Chapter 42 Victory... Decided from the Opening Phase!
All seven competitors entered the starting gates, preparing for the initial sprint out of the gates.
It's finally about to begin—the showdown with these opponents.
Stardust Mirage had been looking forward to this since a week ago. This was also the direct reason she agreed to Toyama Hikaru using Symboli Rudolf's favor for this matter.
[Don't you want to compete against the top competitors at Central, and even the French team?]
At that time, seeing that Stardust Mirage was unwilling to cooperate no matter what, Toyama Hikaru accurately seized her competitive spirit and persuaded her with those words.
Apart from Oguri Cap, whom she only trained with, these five horse girls before her were the strongest opponents she had faced so far.
Just standing alongside them, the pressure she felt even surpassed that from Tokai Teio during her debut race.
Although a few of them might not be in their absolute peak condition, these formidable opponents had already stirred up a whirlwind named [Competitive Spirit] in Stardust Mirage's heart.
She wanted to run, to defeat them, to claim first place.
Now, whenever Stardust Mirage stepped onto the grass track, she was filled with a desire for victory.
The key to victory lies in... that!
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The key to victory lies in... the final three-furlong sprint!
At this moment, the five horse girls other than Team Draco in the starting gates thought in unison. This was also the consensus among short-distance race competitors.
However, would it really go as they wished?
[Alright, all competitors are ready. The race is about to begin!]
[The conditions for this training race are 1400 meters, short distance, counterclockwise track, firm turf. Let's all witness together who will take the lead and seize the opportunity to exchange and learn with the French team...]
Toot—!
With the sound of a steam whistle, the gates before everyone suddenly opened, marking the official start of the race!
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop...
The footsteps of the seven horse girls interwove, the sound of hoofbeats on the ground incessant.
Three front-runners, two pace chaser, two end closer.
The condition of the turf was excellent, coupled with suitable temperature, sunlight, and a breeze that wouldn't affect the race. It could be said that today's racing conditions were impeccable, leaving no room for criticism.
Taiki Shuttle, as the most experienced runner among the competitors, not only possessed more racing experience than the others but also had an intimate knowledge of mile and short-distance tracks.
Although in public races, most spectators were willing to call her the absolute king of mile races, few knew that short-distance races were also within Taiki Shuttle's expertise.
Relying on her powerful physical strength, she often adopted a tactic of staying slightly behind in the early stages to follow her opponents, using the slipstream created by their wind-breaking to reduce the burden of running.
Then, in the mid-to-late stages, she would suddenly explode with a burst of speed, using her final three-furlong kick to break through decisively and secure the entire race.
"Although today isn't my most familiar rainy, heavy turf condition... it doesn't matter too much. I'll just maintain this rhythm."
Having already completed her initial sprint early, Taiki Shuttle thought this as she adjusted her position to gradually hug the inner rail, choosing which leading horse girl to follow.
The two horse girls of Team Draco, just as Toujou Hana had analyzed before the race, immediately seized the leading positions.
Led by Mihono Bourbon, with Stardust Fantasy closely following, the two maintained the same posture, heads down, sprinting forward. At this start, no one could be faster than these two leaders.
But this will consume extra stamina, little ones.
Taiki Shuttle watched these two reckless newbie horse girls charging ahead and chuckled inwardly.
She knew that many horse girls, when debuting, would try to win races by leading, as this running style faced the least interference from opponents, making it seem more suitable for inexperienced newcomers.
However, this was actually a major misconception, because the competition among horse girls went far beyond just battling for position.
The distribution of stamina, the choice of acceleration zones, when to unleash the final kick, how to handle curves... all of these required horse girls to make real-time judgments during the race.
When their positions were front, pace, or closer, all these judgments could be made by referencing other horse girls within their field of vision. Such newcomers, even if slightly lacking in experience, could often arrive at a reasonable answer.
But when in the leader position, all of this had to be decided by the leading horse girls themselves. And if their choices in any aspect went wrong, this illusory lead would immediately turn into poison that strangled their chances of victory, utterly destroying the newcomers' confidence in one fell swoop.
Thinking of this, Taiki Shuttle slightly turned her head to observe the other opponents in this race.
The two closers, Hishi Amazon and Gold Ship, weren't particularly threatening. This race was only 1400 meters—a distance that was inherently and unreasonably disadvantageous for closers. This was undoubtedly a deliberate choice made by Trainer Toyama Hikaru.
As for the other two horse girls forming the front-running group with her: Narita Brian and Mejiro McQueen, both were known for their strength in long distances.
In such a short-distance race, they would likely leverage their strengths, using long accelerations to compensate for their shortcomings in short-distance bursts.
At this moment, Mejiro McQueen seemed to be performing conventionally, with nothing particularly noteworthy. But Narita Brian was acting somewhat strangely.
This [Shadow-Roll Monster] belonged to the same team as Taiki Shuttle. They often trained side-by-side during team practices, and from these sessions, Taiki Shuttle clearly recognized that this newcomer horse girl who had just debuted this year—Narita Brain—possessed formidable strength, definitely at a level where she could compete with Taiki Shuttle.
Even on slightly longer tracks, if Taiki Shuttle wasn't careful, Narita Brian could snatch victory. Even the senior in their team, Maruzensky, had repeatedly praised Narita Brian's outstanding potential.
But Taiki Shuttle could clearly feel that today, Narita Brian's running style was full of flaws. One could even say she had thrown herself into disarray from the very start of the race. What on earth was going on?
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Damn it, my condition is terrible...
Narita Brian gritted her teeth as she closely followed behind Mejiro McQueen, inwardly lamenting.
Yesterday, she had fallen for a trick and was dragged to watch a horror-themed horse girl movie at night.
Although Narita Brian was seen by most people around her as a silent, aloof, and excellent horse girl, in reality, her courage was pathetically small!
As a child, she was often scared to the point of wailing by her own shadow, and this even left her with psychological trauma.
Even after growing up, if she suddenly saw a shadow while fully concentrated on running, it could scare her into losing her form. For a period, she even had to wear shadow-blocking blinders to prevent such incidents from affecting her condition.
After watching the movie last night, she tossed and turned in bed, utterly unable to sleep. The moment she closed her eyes, she would recall that mysterious horse girl chasing the protagonist's trainer with a chainsaw.
The exhaustion from a sleepless night, coupled with the lingering fear in her heart, made it difficult for Narita Brian to even take steps in a standard posture.
Even though she was now trying her best to adjust, in such a high-quality match, even the slightest gap was enough to decide victory or defeat!
Watching the other two front-running horse girls—Taiki Shuttle and Mejiro McQueen—already running ahead of her, Narita Taishin gritted her teeth.
She could only temporarily stabilize her rhythm and consider overtaking them after her body adapted to the race.
As for the two leading horse girls further ahead, her thoughts were largely the same as Taiki Shuttle's. A newcomer leading was actually the least threatening running style to her, even easier to handle than closers.
The final opponents in this race would most likely be Mejiro McQueen and Taiki Shuttle. Whether it was the Mejiro family with their extraordinary stamina or Taiki Shuttle, the dominator of mile races, their final burst power would undoubtedly be astonishing. It could be said that Narita Brian had no advantage whatsoever. But...
Just because of such external factors, have I already lost the right to claim victory... Could it be that, just at the start of the race, I should give up now?
No, that's utterly ridiculous!
There's no reason to give up. Even temporary disadvantages cannot stop me. Victory is never something simply decided by comparing advantages—
If there's a high wall blocking my path to victory, then I'll trample it with these legs!
Unknowingly, the fear in Narita Brain's heart had completely vanished, and her footsteps became increasingly even.
Even though her physical condition wasn't at its best, she had completely overcome the impact of her early mistakes and was closely following behind the two front-running horse girls.
She slightly raised her head, watching Taiki Shuttle run directly behind the two leaders, always staying in line with them. Together with Mihono Bourbon and the other two in front, they formed a straight line running on the track.
For now, I'll maintain this rhythm through the first half of the race, and then force a breakthrough after that... What?
Before Narita Brian's eyes, the two at the very front of the field showed no intention of controlling their speed. They poured their full strength into every step, increasing their speed without reserve, pulling further and further away.
Seeing this scene, a hint of confusion couldn't help but arise in Brian's heart:
What are they doing? The early acceleration of leaders is meant to seize the leading position and gain the right to choose the optimal racing line.
But now, no one else is competing with them for the lead. Why are they still accelerating...
—Wait, they're not leading at all!
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"A runaway lead!?"
Ryu Nishizaki stared dumbfounded at the race scene, then abruptly turned to look at Toyama Hikaru standing beside him.
"You actually had them choose a runaway lead against Taiki Shuttle!? That's the running style with the highest stamina demands, and their opponent is the King of Mile Races... Are you trying to ruin these two horse girls!?"
Ryu Nishizaki had reason to be so agitated. A runaway lead was inherently an all-out running style for horse girls. From the very beginning, they accelerated at full force, squeezing every ounce of potential from their bodies to gain a distance advantage.
Then, in the late stages of the race, already completely exhausted, they would face the pressure from the chasing horse girls behind. If they panicked even slightly, their bodies, already pushed to the limit, could easily suffer mishaps.
And mishaps during such high-speed running often meant irreversible consequences!
Even if no mishaps occurred, a runaway lead was also the most physically taxing running style for horse girls. Especially since a horse girl in Ryu Nishizaki's team had already experienced one who, due to a runaway lead, had to go to the United States for recuperation.
"Ruin them? Tch, I'd never do something that stupid."
Toyama Hikaru curled her lip. "Do you know what their stamina is like now? Don't judge them with old eyes, Ryu."
"A double runaway lead is a tactic the three of us have been preparing for a week. Just watch—Bourbon and Stardust will crush your and Hana's goody-two-shoes umamsumes!"
She bared her shark-like sharp teeth in a grin.
Behind these two trainers, a spectator in the stands overheard their conversation. He turned to the pink-haired horse girl beside him, who had a creepy, expression.
This little pink-haired girl had a band-aid on her forehead and had been staring straight at the competitors on the field since earlier, emitting suspicious giggles while the click-clack of her camera never ceased.
Although the staff member didn't understand what this horse girl was laughing about, that didn't stop him from asking her about the technical details:
"You're a Central horse girl from the academy, right? Could you explain to me what a double runaway lead means? Does it just mean two people running a leader's style together?"
"Ehehe, a double runaway lead is a special case of the runaway lead tactic. It means two horse girls doing a runaway lead together."
Agnes Digital also recognized that the person asking was a staff member from the academy, so she temporarily stopped her photography and kindly explained:
"Generally, a solo front-running strategy is entirely controlled by the horse girl herself. She seizes the lead within the first three furlongs after the start, then continues accelerating to establish an absolute advantage, making it impossible for the remaining horse girls to close the gap in sufficient time."
"The drawback is that this strategy requires continuous acceleration from the very beginning, consuming a tremendous amount of stamina and relying entirely on oneself to fight against wind resistance."
"But a dual front-running strategy is different. Because the two front-runners can form a running echelon—meaning as long as the horse girl in front is willing to help the one behind break the wind and match her pace for acceleration—the one behind will conserve a significant amount of stamina for the latter part of the race!"
As she spoke, Agnes Digital's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
She had always loved watching horse girls compete on the track, and this special dual front-running strategy was something rarely seen, perhaps only once every few years.
Sneaking out of the hospital had definitely been worth it—even if she died now, she'd gotten her money's worth!
"But in that case, wouldn't the other horse girls remain unaffected? Wouldn't they just catch up again in the latter half of the race?"
The staff member beside her asked another question.
"No, you have to understand… the most terrifying aspect of the front-running strategy has never been speed or acceleration."
Agnes Digital replied:
"This race is a short-distance track. Once this dual front-running pair opens up a sufficient gap, even if they don't have enough acceleration in the latter half, the other horse girls won't have enough distance to close it."
"So just watch. This race is definitely going to be so thrilling you won't be able to blink!"
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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