"Click!"
With a crisp metallic snap, the starting gates opened in perfect unison. Thirteen Uma Musume shot forward like arrows loosed from a tightly drawn bowstring—none stumbling, none hesitating.
"The 98th Autumn Tenno Sho has begun!" the commentator roared the instant the gates released. "All runners have launched cleanly—no mistakes at the start!"
"Good—a stable start." Shuta An exhaled softly. He had been worried that Oguri Cap's efforts to cultivate calmness might slow her initial reaction.
Tokyo Racecourse's 2000-meter turf demanded blistering initial acceleration—because the first turn devoured the distance a mere hundred meters after the start. And before the race, Shuta An had strictly instructed the Gray Uma Musume: Fight for your position. No matter what.
So after breaking from the gate, Oguri Cap glanced toward the rivals to her right—gates 2 through 5. Their movements matched Shuta An's predictions exactly.
Trainer really foresaw everything.
The realization flickered in Oguri Cap's mind.
Then I must accelerate! I absolutely cannot be trapped inside!
"Oguri Cap from Gate 1—her acceleration is incredible! Will she actually use front-running tactics she has never adopted before in Japan!?" The commentator's voice shook with disbelief.
Far to the outside, Road Royal—starting from Gate 12—felt tension twist in her chest. She knew her raw ability fell short of Oguri Cap's. So if she failed to seize the lead, and another claimed it instead—
There would be no chance of victory.
Gritting her teeth, Road Royal pumped her legs harder.
No matter what—I must take the lead!
She pulled ahead, cutting across to angle inward as she entered the first turn. But the moment she shifted diagonally—
Tamamo Cross was suddenly there too, already at the front.
"What?! Has she lost her mind?!" Road Royal clenched her jaw.
Tamamo Cross is a chaser—why is she this far forward? Did she panic because Oguri Cap is here?
But Road Royal forced herself to ignore it.
Focus on the lead. Oguri Cap is clearly aiming for the same spot.
She accelerated again. For a Central Tracen Academy elite like her, accelerating in the curve wasn't difficult. Only local Uma Musume typically couldn't handle it.
"Road Royal and Oguri Cap are both accelerating! What was expected to be a solo runaway might turn into a two-Uma-Musume duel for the lead!"
The commentator barely finished before—
Tamamo Cross's figure surged up behind Road Royal, also cutting inward.
"What—!? Tamamo Cross is going for the lead too!?" The commentator clutched his head. "Why is she acting so out of character?! No one—absolutely no one—predicted this year's Tenno Sho would unfold like this!"
"Road Royal is being chased by Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross—all three have their sights set on the front!"
"In that case, this race pace could become dangerously fast!"
"The record for the first half was 61 seconds…Will we see an unheard-of 58-second opening!?"
In the VIP box, Road Royal's Trainer shot to his feet. He glanced at Miss Komiyama, then fixed his stare on Shuta An, who was watching the screen calmly.
"Did you two collude before the race to force a high pace and break Road Royal?! Otherwise why would both Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross act so abnormally?!"
But he failed to notice that Komiyama herself was pale and rattled. Her eyes were glued to Oguri Cap far ahead.
Why is Oguri so close to the front?! Did she see through the brilliant little strategy Tama-chan and I devised after the gate!? How?!
After her debut, Tamamo Cross had once fallen during a race after getting trapped in the pack. Since then, she despised running in the middle—it stirred memories of the accident, threatening to trigger psychological collapse.
To prevent trauma from resurfacing mid-race, Komiyama had devised the perfect solution: A Late-Surge or do the End Closer tactic. Stay at the back, save energy, then unleash overwhelming force. It suited Tamamo Cross perfectly—Japan's most explosive active runner. One win after another proved it. Komiyama's plan for the Autumn Tenno Sho had been the same: Late charge vs. Oguri Cap.
But—
The unexpected arrived early.
On the night Shuta An announced on his blog that Oguri Cap's next target was the Autumn Tenno Sho, Tamamo Cross had walked into Komiyama's office.
"Something wrong, Tama-chan? I was about to head home," Komiyama asked.
"Yes, Komi-yan." Tamamo Cross's expression was solemn. "I want to change tactics for the Autumn Tenno Sho."
"Eh?" Komiyama froze. "Did…did I hear that right?"
"You didn't mishear." Tamamo Cross lifted her gaze, meeting Komiyama's eyes squarely. "I want to run at the front."
"If it's your decision, I won't object," Komiyama replied, her tone turning serious. "But you must give me a reason."
"Of course." Tamamo Cross nodded. "The End Closer strategy exists to keep me out of the pack so I don't freeze up. And yes—it has won me race after race."
"But if I rely only on that, I'll eventually be crushed. So at the Takarazuka Kinen, I intentionally stayed closer to the pack instead of distancing myself."
"Winning that race proved it—I've overcome the fear."
"And now, facing Oguri, with that unbelievably capable Trainer behind her—" Tamamo Cross smiled faintly. "Even with my 'secret weapon,' I can't meet her using the same old tactic."
"She's a Two-Crown Uma Musume after all. So I must prepare a new surprise."
Komiyama still couldn't understand how Oguri Cap had managed to adjust so quickly—taking a more forward position the moment Tamamo Cross suddenly shifted to a front-running strategy. But after thinking for a moment, her gaze naturally landed on Shuta An.
"Could it be that Tama-chan's plan was predicted by Shuta-kun?"
The thought lingered for only a breath before Miss Komiyama rose from her seat. She walked toward the young man and politely called out:
"Excuse me, I'm Tama-chan—Tamamo Cross's Trainer."
"Miss Komiyama?" Shuta An turned, then immediately stood up and extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is mine." She shook his hand lightly, then bit her lip before asking, "May I ask...was Miss Oguri Cap's aggressive positioning this time part of Shuta-kun's pre-race instructions?"
Shuta An already knew what she wanted to ask. Instead of answering, he countered calmly:
"Then was Miss Tamamo Cross's uncharacteristic push to the front—closing in on the leading Uma Musume—done under your instruction?"
"No, it was Tama-chan's idea. She wanted to use a surprise tactic against Miss Oguri Cap." Since the plan was already underway, there was no reason to hide it.
"I thought so." Shuta An shrugged. "Even though Miss Tamamo Cross still used an End Closer strategy in the Takarazuka Kinen, her positioning back then didn't avoid the pack. In fact, during the backstretch, she deliberately moved closer to it."
"At first, I assumed she wanted to dispel rumors about being afraid of the pack but when the photographer captured her close-up, the panic in her eyes was definitely real."
A faint smile tugged at Shuta An's lips.
"Truly impressive. Even while afraid, she still tried to suppress it."
"At the end of the Takarazuka Kinen, when she broke out to the front with that massive outside surge—that confident smile was genuine." He turned his gaze toward the Tokyo Racecourse track. "So, I figured—if Miss Tamamo Cross worked that hard to overcome her weakness, she would bring a new self to the Autumn Tenno Sho. After all, she and Oguri have a very good relationship."
"So Shuta-kun predicted Tama-chan's strategy?" Komiyama's eyes widened—she herself hadn't anticipated it, despite being Tamamo Cross's Trainer.
"To call it a 'prediction' is—honestly just a gamble." Shuta An let out a soft laugh. "But even if the gamble failed, it wouldn't hurt Oguri. So why not bet on Miss Tamamo Cross going to the front?"
"Incredible—" Miss Komiyama's heart tightened. "If even that was predicted—then Tama-chan's 'secret weapon'…"
A shadow of worry drifted across her expression as she thought of her entrusted Uma Musume.
Meanwhile, all thirteen Uma Musume had already entered the backstretch of the Tokyo Racecourse. Road Royal led the charge. Three lengths behind her ran Tamamo Cross, and two lengths behind that ran Oguri Cap. Another four lengths back, Kailas Amon held fourth position.
"Unbelievable!" The commentator's voice boomed. "We expected an explosive final-stretch showdown between Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross, yet now the two gray Fillies are pushing Road Royal into a blistering pace! Can the Uma Musume behind them stay calm?!"
"At this pace…" Maruzensky paused. "It feels like it favors Material."
Symboli Rudolf's ears twitched.
"Why do you say that?" Tokai Teio tilted her head, confused. "Miss Material is at the very back."
"This pace is heading toward a fifty-nine–second thousand-meter split. If Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross can't maintain it, then the Uma Musume staying behind—so long as they have the explosive power—can absolutely stage an upset." Maruzensky said. "And among the ones staying back, Material's final sprint left a deep impression on me."
"I see." Tokai Teio gently shook her head. "Even so, I still think Senior Oguri Cap will win."
"Oh?" Maruzensky smiled. "Is that because she's your senior?"
"No, that's not it!" Teio waved her hands frantically. "It's because in the final stage of the French Derby, Senior Oguri Cap used pure grit to overtake an opponent with clearly greater stamina. So today, in the final straight, I believe she'll endure the pressure from behind the same way."
"Grit~" Maruzensky knew well how terrifying that could be. Yet something still felt off.
"Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross—it's as if they've completely erased the presence of every other Uma Musume. The only ones they see as opponents right now are each other."
She turned her gaze toward Shuta An, who stood quietly by the railing, eyes fixed on the giant screen.
"Did he foresee even this?" Maruzensky couldn't tell.
Meanwhile, just before passing the iconic Zelkova tree of Tokyo Racecourse, Road Royal risked a glance backward—a taboo in races, and she knew it. But she couldn't help herself.
"The pressure behind me is too strong! If I don't look back, I can't gauge the distance!" Road Royal lowered her center of gravity, preparing for the bend. "The speed I'm leading with is faster than any race I've run! If you two aren't afraid of draining your stamina and ending up unable to sprint afterward—THEN KEEP UP!"
With Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap pressing relentlessly behind her, she had already realized her chances of winning had plummeted. So, in this Autumn Tenno Sho, she had only one goal left—
To teach those two a harsh lesson, and drag their stamina down with her.
"Don't underestimate the speed of us escape-type Uma Musume!" Road Royal growled, eyes burning fiercely.
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