Chapter 55. Unyielding Determination Not to Be Followed
With a sharp click, the starting gates sprang open in perfect unison, and all nine Uma Musume broke cleanly.
A collective gasp rippled through Arlington Racecourse.
"Wow!"
Shuta An's eyes widened. "What's going on?!"
Though every runner had a smooth start, Silence Suzuka's was on another level. While the others were only just emerging from their gates, she had already exploded forward, her entire body launching clear in a single motion. In an instant, she had carved out a full length advantage.
"What was that?" Shuta An had watched races since childhood, yet he had never seen a break like this.
It was as though electromagnetic catapults had been fitted beneath her feet—she simply whooshed into motion.
For a fleeting second, her powerful frame even reminded him of an aircraft carrier deck. He quickly suppressed the irreverent thought and fixed his gaze on her retreating form.
Behind her, Marlin subtly angled left, intending to disrupt Suzuka's acceleration. But Suzuka's explosive start rendered the attempt meaningless. Not entirely meaningless, however—Marlin instead clipped Awad in gate three. Awad's momentum faltered, while Marlin, braced for contact, merely checked for a split second before resuming her pursuit.
She had declared her intent to seize the lead, and she would not abandon that strategy because of one blistering break.
I'll reel her in at once. She has to slow down eventually to conserve stamina. I won't give her that chance.
"Unbelievable! Silence Suzuka has already opened up a three-length lead from the start alone!"
From gate one, Labeeb could see Suzuka clearly without even turning her head.
That's far too fast. She's improved again since the Turf Classic Stakes. Do I really have to challenge someone like this for the lead?
For a brief moment, hesitation gripped her. The memory of being swept aside at Churchill Downs resurfaced vividly.
But my Trainer already promised me—
She bit her lip. Just this once. No matter what happens, I'll give everything.
Determined to make the Arlington Million her final race, Labeeb surged forward. Almost simultaneously, Marlin accelerated again.
As they passed the finish line for the first time, the large screen displayed the opening 400-meter split: 23.7 seconds.
The early advantage is decisive, Shuta An thought, lifting a brow. Suzuka is clearly intent on setting a punishing pace to crush any attempt to contest the lead.
Rationally, the others should concede the front and settle into position. Unfortunately, neither Marlin nor Labeeb was thinking rationally. Marlin was faithfully executing her Trainer's orders; Labeeb was clinging to her promise.
As Suzuka entered the turn, the field fanned out behind her.
"Silence Suzuka leads into the turn! Four lengths back, Marlin and Labeeb are locked together! Two lengths behind them are Allied Forces and Sandpit! A length further back are Geri and Awad! Percutant trails by half a length behind Awad, and Ops Smile sits three lengths off Percutant at the rear!"
Shuta An barely heard the commentary. His focus remained on Suzuka's back until she grew smaller in the distance. Only then did he glance up at the big screen.
The broadcast feed tracked her continuously, giving the crowd an uninterrupted view of her commanding run.
As she entered the turn, Suzuka flicked a brief glance behind.
She has no intention of easing off.
Shuta An was certain she had seen Marlin and Labeeb still pressing. There would be no relaxation, no measured breath.
It doesn't matter. Over 2000 meters, even without easing, the lead she's built is enough. With her current form, she can sustain this.
He frowned slightly. Labeeb doesn't look like someone haunted by defeat. He did not know of her private agreement with her Trainer.
In truth, Labeeb had slipped into a familiar panic.
Watching Suzuka maintain that relentless cruising speed without the slightest hesitation, she felt the memory tightening around her again.
I can't catch her. And if I try, I'll burn out and fall away.
The thought would not leave.
Her stride began to waver.
Is she losing her nerve again? Marlin wondered. In her view, Labeeb's supposed trauma was nothing more than fragility.
What Marlin did not know was that her own Trainer stood before the big screen, hands clasped, murmuring under his breath.
Don't chase so closely. Don't chase so closely. Marlin, slow down.
In the upper right corner of the screen, the half-mile split appeared.
800 meters — 46.9 seconds.
An 800-meter split of 46.9 seconds was not the fastest Silence Suzuka had ever recorded, yet for the American Uma Musume chasing her, it was utterly unfamiliar territory.
Marlin prided herself on thriving in strong early fractions, but even at her absolute limit, the fastest sustainable 800-meter pace she could carry and still contend for victory was around 49 seconds. A 46.9 split was beyond reason. And since she had been glued to Suzuka's flank, her own passing time could not have been much slower—certainly under 47 seconds.
Marlin's Trainer understood the implications immediately.
We can't keep pressing at this tempo. If she continues like this, she'll empty out in the stretch.
But no voice could reach her now. He could only watch as Marlin, resolute and unflinching, galloped forward as though toward an unseen precipice.
Beside him stood Labeeb's Trainer. He, too, recognized the danger. At this pace, the cost would be severe.
Yet he also knew that so long as Labeeb could still move her legs, she would not abandon the chase. She had given her word.
"I wonder," he murmured, "whether Labeeb can discover the joy of running through Silence Suzuka. Labeeb, don't just measure her ability—try to see what's in her heart."
Ahead, Labeeb fixed her gaze on Suzuka's solitary figure. She knew her own limits with painful clarity. At this cruising speed, catching up was impossible. Taking the lead was a fantasy.
And precisely because of that, she wanted to see more. Talent alone could not explain this.
If Suzuka had won the Breeders' Cup Turf last year, perhaps Labeeb might have persuaded herself it was simply overwhelming natural ability. But Suzuka had suffered a crushing defeat at Gulfstream Park. That loss proved her talent was not invincible.
So what lies beneath it? What drives her?
A quiet premonition stirred within Labeeb. This Arlington Million might be the last time they ever faced each other.
Suzuka ran alone at the front. Marlin and Labeeb, her closest pursuers, were now nearly eight lengths behind.
With 800 meters remaining, the screen displayed the three-quarter-mile split—1:09.7.
"A terrifying fraction!" the commentator exclaimed.
"She looks far stronger than she did in last year's Secretariat Stakes! If she sustains this, she might threaten the Arlington Million record!"
Records meant nothing to Suzuka.
From the moment the gates opened, she had felt astonishingly fluid. Every stride connected seamlessly into the next. Her body responded without resistance.
This is the state I've always dreamed of.
She had done nothing extraordinary in training—only additional recovery sessions training with Ann. The reason no longer mattered.
Forget the why. I want to savor this view. This leading view belongs to me alone.
When Suzuka reentered his direct line of sight approaching the final bend, Shuta An stopped looking at the screen entirely. From his vantage point, she showed no trace of deceleration. The gap continued to widen.
"She's in phenomenal condition," he murmured. "If she can elevate even beyond this, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) is nearly assured."
"Silence Suzuka is still cruising at full speed! The field cannot even graze her shadow!" the commentator roared. "At this rate, she'll win by an enormous margin!"
As Labeeb approached the bend, she briefly caught sight of Suzuka's face.
She's smiling.
The realization startled her. Smiling—during a G1.
The distraction cost her position; Marlin edged ahead. Labeeb scarcely noticed. Her thoughts were fixed on that expression.
Does she enjoy leading that much? To her, is racing not pressure, not obligation, but something she truly delights in? Nearly seven hundred thousand dollars await the winner, yet she seems indifferent. What she cares about—it isn't on the track itself.
For a fleeting instant, Labeeb felt she had brushed against something intangible radiating from Suzuka. But its true nature remained beyond her grasp.
Suppressing her curiosity, she refocused. A strong placing—that would be enough. She eased slightly, tucked in behind Marlin, and drafted.
By the time Suzuka straightened for the final stretch, she was ten lengths clear of second place.
Marlin had followed Suzuka's tempo from the outset, her own rhythm dismantled in the process. That she endured as long as she owed everything to her deep reserves of stamina and to the conservative tactics of the others. There were no devastating late closers in the field. Perhaps she could hold second.
The result confirmed it.
"Marlin finishes second!"
Ordinarily, a G1 runner-up finish would bring satisfaction. But seconds earlier, the commentator had declared:
"Silence Suzuka wins by an overwhelming margin! None can match her pace—she runs as though on an entirely different track!"
Labeeb crossed in third. The moment she slowed, she turned immediately toward Suzuka.
Suzuka had already reached the connections' stand. She stood before Shuta An, looking up at him, eyes bright.
"Ann," she said with a radiant smile, "I did it."
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