All G1 Races in the Shining Series had Prep Races, most of which were G2 or G3.
Every Prep Race offered priority entry rights; by achieving the required placing in the race, a Horse Girl could enter the corresponding G1 directly.
Usually, first place was required, though in some cases, the top two or top three would qualify.
For example, in the Spring Stakes that Kitasan Black had entered, the top three could gain priority entry into the Satsuki Sho.
Besides that, Prep Races also served as "rehearsals," which better matched the meaning of "prep."
The Spring Stakes was again a good example. Like the following Satsuki Sho, it was held at Nakayama Racecourse, with the relatively close distances of 1,800 meters and 2,000 meters.
Having competed in the Spring Stakes would obviously greatly increase one's familiarity with the Satsuki Sho.
Looking at past performances, Horse Girls who had placed near the front in the Spring Stakes had generally also performed well in the Satsuki Sho.
However, in Anjing Zhen's view, the setup of some Prep Races was not particularly reasonable.
For instance, the Prep Races for the Kikuka Sho: the Saint Lite Kinen and the Kobe Shimbun Hai.
The Kikuka Sho was a 3,000-meter long-distance race, while those two races were middle-distance events of 2,200 and 2,400 meters.
The racecourses were also vastly different. The former was held at Kyoto Racecourse, while the latter two were held at Nakayama and Hanshin respectively.
According to the Association's explanation, the arrangement of those two Prep Races had historical roots, and it even provided quite a bit of racing history to support that claim.
That explanation was not impossible to understand, but in terms of adjusting for the race itself, the Saint Lite Kinen and Kobe Shimbun Hai were clearly not as