Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 569 Experience of the Japan Cup
Upon hearing Dream Journey and Golden Ship mention the strength of overseas athletes and the preparations for the Japan Cup, Northern Genko immediately sat up straighter, his eyes becoming focused.

“I remember everything the seniors said.”

She nodded vigorously and said, "Ah Zhen told me a long time ago that the style of overseas players is different from ours, so we need to figure out a strategy in advance."

Seeing her earnest expression, Dream Journey smiled.

"That's good. After all... none of us have won the Japan Cup, so we don't have much experience. We should listen to Coach Yasui on these matters."

She paused, adjusted her glasses, crossed her arms, and pinched her chin:
"However, the Japanese derby and the Japan Cup are held in the same venue and have the same schedule, so we have some experience with these things and can say something useful."

"Furthermore, we've also consulted with some friends who have won the Japan Cup. If you'd like, Xiao Bei, we can take you to talk to them. Of course, we can also briefly mention it now."

The Northern Black Horse was taken aback.

She originally came here just to get a copy of the self-criticism, but after hearing Dream Journey talk about the Japan Cup, she subconsciously assumed that her senior wanted to say a few words of concern.

Unexpectedly, the other party not only showed concern but also made considerable preparations, as if they had been waiting for them to arrive.

Meanwhile, the seniors like Golden Ship looked over with concern, their expressions showing no surprise, clearly having anticipated all of this.

Maybe this was all planned; if she doesn't come today, they might go looking for her tomorrow.

"Seniors...you..."

He stammered a sentence, then the Northern Black Steed, filled with excitement, became even more serious:
"I understand, really... thank you so much, seniors!"

Just as Beifang Xuanju had thought, Meng Zhilu and the others had already discussed whether or not to talk to Beifang Xuanju, who was preparing to leave this time, for some reason.

It was only because the Golden Ship had to write a self-criticism that they were delayed; otherwise, they might have already gathered at the Northern Black Horse's dormitory instead of the Golden Ship's side.

Seeing that the Northern Black Steed reacted so quickly, Meng Zhilu unconsciously looked around and saw that the Golden Ship and the others all had similar expressions. He couldn't help but look at the Northern Black Steed and nodded:
"No need for thanks, these are things we, as seniors, should do."

"But thinking about it carefully now, I think I should take you to talk to them about the specific details... Oh, and it would be best to bring Trainer Yasui along."

"Okay! I'll talk to Zhen!"

Without hesitation, the Northern Black Steed responded, then turned puzzled:
"But which seniors are you referring to when you say 'them'?"

"If this is the case..."

Touching her chin, memories surfaced in Dream Journey's light blue eyes:

"Lady, Divine Revelation, Shonan Magic Bottle... and other experienced classmates and seniors."

After a pause, she continued:
"The reason I said I would take you and trainer Yasui to ask questions in person is because many things are too general to talk about."

"For example, when chatting with a lady, or when running on the Japan Cup track, you have to ease off a bit before cornering, otherwise you'll easily slip."

"But the specific position where to release force, the state in which to release force, and the subsequent actions are all things that are difficult to explain in a few words. You should have experienced this, Xiao Bei."

"The advice from Shenwei Revelation and Xiangnan Magic Bottle is similar. One of them suggested that we should not rush to accelerate in the later stages and that it would be safer to wait until after the last bend before making a final push."

"Another point is that if the track conditions are not ideal on the day of the race, you have to slow down your stride frequency."

“These are all matters of thought or strategy. Xiao Bei, you are no longer a novice. Just talking about these things... probably doesn’t make much sense.”

Upon hearing this, Beifang Xuanju nodded unconsciously. What Meng Zhilv said was correct; if she had just debuted, she would undoubtedly have treasured those suggestions.

After all, novices know nothing about the competition, and with just a little guidance, they can gain valuable experience.

But for her now, that level of reminder is no longer enough.

For example, as described by the senior lady, it's not that she lacks experience in the Tokyo competition; she can figure it out on her own.

The key is that if you really want to reduce power in advance, as Dream Journey said, it's best to be precise about how many meters before entering the corner, which section you're on, how to reduce power, and whether to release power or continue reducing power when entering the corner.

To go even closer to the details, there are four corners on the entire track, which means four turns to enter, and you should have specific experience on how to handle each one best.

The better approach to all of this is undoubtedly to run a race and experience every detail with your body.

While the northern black horse was pondering, the golden ship chimed in from the side:
"It's pretty much the same for me. I also asked Jordan from Japan, and she said not to try to outmuscle your opponent. It's best to avoid collisions and just find the right opportunity to overtake."

"But a head-on confrontation depends on the situation."

"For example, with Jordan or a rich lady, if it were me, I wouldn't care at all, I'd let them bump into me however they want."

Her words were clearly tinged with smugness. Upon hearing this, Beibu Xuanju couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, while Meng Zhilv, Zhongshan Qingdian, and Jin Gongjia in the video all rolled their eyes and then covered their foreheads.

Meanwhile, Yi Lu Tong, equally exasperated, rubbed his forehead and looked at the Northern Black Steed, echoing the sentiments of Dream Journey and Golden Ship:
"Although Ah Chuan's description was a bit exaggerated, I feel the same way. He said to pay more attention to the markings on both sides of the track to make positioning adjustments, but to put this idea into practice, we still need to communicate face-to-face, and it would be best to have some training."

This was exactly what Beifang Xuanju was thinking. She nodded, about to speak, when suddenly she remembered something, quickly took out her phone, and opened the notes app:
"I understand. I'll tell A-Zhen all of this later... I'll write it down for now."

Seeing this, the other female racehorses fell silent and involuntarily looked toward the northern black horse.

Recalling what he had just heard, he wrote it down on his phone, checked it several times, and found nothing missing. Northern Black Horse nodded in satisfaction.

Looking up at the video call camera on her phone screen, she was about to arrange a meeting time with her seniors on Dream Journey when she suddenly saw that the seniors beside her and on the screen were all looking at her, and she was stunned.

"...Seniors? What's going on here...?"

As soon as she asked the question, she was even more surprised to find that the expressions of the seniors changed as if they had just woken up from a dream, and then they all looked at Dream Journey in unison.

As if he had anticipated this attention, Dream Journey's expression remained unchanged. He simply remained silent for a moment, deep in thought, before slowly speaking with a somewhat complicated seriousness.

"Actually, we're telling you all this because we feel that the Japan Cup is related to the glory of all Japanese female racehorses."

"Especially... in a Japan Cup with so many strong opponents."

If he had heard these words earlier, Beifang Xuanju wondered if he would have felt even more pressure.

Now, she clearly felt the expectations in the words of the Dream Journey. Although she also felt pressure and responsibility, she felt even more fighting spirit.

"So... that's what you meant, senior..."

Northern Black Horse clenched his fist, his usual憨笑 (simple and honest smile) gone, replaced by a serious expression:

"Don't worry, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

She paused, then added with a hint of doubt, "By the way, there are so many strong opponents... Doesn't the Japan Cup always have formidable rivals?"

(End of this chapter)