A month later, both Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka had fully adapted to the current training rhythm. After scouting Saratoga Racecourse in the Dream World, Shuta An ultimately abandoned the idea of testing Silence Suzuka's turf adaptability there. Instead, he spent several days bringing her to Arlington Racecourse, allowing her to simply walk the grass and familiarize herself with the feel of the track.
Silence Suzuka was quite satisfied with the turf conditions at Arlington.
"Unlike Tokyo Racecourse," she said softly, "the rebound force here is very noticeable after each stride. When leading from the front, you have to keep an eye on the opponents behind you while also managing those forces—it's actually quite mentally exhausting."
Despite her words, Shuta An could clearly see it—Silence Suzuka genuinely enjoyed the sensation of running at the front. This was already an established fact.
After receiving the reward item "Standard Biological Clock," Silence Suzuka was also given a special training regimen that Oguri Cap did not participate in: pace-control drills. Every day, she was required to run 600 meters within a strictly designated time, with an allowable error of no more than 0.1 seconds. Naturally, to avoid injury, Shuta An carefully set the target time between 45 and 50 seconds.
When she first received these instructions, Silence Suzuka felt considerable pressure. Although pace control was a compulsory skill for an escape-type Uma Musume, Tojo Hana had never trained her in this area so rigorously. In her view, Silence Suzuka's talent alone should have been sufficient for her to grasp such control instinctively.
In that sense, Tojo Hana trusted Silence Suzuka's innate ability even more than Shuta An did. Yet in Shuta An's eyes, the pace control Silence Suzuka had developed on her own still had ample room for refinement.
And Silence Suzuka herself understood this clearly. She knew she truly needed to strengthen this aspect—she was, in fact, completely aligned with Shuta An's intentions. Still, once the training began, the results surprised even her.
For the first session, Shuta An set the target at forty-seven seconds.
Silence Suzuka ran exactly forty-seven seconds.
For the second session, the requirement was fifty seconds.
She finished at forty-nine point nine seconds.
Up until now, Silence Suzuka had not failed a single session. In more than half of the attempts, she had executed Shuta An's instructions with absolute precision.
"When did my pace control become this accurate—!?"
The surprise and question lingered in her heart, though she never voiced it aloud.
As the Arlington Million drew closer, with only one month remaining, Arlington Racecourse finally released the official entry lists for the Twinkle Series races scheduled for that day.
In addition to the Arlington Million—a G1 major race that drew a large number of elite Uma Musume—there were two supporting G1 races. One was the Beverly D. Stakes, a 1900-meter turf race restricted to Triple Tiara-eligible Uma Musume. The other was the Secretariat Stakes, a 2000-meter turf race limited to Uma Musume in their Classic season.
The former had nothing to do with Team Sadalsuud. The latter, however, demanded attention—Silence Suzuka would be competing in it.
As the first G1 race of the day at Arlington Racecourse, the Secretariat Stakes also carried an additional significance: Silence Suzuka would be the first to directly experience the turf conditions under race-day pressure.
"As long as it doesn't rain, there shouldn't be any issues with the turf," Shuta An thought quietly as he stood by the guest room's floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the daytime view of New York. "I'll check the entry list later. Berno and I will be busy tomorrow."
Collecting opponent data and devising race strategies—this was naturally his responsibility.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Arlington Racecourse official announced the finalized entry lists. From this point on, the number of participants would only decrease, never increase. There was no risk of spending days on preparation only to discover new opponents at the last moment.
"This year's Arlington Million has only eleven Uma Musume, including Oguri," Shuta An muttered after scanning the data.
G1 races with small fields were not uncommon in Europe and America. Generally speaking, such conditions made positioning easier. This was also good news for Oguri Cap—whether she chose to lead or trailing from behind, maintaining position among the taller, physically imposing opponents would not be difficult.
Using a search engine, Shuta An quickly gathered rough information on the other ten competitors.
"Only five of them have truly achieved results on the G1 circuit."
The remaining participants could largely be regarded as filling out the field, and for now, he did not intend to devote much attention to them.
"First, Prized—last year's Breeders' Cup Turf winner, and this year's champion of the St. Louis Rey Stakes, the very race Oguri is currently sponsoring."
"Second, Steinlen—last year's Arlington Million winner, and also the winner of this year's Hollywood Turf Classic in May. Her form is extremely strong."
"Third, With Approval—runner-up in this year's Sword Dancer Stakes. She hasn't claimed a G1 title yet, but she has finished second in several G1 races and can't be ignored."
"Fourth, Golden Pheasant—runner-up in last year's Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and winner of the Prix Niel. Although she only placed fourteenth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, her form after transferring to the United States has been consistently solid."
"Finally, Alwuhush—winner of the G1 Charlton H. Bugg Stakes at Santa Anita last year. Her results this season have been rather ordinary—it feels like she may have already peaked. I'll have Berno check her current training condition."
The task of gathering detailed intelligence on these key opponents was entirely handed over to Berno Light via Line.
After that, Shuta An turned his attention to the entry list for the Secretariat Stakes. With just a single glance, a subtle, puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"Only six Uma Musume?"
Silence Suzuka's previous race, the Japanese Derby, had fielded a full eighteen runners.
"But looking at it this way," he thought calmly, "it's actually not a bad thing. At the very least, Suzuka's psychological burden when leading should be much lighter."
Since Oguri Cap claimed the French Two Crowns, no other Uma Musume had dared to challenge overseas expeditions to Europe or America—until this year. The defeat of the "Emperor" back then had planted an invisible fear deep within the hearts of Central Uma Musume.
Against this backdrop, Shuta An's announcement on Team Sadalsuud's blog—that two Uma Musume would challenge two G1 races on Arlington Million race day—immediately drew nationwide attention. It was the height of summer, a period when no major races were being held in Japan, and the news spread with astonishing speed.
After the Takarazuka Kinen, the Central circuit entered a long lull with no G1 races scheduled for several months. Thus, once Shuta An officially confirmed the overseas expedition, numerous media outlets hurriedly prepared to follow the team to Arlington for coverage. Some reporters even crossed the ocean barely a week after Team Sadalsuud arrived in the United States.
Unfortunately for them, the training photos Shuta An uploaded to the team's blog revealed nothing about the hotel's location. Unable to contact him directly, the reporters could only wander around Chicago in search of leads.
Still, this waiting period was not entirely fruitless. Though they failed to secure interviews with Shuta An, Oguri Cap, or Silence Suzuka, they could at least speak with staff at Arlington Racecourse. With a bit of imagination—and generous interpretation—filing articles was far easier than back home.
Twinkle magazine, a subsidiary of the URA Association, had no such urgency. After making contact with Shuta An, they arranged an exclusive interview, scheduled for a time before the gate positions were drawn.
Shuta An did not refuse Twinkle's invitation. For both himself and the Uma Musume under his care, such publicity was necessary.
"I haven't forgotten about making Oguri Cap a 'national idol,'" he muttered to himself after accepting.
At the start of the year, the Japanese government's economic policies had abruptly burst the bubble the entire nation had helped inflate. Though officials believed the losses could be absorbed, reality proved otherwise.
By the end of July, reports on the aftermath of the collapse had become commonplace. For Shuta An and Oguri Cap, however, the direct impact was minimal.
"Still…the bankers who couldn't escape probably want to reenact something," he thought uneasily. "Let's just hope they don't start a war."
The idea made him chuckle.
"What am I thinking does Japan even have the ability to start a war anymore?"
Shaking his head, he forced his thoughts back on track and began preparing how to respond to the inevitable questions during the interview.
The meeting with Twinkle magazine was set for August 1st. Rather than inviting the reporters and photographers to the hotel, Shuta An arranged to meet them at a coffee shop.
"Shuta-kun is very secretive about his residence, isn't he?" the reporter commented with a smile after agreeing to the arrangement.
"This is also part of my responsibility toward the Uma Musume I train," Shuta An replied via message. "After all, not every media outlet has the same integrity as your publication."
Even so, he remained cautious. He had no intention of being watched by reporters at the hotel for the next month.
On the day of the interview, Berno Light, having completed her data collection, chose to remain at the hotel to rest. Thus, only the remaining three went to the coffee shop. Shuta An was well aware that he himself was merely a supporting role—Twinkle's special feature was clearly centered on Oguri Cap.
As the current strongest active Uma Musume in Japan, Oguri Cap's every move tugged at the hearts of countless fans. They hoped she would reclaim glory overseas and lift spirits dampened by economic decline, yet they also feared the possibility of defeat or injury—another blow to lives already weighed down by hardship.
"So whether it's this interview or the upcoming races—only victory is allowed. No defeat," Shuta An thought, keeping that pressure firmly to himself.
They arrived at the coffee shop earlier than Twinkle's team and took their reserved seats. Shuta An sat on one side, idly scrolling through his phone, while Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka sat opposite him, eyes closed, quietly rehearsing their thoughts for the interview.
A few minutes later, the Twinkle magazine team arrived. The reporter was about to enter when the photographer stopped her.
"Wait—let me take a few shots outside first."
Guided by professional instinct, the photographer needed no special angles. Within moments, he captured several photos he found deeply satisfying.
"These could even work as a standalone cover," he muttered, already imagining the headline: Towards the World, Setting Off Again.
While he was lost in thought, Shuta An happened to glance up and noticed them. He waved lightly, signaling them to come in, and slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Sorry—we took some photos outside first," the reporter apologized as she sat down.
"That's fine," Shuta An replied calmly. Rising from his seat, he continued, "Shall we start with Oguri or Suzuka? I'll take the other aside so the interview and photos are easier."
"Miss Oguri Cap, please," the reporter answered without hesitation.
At that, the Uma Musume stood up quietly and moved behind Shuta An.
"Let's go. We'll have coffee while we wait," he said, turning to speak.
"Mhm!" Silence Suzuka nodded vigorously in response.
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