Chapter 236: Decline in Other Areas
Hearing this, Kitasan Black fell silent.
When her Trainer hadn't given that earlier evaluation, she had only felt amazed by how healthy her Gold Ship-senpai was, and shocked that there were no medical records at all.
But after forcing herself to analyze the data in the report, she realized her Trainer was right.
Gold Ship-senpai's physical condition wasn't just healthy, it truly gave the impression of being "brand new," as if she had never raced before.
So if Gold Ship-senpai was in this kind of state… could her strength really be declining?
Kitasan Black couldn't help but start doubting her own judgment. Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right! Trainer, we…"
She suddenly looked up at her Trainer.
"We watched Gold Ship-senpai's races together—the Spring Tenno Sho, the Takarazuka Kinen, and the Japan Cup."
"And we also watched recordings of her earlier races."
"I mean… senpai's behavior in daily life is definitely… kind of strange."
"But in races, you can clearly see she's giving it her all."
"And you also said that things like her inside-line cornering in the Satsuki Sho, or overtaking fifteen opponents in one go during the Arima Kinen, would be impossible without going all out."
As vivid memories of those intense races appeared in her mind—especially the moments when Gold Ship displayed overwhelming power—her voice grew louder without her realizing it.
"That's right. So I think these reports only prove that Gold Ship has extraordinary natural talent, extremely strong resilience, and excellent recovery ability."
Makoto returned to the desk, picked up a pen, and began making notes on some documents.
"So if there's nothing wrong with her physical condition—and it's actually exceptionally good—yet she finished so far back in the Takarazuka Kinen and the Japan Cup, then I suspect the decline must be in other areas. For example…"
He paused.
"Her mental state."
"Mental state?" Kitasan Black tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes. Racing is a comprehensive test. Take the Kikuka Sho you ran as an example—speed, endurance, and strength are certainly important, but willpower and mental clarity are equally indispensable."
Makoto put down the pen, picked up the annotated documents, and walked over to place them in front of Kitasan Black, explaining patiently.
"In long-distance races, by the second half—especially on the final straight—everyone's stamina is inevitably exhausted."
"At that moment, what matters is who can still make the best decisions even when their mind is foggy and their vision is blurred from exhaustion."
"You should have experienced that during the Kikuka Sho."
Remembering the race her Trainer mentioned and the difficulty of the final dash to the finish line, Kitasan Black nodded in deep agreement, then looked thoughtfully at the documents in front of her.
"And the mental aspect can be further divided into focus, reaction speed, resistance to interference, and so on. These are all specific manifestations."
Seeing that Kitasan Black's attention was fixed on the papers, Makoto's expression turned serious as he pointed at the document.
"Can you understand this part?"
He pointed to the very top of the page, where the letters "IAT" were written, followed by a long line of English.
Next to it was a translated label reading "Implicit Association Test."
Below that were various pieces of information about Gold Ship, including the testing time and summaries of the test contents.
Further down were rows of words.
Explosive sprint.
Acceleration sprint.
Interval sprint…
Weighted jogging.
Obstacle jumping.
Plank hold…
Slope shuttle runs.
Endurance swimming.
Track simulation…
Kitasan Black was very familiar with these—they were all common training exercises used in daily practice.
The training items were listed vertically in one column. Beside each one was another set of words. She could understand most of them, though a few left her puzzled.
For example:
Next to Explosive Sprint were the entries: "1000 meters," "30 seconds," "1 minute," and also "watermelon," "cricket."
Another example:
Next to Slope Shuttle Run were: "10%," "17 meters per second," "5 minutes," and also "mahjong," "Go."
Looking at those words, Kitasan Black felt that things like "watermelon" and "cricket" seemed somewhat familiar. Still, her attention quickly shifted to the other terms, and she began making connections.
For example, when she saw Explosive Sprint, she quickly thought of the special training where they sprinted with full power on a 1000-meter track for 30 seconds, followed by one minute of slow walking in a cycle.
In that kind of training, finishing 1000 meters in 30 seconds was obviously impossible—the purpose was to improve explosive power.
The Slope Shuttle Run entry led her to a similar association: 10% referred to the fixed slope gradient, 17 meters per second was the required speed, and 5 minutes was the duration of the exercise.
After making these connections, she began to vaguely understand what the table meant.
Pointing at the words on the document, she looked at Makoto and asked tentatively,
"…Do you mean that after seeing the word in front, the test subject has to point out which of the words behind it are related?"
"Exactly. That's roughly how the Implicit Association Test works."
Makoto nodded approvingly at his assigned runner's sharp intuition and understanding, then continued explaining.
"The full test uses a dedicated program and is actually done on a computer.
"Basically, a word appears on the screen, then disappears, and a new set of words appears."
"The new words come with options like A, B, C, and D. The test subject has to press the option they think is related to the previous word as quickly as possible."
"Remember when I told you about reaction time?"
"This test is used to measure reaction time, concentration, and resistance to interference."
Halfway through the explanation, Kitasan Black had already formed a guess. By the time he finished, realization dawned on her.
"So… these are Gold Ship-senpai's test results?"
She instinctively looked more closely at the document. Only then did she notice that beneath each row of words were many different numbers and calculations.
She couldn't fully understand them, but she had a feeling these were exactly the test results her Trainer had mentioned.
"So that means…"
She pointed at the data and looked back at Makoto.
"Gold Ship-senpai's results… are very bad? Oh—right!"
Suddenly something clicked.
"Watermelon, cricket… aren't those the kinds of 'training' senpai usually does?"
Makoto couldn't help smiling at that and nodded.
"That's right. After discussing it with Orfevre, I suggested she find a way to design this test specifically for Gold Ship."
"For you and other Umamusume, things like watermelon or cricket would obviously be distractions. You're much more familiar with things like '1000 meters' or '30 seconds,' which appear in regular training."
"But for Gold Ship, it's the exact opposite."
"The training routines she came up with herself… well, it's hard to evaluate them properly, but judging from her race results, they're extremely effective for her."
"In that case, terms like '1000 meters' and '30 seconds' actually become the distractions."
He paused, his expression gradually turning serious.
"Under normal circumstances, when you see words you're familiar with, your reaction speed and concentration remain within a stable range. Those can all be calculated using specific programs."
"That's the whole purpose of this test."
"But Gold Ship's results show that even when facing words she's familiar with, her reaction time is slightly slower than normal."
"My conclusion is that since her debut, her mental strength was never among the very top."
"And now… it's very likely that her level in this area has declined."
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