Yugi wondered to himself if it was something Oguri Cap had discussed with White Sapphire.
He did not feel it was right for him, an outsider, to ask about a private mother-daughter conversation.
By the time they returned to the hot spring inn, Miss Sachiko had kindly held lunch for them.
The Uma Musumes from Team Rigil and Tojo Hana had already eaten, so only the inn staff and the three of them remained in the dining area.
“Starting tomorrow, Oguri Cap, you will go back to dirt track training,” Yugi said as he took the seat across from her.
He watched her enjoy her meal and added, “I hope those few days of swimming have not made you forget how a dirt track feels under your hooves.”
“How could she forget?” Berno Light chimed in from the side.
“Oguri still does her night runs on the training ground, right?”
“That is true,” Yugi chuckled.
“But the dirt sessions starting tomorrow will not be limited to just four hundred meters.”
Oguri Cap did not seem nervous at all.
While still chewing, she gave a vague but determined reply.
“It has been a while since I trained in full Kasamatsu mode.
I have missed it.”
“You really are something else,” Yugi said with a helpless smile.
He had seen plenty of Uma Musumes who tried to slack off during training, so one who actually looked forward to higher intensity work was exactly the kind he loved to coach.
He turned to Berno Light next.
“I need you to keep photographing the training ground conditions at Monbetsu Tracen Academy tomorrow.”
“Trainer, are you still studying the changes in the grounds?” Berno Light blinked and asked.
“Yes.
I want to figure out the recent training focus and habits of the Monbetsu Uma Musumes from how the track has changed over the past few days.”
The Monbetsu Uma Musumes and trainers would not bother hiding such details, nor would they fake them.
Berno Light still could not see what her trainer hoped to learn from a couple of photo sets, but she did not press the matter.
“I just need to trust Trainer,” she decided.
The next morning, after Team Rigil finished breakfast and warmed up for their training session, Yugi had already watched Oguri Cap complete her warm-up and was ready to begin her laps.
Taiki Shuttle looked around at her teammates and noticed how interested everyone was in Oguri Cap’s workout.
This would be the first time the gray Uma Musume trained seriously in front of the whole Rigil squad.
A clever idea popped into her head.
She walked over to Yugi with light steps.
“Trainer, can I run with the Uma Musume you are in charge of?”
“Here?” Yugi was surprised at first, then quickly hid his excitement and asked, “Should we not check with Miss Tojo first?”
“It is fine,” Tojo Hana said as she stepped out from behind the group of Uma Musumes.
“I want to watch too.”
“My name is Taiki Shuttle!” The chestnut-haired Uma Musume patted her chest proudly, causing quite a bounce that made Yugi politely look away.
“I am currently enrolled at Tracen Academy!
Although I have not made my official debut in the Twinkle Series yet, Emperor-senpai said I am sure to achieve great results!”
Listening to Taiki Shuttle’s overflowing confidence, Yugi put on a thoughtful expression.
“Emmmm…” He pretended to hesitate for a moment before agreeing.
“All right then, but only one and a half laps.”
On this training ground, one and a half laps equaled six hundred meters.
In official races, the final six-hundred-meter sprint time was a crucial indicator.
Oguri Cap’s previous two races had recorded final three-furlong times of 36.3 seconds in her debut and 37.1 seconds in the Wakakoma Sho.
The debut distance had been only eight hundred meters total, so it was less meaningful, but her Wakakoma Sho performance would have ranked highly even among Central’s non-graded allowance races over the same distance.
Yugi therefore felt very confident in Oguri Cap’s explosive finishing power.
“Facing a Central Uma Musume, running too far might not be ideal, but a six-hundred-meter sprint should be perfect,” he thought.
Tojo Hana was also pleased with the distance.
“Taiki Shuttle excels at short-distance and mile races.
Six hundred meters will let her show her best.”
Yugi called Oguri Cap back just as she was about to start.
After Taiki Shuttle finished her own warm-up, the two Uma Musumes walked to the far end of the track, lined up side by side, and prepared for the start.
The rest of Team Rigil gathered along the edge of the training ground, eagerly waiting to see what the gray Uma Musume from Kasamatsu could do.
Facing all those eyes, Oguri Cap stayed perfectly calm.
In her mind, this felt far less stressful than racing at Nagoya Racecourse.
Yugi, acting as starter, waved the small red flag downward in a sharp motion to signal the beginning of the impromptu race.
The moment the flag dropped, Oguri Cap launched forward without hesitation and immediately accelerated.
Even though this was only a private contest, she had no intention of losing to an Uma Musume from Central.
Taiki Shuttle had watched Oguri Cap’s morning training before, but she had not expected such a decisive start.
After a brief moment of surprise, she found herself already two lengths behind.
The Rigil Uma Musumes and Tojo Hana were not worried.
They assumed the local girl, who was supposedly weak at cornering, would reveal her weakness on the bend.
Yet Oguri Cap, who reached the turn first, did not give them what they expected.
She hugged the inside rail tightly and left Taiki Shuttle no room to overtake on the inner lane.
“Is this…
even her cornering has been specially practiced?” Tojo Hana glanced toward Yugi, who was watching Oguri Cap intently.
“That is not something an intern trainer would normally think of.”
A slow start had been neutralized, the inside lane was locked down, and Oguri Cap’s explosive power had been sharpened by Yugi.
For the entire six hundred meters, the gap between Taiki Shuttle and Oguri Cap never closed.
“You really are impressive, Taiki Shuttle,” Yugi said as he walked over to Tojo Hana and sighed softly.
“No,” Tojo Hana replied with a bitter smile and a shake of her head.
“Yamoto-kun, do not forget that Taiki Shuttle was drafting right behind Oguri Cap for those six hundred meters.”
“It was a complete defeat…” She sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead.
===
Although Yugi did not know Taiki Shuttle’s exact level, everyone in Team Rigil understood it perfectly.
Even though she had not yet debuted in the Twinkle Series, the previous Rigil trainer who had recruited her once declared that Taiki Shuttle was an Uma Musume capable of conquering European G1 races.
That retired trainer held a high position at the academy, so the team took his words seriously.
Taiki Shuttle had also shown talent far beyond her age group.
This time, however, she had been held off for the full six hundred meters with only a slight advantage from the slow start.
Both Tojo Hana and the Rigil Uma Musumes were genuinely astonished.
Yugi could see their surprise, but Oguri Cap felt it even more clearly.
In the days that followed, Rigil team members began inviting her to join them during their free time and actively sought her out for joint training sessions.
Yugi was more than happy about it.
Having sparring partners from Tracen Academy’s top team, some of whom had already won G1 races, pushed Oguri Cap hard, yet her training efficiency during this period far exceeded anything she had achieved back at Kasamatsu.
“Even if she does not win the Hokkaido Yushun Himba, Fujimasa March will be no match for her when we return to Kasamatsu,” Yugi thought.
He had heard that Kitahara was also taking Fujimasa March to Nagoya for a challenge during the break, but without reliable real-time contact he had not asked for details.
He silently wished them success.
Otherwise, Oguri Cap might find herself without worthy opponents back home, and her fighting spirit could slowly fade.
In early August, Monbetsu Racecourse officially released the expected entry list for this month’s main event, the Hokkaido Yushun Himba.
To everyone’s surprise, the “Other Region Entry Uma Musume” category, which had been empty in past years, now had a name listed:
“Oguri Cap (Kasamatsu) Main Victory: Wakakoma Sho (OP) / Nagoya”
“Uma Musumes from Kasamatsu are generally not that strong, right?” Many people knew this reputation.
“Even if she won an open race in Nagoya, she probably will not have an easy time here in Hokkaido.”
In local racing circles across Japan, the two strongest regions were widely recognized.
Monbetsu stood out for debut-year Uma Musumes because it offered many graded races that let them build capital quickly.
The overall strongest was the Minami Kanto region, which included Oi, Funabashi, Urawa, and Kawasaki, with Oi being the top.
Uma Musumes who earned enough in Monbetsu would usually transfer to Oi during the Classic season to challenge either the Minami Kanto Triple Crown or the Minami Kanto Triple Tiara.
For Monbetsu fans, trainers, and Uma Musumes, a challenger from Minami Kanto would be considered a serious threat.
But Kasamatsu had never produced any notable stars, so they paid it little attention.
Even the more cautious trainers at Monbetsu Tracen Academy relaxed completely once they learned that Yamoto Yugi was a relative newcomer who had only started working the previous year.
Back in the guest room, Yugi casually flipped through the day’s Hokkaido newspapers while waiting for Berno Light to finish developing the film.
“The photos I took last month are all here,” the chestnut-haired support Uma Musume said as she handed him the messenger bag.
“Good work, Berno Light.
You did very well.” Yugi sorted the photos by date.
Berno Light had been meticulous; the shooting angles were consistent for each location, and the date was written on the back of every picture.
He called Oguri Cap over after she finished breakfast and prepared to share his analysis with the team.
“Monbetsu Tracen Academy’s training facilities are not much different from Kasamatsu, and they do not have a slope track.” Yugi pointed at the photos and noted, “Their dirt training track is renovated once a month.
That is better than Kasamatsu.
I am afraid the grounds back home will still look exactly the same when we return.”
“Ah haha…” Berno Light and Oguri Cap laughed awkwardly.
Everyone at their academy had complained about the condition of the Kasamatsu training grounds many times.
“Let’s start by looking at the straightaway near the start,” Yugi said as he arranged several photos in order.
“You can see that most of the footprints are on the inner lane.”
“That is normal, isn’t it?” Oguri Cap mumbled.
“It is not normal,” Yugi replied, holding up the clearest photo Berno Light had taken the previous day.
“Look here.
The footprints on the outer lane at the starting line were left during a run, not at the start, unlike the inner lane.”
“Now look at the first turn.” He pulled out a few more photos.
“By the time we reach this point, the inner lane is quite clean.
Footprints only appear a few times, even a week after the track was renovated.”
“Does that mean the Monbetsu Uma Musumes also dislike running the inner lane on turns?” Oguri Cap’s mind was sharp, and she immediately caught the trainer’s point.
“Exactly.
Even though Monbetsu is considered top-tier among local circuits, they have the same issue.
Of course, it could also be that everyone avoids the inner lane, which makes the sand build up thicker there and slows anyone down who uses it.” Yugi spoke carefully.
“It does not matter to me,” Oguri Cap said.
After training alongside the Rigil team, her race awareness had improved a lot.
Thick sand might slow her slightly, but the layout of Monbetsu Racecourse meant the advantage of the inner lane would more than make up for it.
Yugi continued using the remaining photos to explain the common habits of the Monbetsu Tracen Academy Uma Musumes.
From their training paths, it was clear that most talented runners preferred to fight for the lead.
“Then,” Oguri Cap offered her own insight for the first time, surprising Yugi, “if they all rush forward to fight for the lead, should I consider a stalking strategy?
They will definitely burn a lot of energy early on trying to take the front.”
Yugi’s eyes lit up.
Oguri Cap’s progress thrilled him.
“It is possible, but we still have thirty days until the race, so we cannot finalize the plan yet.” He gave a satisfied smile but did not commit to her idea right away.
===
It was strange.
According to past years’ weather records, Monbetsu usually saw an average of eight rainy days in August.
When the rain finally came, it poured without stopping.
From the 25th onward, the outdoor training ground became unusable.
Yugi had no choice.
At most, he could only send Oguri Cap to the swimming pool with an umbrella so she could use the equipment there for light exercise and maintain her fitness.
Noticing Yugi sitting in the lobby and staring worriedly at the heavy rain, Tojo Hana sat down across from him.
“Look on the bright side.
The Monbetsu Tracen Academy Uma Musumes cannot use the outdoor ground either.”
“But it is still a Tracen Academy facility, so they probably have an indoor gym,” Yugi said, shaking his head.
“The only good thing is that I have already gotten Oguri Cap used to switching into race mode at night, right at the actual race time.”
He made it sound casual, but only Yugi and Berno Light knew how difficult it had been.
It was only recently that Yugi learned Oguri Cap’s body would tremble uncontrollably whenever she entered race condition, and the trembling would not stop without more activity.
That was when Berno Light suggested something she would later regret deeply: a pillow fight among the three of them in the guest room.
If Yugi’s physical fitness had been average for a trainer, the pillow fight would have ended with him being completely overwhelmed by Berno Light and Oguri Cap.
But his conditioning was respected even by top Uma Musumes, so every night around nine o’clock Berno Light would end up buried under a mountain of pillows by the combined efforts of Yugi and Oguri Cap.
Of course, since they were all in pajamas during these nightly battles, Yugi had plenty of chances to see more than he should and had quite a few accidental physical contacts with the Uma Musumes.
Yet every time it happened, he kept his mind strictly focused on the “energy consumption activity” for Oguri Cap.
Only late at night, when he was alone in his bedroom, would he pull the quilt over his head and try hard to push those memories aside.
Only after his emotions had mostly calmed down would Yugi allow himself to fall asleep, enter the Dream World, and continue his jockey training back in Kasamatsu in that other world.
And in yesterday’s Dream World session, Sagami Masayuki had given Yugi an opportunity that would make every other jockey in Kasamatsu green with envy: the chance to partner with Oguri Cap and challenge an open race in Nagoya.
“This is much later than when I made the same decision,” Yugi complained inwardly after receiving the request.
He pulled his thoughts back to the present and refocused on his conversation with Tojo Hana.
“The newspaper delivery will arrive in a little over an hour.
I am really looking forward to seeing which Monbetsu Uma Musumes will be Oguri Cap’s opponents.”
“No matter who they are, none of them will be a match for Oguri Cap,” Tojo Hana said, shaking her head firmly.
“Honestly, if you were not already her trainer, Yamoto-kun, I would want to recruit her for Central right away.
I believe she will be extremely competitive in next year’s Classic races.”
“But who can say?
You are her trainer, after all.” The Central trainer pouted.
“I do not think I could train Oguri Cap any better than you do.
So when are you planning to come to Central, Yamoto-kun?
I cannot wait for you to get there and show those useless colleagues of mine what real training looks like.
Their minds are not even on the Uma Musumes right now.”
“When Oguri Cap retires,” Yugi replied with a shrug.
“After all, I promised the director of Kasamatsu that I would make her an idol of the region.”
“And you know that if Oguri Cap transferred to Central, I would not have the qualifications to get a Central trainer license yet.” He gave a wry smile.
“I need to achieve solid results with her first, and then wait until at least next June to take the exam.
So I might as well stay in Kasamatsu with Oguri Cap for now.”
“Once she retires, I will have no more worries,” Yugi concluded.
“That is only about three years,” Tojo Hana said.
She already knew the timeline.
“By then, I will show you a Silence Suzuka who has grown into a top-class Uma Musume!”
“All right.” Yugi had just agreed when the newspaper delivery arrived.
He pulled out a paper and quickly located the Hokkaido Yushun Himba entry list.
“This year’s Hokkaido Yushun Himba only has eight Uma Musumes competing…” After seeing the number at a glance, Yugi could not help but sigh.
In previous years the field was usually a full gate of sixteen, but this time half the gates, a full eight, were empty.
“In other words, even if I had not let Oguri Cap run the Wakakoma Sho back then, she still could have qualified just by earning prize money from her debut race.” He thought to himself.
Tojo Hana leaned over curiously to see who would face Oguri Cap at Monbetsu Racecourse this time.
Yugi kindly explained the list to her, even though she was reading it upside down.
“DS Soarer.
She won a maiden race and placed second in two open races at Monbetsu.”
“Murcielago.
She has only won one maiden race so far and is jumping straight into this major event.”
“Happy Green.
She won her debut race and an open race, then took second in the Monbetsu major race called the Rise Cup.
She is definitely one to watch.”
“Yamano Fight.
She has two straight wins in Monbetsu major races.
In July she even traveled to Hakodate Racecourse to challenge a Central major race, the Hakodate Nisai Stakes, but her turf adaptability was too poor and she was beaten badly.
This race is on dirt, though, so she is still an opponent not to be underestimated.”
“Southern Vigorous.
She won three races straight after her debut and took a Monbetsu major race, but then failed to win her next two.
She is still a Monbetsu major race Uma Musume, yet I judge her threat level to be lower than the previous two.”
“Feel Super.
After a successful debut she tried racing in Central.
This will be her first race back in Monbetsu.”
Finally, Yugi’s finger moved past Oguri Cap and stopped on the last line.
His tone grew serious.
“Don Fortis.”
NEW CAMPIONE FIC!!!