With the binoculars in hand, Kitahara immediately focused on the center of the training field.
As luck would have it, he saw the horse girls ready at the starting line.
The starting area was made of iron railings forming long, rectangular lanes. Each lane was separated by additional iron bars, creating individual "starting gates," each with a two-leaf door at the front.
When a gate opened, it signaled the start of the race. The Uma Musume waited behind these gates.
There was an interesting fact about this kind of starting facility.
In the history of this world, someone had once tried having horse girls start races like human runners. They discovered that if horse girls used a crouching start, almost all of them would lose balance when getting up and take a long time to adjust their running posture.
Furthermore, the sound of the starting gun would frighten most horse girls, causing emotional instability and preventing them from running. Even after leaving the track, it would take a long time for them to calm down.
This showed that the horse girls' running balance and response to signals were completely different from humans—their physical constitution and innate talent were not the same. So as research progressed, this world adopted starting gates similar to those in human horse racing.
Just as Kitahara noticed the girls readying themselves, he overheard some nearby trainers talking.
"Huh? Isn't that Fujimasa March? First batch of tests?"
"Looks like it. She's probably the first in this group."
"I trust her."
After hearing these few comments, Kitahara's view through the binoculars revealed the start of the mock race.
"Start!"
At the shout from the teacher at the starting line, the row of gates snapped open with a sharp, synchronized clack.
Instantly, several figures shot out like a gust of wind, accompanied by a tremor like drumming.
Strictly speaking, this was Kitahara's first time seeing a horse girl compete in person since arriving in this world. He realized that his previous understanding of horse girls had been far too limited.
He had assumed that innate talent would create noticeable differences on the track. For example, in this mock race, Fujimasa March had clearly superior talent compared to the others, so he expected a very obvious difference in performance.
He was wrong. Differences in talent were only meaningful among Uma Musume themselves. To a human observer, there was virtually no distinction.
Even Uma Musume with the lowest talent ran at over 10 meters per second—speeds far beyond human capability.
Kitahara struggled to keep up with them mentally, but with binoculars and some distance, he could clearly observe their movements.
He adjusted his mindset, focusing not as an ordinary person but as a professional trainer, analyzing as he watched.
His primary focus was, of course, Fujimasa March.
From a professional perspective, the differences in horse girls' talent were very clear. Fujimasa March was easy to recognize—she was the only silver -colored Uma Musume in this mock race.
Her long silver-gray hair was styled carefully. As she dashed forward, the silver trail left behind shimmered beautifully, almost like light itself, making her movements a visual delight.
Beyond her appearance, what caught Kitahara's attention was her innate talent.
The horse girls in this race were all beginners, with essentially no professional training. Fujimasa March, however, was different.
Her starting posture was highly skilled—she assumed it a second before the gates opened, giving her roughly a one-second advantage. Based on her training speed, this translated into about six meters ahead of the others.
Her running form was also excellent: foot placement, arm swings, breathing—all perfectly rhythmic, reflecting prior professional training.
This explained why her training results had been so impressive. Perhaps Kitahara had worried unnecessarily about Oguri Cap's performance. Oguri Cap had never received professional training before; after proper training, she should…
He didn't finish the thought. The mock race was only 800 meters—a short sprint. At horse girl speeds, it would finish in just over a minute.
"50.8 seconds!"
Perhaps excited by the time, the teacher at the finish line announced it loudly enough for Kitahara to hear.
Shibasaki and the others beside him also heard it.
"Oh! No wonder Fujimasa March is the best at Kasamatsu!"
"Looks like this year's top horse girl will definitely be her. Damn it, Shibasaki, you're lucky! You owe us a treat! Got it?!"
Shibasaki, who had recruited Fujimasa March for his team, replied modestly:
"Heh, let's not celebrate yet. This is just a training race. When she performs in the SP race, I'll celebrate properly and invite everyone."
The SP race Shibasaki referred to was shorthand for the Twinkle Series local races.
The Twinkle Series was the stage where horse girls showcased their talents, divided into central and local competitions.
Central competitions followed the "Grade" system, divided into G1, G2, G3, OP (Open), and Pre-OP (Pre-Open) categories.
Local competitions used the "Super Playstage" or SP system, divided into SP1, SP2, SP3, SPOP, and Pre-SPOP.
Besides these ten categories, there was also the "Debut Battle," held in both central and local areas and counted separately.
So in total, the Twinkle Series featured 12 types of events.
According to the Umamusume Racing Association (URA), Uma Musume needed to meet specific criteria to participate in each event. These criteria involved pedigree, past results, and popularity, making it quite complex.
For most people, participation eligibility could be roughly assessed by the horse girl's "popularity," i.e., fan count.
For example, only horse girls with around 100,000 fans could enter the highest-level central G1 races. Local races had lower thresholds; even the SP1 local race required just over 10,000 fans.
In a small region like Hashima County, 10,000 fans was a lot. The entire county only had about 50,000 residents, so local horse girls had to gain fame throughout Gifu Prefecture to qualify for SP races.
As a trainer, Kitahara knew all this, but he wasn't concerned about Fujimasa March this time. His only thought was:
"…If it's Oguri Cap, qualifying for an SP race should be easy…"
No sooner had he thought that than he spotted another group of horse girls entering the starting gates through his binoculars.
Among them was the tall, athletic Oguri Cap, her long silver-gray hair tied neatly.