Chapter 82. Famous in One Battle Part 3
Shuta An felt it immediately.
The aura emanating from Bamboo Memory at this moment was identical to what he had once sensed from Tamamo Cross.
"Well—in a race Oguri is participating in, this is the first-time other Uma Musume who has just awakened her 'Zone' has appeared—"
Yet Shuta An did not feel nervous.
Because he knew one thing with absolute certainty—if the decisive point of this race truly came down to the 'Zone,' then even if Bamboo Memory were joined by every other Uma Musume on the track, they still would not be able to match Oguri Cap.
And reality unfolded exactly as he expected.
Bamboo Memory did not recklessly rely on the unprecedented power surging within her. Instead, she ran ahead of Oguri Cap with composure, maintaining a firm one-length gap. She neither hastened nor stirred chaos simply because her strength had suddenly multiplied.
Oguri Cap, of course, sensed the 'Zone' radiating from Bamboo Memory.
Yet she chose not to answer it with her own.
"Going all out now would be respect—but if I release my 'Zone' in my current situation, this race would definitely gone awry."
Suppressing her impulse, Oguri Cap followed steadily behind, biding her time—waiting for the final turn, where she intended to plan her true acceleration and pull decisively away from the pack.
—
Royal Academy noticed Bamboo Memory's abnormal, sustained acceleration to improve her position. But she could not think deeply about it. In her current state, she could barely think at all.
"My condition is terrible—" The deer-haired Mile Queen felt light-headed, her thoughts sluggish. "Is this heatstroke…?"
She instinctively guessed the cause of her decline—but there was no remedy left now. This race, which should have crowned her, would have to be completed with less than half of her usual strength.
Still, Royal Academy refused to give up.
"I have to try…no matter what."
She bit her lip.
On Oguri Cap's right side, there was enough space for two Uma Musume to run side by side.
"So that's why Oguri Cap isn't rushing," Royal Academy realized. "With this much room, she can calmly plan her breakout route when we reach the turn."
Royal Academy bit the tip of her tongue, sharp pain snapping her mind into focus.
"Then…I'll borrow this space."
—
As the field thundered down the straight opposite the stands, Shuta An stood up from the sofa and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Rather than watching the TV feed, he fixed his gaze on the massive live screen inside the racecourse itself.
"Royal Academy choosing to force a move this early—" he murmured, "That alone proves how severely the heat has affected her."
In Shuta An's eyes, Royal Academy's next action was obvious.
"She'll accelerate from Oguri's right, surge forward, and try to block Oguri's acceleration lane—forcing both Oguri and Bamboo Memory into an early sprint."
"Trying to drag down the rivals she sees as stronger than herself—" Shuta An scoffed softly. "How vicious."
Unhurried, he turned back, picked up his unfinished can of sparkling water, and took a sip.
"If it were Oguri—she'd accept that challenge head-on. And once she does—Royal Academy will regret it."
—
Just as Shuta An predicted.
After firming her resolve, Royal Academy immediately accelerated, filling the diagonal gap Oguri Cap had deliberately left open. And she did not stop there. As she drew level, Royal Academy cast a sharp glance at the gray Uma Musume—then pushed her speed up another notch.
In mere seconds, before the final turn, Royal Academy slid smoothly into third place.
Oguri Cap noticed the maneuver clearly. She merely frowned.
"Accelerating this early…should I follow?"
The thought crossed her mind—and vanished just as quickly.
Yes.
After confirming that Bamboo Memory would not suddenly cut across her path, Oguri Cap calmly adjusted her breathing. Her stride lengthened. Her cadence quickened. The explosive power hidden deep within her body began to surface, slowly but unmistakably.
Her speed began to pull away from the runners behind.
Twenty meters into the final turn, Oguri Cap drew level with Royal Academy—running shoulder to shoulder on her left.
Bamboo Memory, of course, refused to be left behind.
The instant Oguri Cap accelerated, Bamboo Memory responded with an even sharper burst. With superior instantaneous output, she surged forward, catching up to both rivals. Three Uma Musume now ran abreast, completely sealing off the inner lane and crushing the hopes of those behind who had intended to slip through.
But the runners behind were not foolish. Seeing the situation, they all chose to accelerate early.
Everyone understood the cost—accelerating now meant dulled strides and depleted stamina by the time they reached the 210-meter final straight at Gulfstream Park. Yet not accelerating would make closing the gap created by Oguri Cap and Royal Academy nearly impossible later.
Between two evils, this was the lesser.
As for Bamboo Memory?
The American Uma Musumes judged her differently. They believed that when the time came, the Japanese Uma Musume caught between Oguri Cap and Royal Academy would be the first to lose speed—and become an obstacle rather than a threat.
Their judgment was not wrong.
Halfway through the final turn, Bamboo Memory's footwork visibly destabilized.
Her stamina was nearly spent.
The camera zoomed in on her face.
Shuta An raised an eyebrow. Bamboo Memory's expression was no longer composed—it was strained, contorted by sheer will.
"Two consecutive pace changes," he explained calmly to Berno Light beside him, "followed by forcibly matching the sprint timing of Royal Academy and Oguri—For Bamboo Memory as she is now, holding on until the 400-meter mark is already impressive."
"But Miss Bamboo Memory doesn't need that kind of praise, does she?" Berno Light shot back.
Indeed—
Bamboo Memory herself thought the same.
"I still want to win!"
That emotion rippled outward.
Oguri Cap felt it.
She cast a deep glance at Bamboo Memory on her left—respect flickering in her eyes for the Uma Musume who had dared to challenge her recklessly a year ago. Then, she lowered her center of gravity ever so slightly.
"I'm accelerating again."
She didn't need to say it aloud.
Both Royal Academy and Bamboo Memory understood her intent instantly. Understanding what Oguri Cap was about to do did not mean they could stop her.
Neither Bamboo Memory—already drained of stamina—nor Royal Academy, dizzy and disoriented from heatstroke, could respond as the Gray Uma Musume launched her second acceleration during an early sprint, effortlessly shaking them off.
They could only watch as she surged away.
"Early acceleration and high-speed pacing both trade stamina for positional advantage," Shuta An said lightly as Oguri Cap widened the gap. "And stamina and guts happens to be Oguri's greatest strength—far beyond the other ten Uma Musume on this track."
His tone relaxed, confidence fully restored.
"We can start preparing to enjoy Oguri's winning live."
—
Before even entering the final straight, Oguri Cap had already opened a lead of one and a half lengths—victory all but secured.
"Royal Academy's camp was completely unprepared," Shuta An shook his head. "Letting their Uma Musume suffer heatstroke on race day—a harsh lesson for her Trainer."
His sarcasm was unmistakable.
"When campaigning abroad, you don't assume November isn't hot. Do they really not study geography?"
—
At this moment, Steinlen—who had climbed into second place—stared blankly at Oguri Cap's back.
The Gray Uma Musume had accelerated earlier than anyone else, yet her stride remained powerful, her stamina seemingly endless.
The image reflected in Steinlen's pupils overlapped with a memory from two years ago.
Miesque.
The European Mile Queen who had once left her four lengths behind in this very race.
"She's—so similar," Steinlen thought, pain flickering across her face. "Especially that running form. I heard Oguri Cap has a connection to Miesque"
Her legs continued to move mechanically, her speed barely fading—but her heart had already frozen.
"Why?" she cried silently. "Miesque retired, and now Oguri Cap appears. Am I simply not destined to win this race?!"
No one heard her.
No one cared.
Because all eyes—at the track and across the ocean in Japan—were fixed on Oguri Cap, the Gray Uma Musume who had left everyone behind.
—
"Oguri Cap pulls clear! Oguri Cap leads!"
American and Japanese commentators shouted in unison.
"The first Breeders' Cup Mile at Gulfstream Park Racecourse! Oguri Cap's first appearance in the Breeders' Cup—and her first display of such terrifying explosive power! The European Mile Queen doesn't matter! Two-time Turf Mile runner-up doesn't matter! Japan's Mile champion doesn't matter!"
"In front of Oguri Cap—everyone can only bow their heads!"
"The French Two Crowns Uma Musume reminds us of a forgotten truth—the first race of the French Classics is also a Mile! She conquered her contemporaries on Longchamp's 1600 meters, a course unsuited to her natural strengths!"
"She may be a seven-time champion at middle and long distances—but she is also a genius on the Mile circuit!"
The American commentator roared.
The Japanese commentator had practically collapsed onto his desk, microphone clutched in one hand, shouting with near-mad fervor:
"She's still accelerating! Oguri Cap is still accelerating! No Uma Musume can catch her—no one can catch her!"
—
"It's 4:15 AM in Tokyo."
"Many are still asleep. Many are lying awake, crushed by work and life. These are difficult years—after the bubble burst, no one has it easy."
"If you feel lost about the future—if you've lost hope—if you've given up on yourself—then look at Oguri Cap!"
"Look at this Uma Musume who embodies our hope!"
—
By the floor-to-ceiling window, Shuta An and Berno Light stood silently.
Shuta An stared at Oguri Cap's figure, muttering to himself:
"Was I…holding her back all this time?"
"Is the difference between distance adaptability A and A+ really this overwhelming?"
Oguri Cap's previous G1 Mile—the French 2000 Guineas—had been run at Longchamp, a track ill-suited to her. Now, on the dry turf of Gulfstream Park, the Gray Uma Musume finally revealed the terrifying truth of her A+ Mile adaptability, refined under Miesque's guidance.
—
"Oguri Cap leads! Second—Steinlen! Third—Itsallgreektome! Royal Academy is falling back!"
With 100 meters remaining, the commentator rapidly called out the positions.
Oguri Cap felt exhilarated.
During countless training sessions, she had wondered what Silence Suzuka meant by the view from the front.
Now, she understood.
"No one can keep up with me" she murmured. "No wonder Suzuka loves this feeling so much."
—
In the lounge, Silence Suzuka—dressed casually—stared at the TV, eyes shining with envy.
"That's amazing…" she whispered. "Oguri-senpai can leave everyone so far behind."
She knew her own limits. Without executing a grand escape, she could never experience what Oguri Cap-senpai was feeling now. For an instant, the thought crossed her mind—replicating the Secretariat Stakes escape later at Gulfstream Park.
But Shuta An's disappointed expression flashed into her thoughts.
The idea vanished immediately.
—
As that thought faded, the commentator's roar thundered once more:
"Like a dream! Oguri Cap dominates her first G1 Mile against many senior Uma Musume! From Mile to middle distance—she proves herself the strongest in the world!"
—
In another private box, Miesque watched alongside Secretariat, grinning from ear to ear.
"This is the junior I taught," she said bluntly. "Smarter—and far more sensible—than those muscle-brained girls on the West Coast."
She crossed her arms, satisfied.
"With this—poor Royal Academy's 'Mile Queen' title belongs to Oguri Cap now."
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