An Unreliable Role

November 19, Kyoto Racecourse basked beneath clear skies.

After the Shuka Sho, the final leg of the Fillies' Triple Crown, came the showdown to determine the strongest filly—the Queen Elizabeth Cup.

There were sixteen runners: fifteen from the central circuit and one from the regional circuit.

Today, Kyoto Racecourse once again welcomed its tiny visitor from Oi.

Regional horses had originally only been eligible to enter through the three trial races—the Kyoto Daishoten, Ireland Cup, and Shuka Sho—yet the petite figure named Mejiro Atalanta had somehow appeared in today's paddock.

"Isn't that horse from the regional circuit?"

"Her previous race doesn't seem to have been a trial, either?"

Ever since her connections announced her entry into the Queen Elizabeth Cup, quite a few racing fans had wondered the same thing.

Yet the chestnut visitor who had become the second horse after Meisho Opera to accomplish the great feat of upsetting the establishment by winning a JRA-run G1 while representing the regional circuit had leapt onto the stage to contend for the queen's glory under a special entry provision.

Back in Beijing, where she had first won a central graded race, she did not head straight for the owners' stand.

Following her memories through the Triple Crown Horse Walkway, she pressed her palms together before Horse-Body Kannon, then headed toward the stone monument at the end of the path, still clutching the carrot she had prepared beforehand.

She placed the offering down, bowed twice, clapped twice, then bowed once more.

When she closed her eyes, she had no thoughts like I have to win or let her finish safely. Even this visit seemed to have been an unconscious act.

"I hope everything is well for you over there."

Her softly spoken breath turned white and quickly dissipated into the air.

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