Encouraged by Special Week, Kitasan Black excitedly turned and ran toward the Starting Gate, the faint anxiety in her heart vanishing without a trace.
When she arrived at the Academy branch in Chiba Prefecture yesterday, she had thought that, after winning two races, she would not be nervous about the upcoming Spring Stakes.
But once she truly set foot on the Nakayama Racecourse, she realized that, just like at the Tokyo Racecourse, the anxiety brought by the uncertainty of the race's outcome had somehow taken hold of her heart again.
Perhaps because she had experience now, she was not as flustered as she had been the previous two times.
At the very least, she had not done anything embarrassing this time, like putting her shoes on backward or being unable to take off her jacket.
Yet precisely because of that, she did not know how to get rid of the small amount of nervousness she still felt.
She had always worked hard in training and studies.
She had diligently sought guidance from her seniors, reviewed her schoolwork, and practiced running on the lawn at home during weekends.
Her pre-race preparations and the Trainer's explanations had all been thorough. She had done everything seriously and understood it all.
And so, she truly did not know what else she could do to enter the Starting Gate without the slightest bit of nervousness.
So she really had to thank Special Week Senpai, and of course everyone else, as well as the Trainer.
With their support and encouragement, she had been able to make it this far step by step.
All right! Then I can definitely win this Spring Stakes!
Filled with ambition, Kitasan Black, the first Horse Girl to enter the gate, stood inside the Starting Gate and silently psyched herself up.
Then