Chapter 85: Still Too Green
After giving Kitasan Black some encouragement, Makoto headed over to the commentary stand.
The drones had already been deployed, hovering in four directions above the track. Their live footage was being transmitted directly to the screens at the commentary booth.
To confirm how well the new equipment worked, Makoto decided not to use binoculars this time and instead fixed his gaze on the screens.
The moment the gates flew open, with just a single glance, his brow furrowed quickly. Without letting it show, he drew in a quiet breath.
It wasn't unexpected—compared to her seasoned senpai, Kitasan Black was still too green.
He could see it: his Umamusume had fallen into a habitual mindset. At the start, she instinctively leaned toward the inner rail.
In an official race, that decision would have been sound.
Official events usually feature over a dozen competitors, and the field spreads wide across the track in the opening dash. Grabbing the inside rail at that moment offers a number of advantages.
But this was a training race with only four opponents.
In this situation, the lineup wouldn't spread very wide from the start to the mid-race, meaning positioning wouldn't be affected all that much.
Leaning inward to seize the rail now only wasted precious time and stamina.
Kitasan Black hadn't realized this at all.
Daiwa Scarlet, however, had.
Not just Daiwa Scarlet—Vodka, Special Week, and Gold Ship had all noticed it too.
The instant Kitasan Black shifted inward, the other four Uma surged straight ahead without hesitation, each securing the spot most advantageous to themselves in the blink of an eye.
That single difference had already cost Kitasan Black some stamina.
What's more, even though she managed to squeeze into the inner rail, her position was terrible.
Daiwa Scarlet was right in front of her, Vodka just ahead to her left, and Special Week further out to the left but slightly behind.
The three of them had inadvertently formed a tight wedge, boxing Kitasan Black into a narrow pocket.
If nothing changed for the rest of the race, her potential would be heavily restricted.
This wasn't because her senpai were targeting her.
Rather, thanks to their wealth of racing experience, even in something as low-stakes as a training race, they instinctively adopted the most advantageous running strategies.
Those strategies, while ideal for themselves, also naturally curtailed their rivals' options.
Since they could minimize interfering with each other, the one most affected ended up being the least experienced—Kitasan Black.
Watching the feed on the screen, Makoto unconsciously folded his arms, his brow tightening.
'This is bad, Kitasan. Before you can even think about trying to win, you'll have to find a way to handle this massive experience gap first…'
Meanwhile, Tokai Teio faithfully relayed the state of the race to the crowd:
"The pack has already passed the first corner, finishing the scramble of the opening stage."
"Currently still in the lead is Daiwa Scarlet!"
"Vodka is right behind her, though the gap has clearly widened."
"Next comes Special Week, holding an outer position around the fourth lane."
"Kitasan Black is in fourth—she wasn't able to secure her preferred spot in the early stages, and now finds herself pushed further back."
"And finally, Gold Ship remains at the rear, seemingly watching her rivals and waiting for her chance."
Mejiro McQueen then added:
"Most of the positions look familiar. The others are employing tactics often used in middle-distance races."
"Kitasan Black's lack of experience shows—her positioning isn't ideal. Hopefully she can adjust and deliver a stronger performance later in the race."
On the track itself, with no commentary reaching her ears, Kitasan Black kept her eyes locked ahead, biting down hard.
From the instant the gates opened, she had realized just how different a training race was compared to a paired-run practice.
In paired-run training, each practice had a single, clear objective, and the distances were always short.
For example, in positioning drills, the course was only 100 meters long. Within that short span, she had to use every trick she knew to wrestle the target spot away from her senpai.
It was precisely because of this kind of focused practice that she had begun to believe that if she just tried a little harder, maybe she could beat her senpai.
But a training race was nothing like that.
This kind of training had multiple goals, and her senpai could fully display the extent of their true strength.
That included their wealth of experience.
It was thanks to that experience that, once the gates opened, her senpai had run straight forward rather than wasting time trying to seize the inside like she had.
With only five entrants, there was plenty of room on the track. The race didn't have the crush and congestion of an official event. Fighting for the rail this early was pure waste—there would be plenty of chances to adjust positions later.
By the time she realized that, she was already pinned on the inside.
The senpai in front and to her left had judged their distance and position perfectly, managing their rhythm and pace with flawless control.
They hadn't even touched her, yet she felt stifled, unable to stretch out her stride.
Directly ahead was Daiwa Scarlet. Slightly left and ahead was Vodka. The two of them, running side by side, formed an invisible wall in front of her.
That wall blocked her path, preventing her from unleashing her normal speed. Her usually steady stride and crisp rhythm were starting to fray.
And then, at some point, Special Week had slipped into the left front as well, widening that wall even further.
So now… what should she do?
Was she really going to be stuck running like this the whole way?
'No… calm down, Kitasan. You have to calm down…'
She bit her lip again, forcing herself to think fast.
Meanwhile, from the stands came waves of astonished cries.
"That's incredible! The senpai are absolutely perfect!"
"So this is the true strength of top-class Umamusume?!"
"It's so thrilling! I want to run with them too!"
As the Umamusume gasped in awe and admiration, the trainers who had come to watch also nodded quietly, whispering comments to their companions or to their own trainees.
To be admitted to Tracen Academy's Central Campus, both Umamusume and trainers needed extraordinary talent and ability.
They could all read the flow of the race so far, and many of them understood just how precise the decisions and reactions of top-class racers like Daiwa Scarlet were, and how Kitasan Black had slipped up.
"Sure enough, Kita-chan's still lacking in experience… But honestly, if it were me out there, I probably wouldn't do much better," muttered Satono Crown, arms crossed, frowning as she watched the figures on the track.
"I heard this training race was only decided a week ago. That means the senpais only had that short time to prepare."
"And aside from Gold Ship, the others—Daiwa Scarlet and the rest—haven't even been in actual races for years."
"To still show this level of strength under those conditions…"
"It really proves becoming a G1 Umamusume isn't something you achieve easily…"
Her fists clenched without her noticing.
Beside her, Satono Diamond's eyes, fixed firmly on the race until now, shifted to glance at her elder sister. Worry and gravity mingled in her gaze.
Born of the same Satono family, living together day in and day out, she could feel the pressure weighing on her sister now, and she knew exactly where it came from.
In recent years, the outside world had praised the Satono family as brimming with talent, some even claiming they were rising to the level of the venerable Mejiro family.
Many within the family believed it themselves, even flaunting the title of "the Umamusume family" in public.
But some had stayed calm and clear-headed. They knew thatcompared to the Mejiro household, the Satono family still had a long way to go.
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