Chapter 93. First Grass Wonder vs. Special Week Battle - Part 2
As Grass Wonder and Special Week entered the straight in front of the stands one after the other, Shuta An suddenly spoke.
"Grass Wonder will probably accelerate early this time."
"Why do you say that?" Mejiro Dober looked up at her Trainer, clearly puzzled.
"Although she's capable of running from behind, this is Nakayama Racecourse," Shuta An said, blinking calmly. "Since she has enough ability to run near the front, why would she deliberately choose a tactic that doesn't suit the track?"
"Dober, didn't you also push forward to seize position when you ran at Hakodate Racecourse?"
He continued without waiting.
"At the start, Grass Wonder misjudged how determined the surrounding runners were to fight for the lead. She had no choice but to drop back and circle around their encirclement."
"Once she chose to bypass them, it meant she never planned to wait until the final straight to make her move. She'll definitely accelerate early to open a gap on Special Week. Otherwise, if both of them start their bursts from the same position, Grass Wonder won't be able to beat her."
Shuta An's gaze remained fixed on the big screen.
"I'm sure Trainer Tojo Hana explained that point to her very clearly."
"I see." Mejiro Dober nodded, finally understanding.
Behind Shuta An, Oguri Cap sat on the sofa, staring at him with shining eyes.
At moments like this…Ann really stands out.
The gray-haired Uma Musume clasped her hands quietly.
I like him more and more when he's like this.
Kurofune noticed the expression on Oguri Cap's face. Her eyebrow lifted slightly, but she said nothing.
What had once been a vague suspicion had now become certainty.
Still, she had no particular reaction to it. For Kurofune, the only thing that mattered right now was training hard and achieving results in the Twinkle Series and Dream Trophy Series. Everything else could wait.
I wonder when Curren will finish what she needs to do—Maybe it's better to start laying the foundation early.
Kurofune didn't know, however, that Shuta had absolutely no intention of recruiting Uma Musume from the elementary division.
The reason was simple. It would take far too long.
He could wait three years—or even longer—for a middle school Uma Musume to reach her peak. But elementary school runners might take nearly ten years before their full potential emerged.
Shuta had neither the time nor the patience to train someone for a decade before seeing results.
—
Meanwhile, on the track—
After entering the second turn, Grass Wonder successfully shifted to the outside of the pack, exactly as she intended.
Special Week followed not far behind her, with Daiwa Oshu and MatikaneFukukitaru positioned between them.
For Special Week, keeping Grass Wonder in sight was easy.
Although they belonged to different teams, the two of them were classmates and often spent time together. Special Week was already used to seeing Grass Wonder in her field of vision.
Even on Nakayama's twisting course, tracking her wasn't difficult.
Mark Grass Wonder closely. I can't let her start too far ahead of me.
Remembering her Trainer's instructions, Special Week faithfully maintained her position.
Grass Wonder could feel the gaze pressing against her back.
She didn't even need to turn around. That presence was far too familiar.
Spe-chan is marking me—
Grass Wonder understood immediately.
Then opening a large gap early won't be easy.
Her thoughts sharpened.
I'll need to accelerate earlier in the final turn. If I can gain even a little extra time before the straight, I might be able to create enough distance.
Otherwise—the final straight will be extremely unfavorable for me.
Inside the VIP box, Shuta An watched the two figures moving across the giant screen in silence.
"It looks like Special Week has marked Grass Wonder," Tokai Teio said quietly, breaking the silence.
Oguri Cap frowned slightly.
"Grass Wonder must have noticed. She'll definitely try to shake Special Week off later. But where will she make her move?"
Shuta An turned and looked at Oguri Cap.
"If it were you, Oguri, where would you choose?"
In truth, he already had a guess.
Oguri Cap answered without hesitation.
"I'd enter the pack right now and move up two more positions. That would force Special Week to accelerate with me. For a Derby Uma Musume, maintaining rhythm is extremely important, and Special Week isn't good at dealing with sudden changes in pace."
"If I disrupt her rhythm like that, it would be easy to shake her off."
Shuta An let out a quiet sigh.
"That's something only an Uma Musume with your experience and strength could pull off."
"If I were giving the instructions, I'd tell Grass Wonder to move directly in front of Stay Gold and provoke her temper. That would instantly cause chaos at the back of the leading group. Special Week's rhythm would break almost immediately."
"And even if she managed to recover…by then Seiun Sky would probably already be leading into the final bend."
Oguri Cap puffed her cheeks slightly.
"Huft!!! Using other runners' personality flaws—I wouldn't do something like that."
Shuta An smiled faintly, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"No choice."
"Stay Gold is like a powder keg. She could explode at any moment. It would be a waste not to make use of such a convenient opponent when designing tactics."
On the track, Grass Wonder and Special Week had no idea that Shuta An and Oguri Cap were essentially simulating their race in real time.
Grass Wonder continued holding steady in eighth place.
Special Week remained sandwiched between Daiwa Oshu and Mejiro Bright.
Although Mejiro Bright had won the Spring Tenno Sho, most experts didn't consider her a true contender for this Arima Kinen.
Even in Shuta An's analysis report for Special Week and Grass Wonder, Mejiro Bright had only been briefly mentioned for her explosive finishing power. No special strategy had been written for her.
It wasn't laziness. It simply wasn't necessary.
Mejiro Bright specialized in long-distance races. While the Arima Kinen was technically classified as long distance, Nakayama's 2500-meter course had historically favored mile-type runners with strong late-charge burst.
Dicta Striker.
Oguri Cap.
Both had proven that point before.
At that moment, Mejiro Bright stared at Special Week's back, her brows tightening.
My final burst might not be as strong as Special Week's—Should I accelerate earlier and overtake her now?
The thought troubled her.
At the same time, Special Week suddenly sensed something behind her.
A faint pressure.
Like the presence of a predator closing in.
Her nerves instantly tightened.
Is Mejiro Bright accelerating already?
Her heart skipped.
But this is only the straight opposite the stands!
Mejiro Bright waited until the pack reached the straight opposite the stands. She gathered herself for a moment—then her resolve faltered.
"If I accelerate now, even with my abundant stamina, I won't be able to sustain a 1200-meter sprint—I'll hold back for now and look for another opportunity when we enter the final straight."
She returned to the rail, once again hugging the inside to conserve energy.
Everything that had just happened was clearly seen by Mejiro Dober and Shuta An.
"Trainer, do you think Bright Onee-chan's choice was problematic?" Mejiro Dober turned her head and asked, unable to hold back. As Mejiro Bright's younger sister, she wanted to know how the Trainer she respected most would evaluate her sister's hesitation.
"It's quite normal, isn't it?"
Shuta An's answer caught Mejiro Dober off guard. In her eyes, Mejiro Bright's attempt—and immediate retreat—had wasted time and stamina, even disrupting her rhythm. It looked like nothing more than a foolish decision.
"Why do you say that?" Mejiro Dober frowned slightly. "I think that disrupted her rhythm. That's very inappropriate."
"That's true," Shuta An said calmly. "But for Mejiro Bright, defeating Grass Wonder and Special Week is already extremely difficult. Instead of gambling on a tiny chance of victory, she chose a safer running style. Being able to abandon that gamble so quickly…that's commendable in its own way."
He met Mejiro Dober's gaze as he spoke.
Yet Dober vaguely sensed that there was something more behind his words. She pondered quietly for a moment, but the hidden implication remained just out of reach.
As the field entered the final bend, Grass Wonder suddenly closed the distance to the runners ahead.
Special Week failed to notice.
At that moment, four Uma Musume were stacked between them. Her view was completely blocked. No matter how she looked, Special Week could not catch sight of Grass Wonder.
"This gives Grass Wonder the chance to accelerate early and open a gap," Shuta An said, raising an eyebrow. "But it seems she still wants to wait a little longer."
And indeed, Grass Wonder thought the same.
"I'll wait a little longer—at least until we pass the first half of the bend. If Spe-chan notices and accelerates now, maintaining my advantage will be much harder. Waiting a little longer will make it safer."
With her plan set, Grass Wonder maintained sixth place and continued pressing toward the finish.
Although Special Week could no longer see Grass Wonder, she noticed that Grass Wonder had not appeared at the very front of the pack.
Her tension eased slightly.
"Once we exit the bend, I'll step to the outside and find a clear path immediately. Grass-chan can't be too far ahead. With my explosive power, catching her won't be a problem!"
She repeated this to herself as encouragement.
In the stands, Team Spica and Team Rigil stood side by side, cheering loudly for their respective teammates.
Nishizaki Ryu and Tojo Hana exchanged a glance before both turned their attention back to the track.
When Seiun Sky entered the final straight first, the roar of the crowd surged, and the commentator's voice rose in excitement.
Both Trainers felt their hearts tighten. Silently, they cheered for the Uma Musume they had trained.
The Arima Kinen was not a race limited to a single appearance in a lifetime, but it remained the highest-status G1. Every Uma Musume who claimed victory here would become a legend—Oguri Cap, Symboli Rudolf, Speed Symboli, Tosho Boy.
One of the strongest arguments supporting Oguri Cap's title as the "strongest in history" was her undefeated record in the Arima Kinen. To earn the approval of the vast majority, an Uma Musume needed to win the Arima Kinen at least once.
Fortunately, Mejiro Dober was obedient. When Shuta An advised her not to challenge the Arima Kinen next year, she accepted it quietly, without showing disappointment.
As for Kurofune, she was a repatriated Uma Musume. If she could win even a single G1 in the future, she would already feel satisfied.
In other teams, however, if a Trainer advised an Uma Musume not to challenge the Arima Kinen, the response might very well be a fierce argument.
After entering the final straight, Special Week did exactly as she had planned.
She swung wide to the outermost lane—then accelerated sharply.
After all, she was the Derby champion who had crushed her opponents earlier that year. Her explosive power was extraordinary.
In just a few dozen meters, she surged from tenth place to fifth.
The distance to the leading runners shrank rapidly.
But at that moment, the Uma Musume leading the pack was Grass Wonder.
Special Week glanced ahead—and froze in surprise.
"What?! How did Grass-chan get to the front?! When I accelerated, she felt close to me, didn't she?"
The Derby champion frowned as she continued charging forward.
In the stands, Nishizaki Ryu's expression darkened.
As an observer, he had seen everything clearly.
During the latter half of the bend, Grass Wonder had already begun accelerating forward. By the time Special Week prepared to swing wide, Grass Wonder had already seized the lead and secured the inner lane to conserve stamina.
Because of the shifting positions, Special Week hadn't realized that Grass Wonder was already leading the pack until she herself began accelerating.
Tojo Hana, however, remained calm.
Grass Wonder now held the initiative.
Based on Shuta An's earlier analysis, Tojo Hana was confident.
Grass Wonder would win this year's Arima Kinen.
On the track below the stands, Special Week saw that Grass Wonder had already taken the lead.
Grinding her teeth, she forced her final spurt even harder.
"I have to win!"
She lowered her center of gravity and drove forward with every ounce of strength.
Her effort was not in vain. At the very least, she overtook Stay Gold, who had been running in second place.
But ahead of her, Grass Wonder still resisted fiercely. Even so, the gap between them continued shrinking.
"Just a little more… just a little more!"
Special Week wished she could stretch her neck forward.
Now the two Uma Musume were almost neck and neck.
"I can't lose! Condor can win—and so can I! I am also Team Rigil's hope for this generation!"
Grass Wonder pushed herself to maintain her top speed.
The two figures flashed across the finish line almost simultaneously.
"Is it Special Week?! Is it Grass Wonder?! Who has won this year's Arima Kinen?!"
The commentator's shout echoed across the entire racecourse.
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