Kitasan Black fell silent at those words.
Before hearing Yasui Makoto's analysis, she'd simply marveled at her senpai's incredible physical condition and been astonished by the complete absence of medical records.
But once she'd reluctantly dug into the data herself, she realized Yasui Makoto was right.
Gold Ship-senpai wasn't just healthy; her body genuinely seemed "brand-new," as if she'd never raced at all.
Could a senpai in such pristine condition really be declining in ability…?
She began doubting her own judgment, until a thought suddenly struck her.
"Oh, right! Trainer, we—"
Her gaze snapped toward Yasui Makoto.
"We watched Gold Ship-senpai's races together—her Tenno Sho Spring, Takarazuka Kinen, and Japan Cup performances."
"We also reviewed her old race footage."
"I mean…Senpai is definitely weird on a daily basis."
"But when it comes to races, you could clearly see she was giving it everything she had."
"Even you said, Trainer, that whether it was her cornering on the inside track during the Satsuki Sho or overtaking fifteen runners at once in the Arima Kinen, there's no way Senpai wasn't giving her absolute all."
As vivid memories of those fierce races flashed through her mind—particularly those breathtaking moments when Gold Ship surged forward—Kitasan's voice involuntarily rose.
"Exactly. That's why I believe these test results simply confirm Gold Ship's exceptional natural talent, resilience, and extraordinary recovery abilities."
Yasui returned to his desk, picked up a pen, and scribbled something onto a sheet of paper.
"So, if her physical condition isn't just good but outstanding, yet her rankings at the Takarazuka Kinen and Japan Cup dropped significantly…"
"I suspect the issue lies elsewhere. Perhaps…"
"It's a mental decline."
"A mental decline?" Kitasan tilted her head, puzzled.
"Yes. Races test every aspect. Take your Kikuka Sho, for example. Speed, endurance, and strength are crucial, of course—but determination and mental clarity are equally indispensable."
Yasui set down his pen, carried the notes he'd scribbled back to Kitasan, and laid them before her, patiently explaining:
"In long-distance races, especially in the latter half and the final straight, every runner's stamina inevitably drains to zero."
"At that point, it becomes a battle of mental clarity—who can still make optimal decisions despite a hazy mind and blurred vision."
"You must have felt it during the Kikuka Sho."
Recalling the grueling struggle leading to the finish line, Kitasan nodded with deep understanding, eyes thoughtfully fixed on the materials.
"The mental side itself can be subdivided into focus, reaction speed, resistance to distractions, and more. Each can be assessed individually."
Noticing Kitasan's attention drawn to the notes, Yasui's expression grew serious.
"Can you understand this?"
He pointed to the top of the page, labeled prominently with "IAT" and a long string of English letters, followed by the translation: "Implicit Association Test."
Below were various bits of information about Gold Ship, along with timestamps, summaries of test methods, and beneath that, rows of paired words.
Explosive sprint, variable-pace sprint, interval sprint…
Weighted jog, obstacle jumping, plank hold…
Hill shuttle runs, endurance swimming, field simulations…
These were all familiar to Kitasan, standard items from daily training.
The training methods ran vertically down one side of the page, each paired horizontally with another group of words. She understood most of them at a glance, though a few left her puzzled.
For example, beside "Explosive sprint," she saw "1000 meters," "30 seconds," "1 minute," as well as… "watermelon" and "cricket."
Similarly, next to "Hill shuttle runs," there was "10%," "17 m/s," "5 minutes," plus "mahjong" and "Go."
While "watermelon" and "cricket" seemed vaguely familiar, her attention quickly shifted to the other terms, sparking memories.
For the explosive sprint, she quickly recalled their special drills: 30-second bursts of maximum effort followed by one-minute recovery walks on a 1000-meter track. Completing 1000 meters in 30 seconds was obviously impossible; the goal was to boost explosive power.
The hill shuttle was similar: the 10% indicated slope incline, 17 m/s was the targeted speed, and 5 minutes the duration.
Understanding quickly dawned on her.
She pointed tentatively at the words, glancing at Yasui.
"So…you see the first word, then pick the related words from the ones behind it?"
"Exactly. That's the basic concept behind the implicit association test."
Pleased by his trainee's quick understanding, Yasui elaborated:
"The test uses a special program conducted on a computer."
"A word appears briefly on-screen, then disappears. Next, several new words appear, each marked as choices A, B, C, D, and so forth. The participant must quickly select the word they feel relates most strongly to the original prompt."
"Remember when I explained reaction time to you?"
"That's exactly what this test measures—reaction time, focus, and resistance to distraction."
Midway through his explanation, Kitasan already had a guess. When he finished, she immediately voiced her realization.
"So… these are Gold Ship-senpai's test results?"
She instinctively looked back down and noticed various calculations and data listed below each set of words.
Though she couldn't fully interpret the numbers, she sensed these were precisely the test outcomes Yasui described.
"Then…?"
She pointed again at the data, turning to Yasui.
"Gold Ship-senpai's results… were poor? Ah, wait—!"
She suddenly brightened in understanding.
"Watermelon, cricket…aren't those from Senpai's usual training routines?"
Yasui couldn't help but chuckle, nodding.
"Exactly. I discussed this with Orfevre and suggested designing something specifically tailored for Gold Ship."
"To you or other Umamusume, watermelon or cricket are clearly distractions. You're naturally familiar with training metrics like 1000 meters or 30 seconds."
"But with Gold Ship, it's the opposite."
"The unusual training methods she came up with herself…well, they're certainly unconventional, but judging by her past race results, they're extraordinarily effective for her."
"In her case, traditional measures like '1000 meters' and '30 seconds' become the distractions instead."
"However…"
Yasui's expression gradually turned grave.
"Under normal conditions, your reaction speed and focus remain stable with familiar words—this can be precisely calculated using certain methods."
"That's the entire point of this test."
"But Gold Ship's results indicate that even when facing terms she's accustomed to, her reaction speed is below normal standards."
"In my opinion, from the beginning of her career, her mental resilience has never been top-tier."
"And now… she may have declined further in this aspect."