Just as Chijoy was suffering from the immense pressure on her heart, Pebble Garden not far behind her seized the opportunity to overtake her.
Pebble Garden is a rather calm Umamusume. She initially felt a bit tricky after seeing Kitasan Black's explosive lead, but she didn't feel too anxious.
She maintained her familiar rhythm throughout the run, and thus her pace remained quite steady as she reached the steep uphill section of the straight after the bend.
Clearly, she hadn't specifically trained in uphill running techniques. After all, for a newcomer like Umamusume, the difference lies in straight lines and curves, not in saving time on slopes.
Therefore, Pebble Garden also felt a slight pressure coming from her chest, but it was completely acceptable.
"Kosmo Alkhina also surpassed Chijoy to take third place, while Chijoy dropped to fourth."
Chijoy was once again overtaken by Umamusume, who has black hair like Kitasan Black but with brown highlights.
Finally, she climbed the steep slope and immediately felt the pressure on her heart decrease significantly.
We must close the gap!
With these thoughts in mind, Chijoy quickened her pace, attempting to catch up to second place.
But at that moment, Chijoy heard the live commentary that made her heart skip a beat.
"Wow! Kitasan Black has entered the bend, and she's already more than 11 lengths ahead of second place!"
"It's rare to see an Umamusume using this running style in the new race; hopefully she can maintain her advantage until the end."
"What?! 11 lengths?" Chijoy felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over her.
Even though a sudden lead can be difficult to maintain in the middle and late stages when stamina is depleted, the gap of 11 lengths was widened just halfway through the race.
Even she couldn't help but wonder, can this gap really be closed?
"Already on the bend?!" Pebble Garden's heart skipped a beat when she heard the commentator's voice.
She stared at Kitasan Black, who had already turned into the bend, and a sense of unease arose in her heart.
"So fast! So strong! Kita-chan is amazing!" Satono Diamond exclaimed in amazement. This kind of racing style that widens the gap is just too pleasing to the eye.
"Hey, Trainer-san~" Tokai Teio drawled, looking at Sakura Baimu, "Is it really okay for Kitasan to be leading like this? What if she overexerts herself and then runs out of energy later?"
"So...so, Trainer-san, what kind of running style did you instill in Kitasan?" Mejiro McQueen also asked.
"I let Kitasan take the lead, but I never said I was going to let her take the lead in any way," Sakura Baimu laughed. "Besides, Kita-chan is always running at her own pace, and there's no situation where she's overexerting herself. It's just that the Umamusumes behind her are too slow, which is why it seems like Kita-chan is taking the lead all the time."
"Kitasan Black has reached the final corner and is maintaining her lead. The Umamusumes behind her are also gradually picking up speed, and the pace of the race has clearly been accelerated by Kitasan Black."
The overall pace of this match was significantly faster than before.
"Kitasan Black is still more than 15 lengths ahead of the Umamusumes behind her, and this gap is widening!"
"Final Straight Line! Kitasan Black was the first to step onto the grass of the final straight line. She maintained her lightning speed, with no sign of slowing down!"
"What incredible perseverance and stamina! Absolutely incredible! Truly incredible!"
The commentator was shouting excitedly. She never imagined that she would encounter such a thrilling scene just by commentating on a new debut race.
Many audience members in the stands were so surprised that their mouths were agape, and some even dared not breathe.
Are they going to witness an Umamusume take the lead in her debut race and finish by a huge margin (more than 10 lengths)?
"Pebble Garden has also reached the final straight line, followed closely by Kosmo Alkhina, which is showing a tendency to overtake Pebble Garden."
Chijoy is still in fifth place behind Kosmo Alkhina, but she finally stepped onto the final straight of the grass.
"We have to speed up, or we can forget about taking first place."
Chijoy thought to herself, and then quickened her pace.
However, she found that her pace had not quickened, and the gap between her and Kosmo Alkhina in front of her had not narrowed.
"Huh? What's going on? Why can't I speed up?"
Chijoy panicked and strained her legs again, desperately trying to quicken her pace.
But it turned out to be all in vain.
"In the early stages, she was unconsciously led by Kitasan to run at a much faster pace than usual, which directly exhausted her stamina for the final acceleration."
Sakura Baimu stared at Chijoy, whose face had turned deathly pale in an instant, and naturally understood the panic in the heart of this popular Umamusume.
"How pitiful..."
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen both sighed as they looked at Chijoy, who had once been the center of attention but was now unable to even hold onto the top three.
"She was actually quite capable; she could have easily gotten first place, but a top-three finish would have been no problem. The main problem was that she didn't realize the gap between herself and Kita-chan and got thrown off her rhythm early on. Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way," Sakura Baimu said.
In short, Chijoy lacks talent.
"Now that Trainer-san has said that, I feel even more sorry for her," Mejiro McQueen said, turning around with a disdainful look.
Sakura Baimu shrugged and didn't say anything.
After all, that's how brutal the competition is.
"There are still 400 meters to go to the finish line. Judging from the looks of it, Kitasan Black has already opened up a gap of more than 20 meters between herself and Pebble Garden, who is in second place."
"The gap is huge, absolutely huge! This is a true leader, a major leader, an explosive leader!"
"200 meters to the finish line! Kitasan Black's pace remains steady; she hasn't shown any significant slowdown from start to finish! Amazing!"
"Is this really a rookie umamusume who hasn't even debuted yet? This level of skill is just too strong! It's a complete and utter crushing defeat!"
"Sha crossed the finish line!"
"Kitasan Black crossed the finish line with a huge difference!"
When the announcement arrived, the sound abruptly stopped. The venue became eerily quiet at that moment.
This is no longer just a matter of a large margin of victory.
The audience is no longer concerned about the margin of victory; they don't even have time to cheer for Kitasan Black as the winner, but are silently counting down the time in their hearts.
What the audience is concerned about right now is...
How many seconds will Kitasan Black surpass the one who is in second place?
1 second...2 seconds...3 seconds...
Time ticked by, but the live report of the next Umamusume crossing the finish line in second place still hadn't started.
5 seconds...6 seconds...
"Second place goes to Kosmo Alkhina!"
More than six seconds later, the sound of the second Umamusume crossing the finish line was heard.
Along with the commentator's loud voice, the audience members in the stands gasped for breath, as if they had just emerged from the water.