Once he understood his Horse Girl's Fighting Spirit and feelings, Anjing Zhen thought it over and decided to compare her with Satono Crown.
In her first Debut Race, she ran 1,800 meters on turf in 1 minute 50 seconds, averaging 16.36 meters per second.
Her Last Spurt took 33.5 seconds, with her speed nearing 18 meters per second.
The second race was also 1,800 meters on turf, and she finished even faster, in 1 minute 47.9 seconds, averaging 16.68 meters per second.
Her Last Spurt was a little slower, at 38 seconds. Her Cruising Speed had probably affected her stamina for the sprint; otherwise, she might have been faster.
For a Horse Girl who had just made her debut, that was genuinely impressive, especially compared with the Satsuki Sho results of the past five years.
Judging by finishing time alone, the winners of G1 races like the Satsuki Sho had finished in times between 1 minute 58 seconds and 2 minutes over the past five years.
The slowest was Gold Ship, who won two years ago with a time of 2 minutes 1.3 seconds.
The Satsuki Sho was 2,000 meters long, so Gold Ship's average speed in that race had been 16.48 meters per second.
And both of Satono Crown's races had been Pre-OP events. Running at 16.36 or even 16.68 meters per second in such entry-level races made her a clear favorite to win the Satsuki Sho.
By comparison, Kitasan Black's average speed during training lately was in the mid-15s, with her better runs clocking in around 16.2.
Perhaps Kitasan Black had secretly compared those figures herself, which was why she felt pressured.
But Anjing Zhen didn't explain any of this to her.
Races were far more complicated than training.
Weather, track conditions, spectators, how she felt that day, her opponents, the atmosphere of the race... All of these could affect the outcome.
If a pre-race prediction could be taken as the result, they might as well skip the race and just hand out awards based on the predictions.
To win a race, the Trainer and Horse Girl had to work together, giving it their all and maintaining their Tacit Understanding throughout.
With that in mind, Anjing Zhen registered Kitasan Black for the race and explained his reasoning.
"I think one race a month is the ideal pace, which is why I arranged things that way before the Satsuki Sho.
"The reason I chose the Spring Stakes is simple: the Yayoi Sho is on March 8, which is too soon.
"The Spring Stakes is on the 22nd, giving us more time to prepare.
"I didn't consider the Wakaba Stakes because it's held at Hanshin Racecourse in Kansai.
"The Satsuki Sho is at Nakayama Racecourse, which, like Tokyo Racecourse, is in the Tokyo area. The track conditions at those two courses are relatively similar—certainly more similar than Hanshin's.
"So unless you're from Kansai, you'd normally choose one of the two Prep Races at Nakayama Racecourse, the Yayoi Sho or the Spring Stakes, rather than the Wakaba Stakes."
After giving his Horse Girl a thorough lesson in the basics of the Classic Frontline, Anjing Zhen saw the look of dawning understanding on Kitasan Black's face and changed the subject.
"But all that's more than two months away. What you need to think about now is your upcoming Debut Race."
"Okay! I'll do my best!"
Kitasan Black nodded vigorously on reflex, then paused in confusion.
"Wait, upcoming...?"
"Didn't you check the date? It's this Saturday's race day."
Pointing to a line of race information, Anjing Zhen reminded her:
"Your condition is good enough to make your debut, in my opinion. No time like the present, so let's do it this Saturday.
"Tokyo Racecourse, 1,800 meters on turf, Race Five.
"That'll be your Debut Race."
When he woke up on race day, Anjing Zhen realized for the first time that perhaps he should find a way to get a room in the Academy's Trainer dormitory.
Perhaps Japan was the same in every world: every industry placed great importance on seniority and years of experience.
A newcomer like him wasn't allowed to live in the Academy dormitory. It didn't matter how well he'd done on his evaluation; rooms had to be offered to the senior Trainers first.
Until now, he hadn't cared whether he lived at the Academy. He'd never liked socializing with other people anyway.
But this was his Horse Girl's first race. It was impossible not to feel nervous and excited, and he couldn't wait to see how Kitasan Black was doing today.
Even so, he kept his impatience in check, washed up, ate breakfast, and packed everything he'd need for the race. Then he went downstairs, got on his motorcycle, put on his helmet, and headed for Central Treisen Academy.
Central Treisen Academy and Tokyo Racecourse were both in Fuchu, west of Tokyo's 23 wards, only a few kilometers apart.
Unless special arrangements had been made, the Horse Girls and Trainers competing that day would be taken to the racecourse by school bus.
Kitasan Black was already waiting by the entrance to the Academy parking lot. Beside her stood another Horse Girl with light brown hair and pale gold eyes.
Anjing Zhen quickly recognized her from the information he'd seen: another young lady from the Satomi family, Kitasan Black's roommate, Satono Diamond.
Then Anjing Zhen looked down at Kitasan Black's feet with a puzzled expression.
Kitasan Black was wearing her usual tracksuit: a crimson top and matching pants. She'd also changed into her running shoes.
The problem was...
"Kita, when you left the dorm, didn't your shoes feel uncomfortable?"
"Good morning, Trainer... Huh? Uncomfortable? No... Ah?! Why are my shoes on the wrong feet?!"
It was race day at Tokyo Racecourse, with twelve races scheduled throughout the day and an average of fifteen competitors per race. More than two hundred Horse Girls from Central Treisen Academy were competing.
Plenty of students were arriving at the parking lot now. The ones in tracksuits were competing that day.
The friends accompanying them to the racecourse, like Satono Diamond, were also Horse Girls from the Academy.
Kitasan Black's cry was loud enough to draw plenty of attention.
The Horse Girls nearby glanced over. When they saw Kitasan Black's shoes on the wrong feet, many of them covered their mouths and snickered.
"How did this happen...? I-I'm sorry, Trainer. I-I'll find somewhere to change my shoes..."
Blushing, Kitasan Black turned to run off.
Satono Diamond looked surprised, and a little guilty as well.
"Kita, I'll help you too... I'm so sorry, Trainer Yasui. I should have checked Kita's shoes for her..."
Anjing Zhen was a little at a loss over Kitasan Black putting her shoes on the wrong feet, but he could understand it.
If they were going by age, he was more than twice as old as he looked, yet he was still nervous about the race ahead. It was no wonder Kitasan Black felt even more anxious.
Because of Full Maturity, Horse Girls developed differently from humans, but their ages could still be roughly compared.
Kitasan Black had only just entered Full Maturity. In temperament, she was about the same as a human girl of fifteen or sixteen. It would have been strange if she weren't anxious about the first race of her career.
"There's nothing to apologize for. This is my responsibility as her Trainer."
After quickly explaining himself to Satono Diamond, Anjing Zhen raised his voice.
"Hey—Kita! Don't run! Come back!"
Horse Girls were fast. In just a few seconds, Kitasan Black had already dashed dozens of meters away.
But when she heard Anjing Zhen call out, she quickly slowed down. She stopped, turned around, and stood there for a moment, then ran back with an awkward gait.
"I'm back, Trainer, but my shoes..."
"You can change them while sitting on the motorcycle."
Anjing Zhen nodded at the embarrassed Kitasan Black. Once she obediently sat on the parked motorcycle, he crouched down.
"E-Eh?! Trainer, y-you..."
As Kitasan Black cried out in surprise, Anjing Zhen calmly crouched down, untied her shoelaces, and took off the running shoes she'd put on the wrong feet.
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