Chapter 30. The Gap in Perception
(FYI, I don't know which year this Victoria Mile. So, for the name of the Uma Musume, I put it as it is in the Original)
When Mejiro Dober changed back into her Winning Outfit and stepped onto the Tokyo Racecourse track again, there were still more than ten minutes until the race started. And at starting gate number 18, Sakura Sweet Kiss had just walked off the display stand.
Mejiro Dober glanced at her opponent, then continued walking towards the starting gate.
The Tokyo Turf 1600-meter track layout has the starting point set at the end of the long straight opposite the stands. There is only one curve in the entire course, and after turning out of it, it's the final straight.
It's worth noting that the first 250 meters from the start is a relatively gentle downhill section. Then it quickly enters a relatively steep uphill section, which is only about 100 meters long, followed by another downhill section until past the halfway point of the curve. After that, until the Slope Road on the final straight, it's all relatively gentle flat ground.
Can you discern anything from this?
Downhill sections account for most of the track's terrain, meaning that maintaining one's cruising speed on this track is by no means difficult. Unlike a typical Tokyo Racecourse track, Uma Musume with ample stamina and endurance are certainly not at a significant disadvantage on the Tokyo 1600-meter track.
Shuta An's view on the Tokyo Racecourse 1600-meter turf track was that "to perform well here, one must possess the stamina to run a middle-distance race."
Today, the Tokyo Racecourse turf was rated good, and truthfully, Shuta An wasn't very satisfied.
If it were a heavy track, Dober could perform even better.
The young man thought—as for whether other Uma Musume could perform well under such conditions, that was irrelevant to the young man. He didn't care about unrelated Uma Musume.
He only needed to be responsible for the Uma Musume of Team Sadalsuud.
—
As the Uma Musume starting from gate 1, Mejiro Dober was naturally the first to enter the starting gate. Although Air Groove was starting from gate 2, by the time she entered the gate, Mejiro Dober had already completed all preparations before the start.
Air Groove didn't initiate conversation because she needed to adjust for the start.
Mejiro Dober also didn't initiate conversation because she had already adjusted her state.
With neither Air Groove nor Mejiro Dober speaking, Friendly Ace, starting from gate 3, also dared not speak. In terms of results, status, and popularity, Friendly Ace was far inferior to Air Groove, let alone the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume in the innermost lane.
Anyway, it's better if I stay away from those two.
Friendly Ace secretly told herself.
In fact, Friendly Ace wasn't the only one with this thought; several Uma Musume to her right also held the same idea. And so—
"Click!"
When the starting gate sounded and all 18 Uma Musume burst out of the gates, after only about ten meters, Mejiro Dober noticed that only she and Air Groove were in the inner lane. From Friendly Ace in gate 3 onwards, all the Uma Musume who started from inner gate positions drifted to the right, directly turning the inner lane into a 1v1 situation between Mejiro Dober and Air Groove.
What are they doing? It's like I'm going to eat Uma Musume.
Mejiro Dober was a bit speechless, but she quickly adjusted her mindset and prepared to move forward to gain position.
Air Groove didn't immediately follow Mejiro Dober's pace. She hesitated a bit. Primarily, the notion that Tokyo Racecourse is suitable for late-closing tactics was ingrained in her subconscious like a thought-imprint.
Tojo Hana also thought this way, so when assigning tactics to Air Groove, even though she knew Air Groove would be starting from gate 2, she still arranged for Air Groove to run a late-closing tactic in this Victoria Mile race.
The different positioning choices of the two Uma Musume became apparent after 200 meters from the start.
Mejiro Dober, who chose to move forward, was now in third place, behind the leader Waltz Dancer and the second-place runner Eishin Rudens.
Although Mejiro Dober was in third place, in Shuta An's eyes from the sidelines, she seemed to be driving Waltz Dancer and Eishin Rudens.
"It feels like Dober is intentionally controlling Waltz Dancer's pace through the pressure she's exerting." the young man said, raising an eyebrow as he watched the big screen. "While this isn't particularly difficult to achieve, starting so early suggests Dober is in incredibly good form right now."
"I didn't expect Ann-san to have Mejiro Dober choose a pace-chaser tactic. Was this decided a week before the race?"
Tojo Hana looked at her friend standing beside her. The race had already started, and she trusted Shuta An to give her an accurate answer.
"Or was it a temporary change after seeing the gate position?"
Shuta An could hear Tojo Hana's unspoken meaning—whether having Mejiro Dober run a counter-intuitive tactic was something he did on purpose or out of necessity.
Now that all 18 Uma Musume had left the gates, even if he told Tojo Hana the truth, the young man knew Air Groove wouldn't be able to get a hint from her, and besides—
So Shuta An spoke. "It was decided after knowing about gate 1, but even before that, I was already leaning heavily towards a senko tactic."
"You were leaning towards a senko tactic even before the gate positions were announced?"
Tojo Hana raised an eyebrow, displaying a somewhat surprised expression.
Shuta An wasn't at all surprised by her reaction.
Because, just as he had anticipated before speaking—
Even if he told Tojo Hana the truth, she would still remain skeptical.
So he spoke again,
"Yes, but Miss Tojo wouldn't understand."
As his words fell, Silence Suzuka, separated from Shuta An on the other side, held back her laughter, her smile incredibly bright—fortunately, Tojo Hana couldn't see it.
—
While Tojo Hana and Shuta An were conversing, Mejiro Dober, in a moment of magnanimity, decided to ease her pressure on Waltz Dancer.
Waltz Dancer, thus given a moment to breathe, returned the favor by gradually slowing her pace, and Eishin Rudens, caught between Mejiro Dober and Waltz Dancer, also obediently slowed down.
"It looks like the first 1000 meters will be slower than we expected."
Shuta asserted—at this point, Waltz Dancer had barely reached the end of the long straight opposite the stands, with over 1000 meters still remaining to the finish line.
"If the pace slows down, it will be advantageous for Mejiro Dober."
Kurofune said, her voice full of trust.
Admire Vega didn't speak. She remained silent.
But Admire Vega pondered in her heart.
If the Uma Musumes behind possess explosive power beyond common sense, wouldn't this slow pace also be advantageous for them?
Tokai Teio had similar thoughts—unlike Admire Vega, Tokai Teio truly felt that if it were her, she would stay at the back of the pack and casually perform a wide outside sprint.
As for Rice Shower, she was more concerned about her Trainer standing not far from her than the situation on the track.
The black deer-haired Umamusume's gaze often unconsciously drifted to the young man's cheek, then would retract as if she had received an electric shock—this action had long caught Shuta's attention.
Considering the strange incident where Rice Shower gained a bunch of skills after a nap, the young man had already guessed what had happened then.
But it won't do.
He muttered to himself.
Because Rice Shower and Mejiro Dober were not the same.
—
As Rice Shower retracted her gaze for the second time, Mejiro Dober had already entered the bend.
"The pace should still be normal? The first 600 meters were about 35 seconds, which is standard for a Mile race."
The undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume thought to herself.
"As a senko Uma Musume, this rhythm is fine for me."
So, who was it problematic for?
Air Groove, who was at the back of the pack, gritted her teeth.
35 seconds for the first 600 meters was definitely not a fast pace, but it was very difficult for Air Groove.
Because at this pace, everyone would follow confidently, which led to Air Groove, who started from gate 2 and didn't move forward early like Mejiro Dober, slowly getting boxed in on the inside by Uma Musumes who started from the outside and were actively pushing forward.
Air Groove was confident that she was stronger than them, but now, being surrounded on the inside, she knew that if she didn't find a way to break out of the pack soon, even if she could break out later, it would be very difficult to catch up to Mejiro Dober if she couldn't find a path before entering the final straight.
I must find a way!
Air Groove frowned, scanning ahead, trying to find a life-saving route.
—
On Mejiro Dober's side, comfortably following Waltz Dancer and Eishin Rudens, she keenly noticed that Eishin Rudens's stride frequency was starting to become erratic.
Is her stamina running out?
She didn't have time to pity her opponent, so she simply moved two steps to the outside, avoiding being affected by the clearly slowing Eishin Rudens later.
Then Mejiro Dober accelerated slightly, directly overtaking Eishin Rudens, suddenly putting pressure on Waltz Dancer, who was still maintaining a steady pace.
Feeling the new sense of pressure from behind, Waltz Dancer didn't dare to slack off at all. She quickly picked up her pace, extending her lead as much as possible.
She knew that in Mejiro Dober's eyes now, she was at her mercy, but Waltz Dancer, who wanted to secure a good placing, knew that all she could do was to make Mejiro Dober accelerate and overtake her a little later in this way.
Surely the Uma Musumes behind are all marking Mejiro Dober. If Mejiro Dober accelerates and breaks out later, they will start their pursuit even later.
This logic lay in Waltz Dancer's mind.
"The first 600 meters passed in 34.9 seconds, and the first 1000 meters in 58.9 seconds. For a middle-distance race, it would definitely be a fast pace, but considering this is a 1600-meter race, it's still a standard pace."
Tokai Teio said.
"It seems Dober-senpai's senko tactic is very correct."
"Definitely correct." Kurofune said. "This is a tactic formulated by the Trainer."
Shuta's mouth twitched; Kurofune praising him like that made him a little embarrassed.
At this moment, Silence Suzuka held the young man's hand and interjected.
"Even the best tactics need our strength as support to be executed well."
"That's right." Admire Vega then took over. "So we need to train even harder."
Rice Shower had her words stolen by Admire Vega and for a moment didn't know what to say, so she reverted to her usual Admire Vega self and fell silent.
—
Tojo Hana watched the Team Sadalsuud interact without joining in.
Today, she hadn't brought any of Rigil team's Umamusumes—it wasn't that no Uma Musume in the team wanted to come, but Tojo Hana was not that optimistic about Air Groove's chances of winning and didn't want her team members to come and watch a defeat, so she simply didn't bring any Uma Musumes from her team. Of course, Air Groove had also requested this.
Could it be that we were completely defeated from the very start of the tactical design?
Tojo Hana looked up, staring at the large screen in the center of the racecourse.
If she wasn't mistaken, Air Groove still hadn't found a path to break out in front.
The slow pace caused the pack not to spread out completely—Many Uma Musumes blocking Air Groove have already started to slow down—If you don't understand Tokyo 1600, don't sign up!
Tojo Hana irritated by the situation complained in her heart.
You've blocked Air Groove at the back!
—
Mejiro Dober didn't know what was happening with her opponents behind her. She only knew that she had to end Waltz Dancer's lead time when there were 300 meters left to the finish line.
It's time. The front position of the pack should be handed over to me!
Mejiro Dober didn't need to speak; she could convey this to Waltz Dancer simply through her actions.
"MEJIRO DOBER HAS COME TO THE FRONT!"
The live commentator shouted.
This shout marked the first Victoria Mile entering its final stage.