Given this world's current level of development, trying to judge an Umamusume's talent before her debut was impossible in itself.
Umamusume were strongly group-oriented by nature.
In racing terms, that meant that when training alone—or when there were not enough training partners, or the gap in ability was too large—an Umamusume could not fully display her racing level.
Similarly, some Umamusume whose training results looked completely ordinary would show entirely different traits once they entered the intense environment of a race.
Take Symboli Rudolf, for example. In both training and races, she had the trait known as "the eternal one length."
She habitually overtook the leader by only one length, then used her overwhelming strength to maintain that lead until the end, winning with considerable ease.
In most races, she could do exactly that.
This made her training look as if she was not putting in that much effort, and because of that, fans called her races "the least suspenseful" and "the least interesting to watch."
However, that was also why she had lost races before.
T.M. Opera O was another similar case. In most of the races she won, her margins were small. Like Symboli Rudolf, once she had passed her opponent, that was enough; she would absolutely not waste extra stamina.
Oguri Cap and Daiwa Scarlet, on the other hand, were the opposite of Symboli Rudolf and T.M. Opera O. They were Umamusume who "had absolutely no idea how to conserve energy."
During normal training, it was a little better, but they still looked as if they were going all-out. The Umamusume serving as their training partners often could not handle that pressure and were easily left far behind.
Once they got into a race, they would enter a strangely excited state. Without prior training and the right instructions, they would charge hard from the very start.
Because of this temperament unique to Umamusume, the standard mainstream way to fully judge what races someone was suited for was through several official races.
Yet Almond Eye had not even raced yet. She had not even passed Tracen Academy's entrance assessment.
Under those circumstances, declaring what Almond Eye was good at running would inevitably be a bit too prophetic.
And while Yasui Makoto hesitated, Imanami Takatoshi smiled, stepped forward, and patted Lucky Lilac on the head.
"Child, being able to see an Umamusume's potential at a glance truly is an ability every trainer dreams of having."
Smiling, the old man explained, "Unfortunately, how could such a thing be that easy?"
"An Umamusume's potential is like treasure buried deep beneath the sea. Even if trainers use every means at their disposal, they are still limited by all kinds of factors, and often can only stare helplessly out over the water."
"So, rather than making things difficult for Yasui, Lilac-chan, why don't you go get to know Almond-chan Eye, make friends with her, and slowly learn about her yourself?"
"Wouldn't that be better?"
Hearing this, Lucky Lilac fell into thought, while Kitasan Black's face lit up with excitement.
"That's right, that's right! Almond-chan Eye will definitely be really happy to have you as a friend, Lilac-chan!"
"She's just like me—she really likes making friends."
"Once you two get familiar with each other, you can share what you learn in training and talk about your dreams for racing together!"
Seeing how enthusiastic Kitasan Black was, Lucky Lilac could not help feeling a little expectant.
Imagining what it would be like to meet Almond Eye, the corners of her mouth rose without her realizing.
Smiling, she nodded hard and said, "Mm. I'll definitely become good friends with Almond Eye!"
After chatting for a while and taking a short rest, the Umamusume returned to training.
At Lucky Lilac's request, Kitasan Black began doing partner runs with her.
During the partner runs, Kitasan Black patiently explained the key points of every movement down to the smallest details, from the angle of her body's lean to how she adjusted her steps.
Lucky Lilac studied with total focus, trying again and again. Though she kept making mistakes, the determination in her eyes never wavered.
During this time, the Gold family Umamusume watched the two of them train and offered suggestions now and then.
Orfevre stood at the side of the track with her arms folded, her posture straight.
Her sharp, focused gaze stayed fixed on the training field. When Kitasan Black and Lucky Lilac passed through a turn, she called out loudly,
"Kita-chan, watch your angle going into the turn. Lower your center of gravity a little more! Lilac-chan, follow Kita-chan's rhythm and feel where she's putting in her power!" Her voice was firm and forceful, carrying unquestionable authority.
Nakayama Festa, meanwhile, leaned against the railing beneath the eaves with a lollipop in her mouth. Both her posture and gaze looked completely casual.
But when she saw Lucky Lilac grow a little flustered while adjusting her steps, she immediately took the lollipop out of her mouth and said half a sentence. "Lilac-chan, don't rush. Keep your steps steady, like this…"
Then she put the lollipop back into her mouth, walked to the edge of the field, and demonstrated a standard step rhythm.
Dream Journey and Stay Gold sat side by side on the grass, occasionally leaning in to whisper to each other.
"Kita-chan's stamina is as good as ever, but on these special turns, she still needs to strengthen her technique." Watching Kitasan Black lead Lucky Lilac, Dream Journey nodded.
Stay Gold nodded as well, then shook her head. "If official races had sharp turns like this, they really would need targeted practice."
"But if we're only talking about Japan, there's no need to think that far."
"I think it's enough to have the two of them pay a little attention to it."
While those two Umamusume spoke quietly, Gold Ship sprawled boldly on the grass with both hands behind her head, though her eyes never left the track.
When she saw that Kitasan Black's explosive power during one sprint was slightly lacking, she suddenly sat up and shouted,
"Kita-chan, during the final spurt, focus the power in your legs and charge! Don't hold anything back!" Her voice carried a bold energy that echoed across the training grounds.
On the training field, Kitasan Black and Lucky Lilac listened carefully to their senpais' advice. Every piece of guidance made them focus even more on their training.
Sweat slid down their foreheads and soaked their clothes, but the look in their eyes only grew firmer.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yasui Makoto and Imanami Takatoshi stood beside the training field, keeping an eye on the training while reviewing the practice race from earlier.
Imanami Takatoshi picked up a pen, pointed at a curve on the chart, and said, "Yasui, look at Kita-chan's turn performance in this race. She was clearly limited by the field."
"The techniques she was used to before didn't work well on these special turns, which caused her speed to drop."
Looking seriously at the chart, Yasui Makoto frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "That's true, Imanami-senpai. However, Kita-chan's ability to adapt in the final stage is still worth recognizing."
"She adjusted her strategy in time and used diagonal acceleration. Although she couldn't overtake, she still held her position."
"That shows her ability to think and adapt on the racecourse is steadily improving."
"Exactly. And this field can't represent an official race, so…"
Nodding, Imanami Takatoshi thought for a moment before saying in a low voice, "We still need to think carefully about how to carry this over…"
The two of them began an in-depth discussion of every detail from the race, from each Umamusume's start and handling of the turns to their explosive power in the sprint phase. They carefully analyzed strengths and weaknesses, and discussed directions for improving future training.
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