Great Victory

Seeing the confusion in the Satono Sisters' eyes, Yasui Makoto knew they didn't understand what he was saying.

He smiled slightly, offered no explanation, and raised his binoculars again, focusing on his own black-haired girl.

Escape, Lead, Chase, Pursuit—these were the four mainstream running styles in a race.

Escape, also called leading, required seizing the front position from the very start, maintaining first place throughout, and controlling the overall pace in one's own hands.

Lead meant sticking close to the leading Uma Musume, using the rhythm of the opponent ahead to adjust one's condition, then overtaking in the final stretch.

Chase was positioned further back, making it easier for the opponents ahead to block the wind resistance, thus conserving stamina by staying in the low-pressure pocket, and starting to accelerate at the last curve.

Pursuit was at the very back, with an earlier timing for acceleration than other positions—usually needing to pick up speed by the third curve, and for those with greater stamina, starting in the middle section wasn't impossible.

Beyond these, there were finer divisions like Great Escape, Free-style Lead, Free-style Chaser, and Great Chase.

All running styles were the same—they had to be adjusted based on the actual conditions of the Uma Musume and the race.

Conventionally, many Trainers would roughly determine a Uma Musume's running style around the time of the Debut Race, and Yasui Makoto had also confirmed the two styles Hokubu Genkoma was most suited for.

Great Escape and Escape.

After that came Free-style Lead, meaning she could smoothly switch between Escape and Lead.

This judgment was based both on his years of study and reflection and on the experience his father had passed down to him.

The same went for tactics.

The Debut Race carried little pressure, making it the best opportunity to confirm certain possibilities.

Training could confirm things too, but it was ultimately different from a race—conclusions drawn from actual combat were clearly more precise.

And as subsequent races grew more important, once such an opportunity was missed, a similar one wouldn't come again.

Moreover, his father had also told him a trick regarding temperament.

Uma Musume had an incredibly strong competitive drive; when first exposed to racing, they couldn't help but dash forward.

But looking at all races, falling behind was inevitable—no Uma Musume could stay in first place at all times, and sometimes tactical lagging was necessary.

Without enough experience, running purely on instinct, when suddenly overtaken, an Uma Musume would easily panic.

The first few races after the debut weren't very intense, so it was just right to run further back and accumulate valuable experience in handling pressure.

This insight only came from veteran Trainers with enough experience, and his father had heard it from a senior.

Of course, there were risks involved.

When positioned further back, the overtaking phase would face intentional or unintentional obstruction from opponents ahead.

Lacking practical combat experience, a rookie Uma Musume often didn't know how to handle it, and at the critical moment, their speed couldn't pick up, blocked and unable to break through.

Yasui Makoto wasn't worried about these things.

Daring to use the Debut Race as practice for Hokubu Genkoma, he naturally had enough confidence and assurance.

This black-haired girl of his was a textbook late-blooming Uma Musume.

The flip side of not being able to control her strength was that she didn't dare to run at full power.

Her body instinctively hadn't developed enough yet, and to avoid being harmed by her own talent, she would unconsciously shy away from her limit strength.

Most Trainers encountering this situation would consider avoiding full power.

Yasui Makoto was the same, but he came up with a more clever approach.

Sprinting early, dispersing strength and explosive power over a longer distance.

This not only avoided the physical burden of full power but also ensured that she kept accelerating throughout the rest of the race, making it hard to stop her.

This was a tactic that only seasoned Trainers and experienced Uma Musume would choose, and it naturally required many conditions.

But the most important condition, Hokubu Genkoma had just barely grasped.

That was rhythm.

In a month of training, this black-haired girl of his had done rhythm training every day.

Now, when she ran, she carried a kind of musical cadence.

Prelude, verse, chorus, interlude, climax, finale.

The music played by a girl whose career had just begun was, of course, far from perfect.

But in this little tune called the Debut Race, it was enough.

Reviewing the full plan, eyes fixed on the binoculars, sensing the flash of the marker for the third curve and the familiar, subtle lowering of the black-haired girl's posture, Yasui Makoto unconsciously curled the corner of his mouth.

...The interlude had passed; it was time to step into the climax.

Let everyone see it well, Xiao Bei.

Let them see how you...

are truly no ordinary Uma Musume.

As the race gradually approached the Final Phase, the announcer's voice grew more impassioned.

"Five hundred meters to the finish line, and the leader has long since become Mickey Joy!"

"As expected, the crowd favorite in this race!"

"Cosmic Harbor was still a step behind, falling back during the middle stretch."

"But she hasn't fallen too far behind—only half a Horse Length off Mickey Joy."

"Running alongside her is Eden, both of them desperately chasing down Mickey Joy!"

"The top three are clearly pulling ahead; the fourth-place runner is a full 3 Horse Lengths behind!"

"400 meters to go—it looks like the winner will be decided among these three!"

One Horse Length is a specialized distance term used in races, said to be the span of the first Three Goddesses statue's outstretched arms in this world, specifically 2.5 meters.

Half a Horse Length is roughly a meter or so—a gap that's not too significant. The second- and third-place Uma Musume are pressed close to the leader, as if a little extra effort could close the distance.

The gap beyond that, however, is stark.

Over 7 meters of empty space, like a chasm, seems to cut off any chance of victory for the trailing runners.

The crowd erupts in their loudest cheers since the start, and the announcer's voice is equally fired up.

"We've reached the straightaway directly in front of the stands! The front pack is still locked in battle among the three leaders, while behind them—"

The announcer suddenly pauses.

Then comes an incredulous shout.

"Hokubu Genkoma!

"Hokubu Genkoma is charging forward!

"300 meters to the finish!

"But! But!

"Hokubu Genkoma is closing in!

"200 meters!

"She's passed Cosmic Harbor and Eden!

"Closing in on Mickey Joy!

"She's passed Mickey Joy!

"Now Hokubu Genkoma is in the lead!

"Hokubu Genkoma has overtaken them!

"The first-place runner is now Hokubu Genkoma!

"Can Mickey Joy fight back?!

"100 meters!

"Mickey Joy is pushing with all she's got! Mickey Joy is pushing with all she's got!

"But!

"Hokubu Genkoma is still ahead!

"She's losing speed! Mickey Joy seems to be losing speed!

"But Hokubu Genkoma is still sprinting!

"After 1700 meters of the race, she's still sprinting!

"50 meters!

"Crossing the line!

"1 and a half Horse Lengths!

"Coming from behind!

"A single surge to first place!

"Winning this Debut Race by 1 and a half Horse Lengths!

"Brilliant!

"Absolutely brilliant!

"A brilliant comeback!

"Let's congratulate Hokubu Genkoma!"

For a single moment, as the announcer and the crowd alike realized Hokubu Genkoma was charging up, the roar of the audience dipped a few decibels.

Not because they thought the race was dull.

Quite the opposite—after a brief stunned pause from the surprise, the cheers grew even more fervent.

After that fervor subsided for a moment, it mixed with good-natured laughter, ringing out across Tokyo Racecourse.

Because, after crossing the finish line in one breath and charging nearly a hundred meters beyond it, the newly crowned black-haired girl launched into a tiger-like pounce and hit the ground, sprawling into a big cross shape.