Shuta An felt it imdiately.
The aura emanating from Bamboo mory at this mont was identical to what he had once sensed from Tamamo Cross.
"Well—in a race Oguri is participating in, this is the first-ti other Uma Musu who has just awakened her 'Zone' has appeared—"
Yet Shuta An did not feel nervous.
Because he knew one thing with absolute certainty—if the decisive point of this race truly ca down to the 'Zone,' then even if Bamboo mory were joined by every other Uma Musu on the track, they still would not be able to match Oguri Cap.
And reality unfolded exactly as he expected.
Bamboo mory did not recklessly rely on the unprecedented power surging within her. Instead, she ran ahead of Oguri Cap with composure, maintaining a firm one-length gap. She neither hastened nor stirred chaos simply because her strength had suddenly multiplied.
Oguri Cap, of course, sensed the 'Zone' radiating from Bamboo mory.
Yet she chose not to answer it with her own.
"Going all out now would be respect—but if I release my 'Zone' in my current situation, this race would definitely gone awry."
Suppressing her impulse, Oguri Cap followed steadily behind, biding her ti—waiting for the final turn, where she intended to plan her true acceleration and pull decisively away from the pack.
—
Royal Academy noticed Bamboo mory's abnormal, sustained acceleration to improve her position. But she could not think deeply about it. In her current state, she could barely think at all.
"My condition is terrible—" The deer-haired Mile Queen felt light-headed, her thoughts sluggish. "Is this heatstroke…?"
She instinctively guessed the cause of her decline—but there was no redy left now. This race, which should have crowned her, would have to be completed with less than half of her usual strength.
Still, Royal Academy refused to give up.
"I have to try…no matter what."
She bit her lip.
On Oguri Cap's right side, there was enough space for two Uma Musu to run side by side.
"So that's why Oguri Cap isn't rushing," Royal Academy realized. "With this much room, she can calmly plan her breakout route when we reach the turn."
Royal Academy bit the tip of her tongue, sharp pain snapping her mind into focus.
"Then…I'll borrow this space."
—
As the field thundered down the straight opposite the stands, Shuta An stood up from the sofa and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Rather than watching the TV feed, he fixed his gaze on the massive live screen inside the racecourse itself.
"Royal Academy choosing to force a move this early—" he murmured, "That alone proves how severely the heat has affected her."
In Shuta An's eyes, Royal Academy's next action was obvious.
"She'll accelerate from Oguri's right, surge forward, and try to block Oguri's acceleration lane—forcing both Oguri and Bamboo mory into an early sprint."
"Trying to drag down the rivals she sees as stronger than herself—" Shuta An scoffed softly. "How vicious."
Unhurried, he turned back, picked up his unfinished can of sparkling water, and took a sip.
"If it were Oguri—she'd accept that challenge head-on. And once she does—Royal Academy will regret it."
—
Just as Shuta An predicted.
After firming her resolve, Royal Academy imdiately accelerated, filling the diagonal gap Oguri Cap had deliberately left open. And she did not stop there. As she drew level, Royal Academy cast a sharp glance at the gray Uma Musu—then pushed her speed up another notch.
In re seconds, before the final turn, Royal Academy slid smoothly into third place.
Oguri Cap noticed the maneuver clearly. She rely frowned.
"Accelerating this early…should I follow?"
The thought crossed her mind—and vanished just as quickly.
Yes.
After confirming that Bamboo mory would not suddenly cut across her path, Oguri Cap calmly adjusted her breathing. Her stride lengthened. Her cadence quickened. The explosive power hidden deep within her body began to surface, slowly but unmistakably.
Her speed began to pull away from the runners behind.
Twenty ters into the final turn, Oguri Cap drew level with Royal Academy—running shoulder to shoulder on her left.
Bamboo mory, of course, refused to be left behind.
The instant Oguri Cap accelerated, Bamboo mory responded with an even sharper burst. With superior instantaneous output, she surged forward, catching up to both rivals. Three Uma Musu now ran abreast, completely sealing off the inner lane and crushing the hopes of those behind who had intended to slip through.
But the runners behind were not foolish. Seeing the situation, they all chose to accelerate early.
Everyone understood the cost—accelerating now ant dulled strides and depleted stamina by the ti they reached the 210-ter final straight at Gulfstream Park. Yet not accelerating would make closing the gap created by Oguri Cap and Royal Academy nearly impossible later.
Between two evils, this was the lesser.
As for Bamboo mory?
The Arican Uma Musus judged her differently. They believed that when the ti ca, the Japanese Uma Musu caught between Oguri Cap and Royal Academy would be the first to lose speed—and beco an obstacle rather than a threat.
Their judgnt was not wrong.
Halfway through the final turn, Bamboo mory's footwork visibly destabilized.
Her stamina was nearly spent.
The cara zood in on her face.
Shuta An raised an eyebrow. Bamboo mory's expression was no longer composed—it was strained, contorted by sheer will.
"Two consecutive pace changes," he explained calmly to Berno Light beside him, "followed by forcibly matching the sprint timing of Royal Academy and Oguri—For Bamboo mory as she is now, holding on until the 400-ter mark is already impressive."
"But Miss Bamboo mory doesn't need that kind of praise, does she?" Berno Light shot back.
Indeed—
Bamboo mory herself thought the sa.
"I still want to win!"
That emotion rippled outward.
Oguri Cap felt it.
She cast a deep glance at Bamboo mory on her left—respect flickering in her eyes for the Uma Musu who had dared to challenge her recklessly a year ago. Then, she lowered her center of gravity ever so slightly.
"I'm accelerating again."
She didn't need to say it aloud.
Both Royal Academy and Bamboo mory understood her intent instantly. Understanding what Oguri Cap was about to do did not an they could stop her.
Neither Bamboo mory—already drained of stamina—nor Royal Academy, dizzy and disoriented from heatstroke, could respond as the Gray Uma Musu launched her second acceleration during an early sprint, effortlessly shaking them off.
They could only watch as she surged away.
"Early acceleration and high-speed pacing both trade stamina for positional advantage," Shuta An said lightly as Oguri Cap widened the gap. "And stamina and guts happens to be Oguri's greatest strength—far beyond the other ten Uma Musu on this track."
His tone relaxed, confidence fully restored.
"We can start preparing to enjoy Oguri's winning live."
—
Before even entering the final straight, Oguri Cap had already opened a lead of one and a half lengths—victory all but secured.
"Royal Academy's camp was completely unprepared," Shuta An shook his head. "Letting their Uma Musu suffer heatstroke on race day—a harsh lesson for her Trainer."
His sarcasm was unmistakable.
"When campaigning abroad, you don't assu November isn't hot. Do they really not study geography?"
—
At this mont, Steinlen—who had climbed into second place—stared blankly at Oguri Cap's back.
The Gray Uma Musu had accelerated earlier than anyone else, yet her stride remained powerful, her stamina seemingly endless.
The image reflected in Steinlen's pupils overlapped with a mory from two years ago.
Miesque.
The European Mile Queen who had once left her four lengths behind in this very race.
"She's—so similar," Steinlen thought, pain flickering across her face. "Especially that running form. I heard Oguri Cap has a connection to Miesque"
Her legs continued to move chanically, her speed barely fading—but her heart had already frozen.
"Why?" she cried silently. "Miesque retired, and now Oguri Cap appears. Am I simply not destined to win this race?!"
No one heard her.
No one cared.
Because all eyes—at the track and across the ocean in Japan—were fixed on Oguri Cap, the Gray Uma Musu who had left everyone behind.
—
"Oguri Cap pulls clear! Oguri Cap leads!"
Arican and Japanese comntators shouted in unison.
"The first Breeders' Cup Mile at Gulfstream Park Racecourse! Oguri Cap's first appearance in the Breeders' Cup—and her first display of such terrifying explosive power! The European Mile Queen doesn't matter! Two-ti Turf Mile runner-up doesn't matter! Japan's Mile champion doesn't matter!"
"In front of Oguri Cap—everyone can only bow their heads!"
"The French Two Crowns Uma Musu reminds us of a forgotten truth—the first race of the French Classics is also a Mile! She conquered her contemporaries on Longchamp's 1600 ters, a course unsuited to her natural strengths!"
"She may be a seven-ti champion at middle and long distances—but she is also a genius on the Mile circuit!"
The Arican comntator roared.
The Japanese comntator had practically collapsed onto his desk, microphone clutched in one hand, shouting with near-mad fervor:
"She's still accelerating! Oguri Cap is still accelerating! No Uma Musu can catch her—no one can catch her!"
—
"It's 4:15 AM in Tokyo."
"Many are still asleep. Many are lying awake, crushed by work and life. These are difficult years—after the bubble burst, no one has it easy."
"If you feel lost about the future—if you've lost hope—if you've given up on yourself—then look at Oguri Cap!"
"Look at this Uma Musu who embodies our hope!"
—
By the floor-to-ceiling window, Shuta An and Berno Light stood silently.
Shuta An stared at Oguri Cap's figure, muttering to himself:
"Was I…holding her back all this ti?"
"Is the difference between distance adaptability A and A really this overwhelming?"
Oguri Cap's previous G1 Mile—the French 2000 Guineas—had been run at Longchamp, a track ill-suited to her. Now, on the dry turf of Gulfstream Park, the Gray Uma Musu finally revealed the terrifying truth of her A Mile adaptability, refined under Miesque's guidance.
—
"Oguri Cap leads! Second—Steinlen! Third—Itsallgreekto! Royal Academy is falling back!"
With 100 ters remaining, the comntator rapidly called out the positions.
Oguri Cap felt exhilarated.
During countless training sessions, she had wondered what Silence Suzuka ant by the view from the front.
Now, she understood.
"No one can keep up with " she murmured. "No wonder Suzuka loves this feeling so much."
—
In the lounge, Silence Suzuka—dressed casually—stared at the TV, eyes shining with envy.
"That's amazing…" she whispered. "Oguri-senpai can leave everyone so far behind."
She knew her own limits. Without executing a grand escape, she could never experience what Oguri Cap-senpai was feeling now. For an instant, the thought crossed her mind—replicating the Secretariat Stakes escape later at Gulfstream Park.
But Shuta An's disappointed expression flashed into her thoughts.
The idea vanished imdiately.
—
As that thought faded, the comntator's roar thundered once more:
"Like a dream! Oguri Cap dominates her first G1 Mile against many senior Uma Musu! From Mile to middle distance—she proves herself the strongest in the world!"
—
In another private box, Miesque watched alongside Secretariat, grinning from ear to ear.
"This is the junior I taught," she said bluntly. "Smarter—and far more sensible—than those muscle-brained girls on the West Coast."
She crossed her arms, satisfied.
"With this—poor Royal Academy's 'Mile Queen' title belongs to Oguri Cap now."
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