Chapter 137. A Sense of Déjà vu
During the exhibition, Tokai Teio followed behind Dai Yuusaku.
She did not know much about Dai Yuusaku. Shuta An had not specifically told her to pay attention to this Uma Musume. But as she walked behind Dai Yuusaku, Tokai Teio frowned.
She could feel a vivid fighting spirit and a strangely familiar sensation from the Uma Musume walking in front of her.
Although she said it felt familiar, she could not quite describe Dai Yuusaku's aura for a moment.
"Very familiar, yet inexplicably so."
Teio looked at Dai Yuusaku's back as she stepped onto the exhibition stage and muttered to herself,
"I don't know how to put it, but I always feel her aura is much fiercer than Air Groove's."
But in terms of strength, Tokai Teio still felt that Air Groove was stronger.
After the exhibition started, Shuta led Admire Vega and Kurofune out of the stakeholders' box and came to the area behind the track fence, ready to cheer for Tokai Teio from there. Nishizaki Ryu, Tojo Hana, and Minamisaka had already arrived early. Fumino Nase arrived a little later than Shuta An.
Aside from Kitahara, several old acquaintances had Uma Musume they trained competing in today's Arima Kinen: Mejiro McQueen, Air Groove, Nice Nature, and Osumi Shadai.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
Shuta An greeted his friends proactively.
"Good afternoon."
The others responded as well.
Aside from Tojo Hana and Fumino Nase, the other two also brought other Uma Musume from their teams to cheer for the runners they trained.
Admire Vega hid behind Shuta An; she was not very comfortable in settings like this.
Kurofune noticed this and proactively moved to the other side, standing with Shuta An to shield Admire Vega completely.
"I knew Ann-san cared a lot about Miss Admire Vega; he even brought her here to watch the Arima Kinen today."
Nishizaki Ryu joked.
"I also watched the footage of the previous mock race, and Miss Admire Vega has the potential to follow Miss Silence Suzuka and become a great escape runner."
Shuta An gave no comment on Nishizaki Ryu's judgment. One look at Admire Vega's stats was enough to see that she was completely unsuitable for leading.
After Dai Yuusaku finished her exhibition, Tokai Teio stepped onto the stage.
Unlike Dai Yuusaku, whose appearance only drew polite applause, Tokai Teio received an extremely enthusiastic welcome. The applause was like thunder and a tidal wave, and Tokai Teio could even feel the exhibition stage beneath her begin to shake.
She smiled and waved to the stands.
"NUMBER 9, TOKAI TEIO. CAN THE SECOND UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN IN HISTORY PUT A PERFECT END TO HER CLASSIC YEAR?"
The live commentator tried to make his voice, amplified through the microphone and speakers, rise above the applause and cheers.
"WITHOUT QUESTION, THE BIGGEST FAVORITE, TOKAI TEIO LOOKS FORMIDABLE AND SPIRITED, AND IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION."
When Tokai Teio's gaze landed on her Trainer, she inadvertently caught sight of Admire Vega. She frowned.
Although the distance was a bit far, Tokai Teio felt that Admire Vega was tugging at her Trainer's sleeve, looking timid.
"Tsk."
For no reason at all, she felt a little irritated.
After stepping off the stage, Tokai Teio, still thinking about Admire Vega's suspected behavior, suddenly realized something.
"I know why Dai Yuusaku felt familiar to me!"
She clenched her right fist and struck her open left palm.
The aura Dai Yuusaku gave off when she first walked onto the exhibition stage was very similar to that of Admire Vega, whom she had seen in the mock-race footage.
Shuta An had originally described that aura as a "sense of sacrifice," but Tokai Teio went one step further. She believed Dai Yuusaku's aura should be described as "a seeker of truth."
"It's like she is willing to pay any price to win the race."
Thinking of that, Tokai Teio could not help recalling the provocation her Trainer had used when planning strategy before the race.
She was not stupid. Tokai Teio could naturally sense the intent behind Shuta An's provocation.
"Could it be that the Trainer wanted me to pay attention to Dai Yuusaku?" she wondered.
After finishing the exhibition, Tokai Teio did not wait for Mejiro McQueen or Nice Nature and headed straight toward the starting gate.
She still needed to warm up after getting there. As for greeting friends, that could wait until after winning the race.
Mejiro McQueen and Nice Nature also noticed Tokai Teio's actions.
"Teio is really serious," Mejiro McQueen muttered.
Unlike Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, who drew gate 1, did not leave immediately after the exhibition and was waiting to go to the starting gate with Tokai Teio.
As it turned out, Tokai Teio had not even greeted her.
Mejiro McQueen was not angry. She merely reflected on herself.
"I know this race against Teio is very important too, but I was still thinking about chatting with her before the race—It seems my attitude toward the race isn't as serious as Teio's."
Realizing this, Mejiro McQueen also quickened her pace and rushed toward the starting gate.
Nice Nature, who drew gate 5, had originally had the same idea as Mejiro McQueen, and had even been prepared to stop Mejiro McQueen from greeting Tokai Teio too early and causing Tokai Teio to leave without her. But Tokai Teio completely ignored both of them.
"Teio is so serious, even more serious than before the Kikuka Sho."
Nice Nature narrowed her eyes, clenched her fists, and stared intently at Mejiro McQueen's back.
"I'll prove that I'm worthy of being treated as a serious opponent by Teio!"
Dai Yuusaku also headed toward the starting gate immediately after her exhibition. Halfway there, however, she heard hurried, rhythmic footsteps behind her.
"What's going on?"
Dai Yuusaku turned back and froze.
Tokai Teio, wearing a calm expression and focused entirely on the race, passed by her with her signature Teio Step.
"Is this what an Undefeated Triple Crown is like? She becomes so cold before the race that it makes me afraid."
Dai Yuusaku crossed her arms.
Once again, she clearly felt the gap between herself and Tokai Teio.
"I'm going to be competing on the same stage as such a monster!"
Her gaze passed over Mejiro McQueen and Nice Nature, who were not far behind Tokai Teio, and landed on the stands.
"Grandpa, I'll show you my absolute best condition!"
Dai Yuusaku vowed to herself.
Because she had drawn an odd-numbered gate, Tokai Teio entered the starting gate earlier.
After successfully entering, she looked at the gates on both sides.
Dai Yuusaku was in gate 8, and this year's Kikuka Sho fourth-place finisher, Fujiyama Kenzan, was in gate 10.
After entering, Fujiyama Kenzan greeted Tokai Teio.
"We meet again."
"Good afternoon, Kenzan-chan."
Tokai Teio's tone was light.
"This course is 500 meters shorter this time, but I'll make the gap between us even bigger than in the Kikuka Sho."
Fujiyama Kenzan, who had just been hit with some trash talk from Tokai Teio, was not annoyed. She only shook her head.
"I'll do my best to keep up with Teio's pace."
"I'll also do my best to defeat all my opponents," Tokai Teio said as she took up her starting stance.
Dai Yuusaku listened to the conversation between the two Uma Musume beside her and quietly muttered to herself,
"Tokai Teio is going all out too, so I can't hold back either. After all, my talent isn't as good as hers. If I even lose to Tokai Teio in terms of commitment to the race—"
Dai Yuusaku shook her head to clear it all away.
She noticed that Osumi Shadai from gate 16 was already about to enter the starting gate.
"I need to get ready quickly."
She also copied them and took her starting stance.
—
Meanwhile, Shuta An, standing in the stakeholders' area by the track, was pulled over by Nishizaki Ryu and the others, and they gathered together while their respective Uma Musume teams stayed nearby.
"Tokai Teio looks to be in excellent condition today," Minamisaka said first. "She seems even stronger than she was in the Kikuka Sho."
"Of course," Shuta An replied proudly. "Although Teio was in perfect condition during the Kikuka Sho, she has clearly improved a lot since then, so the current Teio is naturally stronger than she was back then."
"All Undefeated Triple Crowns so far have won the Arima Kinen in their Classic year."
Tojo Hana paused.
"This time, Air Groove and I have set our goal as the top three."
"I'm different."
Nishizaki Ryu shrugged.
"Mejiro McQueen told me she has a reason she must win this race."
"Although Tokai Teio probably doesn't have such a reason," Shuta An and Nishizaki Ryu exchanged glances, "I naturally don't want to hand the fruit of victory to anyone else."
Even though everyone had good private relationships, once they arrived at the racecourse, no one wanted to lose.
Even Tojo Hana, who had just said her goal was the top three, would certainly not give up if Air Groove had a chance to win.
Minamisaka, however, was more open-minded.
"Nice Nature's goal this time is to strive for the best possible placing."
He could not afford to be detached.
Among the Uma Musume sent by the Trainers present for this Arima Kinen, Nice Nature and Twin Turbo had the weakest track records.
Minamisaka was very aware of this, so from the moment he decided to enter Nice Nature in the Arima Kinen, he had been providing psychological counseling and helping her relax and avoid becoming too nervous.
As for Twin Turbo, he was not worried at all. That girl was obsessed with leading by a huge margin and did not need his help to de-stress.
Looking at Nice Nature's expression on the big screen now, Minamisaka felt that his pre-race preparation had been quite successful.
With a unified "Click!", the starting gates burst open simultaneously.
None of the 16 Uma Musume had a delayed start, but Tokai Teio still stood out among them. Her initial acceleration felt excellent; if she had not deliberately restrained herself, Tokai Teio felt she could have shot straight to the front in one go.
But Twin Turbo, starting from gate 12, was not to be outdone. Since she could not challenge Tokai Teio before the race, she chose to show her resolve through her actions instead.
After overtaking Tokai Teio, Twin Turbo turned her head to glance at her, gave a forceful "Hmph," and then continued accelerating toward the lead.
Daitaku Helios, who had declared before the race that she would run a senko tactic, stayed true to her word. She did not even think about competing with Twin Turbo for the lead. Starting from gate 4, she took fifth place and settled into cruise mode.
Mejiro McQueen, who started from gate 1, unusually did not choose to accelerate forward for the lead or run a senko tactic.
Not going for the lead was understandable, since Twin Turbo was there, and no one wanted to self-destruct in a one-for-one exchange with Twin Turbo, especially if Mejiro McQueen still wanted to win.
But seeing that she did not even use her gate 1 advantage to fight for a good leading position, Shuta turned to Nishizaki Ryu and asked,
"Nishizaki-san, do you think Twin Turbo will set an extremely fast pace in this race?"
Nishizaki Ryu answered matter-of-factly, "Of course. With Twin Turbo in the lead, the pace will definitely be very fast."
"Ann-san, do you have a different opinion?" Minamisaka asked curiously about Shuta An's view on Twin Turbo's huge lead.
"It's a 2500-meter Nakayama turf race. If Twin Turbo wants to lead by a large margin, let her do it. The other 15 Uma Musume won't follow her, so the pace will depend on what the runner in second place does."
Shuta An paused.
"Considering that Prekrasnie should be in second place, I think the pace will be on the faster side, but not excessively fast."
When Prekrasnie was mentioned, Nishizaki Ryu's expression darkened.
She was the one who won the Tenno Sho (Autumn) after Mejiro McQueen was disqualified. Nishizaki Ryu did not pay much attention to Prekrasnie in this race. After all, as long as Mejiro McQueen did not foul, Prekrasnie did not seem to be her opponent.
"Then let's see what the rhythm will be like next," Tojo Hana said. "I also don't think the pace will be too extreme."
Tokai Teio chose to secure a position two horse lengths ahead of Mejiro McQueen, who was currently in seventh place, while Mejiro McQueen remained in ninth. Although their rankings were not very different for now, the two-horse-length gap was clearly visible on the big screen.
"It looks like Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen didn't choose very different positions,"
Nishizaki Ryu said, having been a little nervous, and calmed down somewhat as the pack gradually entered the straight before the stands.
"The first 300 meters were run in 17.8 seconds. Considering Twin Turbo is in the lead, the pace is indeed normal, but we still need to see whether Twin Turbo will accelerate more later," Shuta An added.
In short, so far, the true pace of today's Arima Kinen was still unknown.