"Unbelievable! The Mejiro name, which whipped up a storm across Europe last year, has brought the tempest back once again!"
England. In the very land where the "Tyrant's" exploits remained seared into the public's memory, a single girl from Japan was holding the lead with a strategy that mirrored his legendary dominance. This was Mejiro Palmer—a "Great Escape" stayer who shared that same storied crown. At Rampage's invitation, she had chosen to skip the Takarazuka Kinen, opting instead to spend two grueling months competing in the UK. Now, she was about to deliver her final answer.
"Mejiro! Mejiro! Mejiro! That is the name of the girl leading this marathon! We're under 300 meters to go, and she still holds a six-length lead! Mejiro Palmer has run this entire distance at full throttle. The pack tried to keep up, but have they finally hit their limit?! Is this the power of the 'Explosive Escape'?!"
A strong showing at the Sapporo Kinen had revealed her aptitude for the heavy European turf. Though counted as one of the "Mejiro Four Heavenly Kings," Palmer was the only one among them without a G1 title—the one often dismissed as the "misfit." But as her trainer watched, eyes welling with tears, he burned the image of her stride into his retinas, knowing that reputation died today.
"Go, Palmer! Kick it in!"
"This is it! This is Mejiro—no, this is Palmer's run!"
Her trainer's scream acted like a physical propellant against her back. The answer to their journey, to their shared faith in one another, was finally within reach. Every time she had questioned her own worth, every time the suffocating weight of her family name had threatened to crush her, he had been there to hold her up. She would prove it for him. This is my run. Strength flooded her exhausted limbs, and suddenly, the path opened up. She saw it: a road meant only for her.
"EXPLOSIVE ESCAPE!"
"Behold the Japanese Uma Musume! A stayer from the same homeland as the Tyrant! A total solo performance over 3,219 meters—the girl who led from start to finish is Mejiro Palmer! Once again, a girl from Japan has become the eye of the storm in Europe!"
At the end of that sprint, she found the "Mach Dream" she had once feared was unreachable. She had done it. She had conquered the Goodwood Cup. When the glory finally touched her, Palmer—who should have had no strength left in her body—sobbed as she threw her arms around her trainer, her heart exploding with a joy so pure it transcended exhaustion. Only a girl who had run further and harder than anyone else was allowed such tears.
"I'm Palmer! Mejiro Palmer!"
From that moment on, she could finally hold her head high and declare herself a daughter of the Mejiro line.
"Now that... was magnificent," someone remarked.
Palmer had committed to a "Great Escape" from the very start. While her style had already left a mark in Europe, few believed anyone could maintain such a suicidal pace over 3,219 meters—a distance even longer than the Tenno Sho (Spring). Most of the field had tried to stick to their own rhythm, but Palmer simply kept running. When she refused to fade even after the 2,000-meter mark, panic set in, forcing the rest of the pack to pick up a pace they couldn't sustain.
"Normally, leading at that tempo is unthinkable," Air Groove muttered, her voice tinged with bewilderment as the members of Team Pleiades watched the footage.
"But Palmer-neesan won the Stayers Stakes the same way," Mejiro Dober added, a hint of pride in her voice.
"Calling it 'unthinkable' is an understatement. That was a 'Madness Escape' if I've ever seen one," Stay Gold chimed in. It was a fair assessment. Her run was fundamentally different from the styles of Rampage or Twin Turbo; despite the blistering pace, she didn't bottom out. In the final stretch, she actually found another gear, pulling away as if she were just getting started. The shock felt by the girls who had actually raced against her must have been ten times what they were feeling now.
"But look here—she's actually quite clever about it. She drops the pace just enough to catch a breath at key intervals. See? Right there," Silence Suzuka pointed out.
"You're right. It's subtle—just enough to recover without the pack noticing," Sunny Brian noted. For the other "escape" specialists, the race was a masterclass. Sunny, in particular, was already looking for ways to incorporate those pace shifts into her own arsenal. Silver, watching alongside them, felt a similar fire.
"...I hope she enters the Japan Cup. I want to race her," Silver said, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light. Rampage felt the same, though she couldn't help but acknowledge how unique Palmer was. Sprinting a long-distance race like that? I couldn't do it if I tried.
"Do you think she'll try for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe next?"
"Who knows? It wouldn't be strange if she came home now, or looked for another challenge over there. But regardless," the trainer said, "this puts an end to those idiots writing articles calling Palmer the 'stain on the Mejiro Four.' They won't be talking that trash anymore."
Winning a G1 overseas carried that much weight. It meant she had literally leaped over the "Great Wall" of international racing. Asama would surely be proud.
"Still, hugging her trainer like that in front of everyone... she must have been over the moon."
After the finish line, Palmer's trainer hadn't been able to help himself and had rushed onto the track. The crowd and the other competitors had erupted in cheers for the pair as they embraced.
"'Mejiro Palmer has finally claimed her long-awaited G1 victory!'" the commentator shouted over the replay. "'A victory born of the unbreakable bond between athlete and trainer! A magnificent performance—let us hail her as a true champion!'"
"I suppose... but isn't their distance a bit too close?" Air Groove grumbled, unable to help herself.
Indeed, Palmer and her trainer looked incredibly close. They were hugging without a care in the world, and during the interview, the trainer had said with a straight face, "I intend to keep running with Palmer as far as we can go." Beside him, a blushing Palmer had beamed, adding, "Everywhere and anywhere with him!" It was a different kind of "closeness" than what Air Groove shared with her own trainer, Minamisaka.
"It's fine, Air-Air," the protagonist teased.
"But still..."
"Tell you what. When you win, I'll give you a princess carry for the winning run."
"Well, in that case—wait, what?"
Things got a little chaotic after that.
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