Classic Uma Musume Forecast used to be a show on its last legs, watching its viewership sink like the setting sun.
Compared to the flashier, trendier vibes of Today's Uma Musume or UMA Express, it felt like a dusty relic of a bygone era, long stripped of the authoritative prestige it held during its golden years.
But this year, everything changed.
What started as a desperate, "smoke and mirrors" rotation of hosts unexpectedly breathed new life into the program.
The source of this miraculous revival could be traced back to a single sentence uttered by the new host, Sakurako Kazehaya, during a broadcast just before the Oka Sho.
"Equinox and Liberty Island—I don't know when it will happen, but I believe there will eventually be a final showdown between them. A battle to decide, once and for all, who is the true successor to Dream Weaver."
At the time, the comment hardly made a ripple.
Back then, Equinox had just secured the Dubai Sheema Classic, adding it to her previous victories in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and the Arima Kinen.
With three G1 titles under her belt, she was hailed as the strongest Uma Musume of her generation.
Countless fans were convinced she was destined to become the next world-class legend, following in the footsteps of Dream Weaver.
Liberty Island, meanwhile, had been debuted for less than a year.
While she had one G1 victory to her name, that race was restricted by debut age—a G1 designed specifically for newcomers. The gap between such a race and a "true" G1 was, to put it mildly, vast.
To mention Liberty Island in the same breath as Equinox seemed absurd; the only common thread was their shared admiration for Dream Weaver.
Sakurako's suggestion of a "decisive battle for the succession" barely caused a stir because everyone had already decided: Equinox was the only one capable of carrying Dream Weaver's mantle.
However, in the eight months following that broadcast, the tide began to turn.
It started when Liberty Island claimed the Oka Sho by a staggering margin. People began to look closer at this girl, the one Dream Weaver had personally signed after becoming a trainer.
They dug up that old episode of Classic Uma Musume Forecast and began to see the merit in Sakurako's judgment.
Still, those believers were in the minority. Because they used the show as "proof," Sakurako and the program became targets of heated debate. For a while, the chatter was mostly negative.
But the director and the production crew were ecstatic.
Compared to their previous state of irrelevance, people were actually talking about Classic Uma Musume Forecast again. Bad publicity was still publicity, after all!
Consequently, Sakurako wasn't rotated out as she had feared. Instead, she became the show's permanent fixture.
The second shift came during the Japanese Oaks. Liberty Island dominated again, winning by such a distance that not a single rival on the turf could even hope to touch her.
This was the moment it clicked for the masses: she might actually have what it takes to challenge Equinox.
Fans of Liberty Island dragged the Classic Uma Musume Forecast clip back into the limelight once more, using it as a foundation for endless arguments.
The crowd was much larger this time than it had been during the Oka Sho, and the noise grew louder. Even though the mainstream view still held that Liberty Island couldn't match Equinox, the two opposing factions turned the internet and news media into a battlefield.
Naturally, sitting at the very eye of this storm, the show's ratings skyrocketed.
The production crew was so delighted they couldn't help but beam every time they saw Sakurako. She had effectively cemented her status as the face of the program.
The third and final shift came from the recently concluded Shuka Sho. Just like her previous races, Liberty Island seized the crown with an untouchable lead, completing her Triple Tiara.
This changed everything.
Many Uma Musume might win one or two legs of the Triple Tiara path, but those who sweep all three are few and far between.
With the heavy weight of the "Triple Tiara" title now attached to her name, the public finally accepted her as a true rival to Equinox.
Granted, Equinox had gone on to win the Takarazuka Kinen and defended her title in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) this year, bringing her total to five G1 victories.
But one could not forget: under Dream Weaver's tutelage, Liberty Island had remained undefeated since her debut. That was an achievement even Equinox hadn't managed!
The last Undefeated Triple Crown winner in the Japanese racing world had been Dream Weaver herself.
Now, her disciple had achieved an Undefeated Triple Tiara.
Wasn't that more compelling than a "future" world-class status that Equinox hadn't quite reached yet?
Between a widely acknowledged world-class star and an Undefeated Triple Tiara winner carrying her mentor's will, the stage was finally set.
In the eyes of the public, the air between them finally crackled with the sharp, bitter scent of a true rivalry.
Classic Uma Musume Forecast, having predicted this exact scene months in advance, saw its popularity explode. Sakurako, the woman who had called this "final battle" into existence, became the most talked-about host in the industry.
The crew members who knew the truth about that recording session viewed Sakurako as nothing less than the savior of the show.
They knew better than anyone that the prophecy wasn't a scripted line—it had been Sakurako's own impromptu moment of inspiration.
After giving a polite bow to the beaming director, Sakurako took a deep breath.
To be honest, when she first said those words, she never imagined things would come this far. She had simply been talking about Liberty Island and found herself thinking of Dream Weaver.
She had wanted to say something for the Uma Musume who had been her idol for so many years, so she linked Liberty Island to Equinox, framing a narrative of a battle for a legacy.
At the time, Sakurako just didn't want Dream Weaver's name to fade from the racing world so quickly after her retirement from the front lines.
She never expected it to stir up such a storm over the months, let alone fulfill her own dream of carving out a place for herself in the racing industry.
Thinking of this, Sakurako instinctively touched the red ribbon tied at her chest.
She had bought it years ago while watching one of Dream Weaver's races, and it had stayed with her all through her university years.
"Are you still guiding me even now...?"
Just then, the studio staff signaled that everything was ready. Sakurako let go of the red ribbon, her gaze sharpening with determination as she walked toward the set.
"Right. I'll give it my absolute best!"
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.