Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 400: The Opening of the Great Escape

After a thoughtful jog to warm up, without much rest, Northern Black Horse quickly arrived at the prepared gate with its opponents from the first training match.

Similar to the entry list, the serial numbers are also randomly drawn. The number for the Northern Black Horse race is Gate 2, which is very close to the inner lane.

Inside her, at gate number one, was the Great Shock, responsible for the entire training session. On the other side of the gate was one of the seniors she had the most contact with during the training, Zhongshan Qingdian.

Having gone through numerous training sessions and lucrative competitions, the Northern Black Horse wasn't under much pressure for a training match. Seeing familiar seniors on both sides, it felt much more at ease and quickly focused its attention on the track in front of the gate.

The Japanese derby is just a few days away. The stadium has been renovated and is visibly less damp than when we first arrived.

However, after special training, Northern Black Horse is very clear that even if the water content does not look high, the importance of the terrain remains unchanged, and the condition of the terrain cannot be judged solely by the water content.

Moreover, all the races I've participated in in the past have been the final events, and the track has already been affected by 10 races, so the feel of it will be much worse than during training.

In comparison, the track, which has not yet been subjected to the rigors of a race, can be considered to be in good condition from a certain perspective.

However, the site conditions alone are not enough to determine the choice after exiting the gate.

Thinking this, the Northern Black Steed's gaze quickly darted left and right.

During the special training period, there were many contacts with Zhongshan Festival. It can be roughly judged that this senior will most likely choose the familiar first-difference running method, which is also Yasui Makoto's judgment.

Also from Yasui Makoto, and based on impressions and exchanges during special training, the senior tends to use tactics such as "preemptive positioning interference" and "variable speed attack".

If this tactic is used in a disadvantageous position, it won't have much impact on the fleeing horse. However, if it's used in a leading position, it might be necessary to consider creating a greater distance.

As for the senior who caused a great shock, she will most likely also use the first-run-the-second ...

Because of the possibility of missing a turn, and her lack of skill in running in the middle of the pack, she will most likely consider cutting from the inside lane to the outside lane at the corner, and finally winning with an amazing last kick.

After glancing at the nearest senior, Beifang Xuanju looked at the outer gate and continued to analyze rapidly before the official start of the race.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, a petite figure was holding a megaphone, confirming various details with the staff.

After nodding to the staff, she smiled with satisfaction and looked to the side: "So, McQueen, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Beside her, a figure with long, light purple hair and an elegant demeanor stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head and nodded, saying:
"Alright, let's begin, Your Majesty."

The two racehorse girls talking were Tokai Emperor and Meguro McQueen. Since the Great Shock, who was in charge of the special training, was going to participate in the race, and this special training and the subsequent races were quite important, the two presidents came to confirm the situation and take charge of the race.

Following the two presidents to both sides of the track, the first people standing at the edge of the field were the busy staff, and then the trainers were focused on watching the gates.

Finally, there are the contestants for the next race, as well as horse girls like Hikari Satomi and Alimee who were invited to help and cheer them on.

Near the direction of the East Sea Emperor and Megumi McQueen, the Golden Ship, looking utterly bored, leaned against the railing, resting its chin on its hand. Its ears twitched toward the two in front of it, and suddenly an expression of great interest appeared on its face.

"Hey, Tong..."

She tilted her head to the side, nudged a racehorse girl next to her with her elbow, and asked in a low voice, "Who do you think will win this race? Want to make a bet?"

The racehorse girl beside the golden ship had medium-length brown hair tied in a high ponytail. After being nudged, she swayed to the other side before coming back, saying listlessly:
"How would I know? But if I had to say, I'd say... Senior Great Shock and Senior Master have a better chance of winning, but Senior Festival also has a good chance... Actually, Toho Lone Wolf seems to be doing quite well lately..."

Brown-haired racehorse girl seemed about to continue, but Golden Ship interrupted her, somewhat dumbfounded:
"Hey, there are only a few people, and you've already guessed almost half of them. How are we supposed to bet then?" Hearing this, the brown-haired racehorse girl smiled and glanced at him sideways, saying, "I never said I wanted to bet with you. You just started talking to yourself. But..."

Golden Ship's eyes lit up: "But what?"

As if to confirm, the brown-haired racehorse girl stood on tiptoe, shading her eyes with her hand as she looked at each gate, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

"You often mention... the Northern Black Steed, right? You and Senior Festival have been helping her train lately, what do you think of her?"

"Xiao Bei, what she said..."

Nodding, just as he was about to answer, Golden Ship's eyes suddenly lit up, revealing a rare seriousness in them.

The brown-haired racehorse girl also became serious, and at the same time, the highly recognizable, clear voice of the East Sea Emperor began to echo across the racetrack:
"OK, everything is ready, so let's start the first training match of the intensive training phase..."

"Start!"

When the Emperor of the East Sea loudly announced the start, not only the Golden Ship and the racehorse girl called Atong, but also the trainers and other racehorse girls watching became serious and focused, their eyes fixed on the gate without blinking.

After a loud bang, the gates opened simultaneously, and afterimages rushed out from within as if in no particular order.

Seeing this, many of the female racehorses became excited, while the rest showed satisfied expressions to their trainers.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad, McQueen, look, this time the race went very smoothly..."

As he spoke these words instinctively, the Emperor of the East Sea momentarily forgot he was holding a megaphone. He remembered immediately and was about to put it down when he suddenly exclaimed:
"Eh—the Great Escape?"

Beside her, McQueen Megumi, though he didn't exclaim in surprise, also changed his expression, leaning against the railing with his upper body tilting towards the track.

The other female racehorses and trainers were all surprised, and Golden Ship, who had previously talked about the Northern Black Horse, even shouted:
"A massive escape?! Hey, Tong, did you see that? Xiao Bei... this is going to be a massive escape?! I'm not seeing things, am I?!"

As it shouted, the golden ship kept slapping against its side.

Caught off guard by the first pat on the shoulder, the racehorse girl, nicknamed "All the Way Away," instinctively dodged, then, without time to complain, stared at the track with a look of surprise.

They left the gate almost simultaneously, and the race had just begun. The female racehorses in the field were running at almost the same level.

However, a girl with short black hair stood out, creating a half-body gap between herself and her opponents.

Although she is not good at running away, Ichiro is a G1-class racehorse girl and the first Japanese racehorse girl to achieve the world's number one ranking in points.

With just one glance, she was quite certain that, judging from the leading girl's starting speed, running posture, arm swing, and stride frequency, the other girl was definitely planning to make a run for her life.

"Short black hair...right, it's the Northern Black Steed..."

With surprise, Yi Lutong muttered to himself:

"This training match... is it meant to be the Arc de Triomphe Prize? That race is almost impossible to win, so... does she have some tactical plan? Or... something else?"

(End of this chapter)