Recaps

Kitasan Black won the Arima Kinen in a photo finish against Satono Diamond, completing the Autumn Triple Crown and deciding to pursue overseas races. As Anjing Zhen supported her training, language study, and overseas plans, Kitasan Black grew closer to him and asked whether his busy schedule was connected to her expedition.

• Kitasan Black regained her focus in training, and Anjing Zhen told her to face her Arima Kinen rivals directly.
• Kitasan Black charged from Gate One, built a large lead, and held off Satono Diamond in a photo finish to win the Autumn Triple Crown.
• After the race, Kitasan Black told Anjing Zhen she wanted to race overseas, and he proposed the Osaka Hai before their expedition the following year.
• Kitasan Black struggled with spoken foreign languages, so Anjing Zhen and Daiwa Scarlet helped her practice through songs and conversation.
• Kitasan Black invited Anjing Zhen and her friends to her family home, where they prepared a year-end meal and Saburo Kitajima agreed to help clear obstacles to her overseas campaign.
• During the New Year holidays, Kitasan Black invited Anjing Zhen to visit a shrine with her, then asked whether his many meetings and calls were related to the overseas expedition.

Kitasan Black began learning to assist Anjing Zhen while visiting his family in Nagoya, where they planned an exhibition race for Almond Eye and a fun race for Spring and Autumn Equinox. The juniors entered their events, and Kitasan Black took charge of preparing them as Almond Eye embraced the challenge of racing legendary seniors.

• Kitasan Black asked Anjing Zhen to teach her how to assist him, and he agreed on the condition that her training and racing came first.
• Anjing Zhen took Kitasan Black and the team to his childhood home, where his parents encouraged her and Anjing Kouichi shared local racing records with Agnes Tachyon and Daiwa Scarlet.
• Anjing Zhen proposed that Kitasan Black guide Almond Eye in a Kasamatsu exhibition race, and Almond Eye overcame her fear and decided to challenge the senior racers.
• At the Kasamatsu carnival, Spring and Autumn Equinox chose a recreational race, while Kitasan Black registered her and Almond Eye for their respective events.
• Kitasan Black led both juniors through practice, and Oguri Cap, Super Little Bay, and Berno Light observed their speed while noting Almond Eye’s difficulty sustaining her rhythm.
• Anjing Zhen explained racing tactics for both juniors and revealed that Almond Eye’s exhibition opponents would be Oguri Cap, Super Little Bay, and Inari One.
• Almond Eye welcomed the challenge, and Kitasan Black agreed to act as temporary trainer and prepare her and Little Bun for their races.
• Kitasan Black confirmed the team’s participation and led them to the Preparation Room, where Anjing Zhen recognized the connection between his parents’ former Trainer-and-Horse-Girl partnership and his own partnership with Kitasan Black.

Kitasan Black helped Almond Eye prepare for the Kasamatsu exhibition, where Almond Eye finished fourth behind Oguri Cap, Super Little Bay, and Inari One. As Almond Eye wrestled with the loss and prepared for her debut, Anjing Zhen worked to find ways to support her while Kitasan Black set her sights on the Osaka Hai and overseas racing.

• Kitasan Black briefed Almond Eye on Kasamatsu’s track and its strongest racers, then helped her understand how to respond to their different tactics.
• Almond Eye held her rhythm during the exhibition, surged past the field on the outside, and finished fourth after failing to catch Oguri Cap, Super Little Bay, and Inari One.
• Spring and Autumn Equinox won her race, and the group celebrated at Inari One’s bonfire party before returning to Tokyo.
• When Almond Eye went missing the next morning, Anjing Zhen and Kitasan Black found her training alone and overheard her confess her doubts to Fujimasa March, who urged her to use her frustration to grow stronger.
• Kitasan Black returned from the trip determined to support Anjing Zhen and her juniors, while Saburo Kitajima asked her to sum up her dreams in one word.
• Kitasan Black began overseas-preparation training and chose the Osaka Hai as her next race, where Satono Crown and Mikki Rocket also planned to compete.
• Almond Eye declined interview and endorsement offers so she could focus on her debut, while Anjing Zhen worried about her hidden feelings and sought advice from Kikou Mirei.
• After Daiwa Scarlet suggested that Almond Eye investigate her Osaka Hai rivals in disguise, Anjing Zhen decided to give her the assignment, and Agnes Tachyon produced experimental agents that could change hair and eye color.

As Kitasan Black prepared for the newly elevated Osaka Hai, she investigated her rivals and struggled to define what she wanted from racing. Anjing Zhen’s overseas plan helped her claim a dream of becoming a world-class long-distance champion, and the team arrived at Hanshin to prepare for the race.

• Almond Eye and Spring and Autumn Equinox investigated Kitasan Black’s Osaka Hai opponents, gathering information on their racing styles, doubts, and ambitions.
• Spring and Autumn Equinox interviewed Satono Crown, who invited her to join her team, while Trainer Chris warned Crown and Satono Diamond that Kitasan Black’s new running style could create an opening.
• Kitasan Black asked Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen about their most meaningful races, then struggled to explain her own reason for running as she considered surpassing her seniors.
• Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen revealed that Trainer Anjing Zhen had been seeking advice for Kitasan Black, while Teio worried about guiding a junior whose record already surpassed hers.
• Anjing Zhen presented Kitasan Black’s season and overseas racing plan, including the 4,000-meter Cadran Grand Prix, and Kitasan declared that her dream was to become a world-class long-distance champion who surpassed every predecessor.
• Kitasan Black met Gold Ship before dawn, ran 4,000 meters with her, and affirmed that becoming the World-Class Long-Distance Overlord expressed who she was.
• Kitasan Black returned to training with renewed resolve, and Anjing Zhen vowed to help her win the Osaka Hai decisively as the team traveled to Hanshin.
• At Hanshin, Kitasan Black assessed the turf’s incline and grip, and Anjing Zhen invited Tamamo Cross and Senior Oguri Cap to help sharpen her preparation.