I’m not on the West Coast anymore.”
He turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window.
“But in the future, I will definitely make Oguri Cap have numerous fans and become a highly popular Uma Musume!”
Meanwhile, Oguri Cap, who was on a plane for the first time, was curious about everything — Berno Light was much the same, but she firmly remembered that she had to keep an eye on Oguri Cap, so she held back and was prepared to pull her back immediately if Oguri Cap did something foolish… Yugi’s group set off a little after 8 a.m., and they arrived at Biratori Onsen Yukara exactly at 1 p.m.
Guided by the inn’s proprietress, Miss Sachiko, Yugi led the two Uma Musume into the booked suite.
First, a solemn declaration: although he only booked one suite, this suite had two bedrooms, so there would be no situation where the two Uma Musume shared a bedroom with him.
After settling Oguri Cap and Berno Light, Yugi came to the lobby and chatted with Miss Sachiko — after all, they would be staying here for two months, so building a good relationship with the inn’s proprietress was crucial.
Without any ulterior motives, Yugi quickly chatted very happily with the inn’s proprietress.
“If Yugi-kun had booked the room one day later, I wouldn’t have been able to accommodate you,” Miss Sachiko suddenly said during their conversation.
“Oh?
Is it because other guests also came to book rooms?” Yugi blinked, guessing.
“But since I booked first, did Miss Sachiko turn them down?”
“Not exactly,” the inn’s proprietress shook her head with a smile.
“That guest originally wanted to book all the rooms in the inn.
But I told him one suite was already reserved, so he settled for booking all the remaining rooms.”
“That’s really extravagant.” Yugi didn’t know how long that person had booked for, but even if it was only a few days, the cost would be terrifying.
“I heard he’s a trainer from Central Tracen Academy, bringing the Uma Musume he’s training for a summer training camp.” At this point, Miss Sachiko looked Yugi over.
“Yugi-kun must also be a trainer, right?”
“Indeed, but I’m just a local trainer.
This trip to Hokkaido is to challenge a local exchange graded race here with the Uma Musume I’m training,” Yugi answered honestly.
“I can’t compare to Central trainers.”
“That’s not necessarily true.” Miss Sachiko cleared her throat, her smile not changing at all despite Yugi revealing his identity.
“During my middle school years, I spent my time watching Haiseiko’s races.
Perhaps the Uma Musume Yugi-kun is responsible for can become the next Haiseiko?”
“The next Haiseiko…” Yugi just smiled and said nothing more.
For Japanese people, wishing a local Uma Musume to become the next Haiseiko is the most beautiful blessing they can think of.
But Yugi didn’t want Oguri Cap to be the next Haiseiko; he only wanted Oguri Cap to be the first Oguri Cap.
“Also, I have a junior I know studying at Central Tracen Academy.
To be honest, I don’t think the trainers there have fully tapped into her talent,” Miss Sachiko pouted.
To this, Yugi could only smile awkwardly.
Although he thought so himself, in the eyes of most outsiders, a local trainer like him couldn’t possibly be compared to Central trainers.
During dinner, although Oguri Cap’s appetite truly shocked Miss Sachiko, what relieved Yugi was that the inn’s proprietress didn’t comment on it, just kept refilling Oguri Cap’s bowl with a gentle smile.
This scene made the young man feel quite embarrassed.
“I’ll definitely pay extra for Oguri Cap’s additional meals later,” he muttered inwardly.
Just then, Miss Sachiko suddenly stood up.
“Oh dear, the guests I agreed with earlier should be arriving soon.
I’ll go out to greet them.” She bowed and left the dining room.
“Agreed guests?” Berno Light was curious and turned to look at Yugi.
“Trainer, do you know?”
“Uma Musume from Central Tracen Academy are coming for a summer training camp,” Yugi answered absentmindedly.
An somewhat unrealistic thought popped into his mind: “Is it possible to let Oguri Cap train together with Central Uma Musume?”
It wasn’t that Yugi wanted Oguri Cap to experience Central’s training standards; he just wanted to know what level Oguri Cap would rank if she went to Central Tracen Academy now.
But this thought was fleeting.
Yugi didn’t think a Central trainer would be willing to let the Uma Musume they were responsible for train with a local Uma Musume.
Just as he picked up a piece of seaweed and put it in his mouth, Miss Sachiko led a group of Uma Musume into the lobby —
“What a tiring day… I want to go to the hot spring!”
“Amazon wait for me!
I want to go too!”
The lobby instantly became noisy.
“Quiet down, all of you!” At the end of the group, a young woman dressed as a trainer stepped into the lobby and, with just one sentence, made the Uma Musume behave.
Then she turned and bowed in the direction of Yugi and his group.
“I’m very sorry.
They just came from Tokyo and are still too excited.
I apologize for disturbing you.”
“It’s no problem.
It’s good to have energy,” Yugi smiled and waved his hand, also introducing himself.
“My name is Yugi, from Kasamatsu Tracen Academy.
And you?”
“My name is Tojo Hana.
I’m currently a trainer at Central Tracen Academy,” the young woman bowed again.
“Nice to meet you, Yugi-kun.”
“I heard from Miss Sachiko this afternoon that Central Uma Musume would be coming for a training camp.
As expected of Central, right?” Yugi glanced around the lobby.
“Truly impressive…”
This wasn’t flattery; Yugi didn’t need his attribute viewer to see the overflowing talent radiating from the horse girls in the lobby.
“The horse girl under Yugi-kun’s care as a trainer is also quite remarkable.” Tojo Hana’s remark was a return of the compliment Yugi had just given.
In her view, apart from being a big eater, the gray Uma Musume sitting across from Yugi didn’t seem to have anything particularly special at first glance.
===
Yugi wasn’t a fool, of course he could tell that Tojo Hana’s first impression of Oguri Cap wasn’t very high.
But he wasn’t angry.
On one hand, Yugi’s own opinion of Central’s trainers wasn’t high either.
On the other hand, if this lady didn’t think much of Oguri Cap, she probably wouldn’t have any intention of trying to poach her.
After dinner, Yugi went out for a short walk, then returned to the guest room, planning to take a shower and go to bed.
The Japanese-style suite he booked had two bedrooms, one large and one small.
Yugi chose the smaller bedroom closer to the entrance, leaving the larger one near the private hot spring for the two horse girls.
After finishing his shower and changing into pajamas, he prepared hot water in the bathtub for Oguri Cap and Berno Light before leaving the bathroom.
At this moment, the two horse girls hadn’t returned to the guest room yet.
Yugi didn’t need to be discreet; he walked back to his own bedroom openly.
“If they had just come into the room then, it would have been quite awkward.” Lying on the bed, Yugi imagined that scenario and realized that with this room arrangement, he was bound to face awkward situations over the next two months.
But it was impossible to rebook now.
He could only try to forget this “unease” and fall into a deep sleep… Upon entering his dreams, Yugi initially thought he would just continue training by riding horses at the Kasamatsu training center today.
But after completing the daily training with Oguri Cap, Sagami Masayuki called out to him.
“Yugi-kun, you need to go to Kasamatsu Racecourse today.”
“Sensei, why?” Yugi was puzzled.
“I don’t have any riding assignments today, do I?”
“You didn’t have any before, but last night a hapless jockey here in Kasamatsu drank too much, fell off his bike, and injured his leg.
Most of his riding assignments are for horses from my stable…”
In other words, the horses that unlucky fellow was supposed to ride today all belonged to Sagami Masayuki’s stable; otherwise, they wouldn’t have fallen into Yugi’s hands.
“I believe Yugi-kun will eventually make it to the Central circuit and become a Central jockey.”
“Then today, let’s slap those bastards who doubt me right in the face.” Yugi took up the thread, showing a confident smile.
“I’ll do my best.”
Having made that declaration in front of his teacher, Yugi didn’t delay.
He immediately left the training center and headed for Kasamatsu Racecourse, a kilometer away.
Arriving at the racecourse, he took the internal passage to the check-in point, had his physical condition verified (confirming he wasn’t drunk), and then entered the jockeys’ room.
Of the 11 races held at Kasamatsu Racecourse today, Yugi took over the riding assignments for 7 of them.
Each participating horse was from Sagami Masayuki’s stable.
Their abilities varied considerably upon closer inspection, but roughly speaking, they were all in a similar, not-so-great range — the most favored pre-race horse only ranked 7th in popularity among twelve, and there were two “exceptional talents” who received the bottom popularity rankings.
Therefore, the jockeys in the room who noticed Yugi’s entry exchanged knowing smiles.
If this rookie jockey couldn’t handle a subpar horse, how could he possibly handle riding inferior horses?
The old hands at Kasamatsu Racecourse didn’t believe it for a second.
The result, however… In the first race, C7 class, dirt 1400 meters, Yugi rode Kitano Blade, the 9th favorite.
He chose a completely different stalking strategy compared to when riding Oguri Cap.
Entering the final straight, he violently cracked his whip with his left hand, creating a whistling sound, while his right hand rhythmically pushed his partner’s neck.
He managed to snatch victory at the finish line, beating the favorite, Kurinoru Renaissance.
The second race, C1 class, also dirt 1400 meters.
This time, Yugi didn’t repeat his trick.
Right after the start, he applied whipwork forceful enough to cut through the wind, urging his partner for this race, the 7th favorite Bears Letter, to accelerate from the very beginning.
Before entering the final straight, he had opened up a lead of a full ten lengths over second place.
Although Bears Letter clearly ran out of steam on the final turn, Yugi, relying on excellent pushing and riding technique, allowed Bears Letter to conserve energy remarkably well over the last few hundred meters, stubbornly maintaining the lead and finally winning by a nose over the second-place horse, which was also the pre-race favorite.
The third race Yugi participated in was the seventh race at Kasamatsu Racecourse today, B5 class, still dirt 1400 meters.
This time, his partner was the bottom favorite, Smile Akasaka.
Opponents who expected Yugi to perform another great escape started cracking their whips right out of the gate.
Instead, Yugi calmly pushed and rode.
Only when the other jockeys’ partners were exhausted on the final straight did he give the signal whip, leading Smile Akasaka to victory.
This continued until the eleventh race at Kasamatsu Racecourse, today’s feature race and the final race Yugi would participate in today.
It was the highest class at Kasamatsu, A class, dirt 1600 meters.
“It’s truly unbelievable.
Yugi, without his partner Oguri Cap, has won all six races he participated in today.
If he wins this Nakao Highlands Special as well…” The track announcer trailed off, but everyone could finish the sentence.
It would mean overnight fame.
Not just in Kasamatsu; even at other racecourses, a jockey winning 7 races in a single day would be an unprecedented major event.
However, Yugi didn’t feel nervous at this moment — because before the race, he had met with Trainer Sagami Masayuki, who had come upon hearing the news.
The trainer told him that even if he lost this final race, winning six out of seven races in a day was already a Japanese jockey record.
“But if possible, I still want to win.” Mounting his final partner for the day, Bordeaux Prune, Yugi muttered to himself.
Because his partner wasn’t Oguri Cap, he couldn’t use Head-on Battle.
Today, he had already employed various tactics at Kasamatsu Racecourse, and his opponents had likely prepared countermeasures for different strategies.
Yugi knew deeply that this final race would undoubtedly be the most difficult one today.
“Should I lead?
Or stalk from just behind?
Or hang back and chase?” Riding Bordeaux Prune in circles in the waiting area, Yugi racked his brains.
===
Soon, it was time to enter the starting gates.
Unable to decide on a tactic, Yugi simply opted for the standard stalker position.
“Although this differs from what I learned in the U.S., in Japan, one should think this way.”
If it were in the U.S., the most orthodox tactic was never stalking — horse girls confident in their strength mostly chose to lead.
Some who weren’t good at starts but had exceptional explosive power chose to chase from behind.
As for stalking, it was often the choice for those who couldn’t keep up with the leaders’ pace but didn’t want to admit defeat outright.
But in Japan, it was different.
Stalking was considered the most orthodox tactic.
One could say most powerful horse girls would adopt it, biding their time in the early stages, then breaking away from the pack in the latter half to compete for victory.
It wasn’t strange, then, that Yugi, unable to think of any clever tricks for the moment, decided on the stalker strategy… With a sharp “clack,” the starting gates flew open uniformly.
Yugi didn’t use his whip; just a push with his hand allowed Bordeaux Prune to easily settle into third place.
The experience of losing to Yugi in the previous six races made the veteran jockeys at Kasamatsu determined to mark Bordeaux Prune’s run without hesitation in this race.
Therefore, Yugi noticed that apart from the two jockeys who debuted around the same time as him ahead, there were no other opponents in front.
“Rather than boxing me in, they chose to compete for the win?” He leaned over the horse’s back, muttering to himself.
It wasn’t surprising.
The winner’s prize for this A class race was 2 million yen, the richest purse at Kasamatsu Racecourse today.
In the face of that prize money, the desire to teach the rookie a lesson could be temporarily set aside.