Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

The narration sounded at the right time. Stardust Illusion felt the strong wind blowing on her face. Every step she took provided a continuous source of power for her acceleration.

It's not just about taking the lead; the moment Stardust Illusion stepped out of the gate, it had already decided how it would announce its arrival as a challenger.

...The various teams in Uma Musume Girls have been initially formed, with number 7, Stardust Illusion, leading the pack, followed by...

No, Stardust Illusion is accelerating! Having already taken the lead, the gap between Stardust Illusion and the racehorse girl behind it is widening!

[Two horse bodies, three horse bodies... five horse bodies!]

[Stardust Illusion's goal isn't to lead, it's to escape! Stardust Illusion chose to escape from the very beginning of this race!!!]

As the commentator suddenly began shouting at the top of his lungs, the audience erupted in excited chatter.

Immediately afterwards, thunderous applause and cheers resounded throughout the racetrack.

【Leading the way to escape】, along with 【16-step chase】, are the two most popular ways to win among horse racing fans, and they are now presented to all the spectators in the arena.

The host who previously provided commentary on Stardust Illusion's debut battle was also visibly excited, continuing to shout into the microphone:

[Full of confidence and leading the pack! Stardust Illusion #7, employing a runaway strategy, has already left all other racehorse girls more than 8 horse lengths behind!]

[So fast! Too fast! Without the competition from the East Sea Emperor, she's like a whirlwind!]

On the track, Stardust Illusion knew very well that this was the fastest she had ever run since she started training.

Her running career wasn't very long, and before this race, she had been competing against strong opponents like the East Sea Emperor and Oguri Hat, which led Stardust Illusion to misjudge her own strength.

Was he defeated in his debut battle by the Emperor of the East Sea due to his relentless pursuit of victory?

His record against Oguri Hat has reached 871 losses and 0 wins?

So what? Stardust Illusion's opponents right now aren't these powerful runners, but the remaining 15 racehorse girls in this race.

She was now completely immersed in running, seeing no obstacles around her and feeling no pursuers behind her, just like the countless runs she had made over the past 17 days.

Stardust Illusion accelerates with every step, feeling the seemingly endless flow of energy within its body.

This is the biggest reason why she was able to choose to escape – her basic skills far surpassed those of the other contestants present.

The horseshoes, shod and clattering, kept hitting the grass, creating a series of loud thuds that enveloped all the racehorses behind them.

It sounds like... a death knell.

"The match is over."

From the stands, a petite figure wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, obscuring most of her face, made this judgment.

"Huh? Isn't the competition just entering its second half?"

An ordinary middle-aged man standing not far from her, watching the game, felt very puzzled when he heard this declaration.

"No, what I meant by the outcome being decided is not this. Look at those racehorse girls behind the Stardust Illusion?"

Upon hearing this, the uncle looked over and discovered that the racehorse girls who had fallen behind the fugitives had all relaxed to varying degrees.

Even the giant racehorse girl who was just now gritting her teeth and chasing after the stardust illusion was now just running mechanically...

"What are they doing...?"

"In a race, as long as your opponent is afraid of you, you've got the victory in the bag."

The petite commentator looked up, a smile on her face, at the lone Stardust Illusion leading the race, and continued to mutter to herself:

"Stardust Illusion, you are indeed a formidable opponent... But do you intend to stop me in the Classic Triple Crown? I will sweep away all opponents, including you, just like the president, and seize the undefeated Triple Crown!"

"Ah!!! You are the Emperor of the East Sea—"

As the girl revealed the lower half of her face, the middle-aged man suddenly remembered the identity of the person in front of him and almost cried out in surprise.

"Please, please, uncle, don't reveal my identity!"

Upon hearing this, he quickly covered his mouth.

Seeing the adorable emperor giving him an apologetic smile, the Hermès-wearing man instinctively offered to cover for the emperor, who clearly didn't want to reveal his identity.

At this moment, the match on the field has come to an end:

[...Number 7 Stardust Illusion, One Move!]

On the track of the Chukyo Racecourse, a vengeful storm swept back. Stardust Illusion, with a commanding lead of 10 horse lengths, maintained its lead to the very end and won the race!

[To all the spectators present, if this victory has ignited your passion, then please dedicate your cheers and applause to today's champion, whose name is—]

—Stars! Dust! Illusions!

------------------

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Aftermath of the Match

Stardust Illusion, who had just finished the race, was currently in his runner's lounge making a phone call.

"Stardust, I've heard you won the championship, right? Congratulations!"

The older sister on the other end of the phone sounded happy and relieved.

Clearly, she didn't fully believe that Stardust Illusion could get first place, as she had previously stated; she simply didn't want her worries to affect her performance.

“There’s nothing to be proud of,” Stardust Illusion said seriously, holding his phone. “She’s already fallen far behind me, having gone through two debuts.”

"Her?" The older sister on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then understood what Stardust Illusion meant, and said in astonishment:

Are you referring to the Emperor of the Eastern Sea?

"Yes, it's the emperor."

"this--"

The older sister on the other end of the phone was speechless for a moment. In the past few days, she had also learned some knowledge about racehorse girls and roughly understood the classification of racehorse girls.

Of course, she also understood the vast difference between herself and her younger sister, the genius-level star racehorse girl, Donghai Diwang, who was revered as the "Second Emperor."

But as her older sister, she couldn't possibly discourage Stardust Illusion's confidence, so she could only encourage her:

"It's alright, Stardust. You and she are both 1-win racehorses right now, the gap isn't that big. As long as you keep running, I'll definitely support you to surpass the East Blue Emperor!"

"With my sister's support, I'm sure I can keep winning until I defeat the emperor."

Stardust Illusion still held this older sister in high regard. After all, when she first transmigrated, it was she who took care of her when she wanted to give up.

However, the older sister, sitting on the hospital bed, felt even more awkward on the other end of the phone.

She said it so casually, does she really think she can beat that big star?

What if we lose? How will you comfort them then?

To avoid raising her expectations too high with her encouragement, the older sister immediately ended the conversation.

"By the way, Stardust, you mentioned last time that you were planning to study at Central Teresen Academy, right? When are you leaving? And do you have any plans for the next competition?"

“I can enroll at the beginning of next year. As for the next event, I’m already prepared to participate in the G3-level Kyoto Marathon Special Battle on January 27th next year,” Stardust Illusion replied.

"Huh? Can we directly participate in G3 level events?" the older sister asked in surprise.

“My registered residence will be transferred to Central Tressen Academy this year, so next year I can directly participate in classic races as a Central Racehorse Girl.”

Stardust Illusion answered honestly, explaining that this was a method she had discovered while learning the competition rules these past few days, allowing her to skip some OP-level matches and start directly from G3.

"So there's still a month left? Then you'd better work hard. The first match is a classic G3 level game, and the opponents there are not as easy as in the previous games."

The older sister quickly seized the opportunity, wanting to dispel the arrogance of Stardust Illusion, which didn't even respect the Emperor of the East Sea.

However, at this moment, Stardust Illusion recalled the deafening cheers from the stands when he reached the finish line.

That sight of everyone celebrating their victory... once she tasted it, she never wanted to lose it.

Thinking this, Stardust Illusion said to the person on the other end of the phone:

"Don't worry, sister, I'll make a promise with you."

"I, Stardust Illusion, will never underestimate any opponent. No matter what the competition, I will run with all my might, and then... continue to win like today!"

————————————————————

The Stardust Illusion and the other participants in the arena are unaware that the impact of this competition is already unfolding.

Chukyo's last race of the year, the horse girl race, was a runaway victory!

Within a short period of time after the race ended, the news had spread throughout the entire Nagoya metropolitan area among horse racing enthusiasts.

"Hey Sato, didn't you come to watch the match today? The Great Escape, today's move is your favorite Great Escape!"

"Such high-quality undefeated races are truly rare. There have been two exciting races in a row this month. Is Zhongjing Racecourse really about to become a hot spot?"

"It seems like it was her last time too, but she lost to the East Sea Emperor by half a horse's length in the last leg."

"Only lost to that East Sea Emperor's half-horse body? That's really... Stardust Illusion is a local racehorse girl, right? How can she be this strong?"

"A local horse girl, coupled with such strong control of the racetrack, reminds me of that monster who is about to retire."

Within Japan, there are many racetracks qualified to host races, which are further divided into local races and central races depending on their scale and prize money.

Among them, the largest central-scale racecourses are Tokyo Racecourse, Kyoto Racecourse, Hanshin Racecourse, and Nakayama Racecourse.

It can be said that almost all classic G1-level races are currently dominated by these four racecourses.

Chukyo Racecourse, which spans the cities of Nagoya and Toyoaki, is a racecourse with a very special status, sandwiched between the local and central governments. It is currently in a situation where it is neither rising nor falling.

This area allows both local and central racehorse girls to participate, so it can barely be considered part of the central category.

However, due to its consistently lukewarm popularity, it has never been able to secure the right to host G1-level matches.

Only the people from the two local cities, out of love for their hometown, would come to support the horse races whenever they had the chance, which unexpectedly fostered quite a few horse racer enthusiasts, a pleasant surprise indeed.

This situation is really awkward, so everyone is dreaming about how to take the popularity here to a new level.

The desire for the racetrack to reach a level of popularity sufficient to host G1 races has become a major obsession for horse racing enthusiasts in both cities…

To achieve this goal, the administrator even met with His Majesty the Emperor under immense pressure.