On the track, Leukerbad exerted all her strength, increasing her speed.
She could even feel her lungs starting to ache slightly from the force of her breathing.
With this burst of energy, the gap between her and Satono Diamond was slowly closing.
"It's okay... it's okay... she's practically been leading the whole race. She must be exhausted. As long as I can overtake her, that's enough..."
Leukerbad came to this conclusion after roughly understanding Satono Diamond's pace-runaway strategy.
The gap between them narrowed extremely slowly, but a deep sense of joy gradually welled up within Leukerbad.
But just then, she saw Satono Diamond had stepped onto the final straight first. She slightly lowered her stance, her foot landing on the grass looking incredibly heavy.
"Huh? What's this..."
Leukerbad was instantly drawn to Satono Diamond's pose. She even felt a little dizzy, as if she'd seen this pose somewhere before but couldn't quite place it.
Just as this question arose in her mind, she heard the dull thud of Satono Diamond's other foot on the grass, and then her figure began to shrink rapidly in her vision.
"What?! What did I just see?! Satono Diamond is accelerating! Satono Diamond is accelerating!"
Leukerbad was momentarily stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening before her, so shocked that her thoughts froze for a moment.
When the commentator's high-pitched, shocked shout rang out, Leukerbad's face, flushed from straining herself to unleash her power, finally showed a clear expression of shock.
She gradually began to understand what was happening before her eyes—
After being in the front position for over 1600m, Satono Diamond accelerated again!
In a flash, Leukerbad's flushed face turned deathly pale.
The two-Length gap she had just managed to close with Satono Diamond, despite her all-out effort, vanished in an instant.
No, not only that—the gap between her and Satono Diamond began to widen at a visible rate.
Leukerbad gritted her teeth so hard that she felt a tingling sensation in her gums, wanting to further increase her speed.
The feedback from her lungs, legs, and even all the muscles in her body revealed that she had pushed herself to her current limit.
Without a second thought, Leukerbad knew that her actions would cause significant harm to her body.
But even enduring the pain throughout her body, she found that her speed couldn't be increased further.
"Why? Why can't I increase my speed?"
Leukerbad felt her legs suddenly become incredibly heavy, almost as if they were no longer under her control.
At that moment, her eyes, hidden beneath her jet-black bangs, trembled as she gazed at Satono Diamond's retreating figure.
Leukerbad realized something.
She had exerted all her strength, squeezing out every last bit of power, yet she couldn't even maintain the gap between herself and Satono Diamond.
"The distance I desperately closed was instantly widened by her?!"
This scene unfolding in just a few seconds instantly shattered the confidence Leukerbad had built up over time as a member of the prestigious Leuker Clan Umamusume.
Her pace was still significantly faster than the Umamusume behind her, but at this moment, Leukerbad's eyes had lost all confidence; all that remained were unfocused, trembling pupils.
"Using a pace-runaway strategy, after exhausting the two leading Umamusume's stamina ahead of time, Satono Diamond unleashed incredible speed once again in the final stretch!"
"The gap that Leukerbad had painstakingly closed was quickly regained by Satono Diamond in just a few seconds!"
"Leading for over 1600m, Satono Diamond not only didn't stall, but also unleashed astonishing speed on the final straight!"
Satono Diamond used her superior speed to force the two leading Umamusume to stall beforehand, which meant she essentially led the entire race.
A distance of 2000 meter is an incredible distance for most rookies like Umamusume; in such a tense and competitive atmosphere, simply completing the race is commendable.
However, Satono Diamond ran over 1600 Meter at a pace exceeding that of leading Umamusume and was still able to accelerate further.
This means that after that initial 1600+ meter pace-runaway, Satono Diamond still had leeway.
"What an incredible difference in skill! This is unbelievable for a newcomer like an Umamusume!"
The commentator's eyes widened in astonishment as she stared intently at the brown-haired figure who had already captured the entire arena's attention.
"200 meters left! Satono Diamond is completely on her own! She's already more than eight Length ahead of Leukerbad!"
"Satono Diamond, accelerating without stopping! She's still accelerating!"
"Leukerbad looks like she's reached her limit; her pace has slowed. Lord Lauder is catching up. Is she going to lose second place?"
"The 2000 Meter Kyoto debut... is another huge-gap winner about to emerge?! So fast! Satono Diamond is just too fast!"
The commentator shouted excitedly, and countless fans in the stands supporting Satono Diamond rose from their seats.
In contrast, half of Leukerbad's supporters were ashen-faced, while the other half, like Satono Diamond's fans, were captivated by the lone rose standing out on the final straight.
Satono Diamond's father stared in astonishment, his mouth agape, his eyes glued to his daughter, who had become the center of attention, forgetting to close his mouth.
"Go for it, Dia-chan!" Satono Diamond's mother also stood up excitedly, cupping her hands like a megaphone to cheer on her daughter.
"Less than 100 meters from the finish line! Satono Diamond has already built a huge lead over the other Umamusume!"
"This diamond has finally shone brightly on the final straight... No! She didn't just unleash her power on the final straight; she controlled the race from the very beginning, but nobody noticed!"
"Nobody expected that this super debut match that had 50,000 fans watching would end like this!"
"This is a double crushing victory of strategy and strength! She's too strong, truly too strong! In her debut race, she displayed a brilliant strategy and formidable strength that is in no way inferior to an active-duty Umamusume!"
"Satono Diamond, it's Satono Diamond!"
"Satono Diamond, now, almost—"
"Crosses the finish line!"
With the excited commentator's voice, the Kyoto Racecourse stands erupted in cheers and applause from tens of thousands of spectators—a cheer that could lift the ceiling.