Pre-Race Preparations

The day before the race, two weeks later, the anticipated excellent song "Uchiage Hanabi" brought Hokubu Genkoma enough fans.

Not only enough, but on the third day after the event account posted the song, over 20,000 fans were gained because of it, immediately surpassing the 24,000 required for the condition race.

The fan growth continued to climb in the following days, reaching the maximum increase of 30,000 at once, bringing Hokubu Genkoma's total fan count to over 40,000.

The black-haired girl was naturally overjoyed by this level of fan growth.

If you saw her grinning foolishly while holding her phone and muttering to herself, don't doubt it, she was definitely looking at fan growth or comments praising her.

Yasui Makoto didn't feel much. He knew better than anyone how much popularity that song would generate.

If anything, he felt it was a bit of a waste of talent for such a great song to only bring in 30,000 fans.

However, after a brief moment of reflection, his thoughts quickly turned to tomorrow's race arrangements.

That evening, in the Living Room of Yasui Makoto's private room.

Looking at the diagrams and text on the whiteboard next to Yasui Makoto, Hokubu Genkoma said thoughtfully:

"...So, this time we're running a little closer to the front than in our debut race?"

Yasui Makoto nodded.

"That's right. I've assessed it. Last time's strategy won't work this time, so we need to make corresponding adjustments."

He then pointed to the handwritten list on the left side of the whiteboard and explained:

"Assuming there are no withdrawals, your opponents tomorrow are the names I've listed here.

Unlike your debut race, they all participated in their debut races last year.

In other words, you are the only newcomer in the entire field who has only competed this year.

This means they have received professional guidance from Trainers earlier, and among them are top Trainers."

He paused intentionally, glancing at Hokubu Genkoma's expression.

The girl bit her lower lip, her brow furrowed slightly, and her hands, resting on her knees, clenched unconsciously. She was clearly a little nervous.

Yasui Makoto didn't offer any words of comfort.

Racing isn't child's play.

On the contrary, while the participants in every race are lively and energetic girls, making it seem like a cheerful idol audition, In reality, at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, the competition is as fierce and dangerous as any other sport.

A moderate amount of nervousness is actually beneficial for such a competitive race.

If the pressure brought on by nervousness is handled properly, it can allow an Uma Musume to perform at a level even better than their training.

This was one of the reasons Yasui Makoto had specifically detailed tomorrow's race.

With this in mind, he continued:

"In addition, your opponents have richer race experience.

Only one person, like you, has only participated in their debut race, but they also participated last year.

On average, your opponents have participated in 3 races, with the most experienced having competed in 6 races."

The black-haired girl visibly became more nervous, and Yasui Makoto smoothly changed the subject.

Moderate pressure is fine; too much is detrimental.

"But you don't need to worry. Their strength isn't significantly higher than yours, nor is it much lower, otherwise, you wouldn't be participating in the same race.

And you don't need to pay attention to every single opponent; you don't have the energy for that.

Just keep an eye on these few."

As he spoke, Yasui Makoto circled a few names with a whiteboard marker.

Before he could even explain, having just capped the pen, he heard Hokubu Genkoma's soft murmur.

"...Satono Diamond classmate?"

Glancing at "Satono Diamond" circled on the whiteboard, Yasui Makoto smiled and looked at Hokubu Genkoma.

"Oh? You know her? I don't remember you two being in the same class?"

"Mm, Diamond-chan is in a different class."

Hokubu Genkoma nodded.

"But when I go out with Hikari-chan, or go play with Crown-chan, I often see Diamond-chan. Sometimes I see her when I visit their house too.

Diamond-chan... I remember she's already participated in many races, and her results are very impressive."

Yasui Makoto didn't deny Hokubu Genkoma's words.

"5 races, 1 first place, 2 second places, 2 third places.

Her first three races were all 1800 meters at Sapporo, followed by 2000 meters at Chukyo and Kyoto, with her results improving each time.

Satono Diamond is indeed excellent, especially her adaptability."

Then he changed the subject.

"But we won't rush to look at her just yet. Let's examine these two first.

"Saint Martin, and Touki.

"Saint Martin is the second favorite for this race, and the only Uma Musume besides you who has only participated in her debut match."

"Second favorite… that's amazing."

Hokubu Genkoma leaned forward slightly, then bashfully scratched her head.

"I was only the ninth favorite…"

Without offering comfort, Yasui Makoto continued as if he hadn't heard, pointing to the data he had written down.

"Niigata Racecourse, turf, 1600 meters, completion time 1 minute 36.7 seconds, which calculates to 17 meters per second.

"These are Saint Martin's debut race stats.

"The most crucial part is her Final Speed. Her last three furlongs were 33 seconds, which converts to a speed of 18.18.

"As long as she can perform to that level, challenging OP-class or higher races will be no problem.

"Similarly, the top favorite, Crush Rally, had a Final Speed of 17.9 in her last race, also an outstanding Final Speed.

"What are your thoughts, Xiao Bei?"

He looked at Hokubu Genkoma.

Although still visibly nervous, a thoughtful expression clearly flickered in Hokubu Genkoma's crimson eyes.

"I remember when Senior Yamato raced with me, she told me that if I encounter an opponent with an excellent Final Speed, I need to work harder to maintain my accumulated high speed, and also pull away further in advance.

"So, Trainer, you mean… I should use these tactics to deal with them?"

Unconsciously, Yasui Makoto nodded to himself at his Uma Musume's perceptiveness.

Hokubu Genkoma wasn't actually as dense as she often claimed.

Quite the opposite, when it came to racing, she understood many things instantly.

For example, when she asked Yamato Akagi about Escape Horse tactics, Yasui Makoto had intended to remind her, but she thought to ask herself and even remembered it.

What was even more gratifying was that she could still react to it now.

And what she said was exactly what Yasui Makoto wanted to convey.

"That's right, this is one of the reasons why I asked you to stay closer to the front in this race."

Yasui Makoto began writing data on the whiteboard again.

"Besides opponents with excellent Final Speed, there are two others to watch out for.

"One is Touki. Although she's only the tenth favorite, I've noticed that in her previous 6 races, 4 were at 1400 meters and 1 was at 1600 meters.

"This kind of race pace is very fast. I believe she'll likely take the lead this time, or perhaps accidentally take the lead due to her past habits.

"This is another reason why you should stay a bit closer to the front."

"As I expected, the pace of this race will be much faster than the last one.

"And one of your weaknesses is a slow acceleration.

"If you fall too far behind, it's easy to misjudge the situation. Once your acceleration is a bit slow, you'll have no chance of winning."

Under Yasui Makoto's subtle guidance, Hokubu Genkoma's thoughts deepened.

"I see…

"Then, the key for me in this race will be to find the right acceleration window more precisely than last time. So…"

She looked expectantly at Yasui Makoto.

"Trainer, you know when I should accelerate, right?"