"The Tokyo Racecourse is bathed in sunshine, and all the runners have entered the gates."
"Which Umamusume will make her debut today? Let's wait and see!"
"Tokyo, 1400 Meter, Debut."
"Now—"
"Start!"
The gates opened, and all the Umamusumes surged forward.
"Curren Chan, a good start, choosing to lead the pack."
"Second in line is White Shadow, two Lengths behind Curren Chan."
"Closely following is Saint Laurent, about half a Length behind White Shadow."
"Curren! Go for it—!"
"Go, Curren! You're the cutest—!"
Many of Curren Chan's fans were in the stands, cheering loudly for her as she raced in the lead.
Listening to the shouts of the Umamusumes around her, Smart Falcon couldn't help but sigh:
"Curren's really popular~ I wonder when I'll have so many people cheering for Falcon?"
"Three million is nothing. Who knows, you might have three trillion fans in the future," Sakura Baimu suddenly blurted out.
Smart Falcon: "???"
Smart Falcon had no idea what nonsense Sakura Baimu was spouting again.
This wasn't the way to comfort her. How many people are there on Earth? Where would three trillion fans come from?
---
The 1400 Meter Dirt track has a small uphill section after the first 200 Meters.
If this were the same spot on Turf, it would be a very steep incline.
But on the Dirt track, it's much gentler.
It's fine to treat it almost like flat ground.
"Curren Chan has already entered the third turn first, and she's pulled ahead of the second-place White Shadow by about three Lengths."
The pace of the short race is extremely tight, and Tokyo Racecourse's Dirt track is entirely downhill for the first 600 meters, with only about 100 meters uphill.
This results in a very fast-paced race.
Curren Chan has showcased her amazing leg strength on the short track.
Although she hasn't trained with Sakura Baimu, the precocious Curren Chan already knows her strengths and advantages.
Therefore, she has been practicing specifically for the short track.
"Now entering the final turn, Curren Chan is still leading!"
"As expected of the most popular Umamusume, Curren Chan possesses strength that rivals her popularity."
"The Umamusumes behind are gradually accelerating, and Curren Chan still leads the second-place White Shadow by about four Lengths."
Even though the Umamusumes behind are starting to accelerate, the gap between Curren Chan and the second-place Umamusume is widening.
Among all the new Umamusumes in Tracen Academy, she boasts the best 1200-meter Dirt sprint time, and winning this 1400-meter Dirt debut seems like a sure thing.
"Curren Chan is the first to step onto the final straight!"
Smart Falcon gazed at the short-haired gray figure on the track, her eyes filled with amazement.
"Curren's amazing! She's so much faster than when Falco debuted!"
"It's not a problem. Your races are mile races; hers are sprints. It's normal for her to be faster."
Sakura Baimu replied to Smart Falcon, then placed her hand on Smart Falcon's head. "Don't underestimate yourself. You're very good; you just kept choosing the wrong track."
"Mmm…"
Smart Falcon felt the weight on her head and nodded obediently.
"When Falco debuted, Trainer-san wasn't a trainer at Tracen Academy yet. I didn't expect Trainer-san to know so much about Falco back then."
Smart Falcon felt a small surge of emotion, increasingly grateful to have met a trainer like Sakura Baimu.
Smart Falcon felt that Sakura Baimu was unusually easy to talk to today, quite different from her usual self.
Logically, Sakura Baimu should have been tapping her on the head, reminding her with something like, "How can you compare a mile race to a sprint?"
Smart Falcon didn't know what was going on, but didn't dare ask and simply continued watching the race.
Meanwhile, she was also puzzled by Curren Chan joining the team but not coming to practice with them.
She couldn't understand what Curren Chan was unhappy about with Sakura Baimu.
Meanwhile, on the track, Curren Chan listened to the commentator's announcements and glanced back.
She saw the white blur behind her was still some distance away; the gap hadn't narrowed significantly.
So she relaxed.
"As expected, Curren is the cutest in short-distance races; no one can take Curren's victory!"
Curren Chan's face was adorned with a smile as lovely as a lily.
Running in the lead, she wanted to present her most adorable side to all her fans.
Five hundred meters to go until the finish line.
Curren Chan reached the uphill slope standing before the finish line at Tokyo Racecourse.
Curren Chan wasn't afraid of the steep slope.
But the moment she stepped onto it, her cute little face suddenly changed color.
Her purple eyes narrowed abruptly, and she felt a heavy pressure in her chest and lungs.
"What's going on? Curren has run up this hill so many times in the academy. She's never had a problem before..."
The pressure in her chest and lungs caused Curren Chan's speed to slow down noticeably.
Her once-proud speed vanished without a trace.
"Ah! Curren Chan has slowed down! She slowed down on the final uphill before the finish line!"
"A serious slowdown! She looks terrible! Can Curren Chan recover? Another Umamusume is catching up too!"
"Saint Laurent has overtaken White Shadow and is in second place!"
"Saint Laurent and White Shadow have also reached the uphill before the finish line, and their speeds are also affected."
"But the gap between Saint Laurent and Curren Chan continues to narrow!"
"Was it because she ran too fast at the beginning and lost speed badly uphill?"
"400 meters to go!"
"Can Curren Chan hold on to first place?"
"What happened? How could Curren lose speed so badly?! Tracen Academy is a replica of Tokyo Racecourse! Even a Central Umamusume shouldn't make such a serious mistake in a Tokyo race, right?"
Smart Falcon looked at Curren Chan, feeling very strange.
"Is it a problem with track adaptability? I remember Trainer-san saying that Curren is suited for turf racing."
"It shouldn't be a track problem. Curren Chan previously achieved first place in the 1200-meter distance on Tracen Academy's Dirt track," Satono Diamond said.
"What's going on? I was already in first place in the simulation..." Smart Falcon wondered.
"Because this is a competition, not a simulation," Sakura Baimu suddenly spoke.