Usually, about one week before the Dubai World Cup, the full list of participating racers would already be announced.
But this year's Dubai World Cup seemed to be a little bit different. For one of the races, unbelievably, there was still a blank spot on the official participant list—even at this universally acknowledged final deadline.
That was extremely abnormal. Usually, the earlier an Uma Musume's participation was announced, the higher her popularity rankings would climb—or rather, precisely because she was popular enough, she'd be announced early to draw more spectators.
Especially in a city like Dubai, where the settled population wasn't actually that high, and the event in question was the Dubai World Cup itself!
The Dubai World Cup—or the Dubai World Cup Day—was a 2,000-meter dirt race. To dare call it the World Cup obviously meant it was absolutely top-tier, whether in terms of status or prize money.
So this kind of last-minute secrecy shouldn't ever happen for a world-class race, right?
Everyone knew: to have enough prize earnings to qualify for such a race, even the weakest Uma Musume had to be a popular rising star in her own country. Otherwise, she'd never reach the prize money threshold needed to enter the Dubai World Cup.
Then, why would such a qualified Uma Musume not be announced sooner to attract more fans?
Could it be they didn't want to expose this Uma Musume too early for fear of causing some unforeseen disruption? But no matter how you think about it, that didn't seem right—it was bizarre. It wasn't fair to the audience, and even less so to the racer herself.
After all, the earlier someone was announced, the more exposure and higher popularity rankings they'd gain, providing invaluable support and encouragement for the racer herself—right?
With this strange situation unfolding, countless people began openly questioning the Dubai World Cup organizers, their tones full of curiosity and skepticism.
Surprisingly, just as everyone was demanding an answer, the event organizers actually responded. And their reply was one that left everyone dumbfounded.
No one paying attention to the Dubai World Cup across the globe had expected the organizers' response would be something like this:
[Hello, dear viewers, we apologize for causing confusion. But we assure you, on the honor of the Dubai World Cup and all its glory, that this is absolutely not unfair treatment toward this particular Uma Musume's honor or popularity. On the contrary, this decision was made precisely to protect all the other participating racers. Thank you for your attention, and we kindly ask for your understanding.]
[Dubai World Cup Event Committee]
The moment someone posted this response publicly online, that thread instantly filled with countless shocked comments. Internet users all over the world shared the exact same reaction:
?
What?
Not announcing the last Uma Musume on the Dubai World Cup participant list was somehow a protective measure for the other racers…?
Just what kind of situation was this?!
This was the Dubai World Cup! The absolute top-level competition in the world! One of only eleven races worldwide with permanent naming rights protection—the highest single-race prize money globally!
Every Uma Musume who qualified for this race was unquestionably among the absolute best even within her own country. Even the reigning Triple Crown holders in their prime wouldn't receive such treatment, right?
Honestly, it was kind of terrifying.
After an entire night of stunned reactions, the next morning, the social media trending topics exploded, and continued trending heavily into the third and fourth days. Netizens from everywhere obsessively began compiling a complete list of Uma Musume who might qualify, trying one by one to determine exactly who was being treated with such extraordinary caution.
Even some already-announced racers publicly expressed confusion on their own social media:
Just what kind of Uma Musume could possibly receive such special treatment…?
The fans kept speculating, and then—almost inevitably—they seemed to settle on one very plausible answer.
First, to receive such unprecedented treatment at an event like the Dubai World Cup, this final, mysterious participant had to be someone incredibly strong, who'd already proven herself on the world stage.
Perhaps even someone who'd already secured victory in another permanently named event.
But did such a fiercely impressive Uma Musume really exist? Wasn't this condition a bit too demanding?
Although many legendary racers with protected titles hadn't officially retired yet, those qualified to participate in the Dubai World Cup specifically were very few indeed!
This was the absolute pinnacle of world competition, the dream of countless older-generation racers. To have both sufficient prize money, raw strength, and continuously peak-level racing condition was actually incredibly rare.
Given how powerful the Uma Musume already announced were, this final participant would have to possess overwhelming dominance to convince everyone, wouldn't she?
After compiling a thorough list, fans discussed furiously online, some live streams on this topic even hitting seventy to eighty thousand viewers. And then, as these streamers analyzed the situation in-depth, a truly chilling conclusion emerged.
When looking at absolute dominance still maintained in older-generation competition, and proven ability on the world stage…
Everyone seemed to have settled on the same terrifying candidate:
Gotham Song.
…?!
No way, right?
Revisiting the original topic, some argued that this special treatment didn't necessarily mean absolute power. Another possibility was popularity—if this Uma Musume were announced too early, other racers might not get even a shred of popularity votes.
In other words, this racer might possess unmatched popularity…
And who, in this generation, would best fit that description?
Gotham Song.
?!
Hey—wait, could it actually be?!
If only one streamer had thought so, maybe it would've just been personal speculation. But the reason netizens around the world truly exploded was because every single person analyzing this seriously arrived at the exact same answer:
It seemed that Gotham Song genuinely fit both conditions best of anyone?!
First, looking at sheer strength: Gotham Song, despite being accused of "seal-clubbing" in Japanese races, was undeniably achieving results that no other racer had managed—even within Japan!
And besides domestic dominance, she also held a top-level international title, didn't she?
In the Irish Champion Stakes, Gotham Song had annihilated Astronomer and Fantastic Light by a huge margin!
What did that mean?
Fantastic Light—utterly demolished by Gotham Song in Ireland—went on later that same year to win the Breeders' Cup Turf by a full length, setting a record.
In other words… had Gotham Song participated in that same year's Breeders' Cup, wouldn't she have crushed the field by a record-breaking margin?!
Remember, the Irish Champion Stakes was only two thousand meters, while the Breeders' Cup Turf was two thousand four hundred.
And don't think those extra four hundred meters would disadvantage Gotham Song. According to excited streamers, Gotham Song's distance adaptability was possibly even more terrifying than Twilight Song herself.
As distance increased, Gotham Song's performances only became more monstrous!
Shockingly, her worst race performance so far had actually been the 1,600-meter Yasuda Kinen, while her most legendary feat—the 3,000-meter Kikuka Sho—remained an unmatched historical miracle, with her carrying another Uma Musume princess-style uphill and still pulling away effortlessly!
Of course, the reason fans worldwide were truly buzzing wasn't only Gotham Song's rumored participation—
But because another familiar face was also running this race:
Astronomer would be competing too…!
To witness a revenge match—just imagining it was worth the ticket price already!
Of course, there were skeptics too, for a simple reason:
The nature of this race itself.
The Dubai World Cup was a two-thousand-meter dirt track! Gotham Song was undeniably strong—no one denied that—but that was strength proven on turf. The difference between dirt and turf was enormous. Even the most dominant turf racer would struggle with the sudden switch, right?
Running dirt for the first time, and your debut would be the Dubai World Cup itself?
Why not just announce she'd compete in steeplechase tomorrow, huh?
Pick someone more realistic, bro.
Gotham Song herself had said she was just Gotham Song—not Twilight Song. She couldn't possibly appear from nowhere like Twilight Song, simultaneously dominating turf and dirt, thrashing every peer globally!
She wasn't Caesar reborn—just Augustus, ruler of the turf!
Anyway, the debates grew increasingly chaotic. Even Gotham Song herself—after completing her track adaptability training—noticed the topic had spiraled into complete madness.
Supporters and opponents alike were now using the same retort:
Then why don't you go ask Gotham Song herself?!
Ahaha, funny enough—unlike many Uma Musume who had verified social media—Gotham Song remained one of the very few whose private accounts nobody had ever discovered.
Forget about getting confirmation from her personally—you couldn't even confirm her IP address or daily routines!
To hide daily life to this extreme… Gotham Song, you bastard!
Ironically, fans' suspicions weren't misplaced. Gotham Song had indeed kept her account private specifically to avoid exactly this situation. Even browsing fan forums, she never registered—only logging in anonymously as a guest—to prevent herself from impulsively responding to bizarre posts.
But since they couldn't reach Gotham Song directly, fans took another bizarre route: flooding the only publicly active Mejiro Manor Uma Musume—Mejiro Dober's—social media with questions, getting only a huge question mark in return.
Frustrating!
Gotham Song sighed helplessly at the chaos. Fine, you guys already guessed everything. What's left for me to say?
Might as well upload a photo.
Amused, Gotham Song took a selfie in a floral, off-the-shoulder dress, tagging her private page:
[Gotham Song cosplay, casual wear, no apologies. Just passing by~]
Hehe—now I'm Gotham Song's cosplayer too!
Smiling mischievously, she pocketed her phone as Vernal Equinox approached and gently took her trainee's hand.
Time passed fast. Four days until the race now. Thinking carefully…
Wasn't tomorrow the day organizers officially announced her participation? Ah, whatever. Tomorrow's tomorrow.
And tomorrow, she'd officially tell the world:
The Demon Lord was coming to Dubai. It was just dirt—surely you didn't think that could stop her?
Not even this world could bind Gotham Song's steps!