Heavenly Horse? Actually, I'm a Doctor!

After thinking for a little while, Platinum added,

"Tracen's... training and learning resources wouldn't help me improve much."

Wouldn't help much?

No, Platinum didn't really know about those things either.

But one thing was certain: she wasn't just making an arbitrary decision because she wanted to slack off. She'd weighed all the factors and reached a reasonable conclusion.

She knew that if she joined Tracen Academy and officially enrolled... things would get really troublesome!

She'd probably attract an incredible amount of attention, no less than Daiwa Scarlet. A whole crowd of trainers would chase after her, hoping she'd join their teams, while plenty of hard-working Uma Musume would invite her to train together or even challenge her to Training Races!

In other words—

She'd have to work overtime, and not only would she get no pay, but some trainer might even take a cut of her prize money!!!

How could Platinum possibly accept such a raw deal?

Even if she had to work overtime, she should at least get overtime pay! And this wasn't just unpaid overtime—someone might even take some of her money. As far as Platinum was concerned, that was absolutely unacceptable.

Besides, if she became an Uma Musume, how could she keep being a doctor and earning two salaries?

(It's not like I'm after Tracen Academy's food, right? I'm not some gluttonous, big-eating horse girl.)

(Even the Winners' Stage is worth the "overtime," but joining Tracen doesn't seem to be.)

So from every angle, Platinum saw absolutely no reason to join Tracen Academy.

"All right..."

Mejiro McQueen lowered her head and stole a pained glance at the dessert she'd accidentally dropped on the floor, then quickly regained her composure. She waved Platinum toward the backstage entrance, making way for her.

"If you ever change your mind, you're welcome to join us at any time and become my junior."

"Oh, and President Symboli Rudolf added you as a friend. Remember to accept her request. You can go to her if you need anything!"

And so, their brief conversation came to an end.

But that didn't mean the commotion and impact of the race would fade away with it.

It was only a humble GIII race, with the more prestigious GII and the supreme GI Races above it, but even they couldn't overshadow the shock of Miss Heavenly Horse Platinum's Dominant Victory by a massive margin!

The huge margin Platinum had won by became a storm, and it was already beginning to sweep across all of Japan!!

A few minutes later.

Mejiro McQueen left the backstage area and went over to Mejiro Dober.

"I can't believe... I failed."

"By all rights, that shouldn't have happened."

Even after leaving, the elegant young lady of the Mejiro family kept her head lowered in thought, unable to make sense of it.

She couldn't imagine why any Uma Musume would turn down an invitation to join Japan's Tracen Academy.

Granted, among all the Uma Musume circles around the world, Japan's Tracen Academy wasn't necessarily one of the very best. There were other super-prestigious schools overseas.

But this was Japan. Tracen Academy's dominance in the Japanese Uma Musume world was so absolute that it was practically "Tracen and two other kinds of schools." In every respect, it far surpassed every other Uma Musume school in Japan.

And since Platinum had grown stronger so quickly, she must have poured countless hours of blood, sweat, and effort into it. Surely she was an Uma Musume who worked as hard as Teio, and loved running and racing just as much.

So what on earth had made Platinum refuse to join Tracen Academy?

Unable to figure it out, Mejiro McQueen finally shook her head and gave up.

Then, remembering the major race that had just ended, she couldn't help voicing her admiration.

"Within a day, the name Heavenly Horse Platinum will echo throughout Japan!"

Uma Musume racing was already a hugely popular national sport in Japan.

A sufficiently thrilling race could spread until everyone knew about it in just a day or two!

Usually, only the highest-level GI Races could reach that degree of fame. But today... there seemed to be an exception!

This ordinary GIII race, which should have been nothing remarkable, had left every spectator at the venue stunned!

Even inside the grand Tracen Academy, plenty of those talented young Uma Musume would probably be amazed and excitedly discussing it once they saw the race footage.

Platinum would draw attention just as Silence Suzuka once had, after her Dominant Victory by a huge margin in a Big Escape made her name known throughout Japan!

It was easy to imagine the current Assassin Girl being dubbed "the second Silence Suzuka" or "Maruzensky reborn" because of her astonishing Big Escape victory.

Even though she hadn't won any GI Races yet, no one doubted her potential or her future!

Several hours later.

After successfully completing the Winners' Stage, Platinum returned to her room.

"Phew..."

Having finished everything and successfully clocked out, she sat leisurely at her computer desk.

For Platinum, the Winners' Stage felt more exhausting than the race itself.

After all, a race was only two thousand meters, and it usually lasted about as long as one song. But the Winners' Stage required performing at least a few songs!

Still, how could she get fans to willingly throw money at her if she didn't make herself a remarkable idol?

Platinum had worked hard to earn money, racing on the job and performing overtime. She showed off her outstanding natural talent as a born workhorse.

"When will they start selling my merch and plushies so I can make money..."

Platinum lightly pinched her chin and crossed her legs. More than anything, she loved making big money without having to go to work!

"But before that..."

Platinum turned on her computer and searched the URA's official racing website, spending some time looking for what she needed.

Soon, she found the application forms for the Classic Races. The Oaks was only two weeks away, and the Japanese Derby was three weeks away.

Applications for the Classic Races usually had to be submitted at least a month in advance. Normally, she'd already missed the deadline and would be too late to enter...

"Cap Gate!"

"Thanks to Senior Oguri Cap, I can sign up now."

—The Triple Crown of Transformation began here!

20. URA in Shock! Platinum Challenges the Triple Crown of Transformation?!

In theory, every Uma Musume who missed the deadline for entering the Classic Triple Crown but was still able to enter by paying a late fee ought to thank a certain senior.

That senior was none other than Oguri Cap, the Superstar!

Oguri Cap had started out racing in a remote region, where she'd displayed astonishing potential and grown stronger and stronger.

She'd risen from a poor, out-of-the-way region, proven herself, and eventually made it to the Central Circuit and joined Tracen. Her inspiring story had earned her the love of countless spectators and a huge fanbase.

But then an unexpected problem arose: Oguri Cap had missed the deadline for the Classic Triple Crown and would be unable to enter the Classic Races. Her fans repeatedly begged the URA to make an exception or change the strict rules, but the inflexible URA refused to allow it right to the very end.

The incident had a considerable impact. The rules weren't changed, but a new provision was added: Uma Musume who missed the deadline one month in advance could still enter by paying a late fee.

Platinum was one of the beneficiaries of that rule.

Platinum felt sincerely grateful to that Senior Oguri Cap.

As someone about to take on the Triple Crown of Transformation by challenging the Oaks and the Japanese Derby within a month, she really ought to thank that big-eating senior she'd never even met.

Having just won a major race, Platinum now met all the requirements to enter under the new rule!

So she searched the race listings on the official website open on her computer.

Fillies' Triple Crown · Second Crown · Oaks (in two weeks)

Classic Triple Crown · Second Crown · Japanese Derby (in three weeks)

Apply!

She clicked "Apply" on the official website, and a pop-up appeared saying her application was awaiting review.

"Good. Now I just have to wait for the staff to review it."

Meanwhile, in a conference room somewhere in a high-rise building,

more than a dozen adults in suits had gathered for a meeting.

They were all staff members of the racing committee, and a large stack of race and Uma Musume profiles lay in front of them.

The meeting was about how to manage, promote, and advertise all the races scheduled for the next month or two.

Promotional resources were often limited. Even for a national sport, it was impossible to heavily promote every single race, so the committee had to make careful choices.

Which races were worth promoting with all their resources? Which Uma Musume had enough potential to merit publicity? All these questions were on the agenda.

From the URA's perspective—

The Uma Musume out there only had to devote themselves wholeheartedly to racing and give it everything they had, while the URA staff behind the scenes had a lot more to consider!

The staff members had placed several profiles at the very front of the pile on the table, clearly treating them as the main priorities. These were the most important files, and they would determine the committee's top priorities going forward.

Most of the profiles concerned the two major Classic Races coming up in the next month: the Oaks, the second crown of the Fillies' Triple Crown, and the Japanese Derby, one of the Classic Triple Crown races said to draw the most attention of any race in Japan!

The profiles listed the Uma Musume expected to enter. The upcoming promotional videos, allocation of promotional resources, and everything else would be devoted to these two major races.

And in addition to the profiles for these two GI Races and their competitors, there was also a newcomer who had won a mere GIII race just a few hours ago. Even she was attracting considerable attention within the URA.

It had taken only a week for Platinum to become the focus of the URA as a whole!

But the main topics of this meeting were still the Japanese Derby and the Oaks.

"Without a doubt, we should prioritize the Japanese Derby and Agnes Tachyon. Everything else comes second."

"Agnes Tachyon will definitely win by a huge margin. She'll become the second Uma Musume after Symboli Rudolf to achieve the Undefeated Triple Crown, and she'll be the next standard-bearer to carry the Japanese Uma Musume world, like Oguri Cap and Symboli Rudolf."

"I agree! After breaking bones twice, Teio has lost any chance of catching up to the Emperor. We don't even know when she'll return. Agnes Tachyon is the only possible next strongest in Japan."

"Exactly. Agnes Tachyon can't lose. Even the Emperor at the height of her Triple Crown run might not be able to beat Tachyon."

"That monster's so fast she's been called a Superluminal Particle. She nearly dominated every Uma Musume in her generation as far back as the Satsuki Sho and even earlier races. As long as nothing like what happened to Teio goes wrong, the Triple Crown is hers for sure!"

All the staff members raised their hands in agreement, and the proposal passed unanimously.

"Good. On to the next topic: preparing and promoting the newcomers of next year's Classic Year."

"Next year will once again be an incredible super-year, with super rookies like Platinum, Daiwa Scarlet, and Vodka."

The second major topic of the meeting was the Uma Musume coming next year, and Platinum came up in the discussion.

"If we get three consecutive years with the Undefeated Two Crowns for Tokai Teio, followed by the Undefeated Triple Crown for Agnes Tachyon, then the Undefeated Triple Crown for Platinum..."

"Then Japanese Uma Musume racing will reach a historic breakthrough and truly challenge the heights of world-class racing!"

"I propose we gradually increase the publicity for Platinum. The shock of her Big Escape is enough to carry next year's Classic Races, and the fact that she's so Experienced Battles proves her constitution must be incredible. We don't need to worry about an accident."

"I agree. Platinum's worth—"

An unexpected interruption suddenly occurred.

The discussion had just reached its peak when someone hurriedly pushed open the conference room door from outside.

The person who rushed in and interrupted the meeting was a staff member responsible for reviewing race applications. They approached with a stunned expression.

Then they quickly reported the sudden development.

"Just three minutes ago, that promising monster rookie Platinum, who can pull off both a Big Chase and a Big Escape—she!"

"She applied for late entry to both the Oaks in two weeks and the Japanese Derby in three weeks!"

The report left everyone in the room utterly dumbfounded. Some even thought they must have misheard.

"Huh?"

"Platinum's challenging Tachyon? Seriously?"

"Wait, why isn't she going for the Undefeated Triple Crown next year? Why compete with Tachyon for the remaining two crowns?"