"What's 'Runaway,' Trainer-san?"
Kitasan Black was lightly confused. She turned to Sakura Baimu.
"GG, explain it to Kita-chan."
Sakura Baimu patted Smart Falcon on the back, and the trembling Umamusume suddenly flinched.
"Uh… 'Runaway' is… being in the front position but running like a Front Runner…"
Smart Falcon looked like a student caught dozing in class and suddenly called on to answer a question, her face full of panic.
Her grades weren't good, neither in school nor in competitions.
"Your studies aren't good enough. As the only senior Umamusume on the team, how can you not set a good example for the younger members?" Sakura Baimu asked.
"Uh… Falco practices singing and dancing too late every day, and I'm always sleepy in class the next day…" Smart Falcon blushed, her voice trailing off.
"I was even thinking of writing a few songs for you to sing, but seeing your grades, I'm suddenly having second thoughts."
"Ah! Trainer-san can write songs?!" Smart Falcon suddenly perked up, her orange eyes sparkling.
"Sing! Sing! Falco has to sing! Falco sings really well; she'll definitely sing Trainer-san's songs perfectly!"
"Uh, Trainer-san, I actually sing pretty well too." Kitasan Black was also somewhat tempted by Sakura Baimu's words.
After spending so many days together, Smart Falcon had indeed realized that Sakura Baimu was incredibly knowledgeable. She had even been slightly smug after hearing the explanation of the group name.
If she could have an original song, she could immediately stand out in Umamusume.
"Let's talk about it again when you don't fail your next school exam," Sakura Baimu spoke, looking at Tokai Teio.
"Teio, you explain."
"Hehe, Runaway is a Front Position running style very close to that of a regular Front Runner. This running strategy constantly forces the other Umamusumes, especially other Front Runners, to accelerate at their own speed. This unknowingly speeds up the overall rhythm."
"What are the benefits?" Sakura Baimu looked at Mejiro McQueen again.
Mejiro McQueen tossed her long hair, a smug expression of disdain for such a simple question on her face, and explained.
"This not only causes the Front Runner Umamusumes to exhaust themselves and slow down earlier but also makes the Umamusumes behind them think that their own rhythm is off, thus masking the fact that they've sped up the overall rhythm, ultimately disrupting the rhythm of both the front and rear Umamusumes."
"Oh, I see! Ah!" Kitasan Black nodded repeatedly, feeling like she had learned something new.
"Speaking of which, this is the running style that Daiwa-senpai liked, right?" Tokai Teio recalled.
Tokai Teio remembered that Daiwa Scarlet liked to run this way.
"This running style is only suitable for strong Umamusumes. Dia-chan has trained, so her strength is naturally far beyond that of her peers in the same year. However, her leg structure isn't suitable for Front Running, so I had her use this tactic," Sakura Baimu explained with a smile.
"Eh~!" Mejiro McQueen exclaimed in surprise. "Is Daiwa-senpai really strong?"
All the members of Spica were older than Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio, so Mejiro McQueen hadn't had much contact with the Spica members except for Gold Ship, who used to bother her every day.
In her memory, the strongest members of Spica were Silent Suzuka and Special Week; she didn't remember the others.
"McQueen, Spica is the strongest team in Tracen Academy besides Rigil!" Tokai Teio, on the other hand, had spent a lot of time with the Spica members.
"Is that so?!" Mejiro McQueen looked at Sakura Baimu in surprise.
Sakura Baimu nodded. "Spica's overall strength ranks second in Tracen Academy, much higher than ours. Their team is full of active Umamusumes. Take Daiwa Scarlet, for example, whom everyone wants to race against; she has never finished outside the top two in any competition so far."
"What? Everyone wants to race against her? Trainer, what are you talking about?!"
Mejiro McQueen didn't quite understand what Sakura Baimu was saying, but she suddenly felt her face turn red.
"Vodka's strength is in no way inferior to Daiwa Scarlet. Not to mention Special Week and Silent Suzuka; you all know that."
"What about Gold Ship?" Mejiro McQueen asked again.
"Gold Ship doesn't want to run seriously. She always treats the races like a game. McQueen, you don't think Gold Ship is weak, do you?"
"Uh, Trainer, how do you know so much about other teams' Umamusumes?" Mejiro McQueen suddenly sensed something was wrong.
"Of course, I observe other Umamusumes whenever I have free time," Sakura Baimu explained.
Upon hearing this, several team members shuddered involuntarily, thinking the same thing:
"Trainer-san is still strange!"
--
Inside the arena, Leukerbad finally understood what had happened after hearing the explanation from the usually quiet commentator.
"Looks like I need to speed up again."
Leukerbad thought to herself, straining to increase her pace once more.
"Leukerbad has entered the final straight and is accelerating. The distance between her and Satono Diamond is now closing, currently more than four Lengths."
"Three Lengths to go. Although the speed of closing the gap isn't fast, Leukerbad is still slowly reducing the distance to Satono Diamond."
"At this moment, Leukerbad has already created a gap of more than four Lengths between herself and Lord Lauder in third place, and this gap is still widening."
"From now on, it's entirely a competition between Leukerbad and Satono Diamond!"
After hearing the commentator's explanation of Satono Diamond's running style and strategy, Satono Diamond's father's panic subsided somewhat, and his anger also faded.
However, witnessing Leukerbad gradually closing the gap with Satono Diamond, his heart couldn't help but tighten again.
"As expected... although the Front Runner Umamusumes' stamina was exhausted early, Dia-chan's own stamina is also running low. This running style is essentially Dia-chan being the Front Runner for the entire race, and Leukerbad is about to catch up!"
"As expected, this strategy is still..."
Satono Diamond's father was abruptly interrupted by the commentator's loud voice before he could finish speaking.
"Satono Diamond has finished the final corner and stepped onto the final straight. She will be overtaken by Leukerbad..."
The commentator's eyes widened suddenly halfway through her sentence.
She seemed not to understand what was happening. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she screamed in an even louder voice.
"What? What did I just see?! Satono Diamond is accelerating! Satono Diamond is actually accelerating!"
--
--
Fun fact.
Of all the Umamusumes known to date, only Symboli Rudolf, TM Opera O, Vodka, and Kitasan Black have actually won seven G1 titles.
Furthermore, Vodka was the first mare in Japanese history to win the Japan Cup and the first seven-time winner.
In Spica, Vodka has the most G1 wins, followed by Gold Ship with six.
Daiwa Scarlet's strength lies in the fact that she has never finished outside the top two in her 12 races.
---