Oguri Cap's training and racing schedule remained unchanged. After missing the recent Chukyo Cup, the most suitable upcoming races were the Shiwasu Special Cup in December and the Golden Youth Cup on January 10 of the following year. Each race allowed a month of preparation, more than enough for this ten-win-from-ten races to add two more victories.
In January, Kitahara himself had a "big battle"—the second assessment for central trainers.
Having previously studied tirelessly, he had successfully passed the first written exam. During this time, he also maintained daily physical training, as the second assessment would rely on physical fitness.
A trainer must not only have professional knowledge but also be physically fit and healthy.
Training horse girls isn't just about running. When necessary, field training camps in the mountains, forests, or remote coastlines are conducted. To maintain high-level guidance in such environments, a trainer's physical and mental stamina must be reliable.
For this reason, the central assessment is extremely strict; the passing standard is almost equivalent to that of amateur athletes.
So, to pass the second assessment smoothly, Kitahara would undergo a period of special training over the next two months, just like the Uma Musumes.
In comparison, Belno Light's schedule was much simpler. Her technical talent was already apparent, and she had achieved first place in the trainee exam equivalent to the central trainer's assessment. Such talent was more suited to a technical path.
Kitahara planned to ask Tazuna Hayakawa, Kokobu Ren, and his uncle Ginjiro Musaka for technical materials, ideally at an international level, to give Belno Light additional guidance.
He himself would also use his foresight advantage to organize "future" technical concepts as references for her.
The biggest concern was Super Creek.
Not because he doubted the medical skills of Kokobu Ren or Kyoko Miyamura, but because Kitahara knew that, besides the foot inflammation, the version of Super Creek from another world had a very dangerous hidden issue before and after her debut:
"Glass Feet."
For any horse girl or trainer, "glass feet" is a dreaded condition. As the name implies, the feet are as fragile as glass, extremely prone to injury.
For example, fractures.
Kitahara naturally didn't want that to happen, but memories from the other world warned him to prevent it proactively.
Super Creek was notorious for "glass feet" early in her career.
This was closely related to inflammation. At the time, she endured the condition for a long period to avoid worrying those around her, only being discovered when she could no longer hide it. This greatly affected her ankle structure.
The most serious consequence was a fracture at the Aoba Sho, one of the Japanese Derby prep races, forcing her into long-term recovery. She missed the first two legs of the classic Triple Crown—the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby—and didn't return until the third leg, the Kikuka Sho.
Currently, Kitahara had caught the inflammation early, so theoretically this world's Little Seabreeze shouldn't have "glass feet." But to be safe, he still needed confirmation from Kokobu Ren and Kyoko Miyamura.
This directly affected Super Creek's race schedule.
Without the "glass feet" issue, she could debut smoothly and follow the standard procedure for the "Twinkle Series."
In other words, she had a chance at the classic Triple Crown, becoming a "Triple Crown Uma Musume."
"Triple Crown Uma Musume" and "Trainer of a Triple Crown Uma Musume"—these are the honors every horse girl and trainer dreams of.
This world didn't have normal horses, only Horse Girls and racehorse girls, with numbers similar to the other world. There were about 60 million ordinary horse girls, but only the exceptionally gifted were considered "Uma Musume." Each year, only 6,000–8,000 newborns became "small Uma Musume."
By this ratio, over the decades since the Twinkle Series began, Uma Musume were rare, but the total number reached tens of thousands.
However, up to now, there had only been four "Triple Crown Uma Musume":
St Lite, Shinzan, Mr CB, and Symboli Rudolph.
Only the fastest could win the Satsuki Sho, only the luckiest could win the Japanese Derby, and only the strongest could win the Kikuka Sho.
So, to emerge from thousands of strong competitors as the fastest, luckiest, and strongest Triple Crown Uma Musume, the number could never be many.
That's why the "Triple Crown" title is so coveted.
Without injury, Super Creek had a very good chance. Historically, she had already won the third leg, the Kikuka Sho.
That year, the Satsuki Sho winner was Yaeno Muteki, and the Japanese Derby winner was Sakura Chiyono O.
Super Creek faced Yaeno Muteki in the Kikuka Sho, making victory in the Satsuki Sho plausible.
As for Sakura Chiyono O…
Kitahara's thoughts faltered.
That could be tricky. Sakura Chiyono O…
Sigh. In that Japanese Derby, she ran with everything she had left in her career, risking it all. How could one beat such a competitor easily…
In Japanese culture, cherry blossoms symbolize fleeting and poignant beauty. Sakura Chiyono O's career perfectly embodied this image.
Before the Japanese Derby, she had 7 races and 4 wins. Her losses were against top-tier racehorse girls like Yaeno Muteki —she was already at the peak of her generation.
However, after the Derby, she never won again. Most of her remaining career was spent in recovery. Even in her last race, the Takarazuka Kinen, she had to retire due to tendonitis.
Anyone could see that she burned herself out completely in the Japanese Derby.
Whether Super Creek could win the Derby… that would have to be set aside for now. He needed to remind her: being excellent but ruined by a single race was too unfortunate.
Okay, thinking too far ahead. The "Triple Crown" title was indeed enticing. If, in her first year at the central level, a trainer produced a Triple Crown Uma Musume, it would shock the entire industry.
But that was far ahead. Better to stay realistic.
Super Creek hadn't debuted yet. The inflammation hadn't fully healed. Whether "glass feet" existed was still unknown. In the worst case, she would have to focus on basic physical conditioning for a long period.
Wait for Kyoko Miyamura's results first.
After the treatment, Kyoko, hair slightly damp, delivered not-so-bad news to Kitahara.
"Mr. Kitahara, please don't get excited. Overall, Super Creek's condition is fine."
Kyoko first prepared him for the truth, seeing Super Creek's slightly gloomy expression.
"But… uh… I really hate saying 'but'…"
She hesitated, then continued: "But her steps are a bit weak. In your trainer terms, she might have glass feet…"
Upon hearing this, Super Creek's expression darkened. She anxiously glanced at Kitahara, quickly withdrew her gaze, clutched her collar tightly, opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed her eyes sharply and lowered her head deeply.
(End of Chapter)