"Gold City has made her move! She overtook Starlight immediately after clearing the first corner."
"Leading the pack now is contender number one, Gold City, with a one-length lead over the second-place Divine Starlight."
It seemed like a perfectly normal turn of events, but in the next second, Starlight's actions left everyone bewildered.
Her speed dropped sharply, as if she had suddenly run out of strength, causing her to fall back into third place.
"Wait, what's going on? Is Divine Starlight planning to give up?"
A commotion broke out in the stands. Some said she was intimidated, some said she was throwing the race, and others even suggested she was "acting" for a fixed result. In that moment, the theories were endless.
"Starlight's stride has changed... she's using a Pace Chaser strategy!"
In a VIP box, Symboli Rudolf stood by the viewing window and let out a low exclamation of surprise.
She wasn't the only one, even the trainer, Kiryuu Inami, was astonished. She hadn't even known Starlight was capable of adopting such a tactic.
Standing beside her, Ryu Nishizaki had a lollipop in his mouth and his arms folded across his chest.
"Not bad. This surprise move is working beautifully. But..." His eyes reflected Starlight's constantly pumping legs. "How solid must her foundation be to pull this off so seamlessly?"
"Starlight-senpai is so cool! Trainer! I want to debut too! When are you actually going to let me train? If you keep this up, I'm not following you anymore!"
Daiwa Scarlet, her hair tied in her signature twin-tails, was incredibly excited as she watched Starlight's figure on the track. She spoke to Ryu Nishizaki with an energized face.
"Exactly! You said last week the training plan was almost finished, but we haven't heard a peep since!" Vodka questioned him suspiciously.
"Ahaha, don't be in such a rush! Let's watch the race first, we'll talk about training once we get back."
"Tsk, fine..."
After passing the third corner, Gold City glanced back slightly. Seeing the gap between herself and the second-place Uma Musume had widened to six lengths, she felt a surge of confidence.
This was an absolute advantage. Furthermore, this wasn't a graded stakes race. The competetors here weren't anywhere near as strong as the ones in a G3.
So the chances of a late-stage comeback were statistically minuscule. Usually, pulling away by such a large margin meant the win was secured.
A smile tugged at her lips as Gold City thought to herself: 'With this, I can finally return to the stage of graded stakes.'
Ding!!!!
However, at the very moment she was secretly rejoicing, a scorching gaze locked onto her. Feeling a chill run down her spine, Gold City reflexively looked back.
Those golden eyes, shaped like six-pointed stars, looked like the eyes of a ferocious predator.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down her forehead. Gold City quickly turned back, focusing all her energy on the race ahead.
Thump, thump, thump...
The rapid sound of footsteps suddenly rang out in her ears. Glancing sideways, she saw the silver figure was already just a step or two behind her.
!!
'What is with this filly? She's like a ghost, it's terrifying!'
Starlight had used her advantageous position the moment the other Uma Musume drew close to trigger a gold skill. Relying on her explosive power, she had caught up instantly.
"Divine Starlight is catching up again! Was that earlier drop in rank just a strategy?!"
"Three lengths, two lengths, only half a length left!!!"
"Let's see if she can overtake Gold City on the upcoming slope, or if Gold City will pull away... let's wait and see!" The announcer was so excited he jumped onto the table.
'No, I still have a chance. I'm holding a red skill and we're on a slope— she won't pass me.' Gold City's eyes narrowed as she steeled herself.
As they hit the uphill climb, she ruthlessly unleashed a red skill at Divine Starlight.
Faint red energy shimmered on the ground behind her. The moment Starlight stepped into it, a sense of irritability and anxiety began to rise in her heart, and her legs felt slightly heavier.
Unfortunately for Gold City...
Starlight's lips curled into a smile.
A red skill of this level? For someone who has spent so much time training with second-gear weights, this is nothing.
She locked her eyes on Gold City's figure ahead.
On her body, the faint golden gradient began to glow brilliantly. Blue energy shimmered beneath her feet as she directly activated a blue skill.
Starlight accelerated up the slope as if she were on level ground, overtaking Gold City in a mere heartbeat. Her speed continued to climb, and the gap between them widened to a terrifying four lengths.
Her pupils trembling, Gold City cried out in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me— ! This is an uphill climb!"
Once they reached the flat, Starlight's speed didn't falter. She successfully took the race with an absolute gap of eight lengths.
"Sigh... Gold City, what a pity," Symboli Rudolf said, shaking her head with a sigh in the VIP room.
"What do you mean, President? That was a dominating win from Divine Starlight," Hishi Amazon, who had come along, asked curiously.
"Initially, City wasn't suited for leading, but under Starlight's early-stage misdirection, she spent more than half the race at the front."
"Starlight, however, transitioned from a comfortable pace to her specialized running style. The situations the two found themselves in were worlds apart. Combined with Starlight's rock-solid foundation and her mastery of her skills, the gap in this race became so vast."
"Under normal circumstances, Gold City likely would have won the race by one or two lengths."
Having said her piece, Rudolf turned and left the VIP room.
"I see. Divine Starlight... hehe."
Hishi Amazon watched the small silver filly responding enthusiastically to the audience for a long time, letting out a few chuckles.
It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but she soon followed Rudolf out.
That evening, after the Winning Live performance ended. Inside the locker room.
Starlight was humming an unknown tune as she leisurely changed her clothes.
"Sigh... looks like the quality of the socks I wore today wasn't up to par."
Taking off her shoes, she saw her white over-the-knee socks had a hole in them. She pulled them off, set them aside, and put on a pair of black ankle socks instead.
"Whatever, I'll be able to wear my racing silks once I get to the graded stakes, so I won't worry about it. I should focus on what to have for dinner with my trainer later."
Behind her, Gold City, now wearing a beige plaid shirt, suddenly tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, Starlight."
"Hm? What's up?"
Starlight turned around, a gentle smile on her lips.
"My trainer had an emergency at home and left early. Can I go to dinner with you tonight?"
"Sure! Just let me finish changing and we can go together."
"Mm, okay... um, also... you were really amazing today," Gold City said, her face flushing slightly with a hint of dejection.
Hearing this, Starlight stood up, leaned close to the other girl's face, and said with a laugh, "You were great today too, City-chan."
"Ci-City-chan? What kind of weird nickname is that? Also, stop teasing me!" Gold City retreated a few steps in flustered embarrassment.
"I'm not. I was the one who threw you off your game. If you had used your normal strategy, you wouldn't necessarily have lost to me," Starlight said in a warm tone, reaching out to smooth a stray lock of hair on Gold City's forehead.
After speaking, she picked up her small backpack and waved. "Alright, let's go eat, City-chan."
Watching her walk away, Gold City stood dazed for a moment. Her heart was pounding rapidly, and the blush on her face refused to fade.
'That girl... huh? What's this—'
Her gaze inadvertently caught sight of the folded, worn-out white socks sitting on the nearby bench.
The scene shifted. The locker room door opened, and Starlight looked at Gold City, who was now carrying a small black cloth bag.
She teased, "What was it that held you up?"
"No... nothing. Just some private business."
No matter how beautiful she was, Gold City was still a colt. And the little silver Uma Musume in front of her, who was half a head shorter than her, was...