"Hanshin Racecourse, drizzling lightly."
"All competitors have entered the gates."
"The race, now—"
"Start!"
As the gates opened, 17 Umamusume surged forward.
Sakura Baimu stared at Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen in the arena, a slight pang of reluctance in her heart.
She liked both of these Umamusume very much, and they were both her teammates. She did not want to see either of them lose, much less win.
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond, meanwhile, were incredibly anxious and tense.
Both Umamusume turned to Sakura Baimu and asked in unison,
"Trainer, who do you think will win this time?"
"..."
Sakura Baimu did not speak immediately, but waited a moment before slowly saying.
"Teiō and McQueen, their final outfits are both crop tops..."
Kitasan Black, Satono Diamond, and Smart Falcon: "???"
The three Umamusume were completely bewildered by Sakura Baimu's words, then all three reached the same conclusion.
"Trainer's sick again."
—
Inside the arena, as expected, Mejiro Palmer once again used her Runaway tactic.
Even when facing so many powerful Umamusume, she still insisted on the Runaway running method that Matikanefukutaru had divined for her.
"Mejiro Palmer is indeed in the lead, sticking to her usual runaway style, but she doesn't seem to be able to create a significant gap from the Umamusume behind her."
"About four Lengths behind her is Mejiro McQueen, and behind Mejiro McQueen is Tokai Teio."
"In fourth place is Matikanetannhauser, closely followed by Nishino Flower."
"Rice Shower is currently in sixth place."
The overall pace this time is quite fast; after all, it is only a 2200-meter middle-distance course, so the pace is definitely much faster than a long-distance course.
After a 300-meter downhill section at the start, what follows is a steep hill that Sakura Baimu specifically had Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen practice countless times.
A steep hill, twice as steep as the one at Kyoto Racecourse.
"Mejiro Palmer was the first to step onto the steep hill, her speed slowing slightly."
This was understandable; most Umamusume slowed down here, so not many people paid much attention to the hill.
Furthermore, although the hill was steep, it was only two Meters high, half the height of the four-Meter hill at Kyoto Racecourse.
Including Maruzensky and Symboli Rudolf, no one seemed to react unusually to Mejiro Palmer's slowdown on the hill.
They initially thought the intense competition would occur in the later stages of the race, with little to note in the early stages.
However, when the three top Umamusume saw Mejiro McQueen's posture as she subsequently stepped onto the hill, their expressions changed drastically.
"Mejiro McQueen is up the hill too! Wow...so fast! Mejiro McQueen's speed hasn't decreased at all on the steep slope; she's even maintaining her speed from the flat ground, speeding up the hill!"
"Close behind is Tokai Teio; she's also on the steep slope...what?! Tokai Teio, like Mejiro McQueen, is running uphill with a special posture, her speed not decreasing at all!"
'No wonder they're both trained by the same trainer. That posture of climbing without losing speed is truly outstanding.'
A series of exclamations came from the stands; clearly, many spectators were amazed by the climbing postures of Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio.
Facing a slope twice as steep as the one at Kyoto Racecourse, yet without any decrease in speed, this uphill running style can only be described as a feast for the eyes.
"What a perfect climb! No wonder they're the two strongest Umamusume currently active," Mr. CB remarked with a smile.
But at that moment, Maruzensky and Symboli Rudolf beside her had different expressions.
While they were also amazed by Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen's speed while climbing, they found a familiar feeling in their uphill running style.
"Rudolf, don't you feel a sense of familiarity with McQueen and Teio's climbing style?" Maruzensky asked.
"This uphill running is so smooth and effortless that it reminds me a bit of that night when McQueen won her fourth consecutive Spring Tenno Sho title. That uphill running we saw on the Academy track with that girl named 'Ogura' is very familiar."
Symboli Rudolf immediately recognized that Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio's uphill running style was exactly the same as 'Ogura'.
"That steep hill at Tokyo Racecourse is only 1.4 Meters high, but the gradient is the same as Hanshin Racecourse!" Maruzensky immediately noticed the issue and frowned as she looked at Symboli Rudolf.
"Ogura was studying McQueen and Teiō's fastest uphill running techniques for the Hanshin Racecourse!"
Symboli Rudolf quickly realized this and continued to draw connections.
"Speaking of which, the person who stepped in to help Ogura back then was the chairman, and Ms. Sakura, the trainer at TCB, has a very close relationship with the chairman…"
Now it all made sense.
"That Ogura was the Umamusume whom the chairman invited to help Teiō and McQueen with their uphill running techniques, at Sakura's request!" Symboli Rudolf concluded.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen that girl since that night. I miss her a bit."
Maruzensky touched her cheek, a sly glint in her blue eyes.
"An Umamusume who dared to decide to run away in front of us is a first."
"I thought the chairman would invite Ogura to join Tracen Academy, but she hasn't come yet. It's a bit of a shame," Symboli Rudolf said regretfully.
"Rudolf, I have a feeling. I feel like we'll be meeting that Ogura soon," Maruzensky said with a smile.
"Once the students from Pluto Academy arrive in a few days, the school will open the Umamusume area outside the school, and maybe that Ogura will come over then."
"Who are you two talking about? What Ogura?"
Mr. CB listened to Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky's conversation, completely bewildered, her mind filled with countless questions.
—
Apart from Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio, the rest of the Umamusume experienced a slight loss of speed on this steep slope, but they did not think it was a big problem; after all, it was only the beginning.
The lost speed could be quickly recovered and would not have a significant impact on the race.
"Approaching the first corner, Mejiro Palmer maintains her front-runner advantage, but this time she does not seem to have been able to create a significant gap from Mejiro McQueen in second place, only about three Lengths behind."
Mejiro Palmer swung her arms rapidly, feeling the pressure from Mejiro McQueen not far behind. She could not help but yell;
"McQueen, what are you doing?! You're chasing way too fast!!"
"We're sisters; does it have to be like this!!!"