Debut Race Day

Understanding the Fighting Spirit and feelings of his Assigned Horse Girl, Anjing Zhen pondered for a moment and simply compared the situation to that of Satono Crown.

In her debut race, a 1800-meter turf course, she finished in 1 minute and 50 seconds, with a speed of 16.36 meters per second.

Her Last Spurt took 33.5 seconds, with a speed approaching 18 meters per second.

Her second race was also on a 1800-meter turf course, with a faster finish time of 1 minute and 47.9 seconds, a speed of 16.68.

The Last Spurt was slightly slower at 38 seconds; the Cruising Speed likely affected her stamina for the sprint, otherwise, it could have been even faster.

For a Horse Girl just starting her career, this level is truly not weak, especially when compared to the data from the Satsuki Sho over the last five years.

Looking solely at finish times, in a G1 race like the Satsuki Sho, the winners over the last five years have clocked in between 1 minute and 58 seconds and 2 minutes.

The slowest was the winner from two years ago, Gold Ship, with a time of 2 minutes and 1.3 seconds.

The Satsuki Sho is 2000 meters long, so the speed for Gold Ship's race calculates to 16.48.

Since Satono Crown ran both of those races in Pre-OP, being able to hit 16.36 or even 16.68 in such entry-level events makes her a solid candidate for the Satsuki Sho title.

In contrast, Kitasan Black's average training speed during this period is just over 15, with her best sessions hitting around 16.2.

Perhaps it was because she had secretly compared these figures herself that the Horse Girl felt such pressure.

However, Anjing Zhen did not explain these things to Kitasan Black.

Compared to training, race conditions are far more complex.

Weather, track conditions, the audience, physical condition on the day, the competition... all of these affect the race results.

If pre-race predictions were the same as the actual results, there would be no point in running; one might as well just look at the predictions and hand out the trophies.

To truly win a race, the Trainer and the Horse Girl must work together, maintaining a constant Tacit Understanding.

Thinking this way, Anjing Zhen registered Kitasan Black for her race and began to explain.

"I believe one race a month is the ideal rhythm, which is why I planned it that way before the Satsuki Sho.

"The reason for choosing the Spring Stakes is simple: the Yayoi Sho is on March 8th, which is too early.

"The Spring Stakes is on the 22nd, which allows for more ample preparation time.

"I didn't consider the Wakaba Stakes because that race is held at the Hanshin Racecourse in the Kansai region.

"The Satsuki Sho is at the Nakayama Racecourse, which, like the Tokyo Racecourse, is in the Tokyo area; the track conditions are relatively similar, at least more so than in Hanshin.

"Therefore, unless one is from the Kansai region, people usually choose the Yayoi Sho and the Spring Stakes—the two prep races at Nakayama—rather than the Wakaba Stakes."

After filling his Horse Girl in on some common knowledge regarding the classic circuit, Anjing Zhen saw the look of realization on Kitasan Black's face and changed the subject.

"But those are things for more than two months from now; what you need to consider is the debut race right in front of you."

"Right! I'll do my best!"

Nodding vigorously as if by reflex, Kitasan Black suddenly paused.

"Wait a minute, right in front of me...?"

"Didn't you check the schedule? It's on the race day this Saturday."

Pointing to a line of race information, Anjing Zhen reminded her:

"In my opinion, your condition is sufficient to complete your debut race. There's no time like the present, so let's make it this Saturday.

"Tokyo Racecourse, 1800-meter turf, fifth race.

"That will be your debut."

After waking up on race day, Anjing Zhen felt for the first time that he might need to find a way to move into the academy's trainer dorms.

It seems that in every version of Japan, every industry emphasizes seniority and rank.

A rookie trainer like him is not qualified to live in the academy dorms; no matter how good his assessment scores are, it doesn't matter, as those spots are prioritized for his seniors.

In the past, he didn't care whether he lived at the academy or not, as he never liked interacting with others anyway.

But for his own Assigned Horse Girl's first race, it was impossible not to feel nervous or expectant; he couldn't wait to see how Kitasan Black was doing today.

Despite his eagerness, he still patiently washed up, had breakfast, packed his gear, and then went downstairs to hop on his motorcycle, put on his helmet, and head toward Central Treisen Academy.

Central Treisen Academy and the Tokyo Racecourse are located in Fuchu, in the western part of the 23 wards, separated by a few kilometers.

Without a special application, Horse Girls and trainers with races are transported by school bus.

Kitasan Black was already waiting at the entrance of the academy parking lot, accompanied by a Horse Girl with long, light-brown hair and pale gold eyes.

He quickly recognized her from the files he had read as the other young lady of the Satomi family, his Horse Girl's roommate, Satono Diamond.

Then, Anjing Zhen looked at Kitasan Black's feet with a strange expression.

Kitasan Black was wearing her sportswear again today, a crimson top and crimson pants, and she had already changed into her running shoes.

The problem was...

"Little Kita, when you left the dorm, didn't you feel like something was uncomfortable with your shoes?"

"Morning, Trainer... Huh? Not feeling well? No, I'm fine... Ah?! Why are my shoes on the wrong feet?!"

Today is race day at Tokyo Racecourse, with a total of 12 races scheduled throughout the day. With an average of 15 competitors per race, all 200-plus Horse Girls are students at Central Treisen Academy.

A large number of students are arriving at the parking lot right now, and those wearing tracksuits are the ones competing today.

Beside them are friends like Satono Diamond who are accompanying them to the track, all of whom are also Horse Girls from the academy.

Kitasan Black's exclamation was quite loud, instantly drawing a fair amount of attention.

Those Horse Girls glanced over in this direction, followed the sound of the exclamation to Kitasan Black's backwards shoes, and many began to cover their mouths and giggle.

"How did this happen... I-I'm sorry, Trainer, I, I'll go find a place to change my shoes right now..."

With a flushed face, Kitasan Black turned around, ready to bolt.

Satono Diamond was also a bit surprised, while simultaneously feeling a sense of self-reproach.

"Little Kita, I'll go help you... I am so sorry, Trainer Yasui, I should have checked Little Kita's shoes for her..."

Regarding Kitasan Black putting her shoes on the wrong feet, while Anjing Zhen was a bit speechless, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

If one were to truly count his age, he was more than twice as old as he looked, yet he still felt a bit nervous about the upcoming race, let alone Kitasan Black.

Due to Full Maturity, the development of Horse Girls differs from that of humans, though it can be roughly converted.

Having just entered Full Maturity, Kitasan Black's temperament was no different from a fifteen or sixteen-year-old human girl; it would be harder to understand if she weren't feeling nervous or anxious facing the first race of her career.

"There's nothing to apologize for; this should be the responsibility of a trainer like me."

After quickly explaining to Satono Diamond, Anjing Zhen raised his voice.

"Hey—Little Kita! Stop running! Come back!"

A Horse Girl's speed is truly fast; in just a few seconds, Kitasan Black had already sprinted dozens of meters away.

However, upon hearing Anjing Zhen's words, she quickly slowed her pace, stood still, turned around, and after a moment of hesitation, ran back with a slightly awkward gait.

"I'm back, Trainer, but these shoes of mine..."

"Just change them while sitting on the motorcycle."

Nodding at the sheepish Kitasan Black and seeing her obediently sit on the parked motorcycle, Anjing Zhen crouched down.

"Hey, hey?! Trainer, you, you're doing this..."

Amidst Kitasan Black's startled cry, Anjing Zhen naturally crouched down, untied her shoelaces, and took off those sneakers she had put on the wrong feet.