Chapter 20. QES Aus 1999 Part 2
"Click!"
To Mejiro Dober's ears, the sound of the starting gates opening was incomparably crisp and pleasant.
Because she had no intention of fighting for the lead or advancing aggressively in the early stages of this race, she had not devoted excessive effort toward refining her gate break beforehand. Thus, after maintaining an ordinary start, she immediately saw Darazari and Horizon on her outside surge forward almost simultaneously, both clearly determined to seize the leading position.
And because of their battle for the front, Mejiro Dober effortlessly settled into the very rear of the pack while hugging the rail. Calmly following behind Intergaze, she comfortably enjoyed the wind-breaking advantage created by the opponents ahead of her.
"Darazari and Horizon are fighting for the lead, so the pace will probably increase."
Naturally, Shuta An would never miss such a detail. His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"That's definitely good news for Dober."
"A fast pace favors late surgers, right?"
The director played the role of a perfect straight man yet again.
"Exactly."
Shuta An turned his head slightly and nodded without hesitation.
"And if Horizon and Darazari are willing to keep pressuring each other all the way through, that would be even better. Ideally, I'd like to see the first 1000 meters run in under sixty seconds."
The 2000-meter course at Randwick Racecourse possessed a very distinctive layout. Immediately after the gates opened, runners were forced into a bend almost at once. Because of this, Uma Musume drawn on the outside had to pay a considerably higher price if they wished to contend for the lead compared to those drawn inside.
In this Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Horizon started from gate 5 while Darazari started from gate 6. Since both desired the leading position, the conditions they faced were almost identical.
And that naturally made their confrontation even fiercer.
Within the opening 200 meters, Horizon barely managed to establish herself at the front while setting a passing time of 13.1 seconds — already a relatively fast opening by Australian standards.
The moment the split time appeared on the giant screen, the corners of Shuta An's mouth quietly lifted.
"Can they go even faster?"
His tone carried unconcealed anticipation.
"I'd love to watch Horizon and Darazari destroy each other together."
Although Horizon temporarily gained the advantage because of her slightly more favorable inside draw, Darazari had entered Randwick Racecourse today with a completely different mindset.
Winning was secondary.
Securing the lead mattered more.
Thus, even after Horizon moved ahead temporarily, Darazari showed absolutely no intention of yielding. She remained tightly attached behind Horizon in second position, refusing to relinquish pressure for even a moment.
Along the long opening bend, Darazari continuously increased the pressure from behind.
Indeed, her record and reputation were nowhere near Horizon's level. Neither the media nor local Trainers regarded her particularly highly.
But at this moment—
"Even if I can't win—at least for one stretch of this race, I want everyone's eyes on me!"
Darazari clenched her teeth tightly.
She completely disregarded what might happen later on the final straight. Instead, she forcefully squeezed out stamina in advance, continuing to accelerate recklessly.
Horizon could clearly hear the increasingly rapid footsteps approaching from behind her.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"What the hell is wrong with her?! Is Darazari insane? Is she really planning to fight me to the death here? Wouldn't it be better for both of us if the pace slowed down?!"
Before the race, her Trainer had specifically warned her to remain wary of Mejiro Dober.
And Horizon herself understood exactly why.
Last year, she had personally experienced what it felt like to be crushed by Silence Suzuka.
Back then, she had attempted to pressure Silence Suzuka in precisely the same manner Darazari was doing now. Yet Silence Suzuka maintained the lead from start to finish without ever collapsing, while Horizon herself was dragged down into the pack.
"Darazari, didn't you even watch last year's race?! Aren't you afraid I'll repeat what Silence Suzuka did to me?!"
Although those words only remained in her thoughts, Horizon herself lacked confidence.
Because only after personally experiencing sustained pressure from another front-running specialist could one truly understand how terrifying Silence Suzuka had been.
"At the time… I thought I simply lost because my stamina was inferior…"
Horizon gritted her teeth unwillingly.
Unlike Darazari, she had entered this race genuinely aiming for victory. But if Darazari continued forcing this kind of pace, then Horizon knew perfectly well that she likely would not survive the final straight.
"You want the lead that badly? Fine — take it!"
After passing the 400-meter marker, Horizon finally slowed slightly, allowing Darazari to surge past and claim the front position outright.
Because Darazari had continued applying pressure relentlessly throughout the 200-to-400-meter section, Horizon had also been forced to sustain an extremely high speed. As a result, that segment was covered in 11.16 seconds.
"The opening 400 meters in 24.26 seconds—that's already fast even by Japanese standards."
Shuta An stared at the giant screen while muttering softly to himself.
"But if Horizon still wants to contend for victory, then giving up the lead right now is the correct decision. If she keeps getting pressured like this, she probably won't last."
And almost immediately after he finished speaking, Horizon visibly eased her pace.
The director instinctively turned toward the cameraman beside him. After confirming that the entire sequence had been captured properly, he silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"This segment absolutely has to make it into the final documentary cut—"
—
Meanwhile, Mejiro Dober, who remained comfortably positioned at the very rear of the field, naturally noticed that the pace was becoming somewhat excessive.
Yet rather than deliberately dropping farther behind Intergaze in order to conserve stamina, she instead maintained an almost perfect one-horse-length distance.
This allowed her to continue benefiting from the slipstream ahead of her, while simultaneously avoiding placing any psychological pressure on Intergaze or the other runners positioned near the back.
"I wonder how long Horizon and Darazari will keep fighting up front—"
As Mejiro Dober passed the 400-meter marker, she quietly assessed the rhythm of the race within her mind.
"Let's first see the pace through the next 600 meters."
And after finally obtaining the lead she desperately wanted, Darazari still showed no intention whatsoever of slowing down immediately.
Almost as though she feared Horizon might retake the front at any moment, Darazari continued charging aggressively, producing a split of 12.35 seconds between the 400- and 600-meter marks.
Although the pace itself had eased slightly by over a second, the opening 600 meters still passed in 36.61 seconds — approximately equivalent to the pace of the opening 600 meters of a Japanese mile race.
"A completely fast-paced race."
Shuta An calmly took another sip of water before screwing the cap back on.
Then he spoke once more:
"Now let's see what kind of first-half time they produce."
Even while speaking, the young man continued calculating silently in his heart.
"If the opening half can really dip under sixty seconds—then this race will become absolutely perfect for Dober."
After entering the straight opposite the stands, Darazari finally eased her pace slightly.
Because Horizon also chose to relax her speed at the same time, the pressure weighing on Darazari instantly lessened considerably. Taking advantage of the long straight opposite the stands, Darazari quietly began recovering some of the stamina she had burned through during the fierce struggle for the lead earlier.
As a result, the split for the 600-to-800-meter section rose to 12.86 seconds.
The following 800-to-1000-meter segment consisted of the latter half of the backstretch combined with the second turn. Under normal circumstances, this was precisely the portion where runners would slow even further.
Most people naturally reached the same conclusion.
Including the GreenChannel commentator.
"Darazari should probably continue easing the pace now. The upcoming section isn't suitable for forcefully accelerating through, and reducing speed slightly on the bend is simply common sense."
However, the guest commentator beside him immediately added:
"Although we don't know these Australian and New Zealand Uma Musume particularly well on this course, Miss Mejiro Dober is capable of accelerating through turns without suffering significant stamina loss."
"There are still 1200 meters remaining until the finish line," the commentator frowned slightly. "Logically speaking, Miss Mejiro Dober shouldn't begin moving up here yet, right? There's no need to rush her position."
"That's true."
The guest commentator shrugged lightly.
"But frankly speaking, neither of us can accurately predict the tactical arrangements Shuta Trainer prepared before the race."
—
In reality, however, the two commentators had overcomplicated matters somewhat.
Before the race, Shuta An had not assigned any especially unusual tactics to Mejiro Dober.
Although this race was not guaranteed beyond all doubt, Mejiro Dober's condition still clearly exceeded that of her opponents. Because of that, the young man had merely helped her establish an appropriate rhythm and stamina distribution beforehand.
As for precisely when to accelerate—
He had never instructed Mejiro Dober to begin overtaking before even reaching the 1000-meter marker.
Darazari flew past the 1000-meter mark while exiting the bend.
A little over one second later, the giant screen displayed the latest sectional time:
"12.90"
"The opening 1000 meters in 62.37 seconds…"
After mentally calculating the pace, Shuta An muttered softly beneath his breath.
Behind him, the director and the production staff exchanged glances almost simultaneously.
After all, everyone still remembered clearly that less than a minute earlier, Shuta An himself had confidently declared this would become a fast-paced race.
"It's honestly beyond my expectations that Darazari managed to continuously slow the pace for six hundred meters straight."
The young man shook his head slightly.
"And Horizon also had no intention of pressuring her again. A slight miscalculation, but it shouldn't matter too much."
He calmly continued,
"As long as Dober begins accelerating a little earlier than planned, it'll still be fine."
Mejiro Dober herself had naturally already noticed that the pace between the 400- and 1000-meter sections had slowed dramatically.
"Darazari is controlling the rhythm now…"
She reached the conclusion almost instantly.
Without further hesitation, Mejiro Dober smoothly shifted several lanes outward, preparing to move past Intergaze and gradually improve her position toward the middle of the pack.
Because one thing was absolutely unacceptable to her—
Being left too far behind and forcing her fans to anxiously wonder whether she could still catch up during the final straight.
And before even the live commentators noticed her intentions, Shuta An had already read her movement completely.
"It looks like Dober is preparing to move up and secure a midfield position."
"Because the pace became slower than expected?" the director asked immediately.
"Yes."
Shuta An nodded calmly.
"Even if Dober stayed where she was, she would still have enough time to accelerate on the final straight. But she probably doesn't want her fans becoming uneasy watching her remain too far back, so she chose the safest option instead."
—
Meanwhile, back at Central Tracen Academy, Tokai Teio and the others were gathered inside the activity room, watching the Green Channel live broadcast together.
"Dober-senpai is going to move here."
Tokai Teio immediately voiced her judgment.
"Isn't it a bit early?" Rice Shower frowned slightly. "Wouldn't waiting a little longer be better?"
"It's already enough."
Tokai Teio shook her head decisively.
"Honestly, enduring until now is already difficult enough. If it were me, I'd probably already be right behind Horizon, waiting for an opportunity. From my perspective, Dober-senpai's positioning earlier was actually a little too conservative."
"As expected of Teio-senpai…"
Kurofune muttered softly.
Even though Tokai Teio's current accomplishments still could not compare with Mejiro Dober's, virtually everyone both inside and outside Umamusume of Team Sadalsuud acknowledged the same thing:
Tokai Teio's talent ceiling and racing instinct were even more terrifying.
"There are only twenty-five hours left until tomorrow's Satsuki Sho."
Watching the live footage from Australia, Tokai Teio quietly pursed her lips.
"And Trainer is still over there—can he really make it back in time to watch my race tomorrow?"
After completely exiting the second turn, Mejiro Dober smoothly arrived at Intergaze's left-rear side.
Then, almost effortlessly, she slightly increased her stride frequency.
Because Intergaze showed absolutely no intention of accelerating at this point, Mejiro Dober overtook her with astonishing ease.
And not only Intergaze.
In one smooth movement, she consecutively passed two additional opponents as well.
Just like that, Mejiro Dober advanced directly into fourth position.
One horse length ahead of her was LeaseI.
Further ahead still—Horizon.
"Now that Dober has reached midfield, all she needs to do is wait steadily for the final straight."
Visible relief finally appeared across Shuta An's expression.
"At this point, the race is basically secured."
"Although Darazari definitely disrupted the pace more than I expected… for Dober, the overall flow is still entirely under control."
Everyone's eyes remained fixed upon the giant screen.
There, Mejiro Dober, now positioned calmly within the middle of the pack, continued galloping toward the final turn.
Between the 1000- and 1200-meter markers, Darazari slightly increased the tempo again, recording a split of 12.06 seconds.
Immediately afterward came the approach toward the final turn.
To ensure she would not lose speed entering the bend, Darazari consciously adjusted her stride rhythm in advance.
But compared to her—
Mejiro Dober's decision was even more aggressive.
Rather than attempting to hug the rail and conserve ground through the turn, she directly maintained a relatively wide position on the outside of the pack, clearly preparing for a sweeping outside acceleration at any moment.
She never even considered choosing the conservative inside route.
Watching Horizon continue clinging stubbornly to the rail ahead, Horizon's Trainer could only sigh helplessly.
"The difference in ability is just too obvious—Horizon still has a long way to grow."
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