The lead group hit the final turn!
Teio on the rail and Stardust Mirage in the far outside plunged into the curve without yielding a fraction of speed.
With Miracle Runner of the Holy Night online, Stardust Mirage felt her body auto-tune to an optimal stride. Her feet hammered the turf; each step poured force into her frame.
Speed, Stamina, acceleration—every stat ticked up under the divine-class unique. Its reputation was earned.
She felt she could see further now—
No need to wait for the home stretch—settle it with Teio right here on the final turn!
Clinging to the very inner rail, Tokai Teio kept pushing her finishing speed ever higher. Though this was still a curve, she wasn't the type to be bad at corners; on the contrary, her supple legs let her practically treat the bend as level ground!
Behind her, Fine Motion was currently buried in the main pack, searching for a sliver of a breakthrough.
Yet when she lifted her eyes toward the front, the two racehorses there were still pouring on speed, chasing and pressing each other, and her head felt scrambled again.
What on earth are those two doing?
There are still a little over five hundred meters left, and we're even still in the final turn—why are they starting their last spurt now?!
Honestly, because of several mistakes earlier, Fine Motion was already a bit spent. She had just been quietly telling herself she might need to shorten her final spurt distance to avoid completely clamming up at the end.
But what is this—those two have already started sprinting now, so what about her?
Fine Motion could be sure that as long as those two didn't suddenly drop off, she absolutely wouldn't catch them. But to give up here would leave her unwilling.
Seriously… two totally chaotic people!
Thump!
At that moment, it was as if something in her mind was set completely ablaze.
Why should she have to give up in her debut just because it's hard?
"I—Fine Motion am not anyone's stepping stone!"
The girl suddenly quickened her pace and burst out of the front-running group!
——————————————————————————————
"She's going to fade," Symboli Rudolf said as she watched the suddenly accelerating Fine Motion, giving her judgment.
Even if she bursts beyond her own limits now, it's still too early in the course.
Back at the Academy, Fine Motion wasn't a runner noted for stamina; now that the leaders have disrupted her rhythm and forced her to burst early, the outcome waiting for her is obvious…
"That running form—looks like we didn't see wrong. It's Oguri Cap's closing kick," Air Groove's gaze turned toward Stardust Mirage, who was practically running neck and neck with Teio, her expression very grave.
Deep Dive
Hat
Cap
Uma Musume
From the moment Stardust Mirage began sprinting, she recognized at a glance: this is definitely Oguri Cap's way of running—that unique, Oguri-only, double-acceleration form used in the final spurt. You could even say it's the even more perfect posture of that technique.
But how is that possible?
This runner's physical qualities don't even match most GII-tier athletes at the Central Academy, yet why can she master such a perfect form? Could she be Oguri Cap's disciple or something?
If so, Teio's situation… is going to be bad!
The course was already in an uproar; every spectator's eyes were glued to the three racehorses now contending: Fine Motion, Stardust Mirage, and that genius, Tokai Teio!
Fine Motion, who came surging later, even closed in momentarily on the two who were chasing each other in front. On this final turn, the ferocity of the three-way fight exceeded everyone's imagination.
Even the announcer almost forgot this was just a debut race that didn't even count as a graded stakes.
"Fine Motion is coming! Fine Motion is coming! Her competitive spirit is exerting extraordinary power right now—she's still accelerating! Who will win this battle on the final turn?!"
"One length—half a length! Fine Motion's caught up—what?!"
The play-by-play's impassioned shout cut off abruptly. Seeing Fine Motion closing in, the two front-running racehorses finally bared their true fangs.
They—accelerated at the same time!
Stardust didn't expect it either: at this moment, Tokai Teio made exactly the same choice as she did.
Seemingly going all out, the two of them had nevertheless both held back that last bit of stamina, exploding the moment they hit the home stretch, trying to use it to shake off the other.
But the only one that second acceleration shook off was Fine Motion.
"Damn it! I'm clamming up…!"
Fine Motion's lament gradually receded behind them. Now, in acceleration, the two had only each other in their eyes. With each step Stardust Mirage took, she was wringing out the very last of her strength; the slightly uphill stretch in front was the final obstacle blocking her way.
Only these last 400 meters of the home straight remain—so even with a golden finger, even after combining the technique granted by the system with her own experience to create a new form of running, even with a finisher of that level… she still can't win?
Don't be ridiculous. I want… to shake her off!
Bang!
The turf boomed under the stomp of Stardust Mirage's powerful straight-leg step, blasting out a ring of air. Her posture snapped forward from a slight lean-back; the whole person seemed to lurch ahead in an instant, forcibly opening up more than half a length.
After hundreds of meters of grappling, the two finally showed separation at this moment.
"It's Stardust Mirage! Stardust Mirage has gone past! In this final 200-meter dash, Stardust Mirage is ahead!!!"
The track announcer instantly clutched the mic and shouted with all his strength.
Not good—can't catch her…!
Tokai Teio's teeth were clenched so hard blood could have seeped through the cracks. Starting the final spurt early had consumed her stamina greatly.
Though she normally had the 1800-meter distance well in hand, her whole body was now screaming in protest—a signal she was nearing her limit.
No matter how she squeezed herself, she couldn't shrink that short, over-half-length gap even by 0.1 meters. This was her limit.
What do I do—what do I do?!
Maybe she could hold as is and see if Stardust Mirage would slow abruptly from exhaustion…
…Wait and see if she fades? How could I even be thinking that?!
Am I supposed to wait? No—I'm supposed to win!
This debut race is the fruit of everyone's efforts for me—how could I hand it to luck by giving up now?
With her goal of an undefeated Triple Crown—how could she lose here?!
Her chest like a bellows, Tokai Teio pressed her body lower. Her cadence shifted from bold, long strides to a rapid, churning quickstep. Climbing that small rise, her gaze locked wholly onto the finish ahead—
I still want to… I still want to… I can still go faster!!!
Her legs were screaming; her blood ignited. A scorching wave burst from Tokai Teio.
In the instant the distance to Stardust Mirage began to shrink, the genius called "the second coming of the Emperor" shot forward!
What?!
Stardust Mirage had only enough presence of mind to catch a glimpse of the inner rail—Teio's figure was already right back on her!
"…Stardust Mirage holding the lead! Stardust Mirage! Stardust Mirage—Tokai Teio with a third acceleration!"
The commentator's voice had gone hoarse; even he was wholly swept into the race. He gripped the microphone with both hands and bellowed:
"Tokai Teio is cutting the gap! Tokai Teio! Tokai Teio! The two racehorses are nearly side by side!"
"Stardust Mirage! Stardust Mirage! Stardust Mirage! Tokai Teio…!"
The two wouldn't yield an inch, chasing and pressing each other on the last stretch, so much so the announcer had no time to detail who held the tiniest edge—only gasping for breath and crying the name of whoever was leading that split-second.
"Stardust Mirage! Stardust Mirage! Tokai Teio! Stardust Mirage! Tokai Teio! Tokai Teio! To—kai—Te—io daa—!!!"
Stardust Mirage could only watch, eyes wide, as the tiny frame beside her gradually overtook; that strange quickstep carried in Teio's feet, sweat steamed from her body into a heat haze that wrapped her like a shroud.
Stardust Mirage could even see it—the heat haze rising from Tokai Teio's whole body, gathering in her eyes into a crimson phoenix soaring toward the finish!
"—No. 2 runner Tokai Teio, first by a head!!!"
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