Between the end of the Satsuki Sho and the start of the Japanese Derby, there was a stretch where the internet was practically soaked in a "two titans battling for supremacy" atmosphere.
Even though Bizen Nishiki had lost to Rudolf in the Satsuki Sho, her battle-hardened record still proved she had that kind of strength—so there were still quite a few people backing Bizen Nishiki.
Of course, that only lasted up until a day not long before the Derby. Bizen Nishiki's camp suddenly announced she would withdraw from the race to avoid further strain and rest.
When that news first hit the internet, it caused a pretty big stir—but thankfully, her fans were understanding. After all, Bizen Nishiki's schedule up to that point really had been too packed. Scarily so.
With Bizen Nishiki—the strongest opponent—out, the Derby predictions immediately became completely one-sided.
The reason was simple: Bizen Nishiki's easy win in the NHK Cup had already proven her outstanding talent far beyond everyone else in her class. And even talent that strong still couldn't get close to Rudolf, so the other Umamusume behind her didn't even need mentioning.
Kagura had already been to Tokyo Racecourse once before—and with Eclipse's help, had been dragged into who-knew-how-many massive gaps on that track—so she was fairly familiar with the venue by now.
She figured the course conditions wouldn't change drastically in a short time, so this time she didn't make another trip out to take a look. She simply checked the recent weather, confirmed there wouldn't be rain that might cause a bad track, and had Rudolf keep training with the same plan as before to stay familiar with the course.
On the day of the Derby, Kagura and Tojo, as usual, followed Rudolf to the racecourse to watch. Maruzensky, who hadn't come along before, said she wanted to experience the Derby atmosphere, so she came with them this time too.
"Don't be nervous, ojou-sama. Just perform like you normally do."
In the prep room, Kagura smoothed Rudolf's outfit while encouraging her, trying to help her relax as much as possible.
"I looked into the other entrants for this race. With your strength, ojou-sama, you can crush your way through without any suspense. But I heard from Tojo-san that, to play it safe, you and she decided to use a normal Pace Chaser style—yes?"
"Mm, that's right. It's also a tactic I'm good at. Tojo told me the opponents this time aren't strong, so I can accelerate earlier."
"Is that so…"
Kagura trusted Tojo's judgment, but she also had her own thoughts. She had actually wanted to suggest Rudolf run as a Front Runner. But since both Tojo and Rudolf herself wanted to play it safe, she didn't intend to raise any objections.
"With your strength, ojou-sama, if you use Pace Chaser this time, there's a chance you'll run into traffic in the early and middle stages and won't be able to accelerate. If that happens, please be patient and wait for an opening to break through. Don't rush—there will always be a chance, especially in the last two turns."
"Alright. I'll remember."
Rudolf stood from her chair and reached out to pat Kagura's head.
"Wait for me. I will bring victory back to you."
"Hehe~ Okay. I'll be waiting. Good luck."
Rudolf felt the atmosphere at the gate today was unusually oppressive. The opponents around her seemed full of fighting spirit, and it stirred her up.
With Bizen Nishiki's withdrawal making the pre-race buzz completely one-sided, this race was supposed to have no suspense. She'd thought that even if the other Umamusume didn't lose their drive, the mood would at least be much more subdued.
This is interesting…!
That pressure from all sides excited Rudolf. Sure, it was easier to win against opponents without spirit—but a win like that was far too boring. She didn't like races like that. A race that made her feel thrill and difficulty—that was what she considered a good race.
All this time, Kagura's meticulous support had kept her in peak condition, as if there were power bottled up inside her body. She longed for someone who could make her release all of it—but unfortunately, up to now, only Bizen Nishiki had ever given her that kind of pressure. And this time, Bizen Nishiki wasn't even here.
"Clear weather. Track condition: Good…"
While listening to the announcer read out the track report, Rudolf recalled the tactics she had discussed with Tojo. Her gaze drifted toward Tracen's spectator section. From this distance, she couldn't make out who was there—but she knew her companions were.
"Hah! Still have time to get distracted at a moment like this, Rudolf? You're awfully relaxed!"
"Sorry… I just saw someone I care about…"
The opponent's voice pulled her back. She understood that zoning out like that wasn't a good thing—especially when threats pressed in from every direction.
Interesting. Let me see how far you can go!
Rudolf focused, fixing all her attention on the gate as she waited for it to open.
CLACK!!
"Okay! All racers have made a very clean start!"
This time, Rudolf didn't deliberately rein in her presence. But the other Umamusume didn't seem anywhere near as affected as they had been in the Satsuki Sho. To be honest, Rudolf had never thought about holding back in a race. If you stepped onto the track, you crushed your opponents with everything you had—that was her creed.
Not long after the start, Rudolf noticed something was off. The Pace Chaser pack today was running absurdly fast. Compared to their speed, her usual pace was a little slow—so before long, she ended up drifting to the middle-back of the field.
"Interesting."
Rudolf glanced toward the pack ahead. The fight for position up front was intense. If she followed Tojo's plan, she should be preparing to accelerate around the second turn. But even after passing the first turn, the track ahead was still jammed tight. There was no opening at all for Rudolf to accelerate and break through.
Am I getting boxed in?
She frowned. If it stayed this crowded in front, she wouldn't be able to speed up.
"Ojou-sama's start was a bit slow… and the traffic up front is a total mess…"
In the stands, Kagura—watching the race closely—also frowned. She could see something was wrong. If Rudolf tried to accelerate now, there was no way she'd punch through.
"Ah… this is bad. Rudolf looks like she's stuck."
Maruzensky and Tojo beside Kagura also noticed the problem. This course state really wasn't what they'd expected. In these conditions, there was no way Rudolf could accelerate forward—which meant their planned tactics couldn't be used.
Fortunately, the strategy running Kagura had taught Rudolf let her conserve stamina to a large degree. Even while the battle up front was fierce, she still looked as if she were out for a casual stroll, running at the back of the pack with unhurried ease—only raising her speed a tiny bit.
"The Pace Chaser group is speeding up! But Symboli Rudolf is still not accelerating! She looks boxed in!"
Even the announcer had spotted Rudolf, who'd barely moved while running at the back. And as one of Rudolf's fans, the announcer's voice was laced with urgency.
The spectators couldn't help but tense up as well. For Rudolf, this situation was extremely bad. Forget stamina—if she stayed trapped like this without accelerating, and the gap opened up too much by the final straight, she'd be in trouble.
"Be patient… find an opening…"
Hearing anxious shouts from the stands—calls urging her to accelerate—Rudolf ignored them. She simply kept her rhythm, following behind the Pace Chaser pack.
There was no doubt this race had developed exactly as Kagura had predicted—just not because Rudolf's usual speed was too high and caused her to get boxed in. It was because the runners up front were going too fast and fighting for the lane, creating the jam. Still, no matter what, it looked like this race would have to follow Kagura's approach. So Rudolf stayed behind the pack using that strategy running—saving stamina while searching for a chance to break out.
"The gap is opening a bit… Is Rudolf really not going to speed up…?"
Even Tojo, usually calm, started sweating as she watched the distance between Rudolf and the pack grow larger and larger.
After all, among Tracen's trainers there was a saying: only the luckiest Umamusume wins the Derby. And today's traffic jam clearly didn't count as luck.
Could it be that even someone that strong can't win the Derby?
Tojo trusted Rudolf's ability, but the thought still popped into her mind.
"Kiddo—do you think Rudolf will find an opening?"
Maruzensky couldn't help but worry too. This was one of the most important races of her kouhai's Triple Crown campaign. She truly wanted to see Rudolf claim the Triple Crown title—not only out of care for a teammate, but as a kind of hope. She'd never had the chance to fight for the Triple Crown herself. All she could do was watch the kouhai's from her team step onto the track, and from the stands imagine what it would look like to run alongside them.
"She will. Ojou-sama's handling it perfectly. The chance will come soon…"
Kagura had been watching the pack closely and made her call. If their speed stayed the same, then at this pace, entering the third turn soon, the weakness Rudolf needed would open up around the middle of the pack, toward the outside.
"Symboli Rudolf is still not accelerating!! The field has entered the third turn—there isn't much of the ace left!!"
The host's urgent voice made the atmosphere even more tense. The once-noisy track turned strangely quiet. In a way, you could tell that more than half the crowd were Rudolf's fans.
And Rudolf—still waiting—sharpened her focus as the field surged through the third turn. She hadn't forgotten Kagura's reminder before the race. Kagura had said that starting around the second-to-last turn, cracks would inevitably appear, because from that point on, the differences between runners would start to show. Their speeds naturally wouldn't stay perfectly aligned.
Unless everything had been coordinated in advance, even the tightest encirclement would split somewhere—and by the fourth turn, it was impossible for any "perfect ring" to still exist.
"The opening!"
Very quickly, Rudolf noticed a sliver of space between lanes two and four within the Pace Chaser pack—and it was widening!
She didn't hesitate. She knew that if she didn't surge through now, she'd never get another chance to break out.
"Oooh!! Symboli Rudolf suddenly accelerates!! She's rapidly closing the distance to the pack ahead!!"
Just as she was about to enter the fourth turn, Rudolf lowered her posture and unleashed—without holding anything back—the stamina she'd banked through most of the race, sharply boosting her speed—
"This ends now!"
"No—she's even stronger than usual! Symboli Rudolf is here!! She's already passed sixth—"
Once she got moving, Rudolf was like lightning. At a terrifying speed that left the entire crowd in disbelief, she passed opponents one after another—without the slightest sign of fatigue or slowing down, as if 2400 meters was nothing to her.
The once-silent track erupted again. Shouts of Rudolf's name swallowed the venue in an instant—
"So fast!! Too fast!! Symboli Rudolf breaks through and hits the final straight in front!! A runaway lead!! No one behind can close the distance on Symboli Rudolf!!"
"Symboli Rudolf's speed is terrifying!! The gap is still growing!!"
"Symboli Rudolf displays her overwhelming strength!! With a crushing margin—she hits the finish line!!"
The results board by the track flashed that Rudolf had finished. Only after a moment did the second-place Umamusume arrive.
It was a landslide so large it couldn't even be displayed. Rudolf broke through the traffic jam in the Pace Chaser pack and took her second crown with an undefeated run.
Seeing her result on the board, Rudolf—still gradually slowing to a stop—finally let out a small breath of relief. Once she steadied herself, she raised two fingers toward the stands—toward Tracen's student section in particular.
"See? I won!"
Watching Rudolf wave over at them, Kagura and the others finally relaxed.
Kagura was relieved Rudolf hadn't missed the opening she'd pointed out—and that she'd seized it with her extraordinary speed and broken through at once. Tojo, meanwhile, was relieved that Rudolf had relied on her own judgment and chosen the right approach—more thoughtful than her trainer had even managed to be.
"What terrifying on-the-spot decision-making…"