Chapter 60
While Yasui Makoto was organizing race materials in the temporary office, Kitasan Black was watching races on his tablet.
Once he was mostly done, Yasui Makoto walked over to his horse girl and glanced at the screen.
"Oh? The Wakaba Stakes?"
"Eh? Yeah."
Kitasan Black looked up from the screen with a smile and said with feeling, "By this time tomorrow, Gold Ship-senpai will be running just like the horse on screen…"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked back at the tablet.
"Here she comes! Come on! Go! Sprint! You can do it!"
Drawn by her excited voice, Yasui Makoto also looked at the screen, just in time to see a horse girl with long reddish-brown hair cross the finish line.
At the same time, the commentator's voice rang out loudly from the tablet.
"Aka Red Zen! It's Aka Red Zen! "A dominant two-length victory! "Let's congratulate Aka Red Zen on a beautiful win in the Wakaba Stakes!"
"Wow! So cool!"
Kitasan Black cheered excitedly too, then looked at Yasui Makoto with anticipation.
"Trainer Yasui, do you think Gold Ship-senpai will win tomorrow as beautifully as this horse girl did?"
Yasui Makoto thought for a moment.
He wasn't a professional in horse racing in his previous life; most of what he knew came from quick research for work.
The names he remembered best were the most famous ones, along with some particularly well-known races.
Gold Ship's name was one he remembered, and he had a rough idea of her record in the Satsuki Sho, Kikuka Sho, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen, and other G1s.
He didn't remember the Hanshin Daishoten G2 as clearly, but he seemed to recall she won it.
Still, he could analyze it using the knowledge and experience he had built up.
"The probability should be quite high for Gold Ship in this Hanshin Daishoten."
He motioned for Kitasan Black to hand him the tablet and continued thoughtfully.
"Both her past race results and her data show that Gold Ship has very strong long-distance adaptability.
In terms of specific abilities, aside from some difficulty at the start, her stamina, power, and grit are all excellent, and her speed is above average.
This type is actually similar to yours. And because of her rich racing experience and… rather unconventional tactics, her advantage in middle-to-long distance races is very obvious.
Plus this race is at Hanshin Racecourse. From what I remember, aside from one G3 loss right after her debut, she has never lost at this track.
She has the Kobe Shimbun Hai title, back-to-back Hanshin Daishoten wins, and back-to-back Takarazuka Kinen wins. You could say Hanshin is basically her home track.
So unless…"
He hesitated for a moment.
A few days ago when he first heard about this horse girl, he had spent some time recalling the corresponding races from his original world.
Especially the Takarazuka Kinen. Although he didn't remember it immediately, he was certain something dramatic had happened with Gold Ship.
Then he recalled the famous "1.21 billion high-leg lift."
In his previous world, horse racing gambling was legal and a major industry, with betting amounts in the tens of billions.
The largest bets were naturally placed on the most famous horses, and Gold Ship was one of them.
Just like in this world, the parallel world's Gold Ship had an incredible record at Hanshin, she basically never lost there.
So when she ran in her third Takarazuka Kinen, the total betting on her reached an astonishing 12.1 billion yen.
In the end, Gold Ship completely bombed the race.
At the start, she did a huge high-leg kick and fell more than 20 meters behind the pack. Even someone who knew nothing about racing could tell she had no chance of catching up.
She seemed to realize it too, so she basically gave up and finished 15th.
Since she didn't win, the 12.1 billion yen in bets vanished instantly.
That high-leg kick at the start became known as the "1.21 billion high-leg lift."
What Yasui Makoto was hesitating about was that this world's Gold Ship had been on a smooth run so far, just like in the parallel world. There was a chance something shocking might happen again at the Takarazuka Kinen later in the year.
But now wasn't the time to talk about that, so he quickly snapped out of it and looked seriously at his black-haired girl.
"Anyway, there's a high chance Gold Ship will win this Hanshin Daishoten.
But her running style… is quite unique, so it's not very useful as a reference.
That's why I'm telling you, you are not allowed to copy her."
While Yasui Makoto was analyzing, Kitasan Black had been listening with great interest. She never expected her trainer to suddenly turn serious with that rare stern expression and tone.
She stared at him blankly for a moment before reacting.
"Oh… o-okay…"
Then she scratched her head, looking troubled.
"Actually, I also feel like Gold Ship-senpai does a lot of… really weird training. I have no idea what she's doing, but she always wins.
Since Trainer Yasui said so, I definitely won't try to copy anything."
"Good."
Yasui Makoto nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the whiteboard beside him with a serious look.
"Alright, enough small talk. Let's look at your race tomorrow.
My luck seems to be pretty bad lately, you drew gate 1 for this one… I'm not apologizing, I'm just complaining. Listen carefully.
Unless it's an extreme situation, the innermost and outermost gates always have unavoidable disadvantages.
Most other trainers have probably already guessed that you specialize in front-running and stalker styles, so they'll likely prepare some counter tactics.
Especially gates 2 and 3.
Unless something unexpected happens, those two opponents will try to do some gate interference right at the start.
Don't worry about what gate interference means for now… actually, I'll explain it simply.
Gate interference is a legal way to hinder your opponents.
You don't need to worry about it yet. I'll explain it when you need to know, and I might even have you practice it.
Back to the early race.
Although the probability is low, if no one interferes with you, you should use the technique we trained and seize the lead as quickly as possible.
After that, between 600 and 1,100 meters, build up a sufficient lead according to the race situation.
Only then will your opponents have no chance to use their closing speed.
But as I said, the other horse girls will very likely try to hinder you, intentionally or not, especially in the early stage.
Remember, if that happens, do not fight for position. No matter what, do not fight for it.
Keep your rhythm steady and endure until the first bend.
Unless something unexpected happens, that's when your real race begins…"
This pre-race analysis took Yasui Makoto a long time. He used plenty of diagrams, video references, and simulation diagrams rendered by the program.
After finishing the race situation forecast, he went on to explain the opponents in detail.
Just like the previous two races, the girl who had won two straight races was still not the favorite.
She had slightly better odds than last time, this time she was the 5th favorite.
The top four favorites were Duramente, Danon Platina, Symboli Kris S, and Black Berry.
Compared to the last two, Yasui Makoto was paying more attention to Duramente and Danon Platina.
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