There was only a single month separating the Satsuki Sho from the Japanese Derby, and within this month, the Uma Musume who has just run a grueling 2000-meter race must be brought back to perfect readiness. Furthermore, if the losers do not want to repeat their failure in the Satsuki Sho, they'll need to train even harder, making it an undoubtedly tight month for some.
Fortunately, the atmosphere among the Uma Musume participating in the Japanese Derby in Tracen has been very peaceful; it could even be described as joyful. Within one week of training together, Meisho Doto gained many insights into the running styles of Narita Top Road, Admire Vega, Mejiro McQueen, and Tokai Teio, among others.
During this time, the focus of her training had also shifted; now, not only did she train her strength, but she also dedicated a large amount of her time to learning and mastering how to control the pace of a race. These were the training objectives that Meisho Doto had asked Wada to help her with. Although Wada didn't fully understand why Meisho Doto decided on prioritizing these things, since Meisho Doto had requested it, he had a responsibility to fulfill it as a Trainer. Plus, he was pretty well-versed in this subject, allowing him to quickly strengthen Meisho Doto's running rhythm and judgment.
And during this one week, Imanami, who was also participating in the Japanese Derby, naturally made extensive preparations for Mejiro McQueen. This made Wada, who was about to compete against Imanami, feel even more pressured, as one can imagine.
The week passed by swiftly, and soon, at the Tokyo Racecourse, where the Japanese Derby was held, the second leg of the Classic Triple Crowns was about to begin...
"Welcome, everyone! Welcome everyone to the Tokyo Racecourse, where the GI Japanese Derby will be taking place!"
"The weather today is still a bit humid as there was a light drizzle yesterday, and the gloomy weather today seems to suggest that the rain might continue. We hope that all participating Uma Musume and Trainers can pay close attention to their physical condition to avoid any accidents during the race."
"However, for Mejiro McQueen, the favorite in this race, it might actually be a Symboli Kris S situation. Her stunning performance in heavy conditions at the Kyoto Shimbun Hai is still vivid in everyone's mind. Will she become the winner of this Japanese Derby? We can only wait and see in anticipation."
The spectator stands for the Japanese Derby were unprecedentedly crowded. As the most prestigious race with the most prize money among the Classic Triple Crowns, the Japanese Derby has always attracted a large number of spectators who come to cheer for their favorite Uma Musume, which is not surprising.
However, the intensity of this Japanese Derby was different from all the ones before. Whether it was T.M. Opera O, who dominated the Satsuki Sho, Narita Top Road, Admire Vega, or Meisho Doto—whom T.M. Opera O called the "Three Musketeers"—they all had their respective supporters who placed high hopes on them, wishing that their chosen Uma Musume could win the Japanese Derby.
Of course, the favorites to win this time were the Satsuki Sho winner, T.M. Opera O, and the famous Mejiro McQueen. Everyone was anticipating the showdown between T.M. Opera O, the Overlord who already possessed the first of the Classic Triple Crowns, and Mejiro McQueen, the rising star of the Mejiro family who had already shown immense potential.
In reality, more people favored Mejiro McQueen—after all, her family had long since proved that their Uma Musume were the best of the best. Coupled with her amazing talent and excellent performance at the Kyoto Shimbun Hai, where she decisively defeated her sister, Mejiro Ryan, it was no wonder why many Uma Musume fans were confident in her.
"Go, McQueen~!"
In the stands, Tokai Teio, wearing a raincoat, also kept shouting McQueen's name at the racecourse, cheering her on and saying things like, "Don't lose, McQueen!"
"Hehe, Teio, you really like McQueen, huh," Gold Ship, who was standing beside her, said with a playful smile. However, with one hand still around Imanami, she turned her head and asked, "Old man, are you confident that McQueen will win this time? After all, McQueen has been preparing for this race for a long time."
"Of course I'm confident, but I also told McQueen not to do anything beyond her limits, so as for whether she could win the Japanese Derby... I'll have to actually take a 'go with the flow' stance."
Imanami smiled slightly at this. The race announcers were still revealing popularity rankings, and his gaze remained fixed on the stage as he calmly said to Gold Ship:
"The Japanese Derby is not McQueen's strongest distance. Her stamina is very strong, but in terms of power and speed, there is still a pretty big gap compared to T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto. However, the Japanese Derby is 2400 meters, the longest possible distance in middle-distance races. Whether McQueen can win this race depends entirely on whether she can control the pace of the race and force those stronger than her to slow down. After all, I ordered her not to push herself too hard."
"Huh, Trainer, don't you want McQueen to win?"
Tokai Teio, who had overheard the conversation between Gold Ship and Imanami, couldn't help but ask in surprise, "This is the Japanese Derby! The most important race of the Classic Triple Crowns! Although it's no longer possible for McQueen to challenge for the Undefeated Classic Triple Crowns like me, how can she just hand over victory like this?"
"That's not what I mean, Teio. No Trainer would just be willing to hand over victory, and even if there were such a Trainer, their Uma Musume would never do that."
Imanami looked at Tokai Teio, whose small face was filled with confusion, and smiled as he said to her: "Just as I can't bear to destroy the lifelong dream of my dear junior, I still didn't prevent McQueen from running in this race. If Wada isn't fully prepared, then it can only be said that he and his trainees are not qualified to bear the honor of the Classic Triple Crowns—opportunity always goes to those who are prepared. The same goes for McQueen. She certainly won't just flop over and give up; she will definitely be going all out, just without pushing herself too hard, and it'll all depend on how the others perform."
"But..." However, at this point, Imanami suddenly paused slightly.
Tokai Teio looked at her Trainer's subtle expression and couldn't help but ask, "But what, Trainer?"
"...Though it might sound bad coming from me, her Trainer, but from an emotional perspective, I actually feel that T.M. Opera O and Trainer Wada will achieve a miracle and win this race."
"Huh? Why?!"
Tokai Teio was completely bewildered by Imanami's statement. Although she had only joined his team recently, she was very familiar with his views on races. Imanami had said on multiple occasions that on the racecourse, there were no so-called 'miracles'; only through hard training and daily discipline could a "realistic miracle" happen. Solely relying on miracles happening to you will only lead to certain defeat.
This was the first lesson Tokai Teio learned after joining Imanami's team. She wasn't really an Uma Musume who believed in miracles; after all, she had always won through her own strength. Miracles—wouldn't that be too much of a foul? But now Imanami was saying that he believed Wada and T.M. Opera O could achieve a miracle, which made Tokai Teio somewhat incredulous. Why was that?
"...Because their relationship itself is a miracle," Imanami replied, leaving Tokai Teio somewhat perplexed.
At this moment, Imanami's mind couldn't help but recall another pair—Orfevre and Ikezoe. That pair was also quite miraculous. Although Orfevre was severely lacking now, Imanami still firmly believed that once Orfevre and Ikezoe successfully synchronized, Orfevre would follow closely after T.M. Opera O and once again shock the Uma Musume world.
It could be said that if T.M. Opera O's Trainer was not Wada, but her previous Trainer Hana Toujou, then Imanami would have had around a seventy percent chance of making Mejiro McQueen surpass T.M. Opera O and end the Overlord's Classic Triple Crown journey—just like her fate in the past.
But now the situation had changed. T.M. Opera O and Wada—while this pair might not be the strongest in terms of overall ability when working together, were absolutely the pair that could bring out the best qualities from each other.
-----+-----
You guys better get used to seeing the word 'miracle' cause from this point on, the author is going to spam that word so many times.
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.