Chapter 246: She's Coming!
Gentildonna wasn't particularly skilled at front running. However, as the fourth Triple Crown-winning filly in racing history and a seven-time G1 champion, she had no difficulty understanding what Deep Impact was saying.
When she responded to Deep Impact, her tone was completely different from the teasing and casual attitude she used with Orfevre. It was filled with respect.
"I see… So she's using bursts of instantaneous acceleration and endurance to compensate for shortcomings in acceleration and top speed?" After thinking for a moment, she asked tentatively.
Watching the situation unfolding on the racetrack, Deep Impact nodded approvingly.
"That's right. For someone like you, increasing speed doesn't cost much stamina, and your maximum speed is also very high."
"But for Kitasan, the best way to reach top speed in a short time is through repeated bursts of acceleration."
"Maintaining speed and repeatedly bursting forward are two very different things. The latter causes stamina consumption to increase exponentially."
"If she uses that method too early, she could easily lose speed during the middle phase of the race."
Gentildonna showed a convinced expression. After nodding, however, she brought up something Deep Impact hadn't mentioned.
"Then what about the Burst Front Running she used in the St. Lite Kinen?"
Hearing this, Deep Impact shifted her gaze away from the racetrack and looked toward Makoto on the other side, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes.
"That was tactics."
"Tactics…?"
Gentildonna froze for a moment, then quickly thought it through. Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"You mean using the fact that her opponents wouldn't expect her to use Burst Front Running? If that's the case… although the idea is simple, sometimes it can be quite effective."
Deep Impact smiled slightly and nodded again.
"Once you see through it, yes, that's essentially it."
"But tactics are always like that—if they succeed, that's all that matters. If they fail, there's nothing much to say."
"And you can tell that Kitasan didn't use Burst Front Running in the St. Lite Kinen purely because of tactics. She had also worked hard to learn many of the techniques involved in that style."
"As for the question you asked at the beginning—whether she can win while running the lead at such a slow pace…"
A sharp light flashed in Deep Impact's eyes, and her tone gradually turned serious.
"This is actually the running style that suits her best. At least, that's how I see it."
Hearing this, Gentildonna turned her gaze toward the very front of the pack on the track and fell into deep thought once again.
Beside her and Deep Impact, Makoto and Tokai Teio were also rapidly discussing something similar.
"…I see. So it's a Slow Front Running strategy…"
Pinching her chin, Tokai Teio's expression grew tense as she muttered thoughtfully:
"If I remember correctly, after her debut race you had Kitasan try something similar, didn't you?"
"Yes, but at that time she still lacked many things."
Makoto habitually held his binoculars, though he hadn't raised them to his eyes. Staring intently at Kitasan Black, who was still leading, he spoke quickly:
"This style keeps you very close to the opponents behind you. Without enough skill, it's easy to get overtaken."
"Pace control, stride-changing techniques, the ability to burst forward multiple times, stamina management, positioning under various situations, and the ability to grasp the overall flow of the race…"
"She needs all of that."
As he spoke, his tone had grown more serious, but when he reached this point, a sense of satisfaction and relief gradually crept into his voice.
"And now, although it's not yet perfect, she has truly mastered most of those things."
"More importantly, her performance from the start of the race until now has been excellent. Even when the situation isn't ideal, she's still performing brilliantly!"
He grew a little excited.
"As long as she keeps it up—if she can maintain this—then this Arima Kinen…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the intensity in his gaze toward the track grew even stronger.
It already sounded as though he was certain of victory.
Tokai Teio had originally wanted to say something like that. But when she noticed that beneath Makoto's excitement and enthusiasm there was also a trace of nervousness and unease, she thought it over and decided not to say anything that might sound like a joke—even though she had only intended it as a lighthearted reassurance.
Tokai Teio understood very well that for this Arima Kinen, both Kitasan Black and Makoto had already given everything they had, doing the best they possibly could.
During the pre-race preparation period, there had been sweat poured out on the training grounds, careful study of their opponents, and repeated simulations of various running styles and tactics…
Even when she saw Kitasan Black before the race, she had still been studying a sand-table model of the course.
It could be said that every detail of this race had been carefully polished by them.
However, racing was something that could change in an instant, filled with unknowns and unpredictable variables. Until the very last moment, no one could be certain who would claim victory. Saying anything definitive now would indeed sound like a joke.
More importantly, it wasn't only Kitasan Black and Makoto.
Every runner participating in this Arima Kinen, and every trainer present, had given their all for this grand event of the year, holding nothing back.
If she had not been serving as student council president, it would have been fine for her to casually express her support for Kitasan Black.
But since she carried that responsibility, she had to be careful with her words in every situation. She absolutely could not casually state her stance.
Still, deep down in her heart, she did feel a certain fondness toward Kitasan Black.
That fondness wasn't without reason. Kitasan Black truly possessed the strength, and her relentless drive for improvement was visible to the naked eye. Up to this point in the race, she had also been performing exceptionally well.
Tokai Teio could see it clearly that from the moment the starting gates opened until now, every step Kitasan Black took and every breath she drew had been perfectly controlled.
If things continued developing like this—so long as nothing unexpected happened next—this junior of hers… had a very real chance of winning the championship in one decisive stroke.
Even if something unexpected did happen, she firmly believed that as long as Kitasan Black quickly adjusted her mindset and responded calmly, her chances of victory would still be very high.
"Don't rush… you can do it… Kita-chan!"
Staring at the girl leading the pack on the track, Tokai Teio unconsciously clenched her fists, her eyes filled with concern and encouragement.
Suddenly, her gaze froze, and her pupils shrank sharply.
At the same time, the noisy roar echoing throughout the racetrack was abruptly cut through by the commentator's startled cry:
"The pack is entering the left-hand turn… here—here it comes!"
"She's coming!"
"Gold Ship… has made her move!!"
In an instant, the gazes of more than a hundred thousand spectators seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand. Just like Tokai Teio's, they all froze and converged at once, focusing on that flash of red on the track.
The already boiling stadium erupted even louder, the commentator's excited shout pushing the atmosphere to an entirely new height as waves of sound surged across the venue.
On the track, like a beast that had suddenly awakened after a long slumber, Gold Ship accelerated.
Her previously unhurried stride suddenly became rapid and powerful. Her heavy yet swift footsteps kicked up countless blades of grass and clumps of dirt, which glittered golden under the sunlight like strings of golden sparks.
Those sparks were like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake, or like a spark dropped onto a barrel of gunpowder.
In an instant, they shattered the existing race formation, igniting panic and tension among the runners at the front.
Without exception, the fifteen competitors ahead suddenly felt the immense pressure surging from the very back of the pack.
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