The victory of Twin Turbo in the BC Mile did more than just secure a trophy; it laid bare a startling new reality for the international racing community.
"It wasn't just Mejiro Rampage who was a monster."
For years, Japanese horse girls' overseas expeditions had been defined by a mounting pile of failures. But those failures had not been in vain. Every loss had been analyzed, every mistake fed back into the system as data. Lady Saber, Amazing Dyna, Mejiro Palmer, Twin Turbo, Tokai Teio, Agnes Flora, Rice Shower—one by one, the Japanese contingent was beginning to rack up international accolades. They were proving that the "Dictatorial Tyrant" wasn't some freak anomaly. And inevitably, the world's gaze shifted to the next Japanese runner on the Breeders' Cup roster.
"And now, the Emperor of Japan, Tokai Teio! Can she follow in Twin Turbo's footsteps? But look at this formation—she's in a desperate situation!"
Teio had taken to the track immediately after Turbo, but her race had developed into something far more grueling. This was the American Twinkle Series at its most ruthless. Two runners were marking Teio with suffocating precision, while three others ran ahead in a tight horizontal line, acting as a living shield for the leader. Teio had heard that team tactics were the norm abroad, and she had beaten coordinated teams before, but this was on another level.
"They've certainly done their homework on her," Sunday Silence noted from the sidelines, her eyes narrowed.
"It seems Turbo-san's victory kicked their threat assessment up to the maximum level," Trainer Minamisaka replied, his voice tense.
Teio was always going to be a marked woman. Her G1 record in Japan was legendary, and after the wake-up call provided by Mejiro Rampage, the Americans were no longer willing to dismiss Japanese domestic stats as "soft."
But out on the turf, Teio was still smiling.
To her, this suffocating encirclement was the ultimate compliment. It was proof of her strength. More importantly, she knew that if she couldn't break through a wall like this, she would never earn the right to challenge Rampage again. As she faced their psychological ploys and physical blocking with a smirk of pure, defiant confidence, she must have looked terrifying to her rivals—an emperor who refused to be dethroned.
Then, for a split second, the formation wavered. It was a gap no wider than a heartbeat, but Teio was already moving.
"Ran! Look at this! This is the fruit of everything I've learned—the True Ultimate Teio Step!!"
"T-TOKAI TEIO! Tokai Teio has smashed through the wall! She's flying—literally flying over the turf! Her steps are so light she seems to have abandoned gravity itself! It's a zero-gravity run! Tokai Teio has seized the lead in a single breath!"
"We're into the final straight, and Teio is already miles ahead! Tika Nail is trying to launch a desperate counter-spurt, but it's hopeless! Unbelievable! Tokai Teio is going to win the BC Turf by a massive margin! The Emperor of Japan has declared that she, too, is a ruler in her own right! Japan takes its second victory of the day! This is the homeland of the Tyrant! This is the strength of Japan!"
"Haah... haah... I did it... Ran's style..."
Teio stood on the track, her lungs burning but her heart soaring. She had finally mastered it: a "Full-Body Drive" that linked every muscle and joint to eliminate power loss, concentrating her entire being into a single point of propulsion. To achieve this, she had combined her natural, spring-like flexibility with the grueling endurance training she'd received from Speed Symboly—the same mentor who had poured everything she knew of Rampage's mechanics into Teio.
This was the Ultimate Teio Step: a move that allowed her to accelerate with terrifying violence while maintaining a feather-light touch that let her slip through gaps as if she were weightless.
"Good... my legs are holding up fine..."
In a way, she had inadvertently replicated Rampage's original "Crossover Step." While Rampage used her version to apply raw, crushing power, Teio had adapted the logic into her signature footwork. The result was a paradox: she seemed to accelerate even as she maneuvered through the crowd.
"It almost looked like she was gaining speed because she was overtaking people," Minamisaka remarked, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.
"That's probably her excitement talking," Sunday Silence chuckled. "Unlike 'Ru-chan' (Agnes Flora), Teio is a bundle of pure energy. Her spirit fuels her legs."
Minamisaka found himself over-analyzing—trying to figure out how Rampage could possibly beat this version of Teio if they ever met again. Then he caught himself. Rampage was retired; she was out of his hands. But Sunday Silence saw right through him.
"They're all chasing her shadow," Sunday said softly. "Turbo, Teio... they're getting stronger every day just so they can face her again. For them, winning the Breeders' Cup isn't the finish line. it's just a prerequisite."
"A prerequisite for the Legend Race, you mean?" Minamisaka said, finally letting a small smile form. "Yes... I suppose it is."
He watched Teio basking in the cheers of the American crowd and felt a sudden, sharp spark of competitive fire.
"I know how incredible Rampage is," Minamisaka continued. "Seeing what Turbo and Teio have become today... it's made me realize something. I want to fight her too."
"Fufu. Does that mean you're taking Turbo's side?" Sunday teased. "In that case, maybe I'll have to stand by Ran-chan."
"I'd like that," Minamisaka replied, his gaze turning toward the future. "The next Legend Race... I think it's going to be a battlefield for us trainers, too."
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