"Oh, Pony-chan seems angry."
Maruzensky stroked her cheek, watching Sakura Baimu, whose head was pressed against Golden Crown Eagle's forehead, with amusement.
"It seems Ogura didn't come here willingly; Golden Crown Eagle forced her," Symboli Rudolf spoke.
"I just received a call that Queen Beret from the middle division was injured and taken to the hospital. The chairman sent Trainer Sakura, who happened to be at the hospital, to check on her, and then Ogura came. It seems that the one who injured the Umamusumes at the academy these past few days is this Golden Crown Eagle."
"As expected, Ogura and Trainer Sakura have quite a relationship. Perhaps this is the secret to TCB's rapid rise," Maruzensky chuckled.
"During the day, both McQueen and Golden Crown Eagle were stunned by her aura after their match, and it took them a while to recover. Now that it's nighttime, Golden Crown Eagle will definitely be even more unrestrained," Symboli Rudolf said.
"Even so, judging from how intimidated Golden Crown Eagle is by Ogura's aura, Ogura's aura must be quite formidable. Given that, she shouldn't be as terrified as McQueen is by Golden Crown Eagle's Zone, right?"
"Golden Crown Eagle during the day was probably holding back…"
Symboli Rudolf looked at Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu who had already reached the starting line with a somewhat grim expression.
"Golden Crown Eagle has already caused three Umamusumes to end up in the hospital. If we don't intervene, who knows how many more Umamusumes will be harmed."
"Without evidence, can you or I intervene? After all, she's still an active-duty Umamusume. Taking action without decisive evidence might give us a bad reputation."
"I think Ogura probably already has evidence. She's clearly targeting Golden Crown Eagle."
"It's quite pathetic, really. This year's Umamusume is really...aside from the badly injured Rice Shower, we don't have anyone else unlocked this level of power. If there were an active-duty member capable of punishing her, neither of us would be in this predicament," Maruzensky sighed.
"Regardless, I'll have to step in after Ogura finishes her race. I can't let her harm other Umamusumes so recklessly." Symboli Rudolf spoke in a low voice, arms crossed, staring at the two on the track.
This time, Maruzensky and Symboli Rudolf tacitly avoided discussing the outcome.
They knew that having forced Ogura to intervene late at night, Golden Crown Eagle would definitely unleash her full power.
Lower-level ability is something manageable, but considering the strength of the powers Golden Crown Eagle displayed in her match against Mejiro McQueen today…
They didn't believe for a second that "Ogura," this Umamusume without a Zone, could defeat her.
--
On the Zone, both Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu assumed starting positions.
Only after standing at the starting line did Golden Crown Eagle's mood improve slightly.
"I've suddenly realized that defeating you self-proclaimed powerful Umamusumes is far more interesting and satisfying than bullying the weaker ones."
Golden Crown Eagle held out a coin, grinning maliciously at Sakura Baimu beside her.
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'The villain dies from talking too much'?"
Sakura Baimu stared straight ahead, speaking calmly, unmoved by Golden Crown Eagle's provocation.
"You've already said all that sarcasm; aren't you afraid of getting slapped in the face later?"
"You can only be smug for now. After the match, I'm going to enjoy seeing your confidence shattered, just like Mejiro McQueen this afternoon. It'll be irresistible."
Golden Crown Eagle noticed that after she said that, Sakura Baimu finally reacted.
Sakura Baimu slowly turned to look at her...
"I must commend you; your sarcastic remark was very effective. Here's another piece of advice: don't hold back during the run later."
"Heh."
Golden Crown Eagle chuckled, flicking the coin in her hand into the air.
The silvery coin reflected the pale moonlight against the night sky, tumbling several times before landing on the turf.
Thump
Almost simultaneously, two muffled thuds rang out, so synchronized they sounded like a single sound.
Sakura Baimu and Golden Crown Eagle charged forward simultaneously, the two already having created a gap in the early stages.
Sakura Baimu was leading, while Golden Crown Eagle chose to follow behind pacing herself.
This development perfectly suited Golden Crown Eagle's intentions.
She was accustomed to running from behind, and the most intimidating aspect of her Zone was overtaking from behind.
This time, Sakura Baimu chose to lead directly from the front, which pleased her even more than the last time when she deliberately followed behind.
Symboli Rudolf, watching from the sidelines, pressed the timer on her phone at the same moment the two started, wanting to see the true strength of this "Ogura."
Sakura Baimu's leading speed was incredibly fast, completely different from her running style last night when she followed behind Golden Crown Eagle.
And it wasn't just simple leading; to Golden Crown Eagle and the surrounding Umamusumes, this was Runaway running.
"As expected, she does have some brains. She knows the pressure of me overtaking her from behind will be immense, so she wants to create a huge gap between us from the start."
Golden Crown Eagle watched Sakura Baimu running rapidly ahead with a smile, inwardly scoffing again.
"I must say, it's definitely faster than Mejiro McQueen's Front Running. However, even Suzuka only uses a Runaway approach. Throughout uma racing history, only Mejiro Palmer has ever won a G1 race using a runaway tactic, but in that race, Takarazuka Kinen, there were practically no strong opponents."
Even the legendary Umamusume, the undefeated "Hotrod" Maruzensky, wouldn't choose this Runaway running style.
This running style is essentially a reckless and impulsive tactic, involving excessive leading in the early stages, exhausting energy in the mid-to-late stages to create an early lead.
Any Umamusume using this style will inevitably lose speed towards the end.
Even Mejiro Palmer, the champion of Takarazuka Kinen, is no exception.
Of course, Silent Suzuka is not included in this calculation, because although her leading appears fast, she actually maintains her speed until the end, making it a tactically significant form of leading.
Moreover, Sakura Baimu's leading speed at this moment is even faster than Silent Suzuka's.