Time flew by, and it was already late July, time for Kitasan Black to participate in the Chukyo Junior Championship.
From now on, unless it was a G1 race or a race held in Tokyo, the entire TCB team wouldn't be participating.
Firstly, Sakura Baimu didn't want to interfere with their studies and training.
Secondly, the team's budget simply couldn't afford such extravagance.
With encouragement and support from their TCB teammates, Sakura Baimu and Kitasan Black left Tokyo.
They arrived at Chukyo Racecourse in Toyoaki City, Aichi Prefecture.
Chukyo Racecourse primarily hosts sprint races.
The Turf Sprint Champions Race, the Takamatsu Kinen Race, the Dirt Champions Race, and the Championship Cup are all held at Chukyo Racecourse.
Today, Kitasan Black was participating in the OP-level Turf 1600 meter Mile Race.
Because it was a local-level race, and an OP-level race, the audience wasn't large.
It's quite rare for a Central Umamusume to participate in an OP-level tournament in a regional competition, so Kitasan Black, as a newly debuted Umamusume, has already secured second place in the popularity rankings.
Currently, Kitasan Black is doing her final warm-up exercises with the other seven Umamusumes in front of the gate.
As the only Umamusume from the Central region in this competition, Kitasan Black naturally attracts a lot of attention from the other Umamusumes.
The remaining seven regional Umamusumes from Chukyo clearly know each other; they've gathered together, quietly discussing Kitasan Black, who exudes a confident and cheerful smile as she slowly warms up.
"She's from Central? Is she just here to bully weaker opponents? Why come all the way to our little town to compete?"
"I don't think so. If she were really that good, why wouldn't she stay Central? I suspect she's not skilled enough, which is why she came here."
"Agreed."
"Didn't the commentator say during the demonstration that this was only her second match since her debut? She definitely doesn't have much experience yet."
"But I'm still a little worried. Even if a Central Umamusume is bad, her skill level shouldn't be too low."
"In that case, how about we get ahead of her and block her position? We can't let her underestimate our Chukyo Umamusumes."
"Great idea!"
A group of Chukyo's Umamusumes reached a consensus.
Clearly, they felt a strong sense of resistance and rejection towards Kitasan Black, who had suddenly come from the Central region to compete here.
There were eight Umamusumes competing, with Kitasan Black positioned in position 4 at gate 4.
"The sky over Chukyo Racecourse is slightly overcast. The riders have now entered the gates."
After entering the gates, Kitasan Black greeted the Umamusumes on either side of her with a smile:
"Hello~"
"Hello."
The Umamusumes on either side of Kitasan Black had already planned to distract the seemingly naive and inexperienced Kitasan Black during the race.
After greeting Kitasan Black, they both turned their heads with mischievous grins.
"Kitasan Black from the Central region, I wonder if she can perform to the standards of the Central Umamusumes in this race?"
"Chukyo Junior Championship, now—"
"Start!"
As the gates opened, all eight Umamusumes surged forward.
Number 3, the lucky one; number 5, the descendant of the angel; and numbers 2 and 6, all Umamusumes, surged ahead of Kitasan Black the moment the gate opened, attempting to form a human wall to block her path.
Kitasan Black had a good start this time but was still a step behind the Umamusumes who were desperately trying to gain an advantage in the early stage.
"This time, half the players were sprinting at full speed at the start, and the leading Umamusume now is number 8, the little kitten."
"Kitasan Black's position is blocked; it looks like she can't accelerate."
The four Umamusumes running side by side at roughly the same pace burst into laughter upon hearing the commentator's voice.
They glanced at Kitasan Black trailing behind them out of the corner of their eyes, feeling even more smug.
"She's probably not laughing anymore," the Angel Descendant thought.
The 1600 meter Junior Championship starts on a track that runs between the first and second turns. The Umamusumes immediately passed the second turn and entered a straight.
"Little Kitten is still in first place, about three lengths ahead of number 1."
"Numbers 2, 3, 5, and 6 are all in similar positions; the situation is a bit tense."
"Kitasan Black has dropped to eighth place because she can't accelerate due to the large number of runners ahead of her."
"Done! The Umamusume from the Central region ended up in eighth place on the regional track. If that gets back, people will laugh their heads off!"
The regional Umamusumes were secretly pleased with themselves, feeling their well-practiced tactics were perfect.
"The Little Kitten has reached the third corner first."
"Quite fast! The little kitten on the far outside has a natural advantage when navigating the corner."
"In last place is still Kitasan Black from the Central region..."
"Kitasan Black has moved to the far outside! She's moved from track 4 to the far outside and started accelerating!"
"She used the corner to get to the far outside!"
The commentator's voice slightly surprised the Umamusumes.
Kitasan Black had actually thought of using the far outside track to overtake during the corner.
This was indeed a clever strategy, and for a rookie Umamusume, making such a judgment was quite impressive.
But...
"Moving from the inner track to the outermost track means the distance you need to cover is longer, and the stamina required is also increased. You'll regret it when you slow down."
"Kitasan Black is accelerating! She's definitely going to overtake from the outermost track!"
"Wow! So fast! She's already overtaken riders 2, 3, 5, and 6, and is now catching up to rider 1."
In the stands of Chukyo Racecourse, the sparse spectators finally reacted after witnessing this scene.
As a newly debuted Umamusume, Kitasan Black was displaying astonishing speed.
The contrast with the other Umamusumes was simply too stark.
So many people couldn't help but gasp when they saw Kitasan Black overtake five riders in a row on the outer track.
"Truly worthy of being a Central Umamusume! This level of skill is definitely not on par with the regional Umamusumes!"