Chapter 88. Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Part 3
On the 2,400-meter course at Longchamp Racecourse, after the initial 400 meters, the next 600 meters of the opening straight transition into a gradual, grueling uphill slope. Under normal cruising conditions, Uma Musumes often naturally decelerate slightly here.
However, because User Friendly had accelerated between the 200 and 400-meter marks to defend her lead, her momentum as she hit the incline was visibly jarring compared to the pack cruising behind her.
"A pace change here?"
In the Student Council office at Central Tracen Academy in Japan, Maruzensky raised an eyebrow at the broadcast screen.
"Isn't that a bit too eager? There's absolutely no need to inject pace on this incline. User Friendly could have easily continued to back up the field."
"It's not that she doesn't want to hold the pace down; it's the sheer physical pressure radiating from Teio and the others right behind her. User Friendly had already burned a match to accelerate earlier, while the pack did not. So when they hit the hill, the natural compression of the field didn't occur."
Symboli Rudolf analyzed calmly.
"But because of this surge, the overall pace of the race shouldn't be as jaw-droppingly slow as it first appeared."
"I have a feeling User Friendly is going to drop the anchor again later."
Air Groove said, shaking her head.
"She seems to be running out of pure spite—a chaotic stubbornness I've seen countless times from Stay Gold."
"Stay Gold…" Symboli Rudolf sighed softly. "Is she truly determined to retire from the Twinkle Series this year?"
"Yes. She told me she's finally accepted her fate—that she simply isn't an Uma Musume destined to win a Grade 1. She plans to retire after graduating from the Academy and enroll in a sports university to become a physical education teacher."
Air Groove replied quietly.
"Alas, I don't even know what to say to that."
Symboli Rudolf shook her head, a trace of regret in her eyes.
"If it weren't for the overseas expedition trend sparked by Team Sadalsuud, Stay Gold never would have gotten it into her head to run all over the globe. If she had just focused on the domestic circuit, she still would have had several prime opportunities to capture a G1."
Maruzensky gently steered the conversation back to the live broadcast: "The split time from 400 to 600 meters was 13.1 seconds."
"The pace has quickened a fraction again." Symboli Rudolf noted, raising an eyebrow. "Is the pressure from others truly that overwhelming?"
"Although it's marginally faster, they're still logging 13-second furlongs, which is objectively a crawling pace." Maruzensky pointed out kindly. "A tempo this relaxed is absolutely ideal for Teio."
"It is ideal. I suspect Shuta-kun would be perfectly content if they maintained this glacial pace all the way around." Symboli Rudolf narrowed her eyes. "As long as User Friendly doesn't start adding fuel to the fire and compounding the pace, Teio should be fine."
"She shouldn't possess the tactical foresight to do that."
Air Groove remarked, mentally substituting Stay Gold into User Friendly's position. Regardless, she didn't believe the English filly had the tactical discipline for such a maneuver.
—
The pace is creeping up incrementally, but they still haven't broken out of the 13-second range.
Shuta An muttered to himself in the Longchamp stands.
Will the first 1,000 meters cross around the 66-second mark?
If they crossed in 66 seconds, Shuta An would breathe a massive sigh of relief.
"User Friendly continues to set a remarkably slow pace, seemingly completely abandoning the suicidal tempo she set at this year's Epsom Derby!"
The live track commentator announced.
"Tokai Teio is stalking beautifully in third, and the outside runners have made no move to press the issue. The entire field has seemingly accepted User Friendly's crawling pace!"
Down on the rail, Whiteley, User Friendly's trainer, finally felt a cold prickle of unease.
Is she intentionally setting a pace this slow because she wants to challenge Tokai Teio to a pure sprint in the final straight?!
He didn't think that was a wise idea in the slightest.
As User Friendly approached the end of the grueling opening straight, preparing to plunge into the forest and navigate the long bend, the digital timer on the jumbotron flashed the 1,000-meter split: 1:10.4.
Shuta An's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. A collective gasp of shock rippled through the Longchamp grandstands, and the Uma Musumes watching the broadcast back at Central Tracen all covered their mouths.
A 1,000-meter split of 70.4 seconds was a mind-boggling, almost incomprehensibly slow pace for elite turf racing.
"Teio-senpai must be having a picnic out there."
Gold Ship grinned widely at the TV screen.
"At a pace this slow, tracking from a prime stalking position burns absolutely zero stamina. When it's time to sprint, she's going to have a full tank of gas. It'll be a cakewalk!"
"That is logically sound, but..."
Mejiro McQueen frowned deeply, an unsettling feeling gnawing at her. She felt like she was overlooking a critical tactical variable.
Out on the track, just as User Friendly prepared to lean into the bend, Subotica—who had been coiled like a spring at the back of the pack—suddenly unleashed a violent burst of acceleration.
It didn't look like she was slogging through Longchamp's heavy, rain-soaked turf; it looked like she had been fired from an aircraft carrier's steam catapult. In a matter of strides, she rocketed from the rear of the field directly into the midfield.
But Subotica wasn't satisfied with merely improving her position. She kept her foot on the gas, aggressively surging forward, her trajectory clearly aimed at challenging Tokai Teio.
Witnessing the sudden maneuver, Mejiro McQueen instantly realized what she had overlooked.
"It is fundamentally impossible for elite European Uma Musumes to recognize a pace this slow and simply allow Teio to coast comfortably behind the leader! They are absolutely going to launch an early assault to shatter her position!"
"SUBOTICA SUDDENLY IGNITES HER ENGINES AND SURGES FORWARD! SHE HAS HER SIGHTS LOCKED DEAD ON TOKAI TEIO! HOW WILL THE JAPANESE SUPERSTAR REACT?! THERE ARE STILL OVER 1,000 METERS LEFT TO RUN! WILL SHE CHOOSE TO ENGAGE IN A BRUTAL DOGFIGHT FOR POSITION RIGHT HERE?!"
The live commentator's voice hit a fever pitch as the tactical landscape shattered.
But Shuta, watching from the stands, saw the true nightmare unfolding.
It wasn't just Subotica. Jolypha and Vert Amande were also surging violently from the back of the pack, forming a synchronized strike force.
They all recognized the glacial pace. Their trainers specifically ordered them to launch a coordinated mid-race assault to reclaim lost ground and put immense physical and psychological pressure on Teio.
The young man realized, his brow furrowing in deep concern.
During their pre-race simulations, Shuta An had predicted that someone might attempt a mid-race move, but he had assumed only Subotica had the stamina to risk it. He had severely underestimated the tactical aggression of Vert Amande and Jolypha on this heavy track.
This sudden, highly coordinated tactical shift meant that instead of merely fending off Subotica, Tokai Teio was now facing the crushing, simultaneous pressure of three elite European challengers.
Ahead of the chaos, User Friendly predictably decelerated slightly as she leaned into the bend, obeying basic physics.
Tokai Teio was instantly thrust into a brutal dilemma: she could either surrender her prime stalking position, drop back, and pray she found a clear lane in the final straight, or she could burn the massive reserves of stamina she had conserved during the slow pace to engage in a vicious, four-way dogfight for position with over 1,300 meters still left to run.
Teio—whatever choice you make, I trust you.
Shuta An thought, gripping the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white.
—
Down on the turf, Teio's finely tuned instincts screamed that the predatory aura closing in on her didn't belong to a single opponent. But navigating the treacherous curve, she couldn't afford to look over her shoulder to assess the threat.
She had to calculate her response blind.
It feels like four of them are rushing me. Probably because User Friendly's pace is so agonizingly slow that everyone is losing their patience? she hypothesized rapidly. But this aggressive intent—it feels entirely focused on me—
A few strides later, Tokai Teio mentally scolded her own naivety.
Idiot. If they were just impatient with the pace, they would be attacking User Friendly for the lead. They aren't.
They're attacking me because they know User Friendly's crawling pace is allowing me to stockpile too much stamina. They're executing a coordinated strike to force me into an early dogfight. They want me to burn my fuel now, so I have nothing left for the final sprint.
Having perfectly diagnosed her opponents' tactical intent—mirroring Shuta An's analysis from the stands—two distinct options flashed through her mind.
Do I surrender the position?
The Undefeated Triple Crown winner agonized over the choice.
Logically, Tokai Teio knew that yielding the spot would preserve her massive stamina advantage. But she couldn't see exactly who was pushing her.
If the one applying the pressure and the one who slips past me to steal the spot aren't the same girl, then this is a coordinated team tactic. If I obediently step aside, I'll be walking right into their trap.
She deduced, her hesitation growing.
Before she could finalize her decision, Subotica arrived at her left rear flank, radiating aggression, ready to surge forward and violently steal her lane.
I'm out of time.
Tokai Teio realized, feeling the surging momentum of the European strike force crashing over her like a tidal wave.
"TOKAI TEIO IS DRIFTING OUTWARD! IS SHE PREPARING TO SURRENDER HER PRIME POSITION?!"
The live commentator, hyper-focused on the vanguard, immediately spotted her lateral movement.
The guest commentator chimed in with clinical analysis.
"SHE HAS NO OTHER VIABLE OPTION. WITH THREE OPPONENTS SURGING TO APPLY PRESSURE, AND SUBOTICA PREPARING TO SWING WIDE FOR A FORCEFUL OVERTAKE, TOKAI TEIO WAS TRAPPED. EVEN IF SHE HELD HER LINE, SUBOTICA WOULD HAVE EVENTUALLY OVERWHELMED HER AND STOLEN THE POSITION, UNLESS TOKAI TEIO CHOSE TO AGGRESSIVELY ACCELERATE AND DEFEND IT. CLEARLY, SHE WISELY CHOSE TO HOLD HER FIRE."
"A VERY PRAGMATIC DECISION." the primary commentator agreed. "THERE ARE STILL OVER 1,000 METERS TO GO. IF SHE INITIATED A SPRINT HERE, THE MASSIVE STAMINA RESERVES SHE BUILT UP DURING THE SLOW PACE WOULD BE ENTIRELY SQUANDERED. EXERCISING RESTRAINT HERE IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL FOR HER CHANCES IN THE FINAL STRETCH."
Listening to the broadcast analysis, Shuta An simply narrowed his eyes in silence.
—
"Teio-senpai surrendered her position—" Rice Shower murmured back in Japan, her ears drooping nervously. "Something feels wrong."
"Yeah, no kidding." Mayano Top Gun agreed, leaning forward. "If this were the old Teio, she would have hit the gas with a 'whoosh!' and kicked all of them to the ends of the earth just to prove a point. She doesn't usually back down from a dogfight."
"It's exactly like when we play Street Fighter." Mayano Top Gun continued, shaking her head. "Even when blocking is the optimal move, Teio always tries to force a counter-attack, messes up the timing, and eats my entire combo. But, as she's gotten better at the game, that doesn't happen nearly as often."
—
In the Student Council office, Maruzensky sighed softly.
"Choosing a tactical retreat here was unavoidable. The European Uma Musumes are absolute masters of these coordinated pack tactics. Teio is entirely alone out there with no teammates to absorb the pressure. Exercising extreme caution is a sign of growth."
"I agree." Symboli Rudolf nodded, her expression softening. "I am incredibly proud that Teio chose to compromise her pride for the sake of the race. The old Tokai Teio would have undoubtedly hit the accelerator and engaged in a suicidal brawl with Subotica."
"She's matured so much." Maruzensky smiled warmly. "It's a wonderful thing to see. I honestly feel like she's ready to take over Rudolf-chan's role when the time comes."
"That is still a long way off."
Symboli Rudolf replied gently, deflecting the suggestion.
Despite her modest denial, the 'Emperor's' smile was even brighter and more profound than Maruzensky's.
—
Out on the track, Tokai Teio had drifted into the outer lanes, forcing herself to run a significantly wider, longer distance around the bend. But she wasn't demoralized in the slightest.
This is fine. Yes, I'm running extra distance, but the stamina cost of running wide is negligible compared to the massive reserves I've already banked.
She calculated coldly.
Meanwhile, Subotica and her strike team now have to awkwardly decelerate and try to settle back into a cruising rhythm. The stamina tax they just paid to execute that massive change of pace is monumental. Mathematically, they haven't actually gained any real advantage.
Framing the tactical exchange in those terms, Tokai Teio's mood improved significantly.
But she had absolutely no intention of letting Subotica and her accomplices off the hook.
I am, admittedly, an incredibly petty person most of the time.
Tokai Teio thought to herself, glaring at the back of Subotica, who was now fixated on Sapience.
If it weren't for Ann... no, precisely because I am running for Ann, I am going to make you suffer during the final sprint.
As for exactly how she intended to exact her revenge, Tokai Teio already had a devastating plan in mind.
As User Friendly led the pack out of the sweeping bend and broke free from the Bois de Boulogne forest, the live commentator's voice reached a fever pitch:
"THEY HAVE CLEARED THE FOREST! ONLY 800 METERS REMAIN TO THE FINISH LINE!"
The digital timer flashed the elapsed race time: 1:50.9.
1,600 meters in 110.9 seconds. In Japan, a time that slow would frequently fail to win a standard 1,800-meter allowance race. And because of this historically, agonizingly slow pace, Tokai Teio had already begun to seamlessly adjust her mechanics.
Breathing rhythm is optimal! Stamina reserves are near maximum! Stride frequency is perfectly calibrated! And because I drifted wide, I'm already in the clear—I don't even need to waste energy weaving through traffic to find a lane!
The Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume began priming her biological engine for the impending sprint as they straightened out of the bend.
The unique geometry of Longchamp's Arc course contains a notorious tactical trap: exiting the solitary bend does not mean you can immediately launch your final sprint. The course funnels into a deceptive 250-meter "false straight." followed by a blunt, awkward dogleg, and only then does it open up into the true, punishing 500-meter final stretch.
Shuta had ruthlessly drilled this specific topographical quirk into her head almost daily. Teio had it memorized down to the millimeter.
Her plan was flawless: she would utilize this 250-meter false straight to fully spool up her engine and perfectly align her mechanics. Then, the absolute millisecond they hit the true final straight, she would unleash a catastrophic surge of pure velocity and teach Subotica and the European elite a brutal lesson—
Teamwork and pack tactics might win you a momentary positional advantage. But what ultimately decides the race is absolute, overwhelming individual supremacy!
And to perfectly demonstrate her "individual supremacy."
Tokai Teio knew she couldn't hold anything back. She had to annihilate them.
As they crossed the halfway point of the false straight, Tokai Teio briefly closed her eyes. With terrifying, practiced ease, she shattered her mental limiters and stepped directly into the 'Zone.'