Bringing up a "relay race" format with Symboli Rudolf wasn't exactly a spur-of-the-moment idea for Kitahara. He'd had this notion for quite some time already, and had even discussed it with other trainers on his team before.
There were many reasons for it. First of all, this kind of relay format is only used in a very special kind of Derby race, and the way that Derby is structured allows for extremely pronounced specialization in endurance.
That race is the Mongol Derby.
Generally speaking, Derby races around the world are about 2400 meters in length. This is because the origin of the Derby traces back to the Epsom Derby that Kitahara and the others had already mentioned before.
In 1779, after the Oaks Stakes in England concluded, a new race was to be established. A lord named "Derby" flipped a coin with another lord to decide the name of the race, and the venue was set at the Epsom racecourse.
Lord Derby won the coin toss, and that was how the Derby came to be.
At first, the Epsom Derby was run over one mile. After four editions, it was extended to one and a half miles—roughly the same distance as modern Derby races.
Later, after various detailed adjustments, and with the race date officially fixed from 1870 onward as the first Wednesday of June each year, this classic event became what it is today.
Because of its origins, most countries modeled their Derby races after the Epsom Derby, making only localized adjustments to suit their own circumstances.
For example, the Japanese Derby rounds the distance to a clean 2400 meters, rather than the Epsom Derby's 2423 meters.
The Mongol Derby, however, is completely different from other races of the same category.
Its course length is extraordinarily long—
1,000 kilometers.
Not only that, the venue is not a racetrack, and the duration is not a matter of minutes.
The race is held in the wilderness. The participating horse girls must cross rivers, deserts, grasslands, and other natural terrain over the course of ten days.
The rugged terrain, extreme altitude differences, and the need to solve daily living issues along the way make the race conditions brutally harsh.
In fact, precisely because of this extreme course design, every year in the Mongol Derby, many horse girls are forced to withdraw due to hypothermia or heat stress.
Only about 40% of participants manage to finish the race each year.
The key reason Kitahara brought up such a unique Derby was that its format is, at its core, a relay race.
In the Mongol Derby, horse girls compete as teams.
Each team consists of 25 members, following transport routes established in the year 1224, making use of an ancient relay-station network scattered across the course.
Obviously, in a race like this, beyond teamwork and coordination, overwhelming endurance and willpower are absolutely critical.
Using such a race as reference didn't mean Kitahara wanted his horse girls to run a 1,000-kilometer event themselves.
After all, Mongolian horse girls are naturally more fierce, and their physical constitution is famously strong even on a global scale.
By comparison, Japanese horse girls—and most horse girls from other regions—could be described as relatively "delicate."
If they truly tried to participate in the Mongol Derby or anything similar, something would almost certainly go wrong.
The real focus was the relay format itself.
When horse girls race individually, they tend to expend their stamina without reservation.
But when there's a teammate waiting to take the baton, they become much more conscious of the bigger picture. This allows them to train specific skills through such races, improving endurance, willpower, and related qualities.
There is existing academic research on this topic, and the Eternal Team had conducted internal analyses as well, confirming that this kind of race has real training benefits.
Beyond real-world races, Kitahara also recalled relay races depicted in the original OVA and certain manga adaptations.
In those events, many experienced horse girls expressed high levels of approval for the format.
For example, European representatives and aristocratic spectators once mentioned to Symboli Rudolf —who was hosting such an event—that relay races differ greatly from the Twinkle Series in terms of rules, venue, and pace distribution.
This places much greater emphasis on fundamental ability, tactical literacy, and overall situational awareness.
Kitahara had analyzed relay races long ago, and naturally had considered organizing one for Oguri Cap and the others.
Unfortunately, within URA's official race system, such events were usually treated as entertainment-oriented exhibition matches. It was difficult to truly ignite competitive spirit or draw out full performance from his horse girls.
And when it came to internal team events, the number of horse girls had previously been too small.
Now, however, there were two age groups within the team, plus Symboli Rudolf and her peers—senior horse girls representing the very peak of their generation—right there with them.
With a scale like this, a relay race could finally achieve the effects Kitahara had envisioned.
So after he mentioned the relay race idea and noticed the surprise and hesitation on Symboli Rudolf 's face, Kitahara briefly reiterated the discussions he'd had in the past with his colleagues.
He brought up the Mongol Derby, the characteristics of relay races, and their training effects.
Naturally, he didn't mention parallel worlds. Instead, he framed everything in terms of research on relay races as entertainment events.
"…I thought you'd just come up with the relay race idea on a whim," Symboli Rudolf said after listening, remaining silent for a while before speaking with some emotion.
"I didn't expect you to already have such a detailed plan."
"It's a very good idea—at least based on your description."
"And to step onto the racetrack once more…"
She fell silent again, her gaze fixed unblinkingly ahead.
Without even looking, Kitahara could imagine it clearly. This legendary horse girl was surely watching her former rivals and evenly matched friends.
No horse girl can resist longing to gallop freely on the racetrack—not even Symboli Rudolf .
Moreover, whether in the original work or in this world, situations where a horse girl's prototype horse was forced into early retirement due to injury were exceedingly rare. Many horse girls had broken free from their parallel-world destinies and were able to stand on the racetrack once more.
As for a powerhouse like Symboli Rudolf , she had retired not due to weakness, but because she was too strong—because the system needed to give space to younger generations, and because of limitations in race formats.
Even as her abilities continued to sharpen after retirement, there was simply no stage left for her to display them.
And with time, no matter how strong a horse girl is, aging will inevitably erode her strength.
If she never gets another chance to race before that happens, regret is unavoidable.
"Stepping onto the racetrack again—that's something a horse girl like you has always wanted, isn't it?"
Kitahara said with a smile, looking at Symboli Rudolf .
"In fact, aside from training Oguri Cap and the others, another reason I proposed this relay race is because I once made a promise to Maruzensky."
"Maruzensky? She…"
Symboli Rudolf froze for a moment. Her eyes, which had already been drifting among her friends, instantly locked onto Maruzensky's back, and she understood.
"Ah, she mentioned it to me in private."
"She said you promised her that you'd find a way for her to stand on the competitive stage again."
"Yes. If you make a promise, you should do everything you can to fulfill it."
Kitahara nodded, also looking toward Maruzensky.
"I can't think of a way to create a top-tier, URA-level G1 right now."
"But if the Twinkle Series doesn't have such a race, maybe we can try hosting one ourselves."
"As for the race's impact—or the strength of the opponents…"
He pointed toward the previous generation of horse girls.
"There's no need to talk about Maruzensky. If she goes all out, even you, Rudolf, wouldn't dare say you could win with 100% certainty, right?"
"CB and Katsuragi Ace were both your old rivals. You've beaten them before—if you faced them again, maybe your odds would be slightly better?"
"People often say that compared to colts, fillies are ultimately weaker, but nothing is absolute."
"Mejiro Ramonu was the first Triple Crown filly in Japanese URA history. There's no reason to doubt a powerhouse like that."
Then he pointed at the others.
"True, with your level of strength, most horse girls wouldn't stand a chance racing against you in the same leg—but this is a relay race."
"You veteran—uh, ahem, senior veterans can just compete among yourselves. The rest will each handle their own segments."
"I don't think you'd believe Oguri Cap, Super Creek, Ardan, Tamamo Cross, or Inari One would drag you down, no matter who you're paired with."
"The same goes for Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, Narita Brian, Mihono Bourbon, and Rice Shower. They're still young, and their talents aren't fully realized yet."
"But you acknowledge their potential, don't you? You wouldn't think they'd be a burden either."
"If possible, I'd actually like to invite even more horse girls to participate."
"But right now our team is in training camp, and others have their own circumstances."
"So for now, we'll have to keep it simple and hold it in this form."
"What do you think?"
Though phrased as a question, Kitahara was certain Symboli Rudolf wouldn't refuse.
Not just because of her fighting spirit as a horse girl, or her desire to step back onto the racetrack—
That desire was practically overflowing, visible to the naked eye.
The way she stared straight ahead at her friends made Kitahara suspect she hadn't even been listening carefully earlier, already thinking about how to persuade them to join the race.
Otherwise, she would've noticed his slip of the tongue when he said "old geezer."
More importantly, there was her identity as the student council president.
Authority was an essential tool for someone in that position.
She represented Central Tracen Academy—one could even say she represented the entire Japanese horse girl world—and she needed that authority to uphold the dignity of everything she stood for.
Deep down, she cherished every single horse girl and fervently wished for all of them to shine on the stage of their dreams.
Yet the current URA Association and the Twinkle Series were still imperfect—certainly less complete than in the other world.
In the original work, there were many events outside the main series: the Dream Cup, relay races, arenas, Heroes' Monthly Meets, Hero Leagues, Masters' Challenge.
None of those existed in this world.
She had long wanted to expand the race lineup. Kitahara knew well that Chairwoman Akikawa Yayoi had been working tirelessly toward that goal, with Symboli Rudolf assisting her every step of the way.
Now that such a fitting event was right in front of her, Kitahara didn't believe Symboli Rudolf would turn it down.
"…Maruzensky will agree immediately. She's wanted to participate in a race like this for a long time."
After a long silence, Symboli Rudolf didn't give a blunt affirmative, but her words—and the anticipation and excitement hidden in her tone—made her feelings clear.
"CB, Katsuragi, and Ramonu probably won't refuse either, but I'll still talk to them."
"Then it's settled. I originally planned to stop by, then take Maruzensky with me to deal with some other matters."
"But such an interesting race—and an invitation from you…"
She finally pulled her gaze back from the front and looked at Kitahara, giving a small nod.
"Then we'll talk after the race."
"Thank you, Kitahara."
Hearing that thanks, Kitahara froze briefly, then realized—
Although the relay race was initially proposed for training and to fulfill his promise to Maruzensky, Symboli Rudolf clearly harbored similar feelings.
She simply rarely showed them under the heavy workload of the student council.
It wasn't hard to imagine how happy Maruzensky would be upon hearing about a relay race suited to her level.
With that in mind, Symboli Rudolf's gratitude made perfect sense.
"There's no need to thank me."
Kitahara smiled.
"Not being able to see you in your prime on the racetrack has always been a great regret for me as well."
"So this relay race also carries a bit of my own selfish desire."
"I see… Don't worry. I won't disappoint you."
When Symboli Rudolf said this, her tone and expression barely changed. There was no overt display of confidence befitting a legendary horse girl or the pinnacle of her generation.
And yet, it was precisely that calmness that proved her confidence had already become instinct.
"Then I'll leave everything about the event to you. I assume you've already prepared, right?"
Only now did her voice carry clear confidence—or rather, trust.
"Uh… well…"
Kitahara felt awkward.
"I do have a general outline. Relay races themselves aren't exactly rare."
"But since this race involves horse girls of very different levels, we'll need to discuss how to assign the legs."
"And the venue, staff, and all those details—I haven't thought them through yet…"
He felt his proposal sounded a bit hasty, especially given that he was the one who suggested the race and Symboli Rudolf was clearly looking forward to it.
But she showed no sign of blame. Instead, she replied confidently:
"Leave the venue and staff to me. I still have the authority for that."
She said with absolute assurance,
"You just focus on designing the race itself."
"I believe that when it comes to racing, you won't let me down."
(End of Chapter)