Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 387 The final racer, Japan, Maruzen
Beiyuan could only guess whether Yongwu wanted to win the pioneering Peak Cup.

But the names drawn by the Japan Cup players next made him somewhat understand the purpose of Europe and the United States participating in this Peak Cup.

It is obvious that Saratani is a horse racing girl of the same generation as Yuuwu, and the subsequent horse racing girls from Europe were almost all active in the same generation.

Kitahara had already met some of the horse racing girls when preparing for the event, but he had no news of others coming to Japan.

For example, Bering was the first to arrive in Japan on the day of the Emperor's Autumn Viewing Ceremony, as well as Flying Dancers, Shining Lights, and Tate Gallery, all of which were Uma Musume that shined during the same period.

The situation is the same in the United States, except that compared to the era when European horse racing girls were active, that batch was active earlier.

To be precise, Umamusume, Excel and Active Hope, which are almost of the same generation as Seattle Slalom and Oath, have more or less clashed with the two student council presidents of the American Tresen College on the field.

From a generational perspective, the two groups of horse girls from different regions and generations coincide exactly with the generations of the players prepared by Japan.

Maruzenski may have debuted even earlier. She was one of the earliest horse girls who are still active in the Japanese industry.

Apart from her, the timeline can basically be said to be continuous from Heisek to Qianming Representative, Katsuragi Ace, and from Rudo Symbol to Mepu Shenzan.

If we have to mention exceptions, it would be that there were very few outstanding horse girls between the generation of Heisek and Representative Chiaki.

This is normal, because the horse racing girl industry was at a low point during the period around Heisek's generation.

It can even be said that the period when Heisek was in service was itself a very unique period.

At that time, the attention of the entire horse racing girl world was almost focused on that horse racing girl.

People who were originally interested in this area became interested in Uma Musume, competitions, and the winners' stage because of her.

Many people come to watch the game, not caring about the outcome, just to see this horse girl.

In other words, it was a very special era of phenomenal idols.

Due to this extraordinary popularity, and the development of the industry it promoted, the URA Association not only gave Heseker the title of Hall of Fame, but also the appropriate title of "National Idol".

After her, the industry's heat suddenly dropped, like the tide receding.

The popularity gradually increased after Chiaki represented and Rudo symbolized two consecutive Triple Crown horse girls, and Katsuragi Ace and Rudo won two consecutive Japan Cups.

Even so, it has been a long time since a popular horse racing girl like Heisek has appeared.

If we compare them, the next time someone with similar popularity and influence will probably have to wait until Ogurashi, who is known as a "superstar", appears.

Most of the audience at the draw venue did not pay attention to this phenomenon, which was similar to a "generational gap".

Almost everyone exclaimed excitedly as the names they remembered appeared one after another, cheering for these horse girls who had once performed brilliantly on the track.

The only people who would care are trainers like Kitahara, or horse girls who are going to compete.

"It seems... a bit troublesome, Maruzen."

Staring at the list of departures on the screen in the stands, Kitahara frowned, "Let's not talk about the issue of winning or losing.

"It should be obvious. Yuuwu and the others... to be more precise, the academy and association over there, really want to understand the overall situation of Japanese Uma Musume through this competition."

This is his guess about the intentions of his competitors.

It shouldn't be a coincidence. If it was just for the victory of a single event, such as the Japan Cup, the departure lineup would definitely not be arranged like this.

At least Kitahara himself would not arrange it this way.

If you want to win the next race, the best way is to choose the horse girl who is most suitable for the venue and distance.

It would be best if there is some specificity in terms of ability and running style.

For example, if it is a long-distance race, there is no doubt that you should choose a horse girl with excellent endurance.

If there are a lot of horse girls running away, then you should consider giving priority to horse girls who are good at leading or those who are bad at running. Of course, horse girls who are good at chasing are also acceptable.

When there are a large number of contestants, the leading position is prone to congestion, requiring more physical strength in confrontation and more power in breaking through.

Generally speaking, the rider with poor performance can better maintain his physical strength, while the rider with sufficient strength has a greater chance of catching up to the champion from the last corner.

But in this pinnacle cup called "International Exchange", the European and American sides obviously do not care so much about winning or losing.

Obviously, these competitors cover a wide range not only in terms of active generations.

In terms of venue adaptability, distance adaptability, running methods, etc., each horse racing girl has different strengths.

In this way, by analyzing the actual race situation, it is easy to find out the situation of other horse girls in the same field.

But what's the problem with doing this...

There's really no problem.

Because Kitahara also thought so.

Not only did he think so, he also made the same recommendations to the board of directors and the association.

As a startup event, victory or defeat is definitely of great significance.

However, that is from the perspective of trainers and horse girls.

It also has certain significance for the organizers, such as better control of the initiative in subsequent events.

From the perspective of the competition system, winning or losing is not the most important thing.

To build a new competition system, to put it simply, we need to understand the overall average parameters of the horse racing girls, so as to design a stage that allows more horse racing girls to display their strengths.

This kind of thinking is especially necessary if you want to face the international market.

Otherwise it will easily lead to a situation where a nominally international competition is actually only participated by horse racing girls from the country of origin.

It's like the Japan Cup.

It is not obvious at the current Japan Cup.

But as time goes by, associations and organizers want to improve the advantages of their own horse racing girls more and more, so they will intentionally or unintentionally change many details.

For example, the hardness of the venue.

In theory, hard surfaces can indeed allow for faster running.

But the problem is that if the technology has not developed to a certain level, the harder the track, the greater the physical strain on the horse girls.

And standing on Uma Musume itself, the more natural the field is, the more comfortable it is compared to the hard field.

That is, a soft site with a higher proportion of soil.

A considerable portion of the racing venues in Europe, America and other regions are soft surfaces that are close to their natural state, and the horse racing girls there have been conducting corresponding field training.

The playing field in Japan is getting harder and harder.

Let’s not talk about Uma Musume for now, after all, the official design has not been completed yet.

In terms of horse racing, these situations led to the subsequent Japan Cup being basically a civil war among Japanese horses, with no international significance.

In Kitahara's opinion, that direction should be avoided, both for the health of Uma Musume and for the long-term development of the event.

Therefore, the draw list for this competition is actually the same as that of the opponent, and it includes as many horse girls with different field adaptability, running styles, etc. as possible.

The board of directors and the association also agreed, and the current draw is being conducted according to this arrangement.

But returning to the event itself, this kind of departure will undoubtedly make the competition situation more complicated.

If you knew in advance that Uma Musume was leaving and made targeted preparations, this complexity could be easily resolved.

The problem is that the draw was not conducted in advance, but on the same day.

After the draw, interviews, appearances, and warm-up, it was time for the final match of the day. So, if Maruzen and the others wanted to win this match, they could only rely on their previous preparations...

Is it possible…?
Worried, Kitahara looked around unconsciously.

He was busy with preparations and handling various affairs before the Japan Cup and did not have special time to guide the horse racing girls of the Peak Cup.

Subconsciously, I also feel that these horse girls have enough experience, and all kinds of resources are provided by the academy, so they should not be lacking.

Maruzen and the others themselves said that everything was going well in preparations for the war.

But in the final analysis, this competition is nominally hosted by the Eternal Club.

These horse racing girls also left under this name.

As a trainer, it is impossible not to worry.

As soon as he turned his head, he found that the horse racing girl next to him was not looking at him.

She was holding one hand tightly against her chest, biting her lip, and looking straight at the screen in the stands with a look that was a mixture of trepidation and determination.

After a moment of shock, Kitahara remembered that before the race, the horse girl had vowed to him that she would definitely be selected to participate in this Peak Cup.

But in the previous drawing session, the names of no less than ten horse racing girls have been announced.

The names of more than a dozen horse racing girls were also written on the screen.

Below the name, the gate number and athlete number are also filled in one by one.

But there is still no name of Maruzenski.

For a moment, Kitahara suddenly understood a little bit. He could probably imagine Maruzenski's current mood.

It was just like when he checked the central trainer assessment results.

I am sure that with accumulation, hard work, and foresight, becoming a central trainer will not be a problem.

But before you really get a definite answer, no matter how confident and determined you are, you can't help but feel anxious and worried.

only……

I was so obsessed with becoming a central trainer because I had all kinds of dreams...

Maruzen she...

Do you really want to participate in this competition...?
For a moment, Kitahara wanted to ask the horse racing girl next to him what she was thinking.

Suddenly I saw that she put her other hand on her chest. I don’t know what she was thinking about, but she lowered her head slightly and closed her eyes.

"The last spot... please, it must be me...

“This kind of luck…

"There's absolutely no way I don't have it...!"

Hearing these hurried murmurs vaguely, Beiyuan was at a loss for a moment, and then he heard Luduo's clear and accurate reading of the symbol from the stands.

"The final racer, Japan, Maruzensky."

Just like the previous announcement, after Lu Duo finished speaking, there was a burst of cheers and heated discussions in the conference hall.

"Supercar! It's actually a supercar! Sure enough! My guess was right! The Luduo symbol can't leave this time, and Central Tresen College will definitely not let the other two presidents lose the election!"

"'The dream car returns to the green field'? No, no, this news headline is too short... Forget it, just tell the newspaper to send a tweet first! Use this headline!"

“It’s Maruzenski… She’s very strong and a legendary horse girl, but compared to other players, she lacks G1 wins…”

"That's something to talk about! And don't you want to see how strong this legendary horse girl is?!"

Along with these discussions and debates, reporters in front of the stands all moved their cameras around, trying to find Maruzenski in the venue.

The same goes for other visitors in the venue. As long as they pay attention to Uma Musume, they will inevitably pay close attention to the departure of this Peak Cup.

In the stands, many horse racing girls continued to look at Luduo, and then looked at the screen.

It was not until Luduo guided the drawing and confirmed Maruzenski's gate number and contestant number, and Maruzenski's name and number appeared on the screen, that they began to look for this horse racing girl in the venue like reporters and guests.

Maruzenski was right next to him, but Kitahara was not in a hurry to find him.

After confirming the gate number, his expression changed and he turned his head with amusement.

"The big foreign player at the last gate, what can I say... Is this the fulfillment of your long-cherished wish for a Japanese derby...?"

He had meant it as a joke.

There is no doubt that Maruzenski regrets not being able to participate in the Classic Triple Crown, and Kitahara would not take the initiative to mention this matter in the past because he was worried that it might be offensive.

However, perhaps because he felt that Maruzenski himself didn't care so much about the past, or perhaps because of the unsuccessful joke before, he couldn't help but make a joke at this moment.

Soon, he discovered something unexpected.

Maruzenski had opened his eyes without knowing when.

She didn't look up, but released her hands that were previously pressed against her chest and spread them out in front of her.

Only then did she curl the corners of her mouth slightly and look at the screen.

"A long-cherished wish... maybe, but..."

Turning her head, she smiled slightly, "That's no longer my long-cherished wish."

After hearing these words, Kitahara was a beat slow to react.

Immediately, he became confused.

“Isn’t it…?”

After hesitating for a moment, he pointed at Maruzenski's palm and said, "Then this is...

"Why?

"This should be what I put in the file before..."

What he just noticed was the four-leaf clover that Maruzenski was spreading in his palm.

He had no impression at first, but soon he remembered that this clover seemed to be the same as the one he had previously sandwiched in a document and looked somewhat familiar.

And that document was exactly what he gave to Maruzenski before the Japan Cup.

"Yes."

Picking up the clover, Maruzenski smiled and said, "Why?

"Are you going to say that this was not prepared by you?
“Or rather, it wasn’t prepared specifically for me?

"That's terrible, I can't thank you.

"I thought I was selected for this competition thanks to the clover you gave me."

As she said this with a smile, her eyes were the same as before when she was staring at the screen, firm yet with a subtle hint of uneasiness.

"This...is of course specially prepared for you."

As he gave the affirmative answer, Maruzenski's eyes lit up clearly, and Kitahara also smiled unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)