Chapter 9. Blowout
Tonight in the Dream World, Shuta An would ride Hokuto Vega to challenge the Santa Margarita Invitational.
In this race, Hokuto Vega had been assigned gate 7.
With a total of 10 horses participating, this gate position was considered somewhat wide.
After learning the results of the gate draw, Shuta An decisively chose to continue actively seeking a forward position in this race, to avoid the tragedy of being left behind and unable to catch up.
"Santa Anita Park Racecourse is labeled as fast ground today; trying to win with a hold-up tactic is still too difficult,"
Shuta An muttered to himself in the jockey waiting room.
The jockeys also in the waiting room, preparing for the Santa Margarita Invitational, were secretly observing Shuta An.
The Santa Margarita Invitational was not a high-status race.
Today, apart from Shuta An, only Nakatani, riding Southern Truce, was considered a top jockey, but Nakatani himself had not previously interacted with Shuta An.
Nakatani's name sounded very Japanese.
His father was indeed Japanese-American, but he had no connection with the Japanese racing industry.
"A formidable opponent." He only glanced at Shuta An a few times before making his judgment.
Hokuto Vega was undoubtedly the top favorite today, but before seeing Shuta An today, Nakatani had been full of confidence.
However, now looking at his composed opponent, he suddenly started to feel uneasy deep down.
"I wonder if Southern Truce and I can do it."
Nakatani began to imagine himself and his partner chasing and being chased by Hokuto Vega in his mind.
Shuta An, however, continued to close his eyes and rest, completely oblivious to the gazes of his peers around him.
As the top favorite, he naturally had to secure the victory.
Arriving at the waiting area, with the assistance of the Groom, he stably mounted Hokuto Vega's back.
Looking down, Hokuto Vega's body gleamed, causing the young man to involuntarily narrow his eyes.
The feed purchased here in the US was very much to Hokuto Vega's liking, forcing everyone to find ways to control her diet, otherwise her weight would skyrocket.
The Groom sighed softly.
"But luckily, the control seems to be working very well."
Shuta An rubbed Hokuto Vega's hind neck and replied,
"Everyone's work has been excellent; now it's my time to shine."
"Hokuto Vega can win, right?!"
The Groom turned to look at the young man.
"Yes."
Shuta An's answer was concise.
After entering the starting gate, Hokuto Vega seemed very calm. She remembered running this racetrack several times last year, so she didn't feel unfamiliar now.
Shuta An, sitting steadily in the saddle, surveyed his opponents on both sides—
Guiza in starting gate 6 and Campagnarde in starting gate 8.
The former was unknown, while the latter was an Argentinian Oaks mare.
"But neither of them is a match for Hokuto Vega."
Shuta An had ample confidence in his partner. Even last year's Triple Tiara had been defeated, so he felt he could easily win with a normal performance.
"The intensity of this race is perfect as a warm-up."
The young man tightened the reins, preparing to let Hokuto Vega accelerate for an early lead.
Considering the track conditions and the level of the opponents, Shuta An prepared to let Hokuto Vega open up a certain gap with her opponents in terms of starting gate speed, something she hadn't done in a while.
Holding the whip in a backhand grip, the young man narrowed his eyes, ready to depart at any moment—even though Alysbelle in the outermost starting gate 10 had not yet officially entered the starting gate.
The electric bell rang.
Shuta An loosened the tightened reins, then pushed hard. Hokuto Vega, anxious from being pulled by the reins, saw the starting gate in front of her open and immediately charged forward with her head down.
With Shuta An having loosened the reins, Hokuto Vega now wanted to fully unleash the energy she had held back inside the starting gate.
However, the young man in the saddle would not let her unleash it all directly here, and the reason was simple—
If all her momentum was expended here, what would happen when she needed to sprint in the final straight?
So, after Hokuto Vega secured the leading position at the front of the pack, Shuta An tightened the reins, controlling Hokuto Vega's desire to continue accelerating, and made her obediently enter cruise control at her current speed under the saddle.
Nakatani, riding Southern Truce, followed two lengths behind Hokuto Vega, steadily marking the race's recognized top opponent.
"I wonder to what extent Shuta An intends to set the pace for this race."
Nakatani, although marking Shuta An, was actually a bit worried that Shuta An might blindly set an unusually high-speed, forward-leaning pace, leading to the chaser racehorses in this race benefiting.
As they rounded more than half of the bend, Shuta An estimated that the current 400-meter split time was approximately 23 and a half seconds. Entering the controlled cruising phase, the split time would be a bit faster than these 400 meters, but beyond that, it would depend on the Uma Musume's inherent quality.
Shuta An estimated that the first 1000 meters of this race should be in the 60-second range; it wasn't impossible for it to be even faster—provided that the chasing opponents would accelerate and press Hokuto Vega after entering the straight opposite the stands, forcing Shuta An to accelerate.
If such a situation arose, Shuta An wouldn't mind letting his partner truly accelerate again, directly blowing away the competitors in the same race.
After turning into the straight opposite the stands, Nakatani prepared to let Southern Truce accelerate and move up. He felt it was time to put pressure on Hokuto Vega.
But before he could officially act, Paseana, who had competed against Hokuto Vega at the Breeder's Cup last year, overtook Southern Truce under Carron's instruction in the saddle, ready to put pressure on Hokuto Vega.
Seeing this scene, Nakatani gave up on the plan to forcefully seize a position and prepared to observe from behind.
"Interesting."
Shuta An's lips curled into a smile as he heard the increasingly clear footsteps behind him, realizing what was happening.
When Paseana closed the gap to half a length, Shuta An increased the intensity of his push-riding, loosened the reins, and then waved the whip to the left side of Hokuto Vega's head, urging his partner to start accelerating.
"I had planned to start accelerating later, but Hokuto Vega's reaction is excellent now. If we accelerate early here, and you can't keep up, it's going to be a disaster!"
The young man mused silently while pushing hard.
"This is what you asked for!"
As Shuta inferred, Hokuto Vega's reaction today was excellent.
After Paseana caught up, the young man's actions led Hokuto Vega to directly begin a second acceleration. By the time they passed the 1200m marker, she had once again left Paseana four lengths behind.
But what surprised Shuta An even more was that after the second acceleration, Hokuto Vega's condition remained incredibly stable, as if the extra stamina consumed had been replenished out of thin air.
Unable to understand what had happened, Shuta An prepared to let Hokuto Vega maintain her current speed and enter cruise control.
"When we enter the final straight, we'll unleash a third acceleration!"
The young man did not notice his arms trembling slightly.
The Santa Margarita Invitational was not a highly prestigious G1 race. Only about 30,000 spectators came to watch today, and many seats in the Santa Anita Park Racecourse stands were empty.
But a great performance does not necessarily require a massive crowd; it can happen on an ordinary G1 race day like this.
As they turned into the final bend, Shuta An glanced behind him, noticing that the gap between the closest Paseana and Hokuto Vega had widened to almost a large margin.
He didn't count the exact number of lengths, but he knew that all opponents behind him had been left behind by Hokuto Vega during that last stretch.
However, when Shuta An turned back and re-synchronized his breathing rhythm with Hokuto Vega, he frowned.
The young man noticed something counter-intuitive—
"Hokuto Vega's breathing rhythm is still so steady, as if the second acceleration didn't waste any stamina at all. Could it be that Hokuto Vega's condition today is the best she's ever been in her career?"
Shuta An himself couldn't judge this well, but he instinctively believed that Hokuto Vega definitely had remaining energy to unleash.
"Then let's go!"
Regripping the whip in a normal grip, he kept Hokuto Vega in a high-speed cruising state, hugging the rail as she charged towards the end of the bend, constantly widening the distance between herself and the opponents behind her.
Now, Shuta An could only hear his and Hokuto Vega's breathing, and her own hoofbeats.
As for the sounds of the opponents, they had vanished without a trace after the second acceleration.
Shuta leaned his center of gravity forward, lowering his body as much as possible to reduce air resistance—though he wasn't sure how much easier this would make it for Hokuto Vega.
And after turning into the final straight opposite the stands, he looked back again, realizing that Southern Truce was now in second place.
But whether it was Paseana or Southern Truce, it was all the same; Hokuto Vega, her fighting spirit completely ignited, vowed to crush all opponents here.
After entering the final straight, the young man did not immediately use the whip but let Hokuto Vega cruise for 100 meters according to her habit.
With 200 meters remaining to the finish line, Shuta An finally delivered his first whip strike of the race. With one strike, Hokuto Vega's speed instantly increased even more.
"That's enough."
Shuta An held the whip in a backhand grip, no longer maintaining a low center of gravity. He began to perform squatting movements in Hokuto Vega's saddle, his exaggerated push-riding posture appearing quite desperate.
"Is this Hokuto Vega's full power?"
Southern Truce's Trainer on the sidelines was stunned.
On the other side of the VIP area, Hokuto Vega's Grooms and assistants were all dumbfounded.
"Shuta-kun said 'do my best,' is this the result?"
Someone whispered.
"It's a bit terrifying."
"So Hokuto Vega is this strong now?"
The Groom muttered to himself.
"Sure enough, the grass here in the US tastes better, unleashing Hokuto Vega's potential, right?"
The Training assistant also offered his opinion.
But no matter which explanation, they knew deep down that none could explain the scene before their eyes.
The live commentator had already stood up when Hokuto Vega entered the final straight.
Looking at the one man and one racehorse who had left all opponents far behind, he was incredibly excited. Although Hokuto Vega was an overseas racehorse, witnessing such a performance was naturally a rare event for a commentator.
Quickly adjusting his mindset, he shouted,
"HOKUTO VEGA HAS 200 METERS LEFT TO THE FINISH LINE!" "
PASEANA HAS BEEN COMPLETELY OVERTAKEN BY SOUTHERN TRUCE!"
"BUT NO ONE CARES ABOUT THEIR CHASING EACH OTHER ANYMORE! BECAUSE HOKUTO VEGA HAS ENTERED ANOTHER WORLD! THE SPECTATORS WHO CAME TO SANTA ANITA PARK RACECOURSE TODAY ARE TRULY LUCKY!"
"BY SANTA MARGARITA! HOKUTO VEGA HAS SHOWN ABILITY SURPASSING HER PERFORMANCE AT THE BREEDER'S CUP LAST YEAR! SKY BEAUTY, YOUR GREATEST ENEMY IS GETTING STRONGER AND STRONGER!"
"THE FINAL 100 METERS!"
"WHAT A HORSE! WHAT A JOCKEY!"
"HOKUTO VEGA HAS TORN APART ALL OPPONENTS WHO DARED TO CHALLENGE HER! AT SANTA ANITA PARK RACECOURSE TODAY, ALL OTHER RACEHORSES ARE OVERSHADOWED!"
"HOKUTO VEGA! IS STILL ACCELERATING! THE OPPONENTS BEHIND ARE TRYING TO CATCH UP, BUT IT'S ALL IN VAIN!"
"HOKUTO VEGA CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! 1:47.46! A RACE RECORD! THIS IS THE BREEDER'S CUP CHAMPION RACEHORSE!"
As Shuta An crossed the finish line, he flung his whip, and by the time the staff on the track ran to pick it up, the second-place Southern Truce had just crossed the line.
At this point, Hokuto Vega had already slowed down.
Shuta An, looking calm, glanced back at his opponents, noting that Southern Truce, the closest to him, was still eight or nine lengths behind, and realized something.
"Could it be that Hokuto Vega opened up such a huge gap here?" he wondered silently.
Half a minute later, the host rode up on a horse, handed the microphone to the young man, and the first question asked confirmed Shuta An's guess—
"Hokuto Vega crossed the finish line a full two seconds ahead of the second-place Southern Truce. Was Mr. Shuta expecting Hokuto Vega to be in such excellent form today?"
"Two seconds?" Shuta An's eyes widened. "I completely didn't expect such a large gap. Before the race, Hokuto Vega's Groom told me that Hokuto Vega was in good form, but I just took it as an average good form. I didn't expect it to be this terrifyingly good."
"Honestly, I even feel that if Hokuto Vega can maintain today's form, I'm willing to challenge the Breeders Cup Classic with her,"
Shuta An said very seriously.