Chapter 81. The Greedy Bamboo Memory; Famous in One Battle Part 2
After entering the first turn, Oguri Cap firmly secured her position along the inside rail. Yet she did not relax in the slightest—on the contrary, her focus sharpened even further.
Running tight to the rail conserved distance, but it also carried an undeniable risk: once boxed in, escape would be extremely difficult. With the race limited to just 1600 meters, there would be no margin for correction if she were sealed off.
Thus, even as she rounded the bend, Oguri Cap kept part of her awareness fixed on her rear, guarding against any attempt to "close the door" during the turn.
However, neither Royal Academy nor the other Uma Musumes showed any intention of doing so. Some simply failed to consider it, while Royal Academy herself judged that acting this early would be transparent to Oguri Cap.
"She's an eight-time G1 winner. If I want to block her, it can't be now—her experience would allow her to respond immediately," Royal Academy reasoned in silence as she maintained her position behind Bamboo Memory's right-rear. "If I force my way forward here, I'll have to overtake two runners at once, and my rhythm would be disrupted again. I can't allow that."
Bamboo Memory was unaware that she had narrowly avoided trouble.
Royal Academy had no intention of forcing past her here—but Bamboo Memory herself had no such patience toward Jalajeel.
"Even if I can mark Senior Oguri Cap with Jalajeel between us, once we hit the backstretch, Sabona will likely advance, based on the replays I've studied," Bamboo Memory calculated calmly. "If that happens, she and Priolo ahead could unintentionally box me in."
Her mind was clear. She knew full well that disrupting one's rhythm was dangerous—but clinging rigidly to habit would cost her more in the long run.
Thus, while Royal Academy held her line, Bamboo Memory accelerated decisively, overtaking Who's to Pay and Jalajeel on the turn.
Both of them were caught completely off guard.
She had assumed Bamboo Memory would never accelerate so aggressively on the bend and had lowered her guard—only to be passed cleanly. Their positions were exchanged in an instant.
By then, the leader, Shot Gun Scott, had just completed the opening 400 meters. The broadcast display in the viewing box flashed her split:
1/4 Mile: 23.65
"Under twenty-four seconds for four hundred meters—that's fast," Shuta An frowned slightly. "Though it's likely due to Shot Gun Scott and Go Dutch fighting for the lead early. The first two hundred meters were blistering. Once positions settled entering the turn, Shot Gun Scott began to rein it in, and Go Dutch stopped applying pressure."
He continued calmly, "They likely have a tacit understanding. If the pace stays too hot, those behind will benefit."
"But wouldn't a fast pace favor Oguri even more?" Berno Light asked casually. "In terms of stamina, Oguri is clearly the strongest in this field."
"You're not the only one who knows that," Shuta An wagged a finger. "Everyone out there understands it. That's why no one will press the leader—they'll let the pace slow to minimize Oguri's advantage."
"Then…isn't that bad?" Berno Light stiffened.
"No," Shuta An replied, still composed. "Don't forget—Oguri trained under Miss Miesque in Paris. Compared to Royal Academy, she is the strongest Mile Queen Europe has produced in recent years."
He set down the can in his hand. "People say the Nakayama 2500 tests stamina and willpower—but isn't that final uphill stretch also a test of explosive power? Once Oguri reaches the straight opposite the stands, she'll begin planning her breakout."
As Oguri Cap prepared to exit the first turn, she sensed Bamboo Memory drawing closer to her right-rear. The sound of her breathing grew distinct.
"So fast…Is she trying to restrict my acceleration later?" Oguri Cap felt a flicker of surprise. Based on Shuta An's prior analysis, Bamboo Memory favored late-closing tactics. While she possessed forward-running ability, it was never her strongest option.
"Strange—"
Oguri Cap suppressed the doubt and refocused on the turn.
"When I reach the straight, I'll shift outward a little—avoid being boxed in by Bamboo Memory."
She hadn't forgotten why she chose this Breeders' Cup Mile in the first place.
"Before Royal Academy entered, my only true opponent was Bamboo Memory."
"Forget it," Oguri Cap murmured as she exited the turn in fifth place. "At this pace, both Royal Academy and Bamboo Memory will sprint in the final stretch."
"My explosiveness is no worse than theirs," she thought calmly. "And I have one advantage none of them possess."
"I was personally coached by Senior Miesque. Even if the French 2000 Guineas is my only prior Mile race, my accumulated experience surpasses theirs."
Now fully on the straight, the Gray Uma Musume narrowed her eyes.
"What would Senior Miesque do now?"
The answer came within seconds.
Oguri Cap did not hesitate.
She subtly increased her speed, widening the gap between herself and Bamboo Memory—then took several steps outward, decisively blocking the forward paths of Bamboo Memory, Itsallgreektome, and Royal Academy behind her.
At the same time, she created a lane for Steinlen, who had started from gate ten and chosen to stay along the rail, to advance.
Bamboo Memory's pupils contracted.
Before April of last year, if one were to ask a Japanese Twinkle Series spectator, "Who is Bamboo Memory?"—99.99% of them would be unable to give a precise answer.
At best, someone with a particularly good memory might recall her as a Uma Musume active on the dirt sprint circuit. Fifteen career starts, only three victories—all of them in dirt sprint races. Moreover, she had not tasted victory since a Class 2 win in November of the previous year. If nothing unexpected occurred, Bamboo Memory would likely remain stuck at that level. Perhaps she might steal another upset if fortune smiled upon her—but regardless, she was clearly not a character destined for a protagonist's script on the dirt stakes stage.
But by the end of April, the answer would change.
"Bamboo Memory? Isn't that the Uma Musume who won her first turf mile race at Hanshin earlier this month—by five lengths, on a heavy track?"
Indeed, in the eyes of many, that decisive victory owed much to the conditions. The turf at Hanshin that day was heavy, demanding raw strength—precisely the kind of environment that suited a dirt Uma Musume like Bamboo Memory.
Yet by mid-May, after the Yasuda Kinen, even those who barely followed the Twinkle Series had heard her name.
She was the Yasuda Kinen champion of the year.
The Mile King of the spring.
"Last three furlongs in 35.1 seconds—she'll definitely shine in the Mile Championship later this year."
Expectations surged, and praise followed in abundance.
But Bamboo Memory herself did not believe that winning the Yasuda Kinen made her the strongest Mile Uma Musume in Japan.
After claiming her second Twinkle Series victory and successfully advancing into Class 2, the calendar had already turned to March of her Classic Race year.
At that time, there were no suitable OP races for dirt sprinters. Moreover, Nase Hideto judged that Bamboo Memory's relatively fragile legs were ill-suited for turf competition during this phase. Thus, he granted her a half-year break—from then until September.
For Bamboo Memory, however, this was not a vacation for indulgence.
She did not leave the Academy, nor did she travel. Her training frequency remained unchanged. Still, it was a respite of sorts, and she no longer kept her nerves perpetually stretched. When the Classic prep races began, she even went to watch them live.
It was at the Yayoi Sho that she first saw her.
The gray Uma Musume widely hailed as the "strongest"—and simultaneously, the "most regrettable" of their generation.
While watching, admiration welled up in Bamboo Memory's chest. Yet, hidden deep within her heart, there was also a quiet trace of relief.
"Oguri Cap is strong—but like me, she can't participate in the Classic Race."
After the Yayoi Sho, Bamboo Memory became an unmistakable fan of Oguri Cap. In the moments after training, watching anything related to Oguri Cap gradually turned into her favorite pastime.
So when Shuta An announced that Oguri Cap would challenge the French Classic Races, Bamboo Memory learned of it almost immediately.
"Is this a joke? That level of Twinkle Series—just going there would already be a formality for Oguri, wouldn't it?"
As a student of Central Tracen Academy, Bamboo Memory clearly understood the gulf between domestic and overseas competition. She was not optimistic in the slightest.
And yet, despite those words, she still asked her Trainer to help her book a plane ticket—and a hotel.
"What are you going to France for?" Nase Hideto agreed to help, but couldn't hide his confusion. "If your goal is to observe stronger Uma Musume, wouldn't America be more beneficial?"
Bamboo Memory answered him honestly.
Nase Hideto listened, nodded, and said nothing more. Though doubts lingered in his heart, his trainee was a fan—and he had no intention of dampening that admiration with cold words.
Thus, Bamboo Memory got what she wished for.
She stayed in France for over a month. At Longchamp, and amid the pouring rain at Chantilly, she witnessed with her own eyes her idol being crowned the "French Two Crowns." She saw firsthand how the French Twinkle Series fans adored her.
For Bamboo Memory, however, the most unforgettable image was not the life-and-death struggle in the final straight of the French Derby.
It was the French 2000 Guineas.
That lightning-fast final kick—one that seemed to shred every opponent in its path.
"If only I could race against Oguri Cap."
On the flight back to Japan, that thought filled Bamboo Memory's mind—a thought she herself considered nothing more than fantasy.
After all, her idol was a French Two Crowns Uma Musume.
And she was merely a dirt sprinter who had only just managed to enter OP class after seven races.
Yet after winning the Yasuda Kinen, that once-unreachable delusion suddenly seemed—not entirely impossible.
The impulsive proposal was not rejected—only postponed, to the following year's overseas campaign.
Although Bamboo Memory claimed only a single victory—the G2 Takamatsunomiya Kinen over 2000 meters on turf—in the first half of this year, and although everyone except Nase Hideto believed her condition was declining, she still chose to go to America. (Still G2 in 1990, this race became G1 in 1996)
To fulfill the promise made a year ago.
"Oguri-senpai probably thinks this challenge was decided a year ago," Bamboo Memory muttered, running just behind Oguri Cap's right, having been forced toward the rail after being blocked. "But in truth—I already imagined racing against you back in the spring two years ago."
Oguri Cap noticed Bamboo Memory slipping into the inside lane she herself had abandoned—but paid it no attention. Then, in the very next instant—
Bamboo Memory suddenly accelerated.
She surged up alongside Oguri Cap's left, running shoulder to shoulder—then subtly edged half a head ahead.
"Accelerating here?" Oguri Cap was genuinely startled.
They were still on the straight opposite the stands—not the final straight. Accelerating this early would inevitably dull one's momentum during the true sprint phase. This was something Miss Miesque had drilled into her relentlessly.
Bamboo Memory glanced sideways at her idol, her expression deliberately casual.
"I've realized something," she said lightly. "I'm actually quite a greedy Uma Musume."
Turning her gaze forward, she fixed her eyes on the competitors ahead, her voice firm.
"My dream isn't just to race against you anymore."
"I don't want to just admire your back."
"I want to win."
"This is—?" Shuta An rose abruptly from the sofa.
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