Chapter 74. A Different League
The sound of "click!" reached Mejiro Dober's ears, and she instinctively moved her legs as the gate opened completely. As Mejiro Dober planned to use a senko tactic in this race, her starting speed was even faster than Oumaldaaya, who was expected to lead.
But after exiting the gate and covering 20 meters, Mejiro Dober, realizing this, slightly slowed down, allowing Oumaldaaya to come to her right front.
Then, as Oumaldaaya prepared to cut in and hug the rail, Mejiro Dober chose to angle slightly outwards by two steps, blocking Gussy Marlowe, who had started from gate number 2. She then maintained this position, following Oumaldaaya at the front of the pack.
In the Nassau Stakes course, the Uma Musume face a very long straight at the start. Moreover, this race uses the higher, uphill bend of Goodwood Racecourse, so the initial straight section is not only long but also an undulating and predominantly uphill stretch.
This meant that there appeared to be ample space to jockey for position, but the actual time available for doing so was only the first ten-odd seconds. After everyone entered cruising speed, Mejiro Dober glanced to her right, feeling quite satisfied.
"I am currently in third place. Ahead of me is Oumaldaaya, and diagonally in front is Gai Bulga. Considering Gai Bulga's lack of strength, I definitely need to avoid a situation where she is ahead of me."
And Shuta An looked at the big screen, nodding with satisfaction.
"Dober has secured a perfect position for a senko tactic. She can save energy, isn't afraid of the Uma Musume in front of her losing speed and blocking her, and can safely observe her surroundings."
"No matter what, Oumaldaaya and Gai Bulga wouldn't lose speed before entering the final straight, would they?"
Teio interjected.
"Because of the uphill bend." Shuta An turned to Tokai Teio. "The final straight of the Nassau Stakes is 900 meters long, almost half the race distance. So even after entering the final straight, the two opponents in front won't immediately start to lose speed."
Besides that, there was one more point the young man didn't explain to Teio. The uphill bend section is a sharp turn plus a downhill.
Although it's difficult for the Uma Musume running there to maintain speed, the gradually flattening section after exiting the turn can still ensure that the Uma Musume in front maintain their original cruising speed for a while after entering the final straight.
"But that's only for a while. After running 200 to 300 meters, the Uma Musumes who are going to lose speed will eventually lose speed."
Shuta refocused his gaze on the big screen, muttering to himself.
—
After 400 meters from the start, Shuta An glanced at the timer on the side of the big screen and mumbled the passing time for the first 400 meters.
"27.43 seconds, the pace upfront isn't too slow. But it's definitely going to slow down as we enter the uphill section."
The young man immediately felt reassured.
"Oumaldaaya doesn't seem to be setting a particularly fast pace."
Teio said, staring at the big screen, taking over the conversation.
"Could this race be run at a super slow pace, around 65 seconds for the first 1000 meters?"
"A slow pace is more advantageous for Dober, who runs a senko tactic. If they don't plan to resist, Dober might win even more easily this time."
Shuta An shrugged.
"But saying that now doesn't guarantee Oumaldaaya will maintain a slow pace. What if she accelerates when we enter the downhill section later?"
"If they've studied the Victoria Mile and Yasuda Kinen, they definitely wouldn't do that if they were going to change pace."
Teio shook her head.
Perhaps due to her slender physique, Mejiro Dober's energy expenditure after changing the race pace was significantly less than most other Uma Musume.
Teio estimated that even she, if she were to continuously change pace with Mejiro Dober in a 2000-meter race, would likely run out of stamina before Mejiro Dober did.
So Teio wasn't at all worried that these overseas Uma Musume would choose to play pace-changing games with Mejiro Dober to deplete her stamina reserves.
"If I can't do it, they shouldn't even dream of it."
The Undefeated Triple Crown thought.
In fact, Oumaldaaya didn't intend to do so. As they were about to enter the uphill bend, Shuta glanced at the passing time again.
"42.73 seconds. Did these 200 meters really take nearly 15 seconds? Although I know this section is uphill, isn't it a bit too slow?"
Even Mejiro Dober became agitated by this slow pace.
"Although we've only run 600 meters, this time is almost the same as if we'd run 800 meters."
"I know European races can be slow, but this is too slow!"
She frowned, her stride frequency gradually increasing, adopting a posture as if she wanted to overtake Oumaldaaya and Gai Bulga.
"Dober-senpai seems a bit eager to move up."
Teio immediately caught this information.
Shuta An shook his head.
"It's almost the bend section now, a sharp turn plus a downhill. It's not suitable for accelerating forward. If Dober forces her way up, she will waste extra stamina. Although there aren't that many demands for this race, I definitely need to have a good talk with her after the race."
"THEY'RE ABOUT TO ENTER THE BEND! OUMALDAAYA IS STILL LEADING! AND MEJIRO DOBER SEEMS TO BE SHOWING SIGNS OF ACCELERATING! IS SHE GOING TO MOVE TO THE VERY FRONT OF THE PACK HERE?!"
The live commentator shouted loudly.
"There's still over 1300 meters to the finish line here. Accelerating so early, even Mejiro Dober should find it very difficult in the end, right?"
The commentary guest countered.
"She can't accelerate here." Shuta An said again. "She needs to at least hold back until she's out of this bend."
Before the race, the young man had envisioned many scenarios, but he absolutely hadn't expected Oumaldaaya to set a pace so slow that even the incredibly experienced Mejiro Dober couldn't resist.
Fortunately, the sharp turn of the uphill bend at Goodwood Racecourse poured a bucket of cold water on Mejiro Dober.
"No, at this pace, I have to at least hold back until I'm out of this turn. Accelerating here would be too much of a waste of stamina!"
Mejiro Dober, having regained her composure, readjusted her stride frequency and continued to follow behind Oumaldaaya, stepping into the uphill bend section one foot after the other.
—
As Oumaldaaya rounded the uphill bend and prepared to use the downhill slope to sprint towards the finish line at the end of the straight, Mejiro Dober noticed that Gai Bulga's steps in front of her became erratic—a clear precursor to losing speed.
Realizing this, Mejiro Dober's lips curled into a smile.
She simply used the centrifugal force of the bend to swing outwards, changing from Gai Bulga's right-rear to her left-rear.
Immediately afterward, she unhesitatingly increased her stride frequency, kicking up a gust of wind that brushed past Gai Bulga from behind, directly hitting Gai Bulga and Oumaldaaya's faces with an unstoppable force.
"ONLY THE FINAL 900 METERS REMAIN TO THE FINISH LINE! MEJIRO DOBER HAS REACHED THE VERY FRONT OF THE PACK IN JUST A FEW STRIDES!"
The live commentator exclaimed.
"Oumaldaaya set a very slow pace upfront, and Mejiro Dober, unable to tolerate it any longer, immediately punished Oumaldaaya upon entering the final straight."
The commentary guest then spoke.
"Now it remains to be seen whether Uma Musume like Ruby Tiger will accelerate with Miss Mejiro Dober. Although there are still over 800 meters to the finish line, if they don't accelerate now, they might not have a chance to catch up with Mejiro Dober later!"
"If they want to ensure a good result, not following now is the smart choice."
Shuta An curled his lip, commenting.
"Following now would only disrupt their rhythm. A 900-meter long acceleration is even a bit difficult for Dober, let alone them. To secure a good placing, continuing to run their own race is enough."
"But the cost would be letting Dober-senpai open up enough distance in this section, making victory basically hopeless, right?"
Teio interjected.
Shuta pinched Teio's cheek, smiled and nodded, not responding, but this already represented affirmation.
After overtaking Gai Bulga, Mejiro Dober's pace showed no sign of slowing down.
Since she was accelerating, simply overtaking Gai Bulga wouldn't be enough.
Mejiro Dober's goal, of course, was to overtake Oumaldaaya as well, to reach the very front of the pack alone, and then leave all seven opponents behind her even further than she did in the Victoria Mile and Yasuda Kinen.
"Can I do it?"
Thinking of her winning margins in those two races, a flicker of hesitation crossed Mejiro Dober's eyes. Then, with her conviction strengthened, she decisively cast away that trace of doubt.
"I can do it!"
Having dispelled her hesitation, each step Mejiro Dober took seemed even more powerful. As she passed the 600-meter marker, she had already pulled five lengths ahead of Oumaldaaya, who was still holding on to second place.
But this wasn't Mejiro Dober's limit.
Shuta keenly noticed that Dober, after turning into the final straight, didn't immediately accelerate to her top speed, but rather gradually picked up pace.
However, because Oumaldaaya and Gai Bulga's cruising speeds were simply too... slow, Dober easily overtook them even with a small acceleration, and widened the gap further and further.
The young man glanced at the timer next to the big screen, which now displayed 1:29.11.
"1400 meters is a good number."
Shuta An calculated simply.
"The average time per 200 meters is around 12 seconds. Dober doesn't need to increase her pace much more; even maintaining her current pace is enough to win a big victory."
—
However, Mejiro Dober didn't want just an ordinary big victory.
After witnessing Teio's stunning performance at Ascot Racecourse, Dober's only demand was to create a performance at today's Goodwood Racecourse that was no less, or even far exceeded, the margin of victory in this year's Epsom Derby.
So, after passing the 600-meter marker, Mejiro Dober adjusted her stride, gradually increasing her speed to her limit.
The next second, Mejiro Dober, who was incredibly familiar with the control of her "Zone." unhesitatingly unleashed it as soon as she reached her top speed.
"Oh~"
Tokai Teio raised her eyebrows, clearly sensing the aura she had once encountered and used herself.
"You guys had better not tell Kurofune and the others about this, but as for Rice Shower—"
Shuta An paused.
"I hope Teio, you can explain it to her privately. After all, she had a fleeting encounter with it on the stage of the Japanese Derby. I will also entrust this matter to Dober. In short, Oguri and the others explained it to you back then, and now it's your turn, Teio, to explain it to your juniors."
"This is the core competitiveness of our team, isn't it?"
Tokai Teio pinched her lover's waist.
"But no problem, I received help from Oguri-senpai back then, so now it's only right that I extend a helping hand to Rice!"
While Teio and Shuta An were discussing the "Zone" in the stands, Mejiro Dober, who had fully unleashed her "Zone." had already swept past the 200-meter marker. She was only a little over 100 meters from the finish line, and all the spectators in the stands had their attention fixed on Mejiro Dober.
The live commentator also wanted to do that, but he couldn't. He had to direct his gaze to the other Uma Musume who were still quite a distance from the 200-meter marker.
"HOW MANY LENGTHS HAS SHE PULLED AWAY? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO COUNT WITH EYES!"
The live commentator shouted.
"RUBY TIGER HAS ALREADY REACHED THE FRONT OF THE PACK! BUT DOZENS OF METERS AHEAD OF HER, MEJIRO DOBER HAS ALREADY TURNED TODAY'S GOODWOOD RACECOURSE INTO HER EXCLUSIVE STAGE!"
"MEJIRO DOBER IS STILL ACCELERATING! THE GAP BETWEEN HER AND HER OPPONENTS BEHIND HER IS STILL WIDENING! UNBELIEVABLE! DESPITE ACCELERATING EARLY, MEJIRO DOBER IS STILL DELIVERING A SPRINT SPEED THAT ALL HER OPPONENTS IN THE SAME RACE CAN'T MATCH!"
"Woah…" Tokai Teio's eyes widened. "How many lengths is Dober-senpai going to pull away by?!"
"We can't count from our current position." Shuta An shook his head repeatedly. "But I have a premonition that Dober has probably set a race record this time."
As his words fell, Mejiro Dober's figure crossed the finish line, claiming the crown of the goddess of victory.
"MEJIRO DOBER CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! THE NASSAU STAKES, GOODWOOD RACECOURSE, AND THE GLORIOUS GOODWOOD FESTIVAL HAVE ALL BECOME HER SOLO SHOW!"
"2:04.56! BREAKING THE RACE RECORD BY 0.4 SECONDS! INDEED! THIS IS THE MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCE A LEGENDARY UMA MUSUME SHOULD DELIVER! EVEN IF SHE IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE ENTIRE FIELD TO HAVE WON A G1! BUT MEJIRO DOBER'S PERFORMANCE ENSURES THAT TODAY'S NASSAU STAKES WILL BE AN UNFORGETTABLE CLASSIC RACE! INDEED, ONLY GREAT UMA MUSUMES CAN DECIDE GREAT RACES!!"
When the live commentator was halfway through his words, the second-place Ruby Tiger barely crossed the finish line.
"What a terrible loss."
Ruby Tiger thought to herself, but she felt no remorse.
After all, according to her estimation, she lost by almost 3 seconds this time—the margin of lengths was pulled to over more than ten obviously.
"It must be Oumaldaaya's ultra-slow pace that forced out the patience in Mejiro Dober, right?"
Ruby Tiger couldn't help but mutter.