Chapter 45. Acute Senses
When Mejiro Dober stood on the display stage, before the live commentator could even open his mouth, the thunderous cheers from the stands shook the entire Tokyo Racecourse.
Some of the overseas Uma Musumes had just stepped onto the display stage, others had not yet, but no matter who they were, looking at the reception Mejiro Dober received and comparing it to the reception other Uma Musumes got after going on stage, they could easily see how great the difference was.
Trainers Mylann and Peter Hyam, two overseas Trainers, stood in the spectator Box area and could clearly feel the sound waves coming from behind them.
"It's truly terrifying… Mejiro Dober's popularity could almost crush all the other Uma Musumes in the same field combined, couldn't it?"
"About that?" Sule was not surprised at all. "This is the Sadalsuud team's popularity in their home country, much stronger than in Europe and America."
"To be honest, it's hard for even highly popular Uma Musumes in Europe to get such cheers at a Racecourse." Mylann said truthfully.
"Mr. Sule, you just had a setback with the Sadalsuud team in Dubai this year, didn't you? Yet you still chose to come and race in Japan. Is it for revenge against Mr. Shuta?"
Peter Hyam asked curiously.
Sule showed a bitter smile upon hearing his colleague's question. He scratched his head and explained.
"Honestly, if I could, I really wouldn't want to race in Japan, but I get paid to do a job. The Sheikh of Dubai wanted to see the academy's Uma Musume race overseas and specifically designated Japan, so I had no choice but to come here."
"So that's how it is."
Peter Hyam looked at Sule, a hint of pity in his heart—unlike Sule, who was forced to come to Japan to challenge Shuta An and Mejiro Dober, Peter Hyam was there because Erin Bird, whom he trained, wanted to vacation in Japan, so he simply entered two races in Japan.
This way, with the participation subsidies provided by the Japan URA Association for overseas Uma Musumes, the expenses for these two-plus months could also be directly reimbursed.
As for results, Peter Hyam didn't care at all. After all, his stable only had one Uma Musume, ErinBird, so everything naturally prioritized her mood.
—
As the cheers from the stands gradually subsided, the live commentator began his introduction:
"Known throughout the world, the Queen of the World, 15 G1 victories, Japan's historical number one, the undefeated Triple Tiara Mejiro Dober, is about to face her final battle of the first half of the year!"
As his words fell, earth-shattering cheers once again erupted from the stands. For the audience attending today, 99% were there for Mejiro Dober's performance.
"Honestly speaking, the biggest highlight of this race is whether Mejiro Dober can replicate her performance from the Victoria Mile and still kick all her opponents away in the Yasuda Kinen."
The commentary guest said.
"The second highlight is that it's the first time overseas Uma Musumes are challenging the Yasuda Kinen, so we should also pay attention to the performance of these overseas powerhouses."
The live commentator continued.
Shuta An almost couldn't hold back when he heard their remarks, but he managed to.
"Overseas powerhouses, huh…"
To be honest, the young man found it hard to associate those few Uma Musumes with "overseas powerhouses."
"In any case, as long as Dober performs normally, it's a race she shouldn't lose."
Shuta An muttered to himself.
As for the other Uma Musume of the Sadalsuud team, everyone was also incredibly optimistic about Mejiro Dober. After all, they had all competed against their senior on the training ground.
Although Mejiro Dober wasn't very effective against Tokai Teio; "bullying" the other Uma Musume in the team was still very easy for her.
"But I really want to have the cheers that the seniors get."
Admire Vega, at the very back of the team, mumbled to herself.
According to Shuta An's guess, Ayabe should have undergone Maturation earlier than Kurofune, so he had recently been paying attention to Ayabe's physical changes, but regrettably, it seemed Ayabe's Maturation time was not this year.
"That's fine. If Maturation started this year, training four active Twinkle Series Uma Musumes simultaneously would be quite stressful for me." Shuta An was a little disappointed, but also a little relieved.
—
Mejiro Dober, as the Uma Musume starting from gate 10, had a relatively late order for entering the gate.
After entering, she surveyed Meisho Yushi in gate 9 and Sakura Chitose O in gate 11.
"One likes to stay back, the other likes to make a big late run… neither will contend with me for position at the start."
Mejiro Dober thought to herself. "Thinking about it this way, this gate position is actually quite good."
She could hardly imagine a better gate position than this.
"Hoo—"
After taking a deep breath, Mejiro Dober began to regulate her breathing rhythm and prepare for the upcoming race.
"Since I need to run in the mid-front position, I don't need to accelerate immediately out of the gate, but I also can't be slow. If Meisho Yushi takes the front position, I'll have to break my rhythm and forcibly overtake her to get to my predetermined spot."
If such a situation were to occur, Mejiro Dober herself wouldn't forgive herself.
"Then I'll have to punish myself by not having intimate contact with Ann until I win the next race."
The undefeated Triple Tiara thought, emanating a terrifying aura that made her surrounding competitors look her way.
"What's going on?" Sakura Chitose O could feel her ears trembling. "Why is such a terrifying aura suddenly appearing? Did Meisho Yushi and I offend her? This is our first meeting!"
Sakura Chitose O couldn't think of a reason, but Heart Lake, not far away, understood what was happening.
"Oh my, oh my, the race is about to start, and she's still thinking about love?"
Heart Lake narrowed her eyes, scanning Mejiro Dober.
"Is she disappointed with the level of us competing in the same race? Is she starting to zone out?"
As for why she concluded it was love-related, it could only be said that Heart Lake, studying at the UAE Tracen Academy, was too sensitive to such an atmosphere—after all, love outside the Academy was practically a fantasy. Only the Uma Musume within the Academy could discuss such matters, and her sensitivity in this area was "trained" within the Academy.
Heart Lake, who also planned to run in the mid-front position in this race, reset her starting pose.
"Then I'll have to work hard to teach you a lesson."
"Although my results are not as good as yours, and my talent is not as good as yours, I will respect this Yasuda Kinen more than you!"
—
With a "Click!" sound, before it even fully registered in Mejiro Dober's ears, Mejiro Dober, leveraging her smaller stature, directly stepped out of the gate.
Meisho Yushi and Sakura Chitose O on either side paused, watching Mejiro Dober snatch a position two lengths ahead of them.
"Was her gate speed too fast?"
Shuta An stood behind the railing, a little worried.
"This gate speed would be great for a leading tactic, but our tactic this time doesn't require such an aggressive position. It feels unnecessary."
"It's simply that Dober-senpai's reaction speed was too fast this time." Tokai Teio explained. "But other Uma Musume probably won't think that way. They'll think Dober-senpai did it on purpose."
Shuta An raised an eyebrow after hearing Tokai Teio's statement.
"Thinking that way, they will actively accelerate in the early stages to catch up with Mejiro Dober—Dober only needs to maintain her current cruising speed to force all the front-running Uma Musume to quicken their pace."
"This way…"
Rice Shower, who had become much more confident since winning the Japanese Derby, said.
"Dober-senpai can disrupt the rhythm of her opponents without disrupting her own."
"The premise is that enough opponents choose to accelerate past Dober."
Shuta immediately calmed down.
"If the number of Uma Musume who overtake Dober is insufficient, Dober's position will still be forced forward. At that time, Dober might very likely have to slow down once."
"It's definitely better not to slow down."
Rice Shower concluded after analyzing it with her own race experience.
"The rhythm of the race needs to be stable. The act of changing speed itself consumes extra stamina. Don't think that slowing down can save stamina."
Shuta An paused. "After you slow down, you still have to accelerate to make up the lost distance. Re-accelerating might very likely make you waste the stamina you saved by slowing down earlier, or even consume more."
"So Trainer doesn't want Dober-senpai to slow down to adjust her position backward."
Tokai Teio nodded sagely.
Rice Shower looked at Tokai Teio's confident expression, listened to her words, and her thoughts raced.
"I joined the team quite late, so I'm only a junior compared to Teio-senpai. Even Kurofune-chan actually joined the Sadalsuud team earlier than me. So, if I want to be closer to Trainer than Teio-senpai—"
Rice Shower quickly found an effective method.
So, this year's new Japanese Derby Uma Musume spoke.
"Is that what Onii-sama was thinking?"
After Rice Shower changed her address, Shuta An could feel the temperature around him seem to drop instantly.
But his expression remained unchanged as he turned back to Rice Shower.
"Then, Rice, do you understand?"
"I understand! Rice will apply it to my own race during the Kikuka Sho!"
Rice Shower nodded seriously, a smile on her face.
Of course, the reason she was smiling wasn't because she learned new race knowledge, but because she had received tacit approval from the man beside her after changing her address.
Tokai Teio, of course, didn't miss the fact that Rice Shower had changed her address. After noticing that Trainer hadn't denied it, she originally wanted to say something but held back.
"Rice Shower doing this is equivalent to drawing a direct line between herself and Trainer, a line that neither she nor Trainer himself can easily cross." Tokai Teio thought silently. "This way, I don't need to say anything at all."
—
Mejiro Dober didn't know what was happening at the side of the track. She only knew that six opponents had chosen to accelerate at the start and forcibly overtook her.
"This puts me in seventh place."
The undefeated Triple Tiara had estimated the rhythm of this race.
"The first 600 meters will be around the latter half of 34 seconds."
Shuta An didn't ponder Rice Shower's sudden change of address; his attention was more focused on the race. After several Uma Musume chose to accelerate and overtake Mejiro Dober, the young man breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Shuta An noticed that Biko Alpha, as the leading Uma Musume, after overtaking Mejiro Dober and establishing her leading position, actually chose to ease up.
"The pace is going to drop to the latter half of 34 seconds or even 35 seconds for 600 meters."
He complained.
"We've encountered a conservative leading Uma Musume."
According to the young man's pre-race meeting predictions, Biko Alpha was the type who liked to set a fast pace. But unexpectedly, because Mejiro Dober's gate speed was too fast, forcing the front-running Uma Musume to accelerate at the start and waste more stamina, Biko Alpha became conservative and directly started controlling the pace.
"But it's fortunate that Dober is currently in seventh place, and there's only a four-length gap between her and the leading Uma Musume. There's no need to worry about not catching up to Biko Alpha once they turn into the final straight."
Shuta An felt relieved about this.
"Speaking of which, if Dober-senpai wants to break out from this position, she'll need to bypass several opponents."
Tokai Teio noticed a problem.
"So, as soon as she enters the bend, Dober needs to find a suitable breakout route in this 500-meter long bend. Whether it's for safety reasons to go wide on the outside, or to squeeze out from an inside position to save ground, either is fine. As long as she can break out smoothly, victory is within reach."
Shuta An said, taking over the conversation after glancing at Tokai Teio.
Although Shuta An had absolute confidence in Mejiro Dober's strength, if she were to be blocked in the "Box." there was a possibility that Mejiro Dober could lose this race.
—
Mejiro Dober herself understood this, so after entering the bend, she made no adjustments. She directly quickened her stride, beginning to put pressure on the Emperor Jones ahead.
As an Uma Musume in Sule's team, Emperor Jones naturally knew Mejiro Dober's power, so from the start of this race, she had aimed to get ahead of Mejiro Dober.
Initially, on the long straight opposite the grandstand, she hadn't felt any pressure from behind, and Emperor Jones breathed a sigh of relief. However, as soon as she entered the bend, a ghostly aura emanated from behind her.
Emperor Jones could only feel the incredibly intimidating pressure from behind, unable to perceive anything else.
"Such terrifying pressure!"
Emperor Jones forgot her Trainer's pre-race instruction to hold off the pressure from behind for Heart Lake, and instead chose to move to the outer lane, attempting to avoid the aura Mejiro Dober was emitting.
Thus, a path opened up for Mejiro Dober to break out.
Sule, seeing this, buried his head in his hands.
After Emperor Jones cleared a path for her, Mejiro Dober unhesitatingly stepped into the space she vacated, then, without pausing, continued to accelerate forward, taking a few strides that directly left Emperor Jones behind.
After taking Emperor Jones's place, Mejiro Dober did not hesitate further, choosing to continue accelerating. Even though there were still 800 meters to the finish line, Mejiro Dober did not think of slowing down to conserve energy and then accelerating again when turning into the final straight.
In this way, the undefeated Triple Tiara Uma Musume spent 200 meters, one by one, overtaking Biko Alpha, Erin Bird, and Ogi Tiffany ahead.
So, with just over 600 meters remaining to the finish line, Mejiro Dober reached the front of the pack.
"Is it really okay? Getting to the very front so early?"
Tokai Teio was also a bit nervous.
"Next, she has to defend for 600 meters. She could have slowed down when Biko Alpha was still ahead, right?"
"There's no need to be nervous." Shuta An said nonchalantly. "The pace early in the race was quite slow. Dober, who can run the 2500-meter Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse, will certainly not find it difficult to handle the next 600 meters of offense and defense with her stamina."
—
After turning into the final straight in front of the grandstand, Mejiro Dober had already pulled two lengths ahead of Heart Lake, who had moved into second place.
"Barring any surprises, it will be a 1v1 showdown between Dober and Heart Lake."
The young man said at this point.
"Can Heart Lake maintain her chasing momentum on the final straight?"
Tokai Teio shook her head.
"Hard to say. I feel that Heart Lake's strength isn't enough to sustain a long-distance chase, and this race pace isn't the type that overseas Uma Musume prefer."
"Rice, you also need to remember to choose the appropriate race rhythm based on the specific Racecourse conditions."
Shuta said, looking at the dark bay Uma Musume.
"Rice will also be going on overseas expeditions in the future."
"En, I won't be like Heart Lake-senpai." Rice Shower obediently replied. "Onii-sama, don't worry."
Shuta wasn't sure if he should completely relax about Rice Shower, but the most important thing at the moment was Mejiro Dober on the track.
As Mejiro Dober was the first to pass the 300-meter marker, about to embark on the "Fuchu Height Difference 200-meter" Slope Road, Heart Lake had already been thrown back another length.
But looking at the split times, Heart Lake was actually gradually accelerating; it was just that Mejiro Dober's acceleration was even more ferocious.
"Looking at this, Dober should still be able to maintain a passing time in the 11-second range for the final 200 meters."
The young man muttered.
"In that case, victory should be assured."
"Hmm, I was worried Dober-senpai might lose speed." Tokai Teio stretched. "It seems my earlier worries were indeed excessive."
"It's normal to worry about losing speed." Rice Shower interjected. "During the final stage of the Derby, I also worried if I would lose speed by chasing so hard, but fortunately, my stamina reserves were sufficient to withstand the extra exertion."
"Everyone is still different. Rice's stamina reserves should be the most abundant in Team Sadalsuud. In terms of stamina, both Dober and Teio are a bit inferior to Rice."
"Really?" Tokai Teio blinked. "Trainer, don't forget I also won the Kikuka Sho!"
"But you yourself know better than anyone what your physical condition was like at the end of the Kikuka Sho, don't you, Teio?"
Shuta retorted.
"If you use that Kikuka Sho victory as an excuse, others might believe it, but as your Trainer, I won't be fooled."
"Ahaha..."
Tokai Teio laughed awkwardly. She also had some understanding of her own stamina level. Not to mention long distances, even when running middle-distance races with a front-running tactic, Teio rarely pulled away from those who sped up the pace—like Mejiro Palmer and Daitaku Helios.
Although Teio had been undergoing special training for this, she couldn't be sure if her special training was effective until she encountered a runaway Uma Musume like Mejiro Palmer.
—
After crossing the final Slope Road at Fuchu, Mejiro Dober's steps became light again.
Heart Lake had initially closed the gap to half a length, but as Mejiro Dober attacked the finish line with renewed lightness, Heart Lake, realizing she could no longer catch Mejiro Dober, showed a moment of weakness.
Sakura Chitose O, following closely behind Heart Lake, seized the opportunity to launch an attack, catching up to Heart Lake in just a few strides.
"Too eager."
Sakura Chitose O's Trainer sighed helplessly.
Just as Sakura Chitose O caught up to Heart Lake, the stimulated Heart Lake burst out with a three-stage final burst, instantly widening the distance between her and Sakura Chitose O—although at this point, Heart Lake had already been left three lengths behind by Mejiro Dober.
"THE WINNER OVERSEAS WAS MEJIRO DOBER, THE WINNER OF THE PREVIOUS RACE WAS MEJIRO DOBER, AND THIS TIME THE WINNER IS STILL MEJIRO DOBER! THE UNDEFEATED TRIPLE TIARA QUEEN HAS NO RIVALS IN JAPAN! NEXT, IT'S TIME TO PROVE HER STRENGTH TO THE WORLD AGAIN!"
At the moment before crossing the finish line, the thought "lean forward and lower your center of gravity a bit more" suddenly popped into Mejiro Dober's mind. (Oguri's teaching?)
And she did it.
As she completed this action, Mejiro Dober's ears were the first to touch the line.
And the live commentator shouted loudly.
"MEJIRO DOBER CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! WINNING TIME 1:32.3! 0.1 SECONDS FASTER THAN THE VICTORIA MILE! THIS IS MEJIRO DOBER'S LAST YEAR ON THE TWINKLE SERIES STAGE! BUT SHE GETS STRONGER WITH EVERY RACE!!! HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO WITNESS THE POWERFUL RISE OF A TRIPLE TIARA ROUTE UMA MUSUME! WILL WE EVER MEET ANOTHER UMA MUSUME LIKE MEJIRO DOBER IN THE FUTURE? NO ONE CAN GIVE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER! SO ALL WE CAN DO IS CHERISH THE PRESENT! CHERISH EVERY MINUTE AND SECOND MEJIRO DOBER IS STILL ON THIS STAGE!"
Listening to the commentator's shouts and the cheers of the audience in the stands, Shuta clenched his right fist and raised his arm.
"THE FIRST EVER VICTORIA MILE FOLLOWED BY YASUDA KINEN CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES—TRAINER SHUTA AND MEJIRO DOBER HAVE SET A TEMPLATE FOR FUTURE TRIPLE TIARA ROUTE UMA MUSUMES: IF YOU CAN'T RUN THE QUEEN ELIZABETH CUP IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE YEAR, THEN TAKE THIS ROUTE!"
The guest commentator praised after noticing Trainer Shuta's figure on the big screen.