"Tch, did she manage to evade me?"
On the track, Admire Vega, who had tried to block Opera O's path from the start but failed, thought with a slight hint of annoyance, but a serious expression appeared on her face.
Sure enough, just as she thought, that Trainer Wada had taught Opera O something. Back on the training grounds, that Trainer was probably practicing these things with Opera O late at night, wasn't he?
Admire Vega didn't come to the Satsuki Sho unprepared. Unlike other Uma Musume who reached the GI stage and confidently believed they were invincible, she clearly knew she had the ability to contend for the GI championship. However, the true formidable opponents she faced also possessed such a standard.
This time, besides Narita Road, who she had competed with and lost to in the Yayoi Sho, she firmly believed that Opera O was a more threatening Presence than Doto.
—After all, Trainer Wada had gone to such lengths, even risking offending (though not actually) Trainer Tojo Hana, to secure Opera O. Although Admire Vega didn't get along very well with Opera O, she still regarded Opera O as a rival.
What's more, she had also seen Wada giving Opera O special coaching, which further convinced her that Opera O definitely had the potential to be valued by Wada. It might even be that Doto was merely Wada's "alternative choice" to secure Opera O.
Therefore, Admire Vega repeatedly watched Opera O's performance in the Mainichi Hai, and after confirming that Opera O's strength was indeed worth taking seriously, she took it upon herself to choose Opera O as her opponent, rather than focusing on Meisho Doto as her Trainer had instructed.
She had only one opponent, the Uma Musume she wanted to defeat—only Opera O!
"Opera O's tactic this time is to run as a leader. Although she had always used a stalker running style before the Mainichi Hai, the Last Spurt she unleashed in that Mainichi Hai means the 2000-meter distance should be no problem for her."
"If that's the case, then just like Doto, I'll unleash my Last Spurt earlier than her, at the last turn. I'll quickly open up a gap, and then even if she finds a spot to unleash her Last Spurt, she won't be able to catch up."
Admire Vega had already planned her strategy in her mind. Although her initial attempt to block Opera O failed, Admire Vega, confident that she understood Opera O's tactics well enough, remained unperturbed. She still adopted her most skilled chase running style, hanging at the back of the pack, conserving her stamina, and preparing for a showdown with Opera O at the final turn!
At the front of the pack, Opera O, Meisho Doto, and Narita Road were all employing a leading running style, but the scene this time was different from what one Uma Musume had previously envisioned.
"How can this be? How could I not have gained an advantage from the start?"
Among the leading Uma Musume, Meisho Doto now showed a rare flicker of panic. Her current position was excellent; she was steadily ahead of Narita Road among the leaders. Narita Road tried to accelerate and overtake Doto several times, but Doto suppressed her each time, eventually forcing her to settle for third place.
But the first position among the leaders was not Doto, but Opera O—Opera O, who had trained with Doto the entire time, but was now steadily ahead of her!
How could this be?! Doto didn't understand. She couldn't fathom how her seemingly perfect start this time, which should have allowed her to replicate everything from her victory over Opera O in the Mainichi Hai—why, in just one short month, she was being suppressed by Opera O?
During this period, Doto's training had been extremely rigorous. Since her victory in the Mainichi Hai, Doto, having tasted victory, was much more confident than usual. Besides readily accepting the training arranged by Wada, she also continuously strengthened her speed and power training.
Because in the last Mainichi Hai, she had defeated Opera O with this very move. The suppression in speed and power had left Opera O, who had no weaknesses but also no particularly outstanding points, helpless. This deepened Doto's resolve to specifically train her strength and speed.
Therefore, during this period of training, Doto didn't give Wada much to worry about. More often than not, even after Wada announced the end of training, Doto would quietly continue to train alone, hoping to defeat Opera O again in the Satsuki Sho.
But Doto had forgotten that while she might not actively trouble Wada, Opera O, on the other hand, was almost inseparable from Wada.
During this time, Opera O's training schedule was personally planned by Wada. The training plan for Opera O, which had been prepared long ago, was now put to use. Following Wada's plan, Opera O underwent a month of specialized training, and her growth in strength was simply unimaginable to Doto.
At this moment, Opera O was approaching the "peak Opera O" outlined by Wada at an astonishing speed!
"How can this be? How could Opera O suddenly become so strong?" Doto's heart was filled with questions, but her panic allowed Narita Road behind her to see an opportunity!
"Bang!"
"Oh! Number two, Narita Road, has broken through Meisho Doto's block! She has now overtaken Meisho Doto and moved into second place among the leading Horse Girls!"
"Currently leading is number eight, the runaway Uma Musume! Number seven, Opera O, is right behind! Can Narita Road overtake Opera O—it seems she hasn't succeeded! The group has now passed the second turn and is heading towards the third turn!"
"Ha!" Meisho Doto, who only reacted after hearing the commentator's voice, instinctively looked ahead and realized that Narita Road, who had already surpassed her by about half a Racehorse length, had turned back to try and suppress her.
This won't do. Now is not the time to zone out.
Let me try to regain the feeling from the Mainichi Hai, and use that Presence to suppress her back... Doto's eyes closed slightly, then quickly opened again! At this moment, the phantom of her own "Presence" slowly coalesced on Doto's body once more!
And with the appearance of the phantom, Doto's Presence also sharply increased by a significant margin! Her worries were completely swept away, her legs powerfully pushed off, and she once again surpassed Narita Road, charging towards Opera O's back!
"What?!" Narita Road was also startled by the change in Doto's Presence—she had never felt such a terrifying Doto before!
"Oh oh oh! So you've finally come, Doto! It seems you're truly eager to challenge me, the Overlord, to a showdown!"
Opera O, without a doubt, also felt the pressure from Doto behind her, but at this moment, she showed no panic at all. She neither clashed head-on with Doto nor tried to maintain her advantage.
Instead, she proactively yielded a position, moving to the outer lane, and willingly gave the inner lane, the position to overtake her, to Meisho Doto.
What is she doing? Doto was also a bit confused at this moment, but with the inner lane right in front of her, Doto naturally had no reason to let it go. She charged forward directly, overtaking Opera O!
"Oh! Meisho Doto has made her move! She has now overtaken Opera O! The number eight runaway Uma Musume has also lost speed! Meisho Doto is now leading!"
"So, so strong…" In the stands, Narita Road's Trainer swallowed slightly and muttered, "As expected of Meisho Doto. Although her qualification for this race was a close call, her strength is truly undeniable."
"It was probably too much to ask Narita Road to keep an eye on Meisho Doto. If things continue like this, Narita Road probably won't win…"
As he spoke, Narita Road's Trainer didn't forget to look at Wada, who had a somewhat serious expression, and said with emotion, "As expected of Wada-kun, who defeated Tojo Hana-senpai. I'm afraid I've truly lost this time."
Beside him, Admire Vega's Trainer remained silent. Although Admire Vega's initial strategy was different from what she had envisioned, Admire Vega was still conserving her stamina. So far, all of Admire Vega's tactics were still on track.
But… she was also a bit worried now. The gap between Meisho Doto and Admire Vega was a bit large, and she was concerned whether that Horse Girl could rush up and overtake Doto.
As for Wada… his view was completely different from the other two. He saw a major mistake in Doto's race.
"Unleashing all your strength so early… Doto, this is only the third turn. Even if you can maintain that burst until the final straight sprint, will you still have the stamina to continue bursting?"
"The current Opera O is not what she used to be, Doto…"
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