Although Yasui Makoto had suggested they just watch the race, he occasionally glanced over at Duramente, pondering some vague and uncertain memories.
In those memories, Duramente seemed to have fractured her leg sometime after the Japanese Derby.
She'd spent a long period recovering from her injury, returning to the track only in February or March of the following year.
Considering the experiences of Tokai Teio, Silence Suzuka, and Rice Shower—all of whom had also suffered fractures in this world—there was one key difference: the latter two hadn't met tragic ends but instead retired safely after recovering fully.
If this logic held, Duramente might face something similar on this timeline as well.
But the strange part was, in his hazy memories, Duramente's injury hadn't occurred during training or a race, but instead while on pasture.
This greatly puzzled Yasui.
It was understandable for racehorses—or Uma Musume—to suffer injuries during intense races or training sessions.
But how exactly could someone fracture a leg during pasture time? What in the world were those Japanese trainers and stablehands doing in that other world?
Even if he didn't dwell on details, the equivalent of "pasture" here would be something like today's break day.
Breaking a leg during a rest day—what, did she just randomly trip over her own feet while strolling around?
Duramente might look a bit spaced-out sometimes, but she wasn't so hopelessly clumsy or unlucky, was she?
Despite his confusion, Yasui was very firm about one thing.
He definitely didn't want Duramente to experience such injuries here; he firmly believed Kitasan Black could decisively beat her rival.
Had it been earlier—particularly before officially signing with Kitasan—he might not have thought this way.
But over these past months, bit by bit, through Kitasan's earnestness and each race they'd faced together, he'd started feeling the same impulse he'd experienced years ago in Extreme Acrobatics competitions.
In every top-tier event, his opponents had always been stronger, more talented.
Compared to those genuinely gifted people, all his efforts seemed futile; no matter what he did, he'd never grasped that championship.
But perhaps that was precisely the point for ordinary people like him, those with only a hint of talent—trying again and again to challenge their own limits.
Maybe that was the real meaning behind Extreme Acrobatics itself.
Only now did he realize that when he first became Kitasan's trainer, he hadn't truly understood what being an Uma Musume trainer meant. Back then, he still had a spectator's mentality—thinking it was enough to just give it his all in guidance and effort.
At some point, he'd started genuinely wanting to challenge limits together with Kitasan Black.
In another timeline, regardless of whether she took the title or not, Kitasan Black had never once defeated Duramente. It wasn't until her third racing year that she'd been universally recognized as the strongest of her generation.
Maybe each failure had its inevitable reason—such as overly harsh training, slow maturity, or accumulated fatigue from consecutive races.
But now he'd carefully tailored her training to be gentler, matching her physical growth, adjusting strategy and tactics accordingly. She'd even already defeated Duramente once.
That confirmed his intuition: Kitasan was in no way inferior to any rival; she might even reach her peak potential sooner than expected.
But having this conviction didn't mean Yasui was ready to speak up immediately. Thinking and doing were different matters.
Moreover, Duramente seemed perfectly fine at the moment. If he truly wanted to warn or hint at something, he'd need to carefully consider his words.
Thus, keeping his thoughts to himself, Yasui refocused on the track below.
Like other race days, today's featured Dream Trophy race had ten preliminary races scheduled beforehand.
Most were debut or maiden races. The maiden events featured Uma Musume who hadn't managed to win in their earlier debut races.
Compared to graded stakes or the upcoming Dream Trophy itself, these races naturally showcased a lower overall skill level.
Even so, Kitasan, Almond Eye, and Duramente all watched intently, enthusiastically discussing who might win and how each competitor performed.
Occasionally, Yasui shared his own opinions when asked. As the main event approached, he contemplated for a long while before eventually giving an answer similar to Silence Suzuka's earlier.
"Who'll win… Honestly, even if you're the one asking, Kita-chan, I really can't say."
Faced with Kitasan's expectant eyes, he spread his hands apologetically. "If these senpai of yours were still active racers, maybe I'd have some insight."
"But now, we don't know how well they've kept up with their training over these past few years, or how much effort they've put into preparing for this event. So, it's tough for me to predict."
His gaze suddenly turned serious, his tone firming up.
"But even so—there are three racers you should definitely keep an eye on."
"Three? Do you mean Spe-chan and Grass-san?" Kitasan pondered briefly, tentatively suggesting.
Next to her, Almond Eye and Duramente also cast curious glances toward Yasui.
"Nope, neither of those two."
Yasui shook his head and pointed toward the screen directly across from their seats.
"I'm referring to Matikanefukukitaru, Seiun Sky, and Mejiro Bright."
All three Uma Musume looked startled, quickly following Yasui's pointing finger to gaze at the screen.
Displayed there was an Uma Musume with long chestnut hair, intricate braids elegantly framing her ears, and golden eyes.
She seemed somewhat delayed in her reactions. Only after the camera had lingered on her for a while did she slowly realize its presence, glancing toward it and offering a lazy, gentle smile, slowly waving her hand.
"That's… Mejiro Bright-senpai?" Kitasan quickly matched the face on-screen with her memory of the name.
"Bright-senpai…" Almond Eye considered this carefully, then turned toward Yasui. "I know Seiun-senpai and Fukukitaru-senpai both won the Kikuka Sho. Since Kita-senpai's aiming for the Kikuka Sho too, I understand why you'd want to focus on those two."
Seeing Yasui nodding, she continued thoughtfully.
"As for Bright-senpai… Ah, right, she won the Tenno Sho (Spring). That means her long-distance strength must be quite formidable as well."
"It's not just the Tenno Sho (Spring)."
Yasui nodded again, then shook his head gently. "There's also the Hanshin Daishoten and the Stayers Stakes."
"I've told Kita-chan before—when studying senpai or even your peers, don't only focus on G1 events or just first-place finishes."
"Mejiro Bright and Matikanefukukitaru were from the same generation. Even though Bright never defeated her in that Kikuka Sho, she had the fastest final three-furlong sectional time in that entire race."
"As for the Tenno Sho (Spring) and Hanshin Daishoten, those are 3200-meter and 3000-meter races. Winning either is indisputable proof of strength at long-distance."
"The Stayers Stakes is the longest graded race in the Twinkle Series—a full 3600 meters."
"Almond Eye, I think the longest distance you've raced is probably the 2400-meter event at that school activity, right?"
"So let me ask you—"
Using the same serious tone he typically reserved for Kitasan, Yasui pressed:
"After running that 2400-meter race, if you had to immediately race another 1200 meters, do you think you'd win…?"
"No, rather, do you think you'd even finish?"
Almond Eye froze for a moment, quickly becoming lost in thought. Beside her, both Kitasan and Duramente now wore similarly solemn expressions.
Noting their reactions, Yasui nodded slightly.
"That's why, by carefully watching this race, you'll all learn a lot."
"But…"
Glancing toward the paddock again, Yasui's expression softened, a slight smile creeping across his face.
"Bright-senpai's habit of always being a beat behind, though—that's one thing you definitely don't need to learn from her."