"49.8 seconds," the on-site commentator at Kasamatsu Racecourse stared wide-eyed. He simply couldn't believe the data he was seeing. "It's truly incredible. On a fast track over 800 meters, Oguri Cap, in her very first race, has delivered such a performance."
"This is a time that many Horse Girls at Kasamatsu can only achieve on a heavier, faster dirt track... If we limit it to a fast track, there has never been a debut-year Horse Girl in the history of Kasamatsu Racecourse who could post such a time," the commentator continued to explain to the audience at the track and the listeners on the radio. "Not just the winner, Oguri Cap, but the second-place finisher, Fujimasa March, also posted a very impressive time."
"Could it be that we at Kasamatsu are about to have our own 'Haiseiko'?!"
With this sentence, the originally quiet atmosphere in the stands suddenly became lively.
"Our Haiseiko?"
"Forget Haiseiko. Even 50% of Haiseiko would be great."
"Yeah, forget winning the Satsuki Sho like Haiseiko. If they can just win a Central Graded Race once, they'll be heroes of Kasamatsu!"
For this racecourse, which had the lowest level of competition in the Tokai region, the most dazzling achievement of any Horse Girl who had ever competed here was winning the Tokai Derby—and even then, they often fell like shooting stars afterwards.
So the long-time spectators of Kasamatsu races didn't dare to have any high expectations for Oguri Cap and Fujimasa March just yet.
But Zhou Tai'an, standing on the sidelines, was quite calm.
"Well, I won the bet," he said to Brand New Shine beside him. "If you want to go fleece Kitahara-san with me in a good mood, you should go get ready for your debut race now."
"Huh? I can go too?" Brand New Shine was quite surprised. "I thought it was just you and Oguri, Trainer."
"We're a team. How could I leave you out of something this good," Zhou Tai'an snorted. "Go get ready. Do well, and you'll be in a better mood for Chinese food tonight."
"I will!!" Brand New Shine raised her hand, turned, and bounced off towards the registration office.
Zhou Tai'an watched her back disappear from view, then turned with a smile and met Kitahara's gaze from a distance.
He waved at his friend with a brilliant smile.
Kitahara rolled his eyes and pouted, looking away.
"Heeey—ya~" Zhou Tai'an swayed, deliberately "muttering to himself" at a volume Kitahara could hear. "A free victory celebration tonight. Saved some money."
"We'll win next time!" Kitahara retorted, not to be outdone.
"First, you guys have to be able to face Oguri Cap next time," Zhou Tai'an said with open palms, walking over. "I'm not planning to have her race at Kasamatsu Racecourse anymore."
"Why?" Kitahara was stunned, realizing the implication. "Are you going to have Oguri Cap move up and challenge the Horse Girls at Nagoya directly?"
"Yeah, the race schedule for the debut year is flexible," Zhou Tai'an shrugged. "After winning this debut, I think, based on past years, Oguri Cap can already challenge the Open-class races at Nagoya. I really want to try a longer distance."
"You know this too, Kitahara-san. Here at Kasamatsu, until the end of August, the only races available for debut-year Horse Girls are 800 meters on dirt," Zhou Tai'an said, turning to look at the track where preparations for the next race were underway. "But Oguri Cap's aptitude for short distances is definitely not good. And in the long run, our goal will be in mile and medium-distance races, so it's definitely not a problem to start adapting early."
Kitahara waited until Zhou Tai'an had finished before speaking. "I'll have Fujimasa March challenge the Nagoya races in the future too."
"Great, Kitahara-san. I support you," Zhou Tai'an clapped his friend on the shoulder. "I'm looking forward to Fujimasa March's future."
"I won't disappoint you." Although he had lost this time, Fujimasa March's finishing time was also excellent, so Kitahara was not discouraged.
"Don't forget you're treating us to dinner tonight," Zhou Tai'an quickly reminded him as he saw Kitahara preparing to leave to greet Fujimasa March after the race.
Kitahara's mouth twitched. "I didn't forget. I'll come back after I get Fujimasa March."
"Alright, I'll wait for you here, Kitahara-san," Zhou Tai'an said, squinting and waving.
By the time Kitahara returned to the stands with Fujimasa March, Brand New Shine's debut race was already over.
"Two wins in a row... You've really got something, Tai'an-san," Kitahara said, glancing at the tote board, quite surprised. "I remember this one lost badly in the mock race, right?"
"Yeah, but I trained her specifically targeting her weaknesses," Zhou Tai'an replied with a confident smile. "And in this race, Brand New Shine ran with the conviction that it was her 'last battle.' The other opponents might be stronger than her, but their determination was definitely not as strong as hers. So it was completely within my expectations that she would run away with this race."
"Determination..." Fujimasa March sighed deeply after hearing this. "So it's my determination that's weaker than Oguri Cap's?"
"You can't compare things like that," Kitahara stopped her from thinking further. "Rest for a while. We'll win back in the maiden race in two weeks!"
"Mm!" Fujimasa March nodded vigorously. "I'll train even harder!"
Zhou Tai'an also kindly offered his suggestion. "If you can, Kitahara-san, you can find a mining tire and have Miss Fujimasa March pull it."
"What do you mean?" Kitahara tilted his head in confusion.
He knew what a mining tire was, but he didn't know what effect having his Horse Girl pull one would have.
"Trains Guts (konjo)," Zhou Tai'an gave a short answer.
"Alright, I'll find a way to get a suitable mining tire," Kitahara readily agreed. He believed his friend's suggestion would definitely be effective.
Fujimasa March, beside him, didn't object. After all, the young man who had proposed this extra training was the one who had single-handedly trained the Horse Girl who had defeated her.
"Time to watch Oguri Cap's winner's circle performance," Zhou Tai'an said casually, turning his attention to the stage in the center of the track. He was looking forward to seeing his Horse Girl deliver an outstanding performance. Based on his West Coast knowledge, Horse Girls were quite talented at singing and dancing. He believed Oguri Cap was no exception.
"I wonder what kind of performance she'll give," Fujimasa March was also looking forward to it. If she had won, she had planned to sing Momoe Yamaguchi's "Shiroi Yakusoku."
Oguri Cap went on stage with the boombox she had prepared, put it down, and plugged it in—
"Ha Dance, dance To the rhythm of this Kasamatsu Ondo~"
"This is..." Zhou Tai'an was dumbfounded.
"Stomping on the Nobi Plain Making the monkeys' tails tremble"
"This is the 'Kasamatsu Ondo'," Kitahara, standing beside him, answered, then burst out laughing. "You've really done it this time, having your Horse Girl sing something like this in the winner's circle."
"I..." Zhou Tai'an held his head in his hands. "I had no idea this would happen!"
-------
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