The instant she was hit by that spray of mud and sand, Kitasan Black understood why California Spangle had not fought for the inner lane from the very start.
Her opponent was extremely skilled on dirt and had long known that trailing behind meant getting pelted with mud and sand.
Kitasan Black's starting gate position was closer to the inner lane, making it easier for her to cut inside. If California Spangle had stayed too close from the beginning, she would have easily been caught in all that flying mud and sand.
That was why she had waited off to the side, then relied on her formidable dirt-running ability to surge past in the bend.
Which meant that the one getting pelted now... was herself!
Uh, was this... some kind of dirt-track-specific tactic...?
To determine California Spangle's movements, Kitasan Black gritted her teeth, narrowed her mouth and breaths, and struggled to look ahead.
Yet at that very moment, a strangely familiar feeling gradually surfaced in her heart.
Meanwhile, the temporary commentator called in for the event began broadcasting the race over the training grounds' speakers:
"What a beautiful overtake through the turn! California Spangle has made a truly magnificent pass through the bend.
"At the moment they went from the first turn into the second turn, California Spangle seized her chance and surged past Kitasan Black in one go. She is now in first place.
"Kitasan Black is more than one horse length behind her.
"Over three horse lengths farther back is the main pack. At present, the field appears to have split into two groups: one consisting of California Spangle and Kitasan Black, and the other consisting of the Horse Girls chasing after them.
"However, Kitasan Black appears to be having a difficult time. She is not a dirt-track