Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 391: Accelerated Sprint at the Beginning

Akikawa Yayoi's commentary is obviously not that professional.

Compared to a professional commentator, her so-called commentary style is actually more in line with the viewing experience of a retired president of Tresen College who is very knowledgeable and passionate about horse racing girls affairs.

However, what she described truly reflected the actual situation on the field.

In the Shining Series, there are very few G2400 events of 1 meters applicable to the Tokyo venue, including the Japan Derby, the Oaks Tournament and the Japan Cup.

At present, there is no clear level for this international exchange competition. It is just classified as a "non-high-prize-level exchange competition" in accordance with convention.

But there is no doubt that judging from the past performance of the runaway horse ladies and the strength they have shown in the competitions, it is no exaggeration to call the actual intensity of the competition G1.

More importantly, after discussions among all parties, it was finally decided that the winning suit would be used as the competition uniform, rather than the regular sportswear below G1.

However, as an actual G1 event, the number of players in this game is significantly smaller than those in the Japanese Derby with the same venue and schedule.

After the race started, nearly half of the horse racing girls gathered in the leading team.

Further back, there is a "blank area".

The length of the "blank section" is not very long, only about two or three horse lengths, or about 6 or 7 meters.

But afterwards, the horse racing ladies who chose to wait and see in the early stages of the race did not rush forward. The team was obviously much looser and took a longer time.

Compared with the crowded scene at the front, the gap between the front and rear teams is clearly visible to the naked eye.

At the same time, Akikawa Yayoi was also explaining the situation of the rear team fiercely.

“The competition for the lead team was difficult to determine for a while!

“The horse girls who followed should be waiting for the right opportunity, or watching the subsequent development of the game!

“The only horse girls in the left and right positions are Selvi, Mep Shenzan, and Taylor Gallery!
“There are more horse girls in the back row, but the competition is not as fierce as in the front row. The distance between the teams from this position onwards is more obvious!
"The last position is represented by Axel and Chiaki, two horse girls!"

In the intervals between Akikawa Yayoi's commentary, Lifar also inserted some comments at appropriate times.

“The battle for the lead will last for a while, and it is not wise to rush into this confrontation at this time. If you are not careful, it will become very dangerous to be surrounded between the teams.

“Being too close to the front will also be affected by this. Being too close to the leading team will easily be affected by the horse girls who slow down in the subsequent races. In addition, the visibility here is not very good.

“The players behind seemed to be very aware of this and all gave up trying to move forward. Their positions were a little further back than in similar events, which was a very wise decision.

"At the back, Axel and Qianming usually run from behind in previous competitions. It seems that they both want to choose this familiar running method in this competition."

With the commentary and live broadcast by the two directors, as well as the obviously fierce battle for the lead in the early stages, the entire stadium fell into anxiety and frenzy from the very beginning of the game.

Although there were no thunderous shouts and cheers from the audience seats on the runway, the sound produced by the dense, rapid and powerful footsteps was no less than that from the stands.

The track, which had experienced a day of competition, was now becoming even more messy with mud, sand, and grass flying under the vibration of footsteps.

Although they are not members of such a competition team, both Ludo Symbol and Mejiro Peak have participated in this competition through the Japan Derby, Japan Cup or Oaks Tournament.

Just through the commentary and the broadcast screen, the two horse girls felt as if they were actually there.

"As expected, this level of confrontation is the first thing we do..."

With his arms folded, he stared closely at the situation on the screen and said hurriedly in a low voice: "It's exactly the same as the rehearsal..."

"Yeah, that's right."

On the side, Lu Duo also folded his arms as if ready for battle, nodded and said in a deep voice: "Considering the fierceness of European and American competitions, and the fact that many horse girls on the list of runners for this competition are good at leading, this situation is obvious.

“It’s just that the draw result was still a surprise.

"Saratany, Oasis, Shining Glory, Active Hope, Katsuragi Ace, Maruzenski..."

After muttering the name that Akikawa Yayoi mentioned when she was leading the team in the previous live broadcast, Lu Duo rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

"All of a sudden there are so many horse girls who are good at leading, and they all use the strategy of taking the lead at the beginning...

"It should be considered beyond our expectations..."

"That's true, but we have also anticipated this situation, so..."

Quickly recalling the preparation ideas he had discussed with his friends and the school's training team, Mebai Gaofeng subconsciously turned to look at Luduo.

"It should still be possible... huh? What's wrong, Ludo?"

She suddenly discovered that although Luduo looked like he had a headache, for some reason, there was a strange smile on the corner of his mouth.

“Ah… Heh, I was thinking that, rather than focusing on running itself, horse girls…”

Luduo chuckled and muttered to himself, "Perhaps the trainer is better at strategy in the game...

"Of course, the prerequisite is that the trainer is good enough..."

Mejiro Gaofeng didn't quite understand what Luduo meant. She was stunned for a moment and was about to ask something when a sharp voice from the commentary desk interrupted her train of thought.

"Speed ​​up?!

"and many more!
“What is going on?!

"Why do we have to accelerate to this extent in the early stages?!"

“Meow meow meow…?”

“…Ahem, as you can see, after the race team passed the finish line for the first time, when entering the first turn, the leading horsewoman showed obvious changes.

"Oasis and the Active Hope from the United States maintained their pace.

“However, Sarathani and Shine chose to speed up.

“Also selected were Ace Katsuragi and Maruzenski from Japan.

“The six leading horse girls made different decisions at the entrance of the turn.

“After the decision was made, the team’s situation changed significantly.

“Oasis and Active Hope are in the lead at once.

“At the same time, the four horse girls who were still in the lead took advantage of this opportunity to distance themselves from the others.

"Now, there is a distance of more than two horse lengths between the leading team and the first team.

"Compared with the teams behind them, their lead has reached six lengths.

"Compared to the team chasing us, this distance...

"It can be called a big difference of more than ten horse lengths."

Obviously, there were some changes in the competition that were different from other competitions, which surprised Yayoi Akikawa greatly, and even the cat on her head was confused.

Fortunately, Lifar took over some tasks of the live broadcast in time, which made up for the necessary content of the commentary.

Inside and outside the stadium, most of the spectators did not notice anything unusual in the broadcast.

All their attention was focused on the racing teams whose length on the track was getting longer and longer.

And thus became more and more excited.

This is not difficult to understand. For fans watching the game, if they have to choose the most entertaining game, it is hard to say who will win the award in the end.

But among the alternative races, there is definitely an event like the Great Escape. It is like playing in two arenas, or the same arena is split into two dimensions. The horse girl at the front is so far ahead that she leaves her opponents far behind, running recklessly.

Perhaps the cameras on the scene were unable to capture the entire game and could only play it in two screens.

The competition situation has not yet been widened to that extent.

But starting from Akikawa Yayoi's exclamation, the horse racing girls in the front row of the leading team clearly maintained a continuous acceleration.

If the lead gap brought about by this acceleration continues, there is no doubt that the game situation is likely to really turn into a "two-dimensional" event.

The audience inside and outside the venue were all looking forward to that situation.

However, after witnessing the changes in the game in the broadcasting room, Mejiro Takamine, who was one of the preparing teams and even had the opportunity to participate in the event, was shocked.

“Wait, wait a minute!”

She exclaimed in a low voice, staring at the Luduo symbol, "This... This is different from the tactics we discussed before, right, Luduo...?!"

"Ah, it's a little different..."

After quietly affirming, Luduo's smile became more and more strange, "The competition for the leading position is undoubtedly inevitable. If the opponents insist on taking the lead, we can consider staying in the leading position and wait for a while depending on the situation.

“This was our original plan.

"As for the 2400m race in Tokyo, running away is an inherently disadvantageous tactic.

“Give up the leading position appropriately, keep forcing the fleeing horse in the leading position, and consume the opponent’s physical strength.

“Finally, I surpassed my opponent in one breath on the final straight line of 525.9 meters and won the championship.

"This...is indeed our original plan."

"…So, did you say something to Katsuragi and Maruzen before?"

Although the astonishment on her face gradually faded, Mubai Gaofeng's eyes were still a little puzzled, but she vaguely understood something.

“You have run the 2400 meters in Tokyo more than once.

"Then you should know clearly, you said it yourself.

“The design of the course and the race schedule means that the conditions in the last 500 meters are too uncertain.

“The final straight line of 525.9 meters is unusually wide.

“There is also a slope section with a height difference of 2 meters.

“When a runner has a high pace, it is quite disadvantageous whether it is a long sprint or an uphill race.

“Especially the hilly section, after running 2000 meters you have to go up a hill again, it’s really exhausting.

"Moreover, this kind of track condition is quite conducive for the competitors behind to sprint, position themselves flexibly, and maintain their physical strength, so..."

As he spoke, Mejiro Gaofeng frowned unconsciously.

"You must have said something to them again," she repeated, "otherwise, according to the tactical ideas we discussed earlier, they should be ahead of Oasis and Active Hope right now."

"So, what's going on now?" Staring at Luduo, she pointed at the runway facing the window of the broadcasting room.

Without looking at Mejiro Kamine, he looked straight in the direction she pointed, staring at the racing team passing the first bend on the track and heading towards the right arc of the track, and Luduo was silent for a while.

"...To put it simply, I just told them to run a race without regrets, that's all."

With a strange smile, she murmured, “Not just with Katsuragi and Maruzen.

"I said the same thing to Chiaki, Miura and the others."

"...?"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and confusion, and Mebai Gaofeng's expression also became strange.

Also looking at the competition venue, she crossed her arms again and became thoughtful.

"So... they're treating this like the Japan Cup, the Japan Derby, or something like that...?"

Mebai Gaofeng murmured in an amused tone and suddenly shook his head.

"I admit that if I had to say that I had no regrets, their behavior right now would be understandable.

"Or rather than leaving no regrets, your suggestion or idea should be to let them choose another tactic.

“If there is no more appropriate way to deal with unexpected race conditions, then choose the running method that you are best at.

"Um……"

Pinching his chin, Mubai Gaofeng's eyes no longer contained the previous astonishment and confusion, but were filled with calm thought.

"In that case, the fact that Sarathani and Shining Brilliance are ahead of the others in the leading group is something we had not expected.

“As for Katsuragi and Maruzen…they were indeed ahead in what they were best at.

"This response is not completely without problems, but..."

She frowned unconsciously again, “There are many unexpected situations in the competition, I know that very well.

"But if they deal with it this way, their chances of winning..."

She looked at the Rudra symbol.

"...Don't look at me, I can't guarantee 100% that this treatment will win the game."

Catching a glimpse of his friend's inquiring eyes, Lu Duo continued to stare at the field, spread his hands and made a gesture of "I don't know either".

On the track, the team advanced at high speed, maintaining its lead, passed the curve on the right side of the track, entered the second curve, and headed towards the straight line opposite the audience seats.

"But before I can confirm this, I need to correct or remind you of something."

"...Hmm? What's the matter?" Mebai Gaofeng raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yongwu is good at running behind and chasing, or in other words, she is a horse girl who is good at chasing and is stronger than the last foot."

Suddenly mentioning Yongwu who did not participate in this competition, Lu Duo said in a deep voice: “And it is a world-class pursuit ability and last-foot level.

"However, Saratani is a horse girl who can withstand the terrifying last kick of 10.3 seconds in the last wave like Yuubu.

“Coincidentally, in this match, Axel is also a horse girl with world-class explosive power.

"She led the entire team in the Umamusume Gold Cup with her extremely exaggerated pace, including the Seattle Slalom.

“Then, she defeated the first American undefeated Triple Crown horse girl by a narrow margin.

"so……"

Looking at Mejiro Gaofeng, Luduo emphasized his tone, "Even if we only consider the abilities that these two of them are good at, it is easy to imagine that this game will become an extremely rare pursuit.

"Not to mention, what's even more coincidental is that in the just concluded Japan Cup, our champion Inari Ichi also relied on chasing from behind and the last kick to catch up in a straight line of more than 500 meters.

"Gao Feng, do you understand what I mean?"

(End of this chapter)