Chapter 209: A Terrifying Presence
Just as Oguri Cap pointed toward the track, in the race itself—
Running in third position, Ribbon Victory was like a red-and-white whirlwind.
She sprinted with everything she had, every step stamping down viciously, as if she meant to grind the track itself beneath her feet.
At the same time, her thoughts were racing.
Before the race, all her planning had revolved around how to fight Kitasan Black head-on for the lead.
Like the final straight of the St. Lite Kinen, or the opening phases of even earlier races.
Her trainer had agreed.
They both understood how overwhelmingly strong Kitasan Black was at leading the pace. Without preparing for a do-or-die battle, there was simply no way to defeat such a powerful opponent.
She had long since etched the instructions for this race into her mind.
Yet reality had turned out completely different from what she'd envisioned.
After the start, against all expectations, Red Solomon—blessed with a favorable gate—shot out like lightning and seized the lead first.
Immediately after, Crowned Stone and Real Will, charging from the far outside as if staking everything on it, threw caution to the wind and surged forward together, snatching the lead almost in the blink of an eye.
Even now, the thunderous pounding of their footsteps from that moment seemed to echo in her ears, making her eardrums itch and throb faintly with pain.
At that point, she no longer had the luxury of paying attention to Kitasan Black.
This Kikuka Sho had an unusually large number of Front Runners—fully one third of the field.
Beyond the inevitable early battle for position, there was also the danger of being swallowed by the pack.
Unless someone used Burst Front Running, the early gaps and pace among the front runners wouldn't open up very much.
In much the same way, the Pace Chasers behind them would still have plenty of stamina to keep up.
That meant even a small mistake in positioning could, under the combined effects of gradually adjusting pace before and behind and centrifugal force through the turns, easily result in being boxed in.
Once trapped, one's preferred rhythm, speed, stride—and even breathing and arm swings tied to them—would all be disrupted, making it impossible to perform at a normal level.
You could wait for the race to naturally progress into the middle stages and let the encirclement dissolve on its own.
The Kikuka Sho starts from the middle of the homestretch facing the stands. After the break, there's a gentle uphill, followed immediately by the third and fourth turns forming an arcing crest.
After descending from the slope and exiting the turn, what follows is the long straight directly facing the stands.
In that section, because everyone is conserving stamina, the pack naturally stretches out into a long line.
It can't be helped, this 3000-meter race passes through six turns in total, and hugging the inner rail is absolutely critical.
Once the pack stretches into a line, the so-called encirclement naturally disappears.
That was exactly what her trainer had explained in the pre-race briefing, and he had also said that the worst-case scenario would be accidentally getting caught in such an encirclement.
If that really happened, the key was never to panic. Just wait for the box to dissolve on its own.
At that point, there would still be 2000 meters left. Chances to overtake would remain. Acting on impulse and wasting stamina would be the worst possible move.
And now, the one facing that worst-case scenario wasn't her.
She herself was running in third. It wasn't as comfortable as the lead, but she could still bring most of what she'd built up so far into play.
Good. Then just keep running like this. Absolutely… do not rush.
With her thoughts straightened out and resolve rising in her eyes, Ribbon Victory reassessed the race.
Clear beads of sweat flew from her hair, a few splashing along her bangs toward her eyelids.
She didn't blink.
Her gaze swept over Real Will and Red Solomon ahead.
Then it flicked briefly to the slightly rearward Crowned Stone and Tagano Café, without lingering.
In the next instant, she looked even farther back.
Boxed in like that… Trainer was right. It's just…
I never expected Kita-chan to be this unlucky.
After that fleeting thought, she immediately resumed her analysis.
Waiting for the encirclement to dissolve on its own—that was the instruction her trainer had given her.
And it was also her assessment of what the other competitors would do.
But whether before the race or now, there was always one instinct that had never left her mind.
If she herself were truly trapped in an encirclement, she would follow her trainer's instructions—and most of the other competitors would do the same.
But Kitasan Black absolutely wouldn't.
After facing her multiple times, and now spending these days together at the Kyoto campus, Ribbon Victory instinctively knew Kitasan Black wouldn't choose that path.
Like a flame that could never be extinguished, she might encounter wind and rain, face setbacks, even be mercilessly slammed into the deepest whirlpool of mud… but in the end, she would always grit her teeth and burst back out.
To Ribbon Victory, Kitasan Black was exactly that kind of Umamusume.
This rival—this friend—wasn't driven by petty rivalry or the desire to outdo someone else, but by an innate refusal to bow her head.
That was precisely the unique, dazzling brilliance Ribbon Victory admired so deeply.
"Now that you're boxed in… you're not going to let this go quietly, are you, Kita-chan?"
Unconsciously, Ribbon Victory murmured to herself, the corner of her eye locked tightly on the black figure on the inside to her right rear.
"Still not moving…?"
"With your ability, there's no way you don't understand that position is useless for a front runner…!"
"Even if you can't seize the lead in this situation, at the very least, second—or try to fight me for third—would make more sense…!"
"Move already. I… I've been ready for you this whole time!"
Her breathing grew rapid and heavy. She hadn't forgotten who the greatest opponent in this race truly was.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, as if it were about to burst through.
"But…!"
"No matter what you're planning to do, this time…"
"I won't let you pass me so easily like before!"
"The Kikuka Sho title—I'll prove my strength to you with victory in this race!"
"Come on… Kita-chan!"
Just as she was fully immersed in this silent contest with Kitasan Black, something happened.
Like an illusion, the view ahead—previously tightly sealed by two opponents—suddenly opened wide.
The inner rail on the right… vanished?!
In that instant, her eyes flew wide open, disbelief written across her face.
No—that's not it. It didn't vanish, it's just—
In a flash, her trainer's pre-race analysis struck her mind like lightning:
"Kyoto's long-distance races… are actually a bit special."
"This race is run entirely on the outer course, but there's also an inner course inside it."
"The inner course is used for other events, and for logistical reasons, when exiting the fourth turn of the Kikuka Sho, there's a very short stretch with no inner rail."
"If you're boxed in, theoretically that's a chance to break out."
"But… let's forget it. The distance is too short. At your speed, it probably exists for only about five seconds."
"Once you factor in reading the situation, taking position, overtaking, and making all the necessary adjustments, the real window… is probably under two seconds."
"It's too short, and it demands extreme burst power and perfect timing—unless you've predicted every possibility in advance and prepared for it."
"In all the history of the Kikuka Sho, the number of Umamusume who could pull that off is probably only a handful."
"So it's better to wait for the straight like normal. That's safer. The Kikuka Sho is 3000 meters…"
"There's no need to rush."
As those analyses flashed through her mind, within Ribbon Victory's perception, from the spot on her right rear that she'd been watching all along—
A terrifying aura suddenly erupted, sending shivers through her entire body, making her nearly tremble.