Chapter 138. Tokai Teio's Unusual Choice
When Twin Turbo crossed the first marker, Shuta An said, "I think the pace will be standard."
"That seems about right. Prekrasnie isn't too far behind Twin Turbo. A standard pace would be fair for the Uma Musume we've trained," Nishizaki Ryu added.
"That's true," Minamisaka agreed.
Twin Turbo's large lead was never going to last until the end. In Minamisaka's view, their team's performance this time still depended entirely on Nice Nature. As for Twin Turbo, as long as she was not injured, it was enough for her to run as hard as she liked.
Even if such an absurd Uma Musume, leading by such a huge margin, only performed average, she would still be invited to the Dream Trophy Series. After all, many races needed a runner like her to liven up the atmosphere.
Shuta An understood Minamisaka's thinking as well.
Nice Nature was currently in tenth place, running neck and neck with Dai Yuusaku. The two Uma Musume had almost identical positioning and tactical approaches.
"However, Dai Yuusaku's explosive power in this race is a bit stronger than Nice Nature's," Shuta An recalled the race he had seen in his Dream World and muttered to himself. "It depends on how Twin Turbo and Prekrasnie distribute their pace next."
As they entered the second bend, Tokai Teio moved slightly inward, even deliberately accelerating a little to do so.
Mejiro McQueen was not sure why Tokai Teio had done that. But she knew that after Tokai Teio cut in, she was now running directly in front of her. That meant Mejiro McQueen could stay behind Tokai Teio and benefit from the slipstream.
"I don't know what Teio is trying to do, but at least for now this is good for me,"
Mejiro McQueen thought.
"There's still quite a distance to the finish. I can keep biding my time here and don't need to make any rash moves."
After entering the straight opposite the grandstand, Twin Turbo had no intention of conserving her energy.
"Yahoo~! Turbo is going full throttle!"
Her three tails fluttered in the wind, but Twin Turbo did not care. She only wanted to floor the accelerator and run with all her strength, showing off her style.
"You won't catch me!"
Even though her stamina would likely run out, Twin Turbo always had this confidence. Even if she lost a great deal of speed in one race, she would still use the same tactic in the next one, oblivious to everything else. That was the confidence of an escape Uma Musume.
Prekrasnie, who stayed in second place, did not choose to imitate Twin Turbo. After entering the straight opposite the stands, she chose to control her pace instead.
"It looks like the pace is closer to a standard rhythm now."
Prekrasnie's move did not escape the notice of the Trainers in the VIP area. Tojo Hana was the first to speak.
"Prekrasnie's idea of controlling the pace is a good one," Shuta An said, "however..."
"However what?" Nishizaki Ryu asked curiously.
"However, even if she controls the pace, Osaichi George, who is currently in third, won't miss the chance to overtake her. There's a chance Osaichi George and Prekrasnie will fight each other, which could make the pace even faster," Shuta An pointed out.
"In that case, wouldn't the runners who stay behind have the advantage?" Minamisaka asked. If things unfolded that way, it would certainly benefit Nice Nature.
Tojo Hana and Nishizaki Ryu also perked up, since Mejiro McQueen and Air Groove had both chosen rear-position tactics as well.
"Certainly, the runners who start behind and finish strongly will have the advantage," Shuta An admitted.
After hearing that, Tojo Hana and Nishizaki Ryu both smiled.
But there was one thing Shuta An did not say:
Even if the race development ended up being unfavorable for Tokai Teio, her strength was enough to overturn that gap.
As they were about to enter the final bend, Tokai Teio moved slightly outward by two steps, creating room for Mejiro McQueen. If Mejiro McQueen could not resist accelerating, she could easily cut into the gap Tokai Teio had opened and move forward effortlessly.
But Mejiro McQueen was only preparing to accelerate. She had no intention of acting too early.
"I'm not stupid. How could I accelerate too early here?"
She continued conserving her leg strength, waiting for the moment the field turned out of the final bend.
Air Groove, seeing that Mejiro McQueen was not accelerating early, also held back her own impatience.
(I just realized Air Groove wasn't supposed race in year or generation. Meanwhile Mejiro Ryan who was supposed to fill the entrant was missing. It could be interpreted as Air Groove was filling for Ryan.)
Nice Nature was in the mid-pack group, but she had been watching Tokai Teio, so Tokai Teio's sudden diagonal move was immediately noticed by her.
"What is Teio trying to do?"
Nice Nature could not figure it out. Still, she chose to follow Mejiro McQueen and Air Groove's approach. She remained in cruise mode, continuing to wait within the pack.
In the stands, in the VIP area, Admire Vega stood alone because she did not get along well with the Uma Musume from other teams. Kurofune, unwilling to leave her alone, could only briefly greet friends from other teams before rushing back to accompany Admire Vega.
"Ayabe-chan, do you think Teio-senpai can win?"
Although the two Uma Musume were together, they had not spoken until Kurofune asked that question.
"She will win."
Admire Vega's reply was also very concise.
"I also believe she will win, but I can't truly relax until I see the finish line," Kurofune said with emotion.
"Teio-senpai is preparing to accelerate from the bend,"
Admire Vega said, unusually speaking a few more words.
"Really?! How did Ayabe-chan figure that out?"
"A guess."
Admire Vega returned to her usual reticence.
But her guess was correct.
Tokai Teio was preparing to launch an early acceleration on this downhill stretch, something few Uma Musume liked to do—an action that would undoubtedly make many spectators gape and push Shuta An's heart rate past 180.
The final straight at Nakayama Racecourse is very short, which is why Nakayama is generally considered suitable for front-running and early-attack tactics.
Tokai Teio was not going to ignore that favorable condition.
"Twin Turbo has completely lost her speed. If I start accelerating here, I can use the potential energy from the downhill section to reduce the extra stamina consumed during the surge,"
the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume thought.
As for how to handle the bend that came with this downhill stretch, Tokai Teio was also very confident.
"That's why I have to move outward to pass Fujiyama Kenzan, who is in front of me—"
She murmured to herself.