"...Huh?" ×4.
Hearing Kitahara's words, Oguri Cap and the other horse girls all reacted in unison, startled.
"It's no trouble at all. I'll take you there right now."
Tazuna Hayakawa smiled lightly, her tone easy, and gestured with one hand to her side. "Everyone, please follow me."
Since he was the one making the training request, Kitahara was naturally the first to react. He walked a few steps alongside Tazuna, didn't hear any footsteps behind him, so he turned his head with a smile:
"What's the matter? Not interested in a running session?"
And with that, he continued walking forward.
Very soon, footsteps and excited voices followed behind.
"Whoa! We can run at Tracen Academy! Wonder how the track here compares to Kasamatsu's."
"Probably about the same? …Well, maybe totally different. Anyway, let's follow Mr. Kitahara and see for ourselves!"
"Doesn't matter where — I'm still the fastest! Hey, Oguri, wanna race?"
"I'm in!"
"Great! That's the spirit! Bay, you in too?"
"I… of course! And also… thank you, Mr. Kitahara…"
"Hm? What are you thanking me for?"
"Oguri, you're kinda slow on the uptake, huh…"
"Haha! Told you, this airhead reacts way too slow!"
Listening to the lively chatter behind him, Kitahara smiled — but also sighed a little in his heart.
That Super Creek would take the initiative to ask him for training didn't really surprise him.
In the game, the player has to play the role of "Trainer," inviting their favorite Uma Musume to join the team and begin a three-year training and racing journey.
Most Uma Musume require the player to invite them first before they'll join, but Super Creek is one of the rare few who will proactively request to join the team.
This setup came from a famous racing-world anecdote about "reverse designation."
Before entering the Kikua Sho, Super Creek actually didn't have a qualifying slot — she was only a reserve.
Almost as if sensing she might lose her chance to compete, twice, as a jockey passed by her, Super Creek bit onto his sleeve and tugged him toward her. That act moved the jockey, who then chose Super Creek for the race — and the rest became a legend.
The game and anime use that same bit of lore.
Knowing this story, Kitahara naturally understood why Super Creek had to "reverse designate" herself to fight for the opportunity.
Super Creek was strong — that's the consensus in the horse racing world — but that's the conclusion from hindsight.
At the very beginning, like Oguri Cap, no one believed in her — and, remarkably, the reasons for doubting her were strikingly similar.
When Super Creek was young, she also had leg problems.
Her left leg turned outward — no issue for walking, but no one believed she could race.
With that kind of background, it wasn't hard to understand why, upon hearing Kitahara was a trainer, Super Creek had shown such an urgent, almost desperate attitude — because here, no one was willing to give her a chance.
Her hesitation made sense too — she'd probably been turned down many times already, and likely assumed Kitahara would reject her as well.
But for Kitahara, who knew her story, how could he reject her? He not only knew her past — he knew her future.
In the coming period, whether it was due to care, training, or other issues, at the age when she was supposed to debut, Super Creek developed severe diarrhea. She could have competed in maiden races in the spring, yet was delayed all the way until December 5th.
This very year's end.
Even after finally debuting, Super Creek's misfortune didn't stop.
Loss after loss — and not just that, she even suffered a fracture in the middle of it.
Like hell this was "other issues" — it was definitely care and training problems!
As he sighed at Super Creek's tragic path, a flicker of anger also burned in Kitahara.
Letting Opera O and Meisho Doto wander outside on their own already spoke volumes.
What the hell were this era's trainers and instructors even doing?! One horse girl's trouble could be chalked up to chance — but I've been here two days and already found two cases?! And you dare say there's nothing wrong here?!
If nothing's wrong, then how the hell does a talent like Super Creek still not have a debut?!
In short — Super Creek doesn't have a trainer yet, so I'll be the one to take care of her. Never mind future results — I absolutely won't let her suffer injury again!
With that flash of anger hardening into resolve, Kitahara took a deep breath, calmed his heart, thought for a moment, and glanced slightly behind him.
The horse girls, chatting like old friends, carefree and laughing.
…Best not to interrupt them for now. Kitahara looked toward Tazuna Hayakawa.
"If it's not too much trouble, Miss Tazuna, may I ask — Super Creek… she really doesn't have a trainer yet, right?"
He wanted to confirm one last time. If that was indeed the case, then this exceptional horse girl — he was going to take her under his wing.
Tazuna didn't answer right away. She lifted a hand to her cheek, thoughtful.
…As I thought — Mr. Kitahara's already thinking of recruiting Super Creek. For that child, this is truly the best thing that could happen.
Though her leg issue's been resolved, her stomach hasn't been great, and no trainer sees her as promising.
But her potential is unquestionably first-class. Not just me — even Symboli Rudolf and the others believe this.
It's just… trainers with our eye for talent are too few. Of the few, none seem to have plans to recruit any horse girls at the moment. A real pity for Super Creek.
Mr. Kitahara may be young, but his vision and ability are beyond doubt. Whether it's Oguri Cap or Belno Light, both are trained superbly — that proves everything.
Especially since Oguri Cap had leg problems as a child as well — that means, both in training and in emotional care, Mr. Kitahara surely has the experience and composure to handle this perfectly.
After turning this over in her mind, Tazuna smiled.
"She really doesn't, no."
She glanced back toward the girls, then lowered her voice slightly, her tone carrying a faint sigh.
"That child, Super Creek, just hasn't had the best luck. Originally such an outstanding talent, but held back by injuries and illness. If not for that, she'd have been galloping across the track long ago — she might even have G1 wins by now."
"No doubt about it," Kitahara thought inwardly.
In history, after winning her maiden race debut, Super Creek was meant to aim for the Japan Derby — but in her trial, the Kisaragi Sho, she suffered a fracture in training and had to go into long-term recovery.
Half a year later, she returned — it should have been a glorious comeback — but in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai, she was struck multiple times by other jockeys, disrupting her performance, and only finished sixth.
And yet — in the next G1, the Kikua Sho — after all that misfortune, Super Creek astonished the world, winning by five lengths, proving her brilliance to everyone.
She was absolutely a G1-class horse girl.
(End of chapter)