Yasui Makoto shook his head, his voice steady yet carrying the weight of fate:
"The result of that race was that the two of them crossed the finish line almost simultaneously.
"In the end, after a photo finish, Oguri Cap took the lead by the narrowest of margins. Inariichi... lost by the slightest fraction."
Chunqiu Fen froze. Her small hand unconsciously covered her mouth, and her eyes were filled with disbelief and sympathy for her senior:
"I... I see... Then... that's such a shame..."
She fell silent for several seconds, as if her heart had been firmly seized by that tumultuous stretch of history.
Then she could not help raising her head. A thirst for knowledge glittered in her crimson eyes as she pressed on in a soft yet urgent voice:
"W-what happened next?"
Seeing how completely absorbed she was in the story of racing history, everyone was amused by her pure curiosity, and the atmosphere lightened again.
As the group slowly moved forward with the crowd, Yasui Makoto continued in his clear narrative style:
"Then... well, it should be said that it was still full of regrets and variables.
"After the Daily Crown, Inariichi's next race was the Autumn Emperor's Prize, and Oguri Cap participated as well.
"But the winner of that Autumn Emperor's Prize was neither Inariichi nor Oguri Cap.
"It was Super Creek, the last member of the trio then known as the 'Three Strongest of the Generation.'
"That G1 was also the first time those three top Uma Musume had competed together.
"After that came the Japan Cup. The three strongest gathered again, but in the end, the winner was none of them. It was a powerhouse from Australia, Horlicks.
"In that Japan Cup, Oguri Cap came second, Super Creek fourth, and Inariichi... only managed eleventh