"Montjeu... if she really is the one we're familiar with... then she must be the one that El Condor Pasa lost to in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1999."
"The powerful Racehorse who had thwarted Japan's dream of conquering the l'Arc once, and also the one defeated by Special Week in the Japan Cup."
"...But when comparing the timelines between our world and this world, Montjeu is already going to participate in the l'Arc while Special Week has only just entered her Classic Year, right?"
"If we weren't sure earlier, then this at the very least confirms that there are some minor differences between the two worlds..."
"Whelp, it seems like this time, our Supreme Commander won't have the chance to avenge El Condor Pasa in the Japan Cup."
After the Trainers' little discussion earlier, Fumino Nase had gone back to organize some documents, allowing the three transmigrated Trainers to finally speak freely with each other.
As soon as they confirmed the name 'Montjeu,' all three of them immediately understood what year this Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was mirroring from their original world.
1999… The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe that year was truly packed with strong Racehorses.
Besides Montjeu, who they had already discussed, there were other incredibly strong Racehorses in the race too which included the likes of: Croco Rouge, Daylami, Fantastic Light, Borgia, and others...
To be honest, the fact that El Condor Pasa could still achieve second place in such an all-star lineup, only falling behind Montjeu, showed just how strong he was.
Honestly, if Wada and T.M. Opera O had been the ones to run in that year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe back then, even he wouldn't be that confident that T.M. Opera O could do better than El Condor Pasa.
But of course, due to their presence, many events in this world had already changed.
T.M. Opera O had eclipsed her previous self and now holds the title of 'Japan's Strongest,' even managing to secure a spot in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a race she wasn't originally even supposed to run in.
From an outsider's perspective, this might look and sound logical; however, the three transmigrators knew very well that this spot actually originally belonged to El Condor Pasa.
Although they knew that if things went like how they originally went, El Condor Pasa would lose, they still felt that they couldn't take this spot for granted.
After all, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was one of the best chances to break out of Japan and go global.
If El Condor Pasa had known that her spot had been replaced by T.M. Opera O, she would surely be extremely unwilling, even if it was reasonable for it to happen.
"At the very least, this invitation was given directly to us. So El Condor Pasa probably isn't aware of this."
"But it really makes me feel dirty... stealing away a little girl's opportunity to break out of Japan..."
Wada started to feel more and more guilty the more he thought about it, especially with his knowledge as a transmigrator.
As a Jockey who was active during this era, he knew that opportunities like challenging the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe were basically once-in-a-lifetime.
Wada and T.M. Opera O didn't even have the chance to challenge the l'Arc back then, so one can imagine how difficult it was to obtain this invitation.
And now that T.M. Opera O has taken El Condor Pasa's place to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October... If their performance turns out to be worse than El Condor Pasa's, Wada would truly be consumed by his inner guilt and become reclusive.
After all, El Condor Pasa was one of the closest Racehorses in Japan's history to winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe besides Orfevre!
"Tch, now you've made me nervous even though I'm not the one participating... Thinking about it, even the two Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Orfevre ran in didn't have as luxurious of a lineup as in 1999."
Ikezoe, as one of the few people who were involved in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe though he didn't personally ride Orfevre back then, still remembered everything that happened vividly.
If he had to describe what the l'Arc was like, it was roughly equivalent to all of the Classic Triple Crown races in Japan combined— only the fastest, luckiest, and strongest Racehorse could achieve victory.
While it is true that the average Japanese Racehorse might not be as good as European or American Racehorses, to say that all of them are weak is definitely not true.
Just look at obvious examples like Orfevre and El Condor Pasa; their strength is undeniable and their speed is incredibly fast too, it was just that they lacked the luck aspect in their races.
"I don't really have much to say about the l'Arc. Although Gold Ship did run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, I only went there as a stable hand to take care of her. And, as for the race itself, I only know she didn't try her best."
Imanami had no extraordinarily amazing advice for Wada.
Although he had watched many Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes before and even watched a few of them live, it was hard for him to discern anything about it without personally experiencing the track himself.
Plus, Gold Ship didn't run with all his might in that race, so he had no reference value at all.
"Overall, Ikezoe should be the most qualified one out of all of us when talking about the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Even Trainer Fumino Nase might not be as good as you when it comes to the l'Arc, right?"
"I mean, sure... but I haven't actually raced in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe myself…"
Facing Imanami's praise, Ikezoe became a little embarrassed, scratching his scalp as he said,
"Seriously— I wish I had learned a few more tricks from Christophe Soumillon back in Paris!"
"No need to cry over spilt milk, Ikezoe. None of us could've ever known we would be transmigrated."
Imanami and Wada immediately comforted Ikezoe.
Although Ikezoe was arguably the most knowledgeable about the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the current situation still meant that none of them had a deep understanding of the l'Arc.
In the past, when going on overseas expeditions like this, the jockey roles were usually taken by Christophe Soumillon and other French Jockeys.
Japanese Jockeys had no chance to perform; usually, they just assisted as part of the team, or at best, like Ikezoe, served as an assistant to help Christophe Soumillon manage Orfevre.
Thus, unlike all their previous races, this expedition could be considered brand new territory for all three of them.
"Trai- Trainer!"
Just as the three of them were still pondering on what to do, not far away, Meisho Doto's figure slowly appeared from the distance, running towards them.
After a slight gasp, she quickly relayed the news:
"Trainer... T- T.M. Opera O went to special training with El Condor Pasa-san just now."
"Can you go take a look? I think that Trainer should be there to watch just in case."
What Meisho Doto didn't say was that the real reason she asked Wada to come wasn't because of El Condor Pasa's special training, but rather because she sensed that El Condor Pasa was a bit off.
The uneasiness was hard to describe, but Meisho Doto felt that her intuition wouldn't deceive her.
So, she went to inform Wada of this in the event something actually did occur.
Though Meisho Doto didn't think El Condor Pasa was the type to harm her competitors, it wouldn't be bad to be careful.
However, Meisho Doto's words immediately put the three Trainers on alert.
After all, a very specific event had just occurred, and El Condor Pasa just so happened to suddenly want to be involved with T.M. Opera O.
Just like Meisho Doto, although the three have never really interacted with this world's version of El Condor Pasa, they didn't really believe that she would be the type of person to harm someone out of jealousy.
Still, they couldn't help but be nervous about this matter. At the very least, they had to go and check the situation.
"Meisho Doto, take us to them. We'll go and see."
"Understood, Trainer, please follow me."
Meisho Doto quickly led Wada and the others towards a specific location.
Unlike where they had originally expected to go, they didn't go to the training grounds, but to a small grove behind the training grounds between the trees where El Condor Pasa had built a secret training ground.
As the group arrived, just as Meisho Doto said, El Condor Pasa was with T.M. Opera O. However, she was currently pouring water into the ground which had turned dry due to winter, making it moist.
"Alright—are you ready, T.M. Opera O? This is the first step of our special training, desu!"
El Condor Pasa puffed out her chest, saying confidently,
"To adapt to European tracks, we must also adapt to European tracks when they are in heavy condition. So we'll simulate those conditions like this, desu."
"Now, prepare yourself mentally, T.M. Opera O! If you slip here, it won't hurt much, but your clothes will get really dirty, desu!"
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When I was first reading this fic using MTL, it translated Montjeu as Highclere so I've always thought that this character was Highclere until I actually did my research.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.