Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 157 Is it possible for Xiaobei to escape?
After a while, we arrived at the outer side of the lakeside trail around Lake Okutama.

I don’t know if it was because the association and the academy had informed each other, or if it was for greening considerations, but in any case, the trail is a flat concrete road with equally flat grass on both sides.

Of course, you can run faster on a hard, straight concrete road, but grass is definitely closer to the conditions on a racing field.

So at this moment, two figures were running fast on the grass outside the trail, one in front and one behind.

The person in front with short black hair and wearing the tracksuit of Tresen Academy is none other than Northern Xuanju.

The petite girl in the back with long black hair, also wearing sportswear, is the horse racing girl Mi Yu.

Looking from the temporary starting point, Northern Black Horse was obviously very concerned about the seniors following behind, and would look back every few dozen or a hundred meters.

Mi Yu in the back was very focused, his purple eyes fixed on the figure in front of him from beginning to end, as if they were glued to him.

Looking at the running situation, An Jingzhen nodded slightly and wrote and drew on the tablet in his hand.

"Mi Yu's defensive ability... is really strong." He muttered to himself unconsciously while writing and drawing.

Standing beside him and watching the grass track, Silent Suzuka also nodded.

“Well, the characteristic of Mi Yu’s running style…is extreme concentration.

"This... is actually rare. After all, the competition environment is so complex that one's attention can easily wander. To be able to focus to this extent...

"Perhaps only Mi Yu can do that...ah, I mean the Uma Musume I'm familiar with."

Hearing this, An Jingzhen became thoughtful.

Just like Silent Suzuka said, during the actual race, the opponent's movements, the feel of the track, the lighting, the cheers of the audience...

There are many factors that can affect Uma Musume, and the ability to resist interference is itself part of the training.

Beifang Xuanju has also done this kind of training, but she has a good talent in this area and does not need special training.

In the past, whether she was training or competing, she was able to run with full concentration and never had any issues with her mind wandering.

That is why, when she was running side by side for a long distance, she would pay attention to Mi Yu behind her from time to time, which just shows the particularity of the latter's running style or tactics.

After recording his current thoughts on the tablet, Yasui Makoto looked at the silent Suzuka.

"I remember that Suzuka-san didn't compete with Miyu-san, but they should have trained together. If Suzuka-san faced a situation like this, is there any good solution?"

Silent Suzuka's eyes flickered, "Mr. Yasui, do you think... Xiaobei might encounter this situation in the next game?"

"That should be possible." Yasui Zhen nodded.

"Hmm... Xiaobei's current popularity, strength, and the fact that he's a runaway horse... that's definitely a possibility."

Silent Suzuka pondered for a moment, then became apologetic and distressed.

“Although we trained together at the academy, I’m really sorry.

“My aptitude for distances is different from that of Mi Yu, and my approach to leading and releasing is also different from that of Xiao Bei.

"In my situation, if I want to escape from Mi Yu's close stare... I guess the only option is to increase the distance.

"And it has to be a middle-distance event. Long distance... I don't have much experience."

Upon hearing this, An Jingzhen fell into deep thought.

Judging from the records of previous competitions, the distances that Silent Suzuka and Miyu are good at are indeed different.

The former is good at middle-distance races of about 2000 meters. She can run a huge gap in this distance and once won the championship with a huge advantage of 10 lengths.

The latter excels at long-distance events and is very good at keeping a close eye on their biggest competitors.

In the 3000m Chrysanthemum Sho and the 3200m Emperor's Spring Sho, she was closely watching Miura Nami, who had already won the Satsuki Sho and Japanese Derby without a loss, and Mejiro McQueen, who had won the Emperor's Spring Sho. Even against such strong opponents, she still won the championship.

"Then... is it possible for Xiaobei to create more distance?"

Thinking about it, Yasui Zhen looked at Silent Suzuka.

"For example... more than 10 horse lengths?"

Silent Suzuka was silent for a moment.

For a escaping horse, the only way to deal with a gap of 10 horse lengths is to run away.

If such a big gap can be opened up in the final straight line, unless the opponent has an extremely top-notch last foot, the chance of catching up is very slim.

This is exactly the kind of running she is good at, and when she first came here, Yasui Shinya asked her about it.

Her first reaction was absolutely not.

Being an expert at escaping, she knew very well how to win in this style of running and the dangers involved.

The faster the speed, the greater the pressure on your legs and feet, and accidents can occur if you are not careful.

She encountered this kind of accident while she was still in service. If she had not received timely treatment and had not recovered smoothly afterwards, she would have left the field long ago.

So whether it was An Jingzhen, Kita Genju, or other juniors who came to consult her, she did not approve of easily adopting the mass escape strategy.

However, after persuading and discussing with An Jingzhen these days, and seeing the training situation of Northern Xuanju, she had a new idea.

If you want to use the Great Escape Method, you must not only look at yourself, but also your opponent.

Not many horse racing girls would think that they are not fast enough.

In a real race, the horse girl who has shown excellent speed and sprinting in daily training and is very confident in this will let the runaway horse take the lead and widen the distance.

Running in first place means enduring more wind resistance and consuming more physical energy, while the opposite is true for those at the back.

As one team gains ground, the other loses ground, and the idea is that all you need to do is burst out with speed in a straight line to catch up to the first place. This idea is very common.

From this perspective, the Northern Black Horse might be able to adopt some escape techniques.

This junior has participated in many competitions, and her opponents must have investigated and found that her speed is not top-notch.

So as long as the gate position and the opening situation are right, it is not impossible to widen the gap in advance.

If everything goes well, the advantages will come naturally.

Maybe because of the unexpectedness, the opponents would be caught off guard and their original plans would be disrupted.

Even if things don't go well, you can rely on skills to control physical exertion, stride length, etc. At worst, you can return to a more familiar lead, which will not affect your performance in the game.

Changes in stride length and other aspects certainly require physical strength, but this does not seem to be a problem for the Northern Black Horse.

If so, perhaps...

While thinking, she heard two footsteps approaching from the far front. Silent Suzuka collected her thoughts and looked over.

Beibu Xuanju and Miyu had just finished their side-by-side run and were now walking towards us, talking and laughing.

"Senior Mi Yu... he's truly amazing! He's like he's glued to my back, I can't get rid of him at all!"

"What Xiaobei said... is too exaggerated... Mi was just chasing normally..."

Your pursuit is very normal, but for others... it should not be normal, right, Mi Yu?
He laughed secretly, and when he saw An Jingzhen asking about the situation of Northern Xuanju, Wusheng Suzuka thought about it again and made a decision.

(End of this chapter)