Zhou Tai'an's call carried on the wind to Oguri Cap's ears.
"Trainer has given me permission to accelerate early!" The doubts in her heart vanished in an instant upon hearing her trainer's shout.
Oguri Cap, on the outside, no longer hesitated. She immediately increased her stride frequency and easily slipped past Innocent Dino on her left.
After eating sand for half the race, Oguri Cap felt a sense of relief the moment she was shoulder to shoulder with her.
"I don't have to squint anymore." Feeling more comfortable, Oguri Cap lowered her body, leaned her center of gravity further forward, and her speed suddenly increased.
With every step, Oguri Cap left a clear hoofprint on the deep sand of Nagoya Racecourse. Unlike Innocent Dino, Oguri Cap didn't kick up sand behind her.
Because she was compacting the loose sand together.
"What amazing explosive power. And every push-off is focused on the track, not scattered," Tamamo Cross marveled. "As expected of a gray-coat, just like me."
Zhou Tai'an, beside her, was not surprised by this. In fact, Oguri Cap's performance was exactly what he had expected.
"The slope in front of the shrine wasn't for nothing," he said, a smile playing on his lips, looking completely confident.
"It's in the bag," Tamamo Cross said, looking down at her wallet and glancing inside. "Good thing I brought a lot of cash today. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble later."
She now also believed that Oguri Cap would win this race.
By the time they entered the final turn, Oguri Cap had completely broken away from the pack, leading the second-place Innocent Dino by more than three lengths.
"Keep this pace, go!" Zhou Tai'an got excited, shadowboxing in the air, his face contorted as he gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "Win this Wakakoma Sho! Make the ones who looked down on you blush!"
Oguri Cap couldn't hear his muttering, but she could already see her trainer from the turn.
"Trainer is so excited..." Oguri Cap thought to herself.
Although her mind wandered, it didn't stop her from maintaining her acceleration.
"She's been accelerating since the 800-meter mark, and it's been 400 meters now," Tamamo Cross raised an eyebrow. "It looks like Oguri Cap can still extend the distance."
"That's right," Zhou Tai'an, having regained his composure, took over. "In my plan, Oguri Cap's future should be aimed at mile and medium-distance races, that is, the 1600 to 2400-meter range."
"There aren't many local races in that distance range, are there?" Tamamo Cross realized the problem and guessed something. "Could it be that—?"
"You want to take her to challenge Central?" she asked, staring intently at the young man in front of her.
Zhou Tai'an glanced back at her. "Challenging Central isn't illegal, is it?"
"No, I don't mean to question you," Tamamo Cross shook her head vigorously. "I'm also looking forward to seeing Oguri Cap in the Twinkle Series."
"I have to work hard too," she thought to herself. "I can't still be stuck in the condition races when Oguri Cap goes to challenge the Central Graded Races."
By the time they entered the final straight, with only 194 meters left to the finish line, Oguri Cap had already left her opponents more than 9 lengths behind.
"No mercy!" Zhou Tai'an had already forgotten his earlier wish for Oguri Cap to conserve as much energy as possible and shouted, "Run your heart out!"
Oguri Cap remembered him shouting this in her debut race at Kasamatsu.
"Then, my thought right now is—" she asked herself.
"Of course, to keep charging ahead!" The answer was obvious.
No matter how her opponents performed, Oguri Cap had no intention of holding back here.
So, after establishing a winning position, she actually accelerated again.
"Damn it! Didn't they say gray-coated Horse Girls can't run fast? Why can't I catch this one from Kasamatsu!" Innocent Dino, more than ten lengths behind, roared in her mind.
"Unbelievable! Oguri Cap, who broke away on the backstretch, shows no signs of fatigue after entering the final straight! She's still accelerating!" the on-site commentator also cried out in surprise.
"Go!" Tamamo Cross shouted along.
It wasn't just Tamamo Cross. In fact, many spectators in the stands, no matter how much they had looked down on Oguri Cap at the start, were now cheering for her, seeing her hold a huge lead.
"Faster! Faster!" Oguri Cap urged herself on, her stride frequency increasing, her stride lengthening. The presence and sounds of her opponents completely disappeared. The whole world seemed to be reduced to the sound of her own breathing and footsteps—like a victory bell.
On the final straight, Oguri Cap tore through the empty track like the wind, leaving only a trail of hoofprints.
"Oguri Cap crosses the line!"
"An incredible result! What was expected to be a close race has been completely overturned by Oguri Cap from Kasamatsu!" The on-site commentator held his head in his hands. "No one could have imagined such a result before the race! Oguri Cap! The first Wakakoma Sho winner since the establishment of Kasamatsu Tracen Academy!"
"1:27.4," Tamamo Cross said, looking at the finishing time on the tote board, her brow furrowed. "That's a time that would get you on the board in a maiden race at Central."
"Phew—" Zhou Tai'an let out a long breath. "Next up is the Hokkaido Yushun Championship."
"This time, she must have won by more than 10 lengths, right?" Brand New Shine bit her finger and muttered to herself. "Oguri is so amazing. I knew it... she can definitely reach a stage I can't even imagine."
Zhou Tai'an felt a premonition and opened his Stat Viewer, preparing to see if Oguri Cap's stats had changed after the race.
The first series of stats were exactly the same as before, until he scrolled to the "Skills" section at the end.
"真っ向勝負 / Head-to-Head Showdown..." Zhou Tai'an focused on this skill, and its description appeared in his mind—
"When in the front half of the pack, increases acceleration."
"This skill appeared after the race," he thought, his gaze returning to Oguri Cap, who was standing dazedly on the track. "So skills are acquired in real races?"
Zhou Tai'an didn't know how to use this skill or its effects, but he instinctively felt that its strength was definitely astonishing.
"I need to figure out this skill system as soon as possible," Zhou Tai'an made a mental note.
-------
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