"Mejiro Rampage, who broke out to an excellent start, is followed by Flying Silver, Silverstone. The Pitch-Black Hero, Razgriz. The Dancing Trainer, Shall We Dance. Saint Verdant follows about three lengths behind. The leading group consists of these five, while the trailing pack maintains a consistent pace."
Rampage charged out first, pursued closely by Silver, Booby, Shall, and Saint. What they all had in common was their vigilance towards Rampage; other Uma Musume were also wary, but their level of caution was lower compared to these five. It wasn't that they weren't cautious, but still, less so.
Rampage maintained her customary grand escape strategy. In Europe, Rampage's runaway style was unusual; some of the competing Uma Musume harbored doubts, wondering if she could truly sustain such a pace until the end. They thought it impossible, but the legendary Japan Cup instantly flashed through their minds, naturally sparking a sense of urgency. Through this furious pace, they cleared the first corner.
"Haha! What a lead! Even I wouldn't run at this pace!" Silverstone exclaimed.
"For someone saying that, you look awfully relaxed!" Rampage shot back.
"Compared to F1's G-forces, this is nothing! I might have given up pole position, but I'll be the one to win in the end!"
Silver was the closest to Rampage. Employing the same escape tactics, she followed, her words betraying a certain confidence. True to an Uma Musume raised by a racer, she clearly had immense self-assurance in her speed. Meanwhile, Booby, or Razgriz, effortlessly kept pace with their furious strides.
"Quite a pace, isn't it? Can you maintain it?" Booby inquired calmly.
"That's my line. What about you?"
"A foolish question."
"Good girl."
Though she resembled Ardan in appearance, her inner resolve was distinct in its own way. Her competitive spirit was extremely high, and she hated to lose, easily keeping up with the high pace. They entered the backstretch.
"Don't think you'll easily escape. I'm the one who will escape and win!" Shall We Dance declared.
Even as she said this, Shall ran about two lengths behind Rampage, and half a length behind Booby. She too was an escape runner, but not a grand escape like Rampage; her style felt closer to Palmer's reserved escape. As they continued their dash, a mischievous impulse prompted Rampage to test them.
"Silver, Booby… can you keep up?"
Her defiant smile accompanied words that drew smiles from the two others. She's planning something, but she's deliberately telling us. This is an undeniable challenge, a declaration of battle. Currently, she holds the title of the world's fastest Uma Musume. A challenge from her… there's no way we wouldn't accept it. If we're going to win, we want a perfect, complete victory.
"'Can I keep up' isn't the question! I'll just blast right past you! I'm an F1 Uma Musume!" Silverstone retorted confidently.
"—To you, am I a devil or a hero…? I will make it clear right now!!" Razgriz declared with fierce determination.
Permission granted. Then, shall we? Rampage stomped deep into the ground, power surging through her Japanes-steel-like legs. That was the signal. The two others also became wind, streaking across the turf.
"Mejiro Rampage accelerates here!! No, Silverstone and Razgriz are both surging forward too!! They're making their move with more than half the race still to go!? Is this a strategy, or a reckless charge!?"
"I won't let you escape! Letting you escape is meaningless!!!" Shall We Dance cried out, pushing herself.
Leopardstown Racecourse enters an 800-meter straight on the backstretch after the immediate corner from the start. A flat stretch of road continues, and everyone typically wonders if accelerating so early means they don't intend to finish strong. But this time, no one could think that.
"Saint Verdant, Coomunga, Super Pulse, Magic Cal, the Uma Musume in the rear are also picking up their pace one after another!! Are they being pulled along by the leaders!?"
"It's only natural for them to be so wary," Sue-chan murmured, watching the race.
"Ramp-chan has been consistently running away. What comes to mind for everyone overseas is the World Record Japan Cup. The same ultra-high pace from the very beginning. Since this race is 400m shorter than that one, it's self-evident to think she'll escape all the way. So, naturally, they want to avoid being too far behind, but—it's good to be young, isn't it?"
They continued down the straight, and as they approached the 1400-meter mark, the course began to ascend.
"Can you still go!!" Rampage challenged.
"Still, still can go!!" Silverstone roared back.
"No, problem!!" Razgriz affirmed.
The two followed Rampage's relentlessly accelerating run, with Shall trailing behind. But from here, the real test would begin. Could they truly keep up with this pace? Let's find out. Show me your power, you who said you'd use us as an opening act, Rampage thought. As they were about to enter the third to fourth corner—Shall's breathing was already growing heavily ragged.
(There's no leeway, there can't be any leeway…!! What is this insane pace…!?)
Shall's leg type was also escape, but it was a reserved escape, saving energy to unleash power at the end. But she had almost no reserve left; even if she wasn't decelerating, she had no room to accelerate. So utterly devastating was the pace of the three leaders, who had fully accelerated on the long, flat straight. Shall, trying to keep up, had endured that, but as the course gradually began to climb, the difficulty increased exponentially. The most tiring thing in running is re-accelerating, and the least tiring is maintaining speed. Shall experienced the full meaning of this.
(She knew, she knew and kept accelerating…!! Knowing that I, having declared them an opening act, would try to stay close enough to surpass her!!)
Her mindset was to make live performances the main event and races the opening act. Therefore, Rampage assumed that while Shall wouldn't slack off in races, she would be particular about how she won. The best way to win this race, Rampage deduced, was to surpass her. So, Shall would surely try to maintain distance while conserving energy. It was an intuition Rampage had honed over 26 races.
"I don't want to lose!!! After causing so much trouble for my trainer, I—I will put on the greatest live performance!!" Shall gasped.
They entered the fourth corner. It was an incline. A long, continuous uphill stretch to the finish line, and what Shall saw was… the three figures already streaking far ahead. Their forms—shone brighter than any live performance.
"And now they've entered the final straight!! From here, it's all uphill, demanding power and stamina, but the leading three still show no signs of slowing down!! What incredible Uma Musume they are!!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Rampage roared.
"Here comes Mejiro Rampage!! Mejiro Rampage is pulling away!!! Two lengths, then three lengths!! Silverstone is desperately extending her strides!! Razgriz isn't giving up either, Ireland's Triple Tiara is no mere decoration!!"
The wind swept by. Feeling its strength, Silver unconsciously adjusted her stride to counter it, while Booby seemed to transcend even that wind. But something even beyond them continued to lead.
"I'm neither a devil nor a hero. I'm—a fierce god and a tyrant, that's all!!"
Rampage kicked the ground with even greater force, now utterly uncatchable. With Silverstone and Razgriz in tow, the tyrant, known as a fierce god, thundered relentlessly towards the finish.
"Mejiro Rampage in the lead, Mejiro Rampage, strong, strong!! Truly the run of a champion, Mejiro Rampage, crosses the finish line NOW!! Mejiro Rampage, first place!!! Second place, Razgriz! Third place, Silverstone! Fourth place, Saint Verdant, and fifth, Shall We Dance. This makes it three consecutive overseas G1 wins!! Her 27th win in 27 starts is the Irish Champion Stakes!! And the time is—1 minute 59.7 seconds!!? It's a RECORD TIME!! Following her previous KGVI & QE Stakes victory, she has carved her name into Ireland's history!!!"
"Couldn't hold on until the very end… Honestly, I'm so frustrated…" Booby admitted.
"Damn it!! I lost!! I'm so frustrated!!" Silverstone cursed.
Booby and Silverstone were genuinely frustrated. They had desperately clung to that speed, but that too was part of Rampage's strategy. They had been thrown wide on the curve, and they never imagined she would actually manage such a top speed through it. In that brief moment, they saw it: Rampage ran as if embedding her legs into the ground. With her trained power, she maintained her speed without being thrown off by centrifugal force.
"Rampage, you're truly amazing! It was a complete defeat this time, but I will continue to challenge you! For starters, I'll challenge your world record at this year's Japan Cup!" Silverstone declared, full of renewed fire.
"Oh, I'll be doing the same. Next time, I will definitely beat you." Razgriz added.
"I'm looking forward to it." Rampage replied.
Amidst this, Rampage looked towards Shall, who had completely collapsed and was breathing heavily with her whole body. Shall, still gasping, stared back at her. As if captivated, her gaze unwavering, she simply watched Rampage.
"Pant, pant, pant, pant… This is the first time I've been so captivated by a race… From now on, I'll take both live performances and races more seriously… So please, let's run again."
Hearing that, Rampage lifted the corners of her mouth, then turned her back and raised two fingers to the sky. This marked her second victory in Europe, and next—finally, the Arc de Triomphe!!
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