Yodo Slope gleamed a lush green in the afternoon sunlight, but in the blink of an eye, that green was trampled into blue-gray waves.
Kitasan Black was the first to lower her posture, her rapidly quickening strides pounding the track into fine, dense sprays of green debris.
At the sight of that all-too-familiar state of sustained acceleration, the fans in the stands erupted into cheers before the announcer could say a word.
The unified cries of "Kitasan Black" were instantly drowned out by equally surging chants of "Adroit Labyrinth" and "Medal of Honor," only to burst forth again without yielding.
Answering the cries of their supporters, as Kitasan Black charged onto Yodo Slope first, Adroit Labyrinth and Medal of Honor reacted almost simultaneously.
Still about one horse length behind, the two Horse Girls cut into the turn, one on the inside and one on the outside.
Ahead was Kitasan Black's back, her ponytail pulled straight by the wind, grass stems and dirt constantly spraying toward them. They were chasing so closely that specks of green grass juice and dark brown mud had stained the tips of their noses.
Behind them, Golden Lyric and Wanlai Zhengming's figures kept trading places. As their pumping shoulders nearly brushed against each other, their gazes—like those of Adroit Labyrinth and Medal of Honor ahead—remained locked tightly on Kitasan Black in the lead.
Further back, every Horse Girl gradually entered an accelerating state.
The second ascent of Yodo Slope in the Tenno Sho Spring was the signal for the final battle. That was common knowledge for any contestant qualified to set foot on this G1 stage.
This famed and formidable obstacle had indeed made countless Horse Girls balk. It would devour their already heavily depleted stamina even more ruthlessly than the first time around, yet at