Chapter 75. Turf Fillies Part 1
Drawn at the extreme outside, Mejiro Dober was the final runner to step into the starting gate.
The metallic enclosure closed around her with a dull finality.
There was no time to glance left toward HeartShaped. No room for distraction. Dober lowered her gaze slightly, regulating her breathing—steady, precise, controlled. Even if today's strategy called for a hold-up approach, she had no intention of conceding unnecessary ground at the break.
"Click!"
The gates sprang open in perfect unison.
All thirteen Uma Musume burst forward cleanly—no hesitation, no stumble.
Dober reacted instantly.
Remembering Shuta An's instructions, she angled inward and deliberately settled behind Heart Shaped, making her intent unmistakable.
She was marking her.
Heart Shaped felt it immediately.
"I'm being targeted!"
Her heartbeat tightened. Without hesitation, she began drifting inward, searching for the rail, prepared to drop all the way to the rear if necessary. Saving ground mattered more than pride.
Yet she did not view this as surrender.
"I don't believe Mejiro Dober would stay at the very back just to follow me," Heart Shaped thought sharply. "Using a late-surge tactic over a mile—can she really win that way? Not even Royal Academy or Oguri Cap has done that."
Her logic was not entirely flawed. Neither Royal Academy nor Oguri Cap had ever claimed a mile victory using a late-surge. Of course, neither had attempted such a tactic over that distance to begin with.
From the subtle shift of Heart Shaped's line, Mejiro Dober understood.
She wants to win. Good.
That certainty alone was enough. A competitor unwilling to advance was irrelevant. A competitor desperate to surge forward was predictable.
"If she intends to drag me down with her," Dober calculated coolly, "then once we reach the opposite straight, I'll swing wide and accelerate. I won't entertain mutual destruction. I'm here to win—not to feud."
Hollywood Park's turf course measured precisely 1609 meters. After breaking from the gates, the field would enter the first turn after barely fifty meters.
By the time Dober reached that turn, she was already last.
In the VIP box, Tokai Teio leaned forward.
"Isn't she a bit too far back? She could move up slightly. Laragh looks ready to increase the pace."
"Wait for the 400-meter split," Shuta Trainer replied calmly, eyes fixed on the screen. His confidence in Dober was absolute. Even if the opening 1000 meters dipped to 56 seconds, he believed she could endure it.
The time flashed.
22.48 seconds.
"The opening is fast," Tokai Teio murmured. "Laragh's already a length clear. Not a huge margin—but she might press on."
"Not necessarily," Shuta An said, narrowing his eyes. "April Pride in second appears to be easing slightly. An average of eleven seconds per furlong this early is aggressive for a mile. Laragh can sustain the lead—but April Pride may not sustain the chase."
"There's still a gap in ability," Tokai Teio said thoughtfully. "If it were Suzuka-senpai, Laragh would be the one worrying about conserving stamina."
Shuta An's lips twitched faintly. He had no desire to see another runaway duel like Tenno Sho (Autumn). Not again. He only wanted safe finishes now.
On track, as Dober entered the second turn, she sensed Heart Shaped's impatience rising.
"She can't hold back any longer."
A faint curve touched Dober's lips.
Heart Shaped began searching for a lane, eager to advance. Dober, meanwhile, subtly angled outward.
"The path you've chosen isn't ideal," she judged silently. "I'll conduct my raid from the far outside."
Heart Shaped focused so intensely on the gap ahead that she failed to monitor the movement behind her. When a narrow seam opened between Freedom Ring and the inner rail, she committed—diving in on the bend, overtaking decisively.
Freedom Ring reacted too late. Forced inward, she shifted two steps to block the rail, preventing further advances along the inside.
"Well done," Heart Shaped thought with satisfaction. "Block Mejiro Dober. Make her follow."
But then—
Something flickered in her peripheral vision. She glanced outward. Her pupils shrank.
"What—?!"
On the far outside, Mejiro Dober's silhouette flashed past like a blade of light. One stride, two strides—she surged beyond multiple runners in a single sweeping motion, her acceleration clean and decisive.
They had not even reached the backstretch.
"Is she rushing because she thinks I've broken away?" Heart Shaped initially assumed.
Yet as Dober drew level and then edged ahead in relative position, she turned her head slightly.
Their eyes met.
There was no panic.
No urgency.
Only still water.
Unshaken composure.
"Was she never marking me at all?" Heart Shaped's thoughts faltered. "Did I overthink everything?"
Her rhythm hesitated for a fraction of a second. Her cadence dulled.
At that precise moment, the commentator's voice thundered across the course:
"Mejiro Dober with a sudden acceleration! From last to seventh in one sweeping move! She's now neck and neck with Maram!"
And the race had only just begun.
"The first surge carried her from thirteenth to seventh—but now she's locked alongside Maram."
Shuta An narrowed his eyes at the screen, expression tightening slightly.
"That's a little unexpected."
Tokai Teio leaned forward. "I remember her. Maram was fourth on debut, then broke her maiden, and later tried a turf-class race but lost again, right?"
"Correct," Shuta An replied without shifting his gaze. "Her maiden win was on dirt. I assumed she was primarily a dirt-type Uma Musume. Since she debuted in America, she'll likely aim for the Dirt Twinkle Series. That's why I didn't spend much time analyzing her with Dober."
His tone cooled.
"I just didn't anticipate Heart Shaped's acceleration being that indecisive. Dober has already cleared her—and now she's level with Maram."
Tokai Teio clenched her fist. "It doesn't matter. Even without a marking reference, Dober-senpai will win. There's no one in this field who can truly challenge her."
"I agree," Shuta An said calmly. "And Laragh appears to be regulating her tempo now."
As if in response, the half-mile split flashed across the giant screen.
45.82 seconds.
"It seems the early positional fight cost Laragh more than expected," Shuta An observed, lips curving faintly. "Some American outlets even compared her to Silence Suzuka—absurd."
The comparison irritated him.
"I'm unfamiliar with her. And she certainly isn't from Team Sadalsuud."
On the track, Mejiro Dober assessed the spacing ahead.
Laragh's advantage over second-place had expanded to two lengths. Another two lengths separated from CKarma in third.
The rhythm had softened.
"They're easing into recovery through the final turn," Dober realized instantly.
She no longer hesitated.
"I must accelerate upon entering the fourth turn. I cannot wait for the 300-meter straight."
Her center of gravity lowered subtly as she prepared.
A glance to the inside.
Maram was doing the same.
"Sharp," Dober murmured internally. "She sensed the tacit truce in the front group."
But Dober would not allow an easy escape. Positioned slightly wider, she could not permit Maram to swing outward and slip free—doing so would compress Dober's lane behind her. That was unacceptable.
In the VIP box, Shuta An exhaled quietly.
"She won't delay any longer. She's about to move."
Tokai Teio's eyes sharpened. "Maram wants the outside lane? That's a mistake. Dober-senpai won't let anyone detach from the pack in front of her."
"Not necessarily," Shuta An countered. "Maram may simply be feinting—to unsettle Sugar Mom ahead of her. Ultimately, she'll likely choose the inside. She's studied Dober's races. She won't deliberately take Dober's lane."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"If she provokes Dober's fighting spirit, she'll be crushed."
"Provoking fighting spirit—" Tokai Teio blinked. "That sounds familiar."
"The Japan Cup," Shuta An said immediately. "Obey Your Master avoided Tamamo Cross to prevent triggering her subconscious drive. Unfortunately, it only paved the way for Oguri."
"Still lacking," Tokai Teio muttered. "If it were me—"
She stopped.
Because at that exact instant, Mejiro Dober entered the fourth turn.
And attacked.
Her center dropped. Her stride lengthened. Acceleration erupted.
"So fast! Mejiro Dober launches from the turn! She's overtaken Maram—she's overtaken Sugar Mom! The forward pack cannot repel her advance!"
The commentator's voice rose sharply.
"She's closing on Laragh! Four lengths—three lengths! Can Laragh withstand the pressure?!"
Based purely on the velocity differential, Dober could catch Laragh by the exit of the turn.
But neither Shuta An nor Tokai Teio believed it would be that simple.
"Laragh conserved energy during that slowdown," Shuta An said quietly. "Under this level of pressure, she'll resist fiercely in the early part of the straight."
"For a short while?" Tokai Teio tilted her head.
"For a short while," he confirmed with a faint smile. "That reserve isn't sufficient for more."
And just as he predicted—
At the moment they transitioned out of the turn, Mejiro Dober drew level with Laragh.
Laragh, who had restrained herself for over ten seconds, unleashed her stored stamina in a desperate counter-surge, attempting to shake Dober off before the straight.
Hollywood Park's final stretch was flat—no incline, no hidden bias. A brutally honest 302 meters.
Shuta An watched Dober's silhouette grow clearer on the homestretch.
"There are roughly 200 meters remaining," he said softly. "Laragh ran the first 1200 meters in 1:10.65. It's no surprise she won't be Dober's opponent."
Tokai Teio's eyes widened.
"Eh? 1:10.65 for 1200 meters? If I remember correctly, Dober-senpai's Hakodate Nisai Stakes winning time was 1:10.4, wasn't it?"
The implication hung in the air.
Laragh had already expended, over 1200 meters, what Dober once required to finish an entire sprint.
And the decisive 200 meters still remained.
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