Just how many lengths will Nearl win by? Can she possibly break Secretariat's legendary record of thirty-eight lengths?!
That very question had become the sole, burning curiosity haunting the commentators' booth and the hearts of countless spectators in the stands!
As for who would be the champion, no one even pondered it anymore—it was an ironclad fact, plain for all to see.
That staggering, awe-inspiring margin had ignited a wave of anticipation and intense curiosity among the massive crowd, leaving everyone desperate to know!
Just how many lengths would that golden, Radiant Knightly Maiden, the second Pegasus of this era, clad in her armor and bearing her lance, ultimately achieve? Could she surpass Secretariat's legendary record?!
Excited voices and fervent discussions erupted continuously from the fans.
"Unbelievable! She's already sealed the victory the moment she hit the home stretch?!"
"Easy Goer, coming back like that, is seriously impressive too. It's the first time I've seen an Uma Musume who could chase Nearl for half the race before getting utterly left in the dust. She's undoubtedly a monster in her own right, but what rotten luck to run into Nearl."
"I've never seen an Uma Musume like this. No wonder they call her the Pegasus of the dirt, just as incredible as that turf Pegasus."
"That scene earlier was like something straight out of a movie or a CG cutscene—wasn't Nearl basically [dueling] Platinum one-on-one? They must be close, both among the absolute top-tier Uma Musume in the world."
"Sure, I'm really curious about Nearl and Platinum's relationship and their respective strengths, but right now... the most important thing is just how many lengths Nearl will win by!"
Typically, the champion is only decided in the final twenty or thirty meters of the home stretch, where that precious first place is determined.
A winner who can decide the outcome from over fifty meters out is usually a clearly superior force; from beyond a hundred meters, it indicates a chasm-like, overwhelming gap.
In a grand event like the Belmont Stakes, with its grueling 2400-meter distance, the home stretch itself spans hundreds of meters. To establish a winning advantage by the halfway point of that stretch is a feat achieved only by a handful of historic, dominant victories.
But now... that dazzling golden knightly maiden had already opened up a thirty-length lead before even entering the home stretch—a staggering margin that no Uma Musume behind her, no matter how terrifying their final kick, could ever hope to close.
The victory was decided! The Radiant Knight's ascension into the triple crown hall of fame was certain! Even Secretariat herself, the legendary third-generation Big Red who now watched from the stands as a mentor and predecessor, nodded in silent acknowledgment of this monumental achievement.
On the fever-pitch stands, countless eyes were fixed on the radiant golden figure who had entered the home stretch, poised to end the race.
Among the many exclamations of awe, most spoke of Nearl's brilliance and power, of whether she could break the record once more, though there was no shortage of praise for the impressive effort put up by Easy Goer.
"Can Miss Nearl break Secretariat's thirty-eight-length record? She broke the records in the first two crowns; it'd be a shame if she couldn't do it in the final leg."
"But—Nearl's already broken the records in two of the three crowns. Even if she can't break it in the last one, [2 > 1], shouldn't she still be considered the strongest triple crown Uma Musume in history?"
"W-well, not necessarily. G1 races differ in prestige and impact. Miss Secretariat set a century-defining record in the most demanding 2400-meter final crown!"
"If Miss Nearl can't break Secretariat's Belmont record, there might still be some debate about her being the [Strongest Triple Crown Winner Ever]. After all, Secretariat's Belmont record is just too dominant."
"Ugh, I love the Radiant Knight, but I also love Secretariat. Who should I root for? One of them has to fall short of the record at Belmont."
"Simple. Whoever holds the final record is your favorite. That's how us 'meta-chasers' roll!"
But more than anything, the crowd waited to see Nearl cross the finish line, to witness the conclusion of this legendary final triple crown race, to see Nearl become the strongest triple crown Uma Musume in history!!
--+--
On the dirt home stretch, where clods of earth flew and thunderous speed reigned.
The lone, unstoppable Golden Maiden, her eyes blazing like lightning, fixed her gaze on the finish line not far ahead.
Competitive as she was, fueled by what was hailed as a once-in-a-century legendary battle of the highest caliber, Nearl's face was now filled with white-hot, extreme fighting spirit.
Battle-worn? Fatigued?
Nearl would never allow such a thing. She refused to show any weakness in a race!
At this moment, Nearl was just like Easy Goer in the first half—no thought of yielding, no intention of slowing down, not even a concern for pushing her stamina to its absolute limit!
In this brilliant, lightning-fast dash, her sleek, dark cape fluttered behind her like the wings of a Pegasus with every stride!
In the next instant, Nearl surged forward even more. Having led from the start into the home stretch, she didn't slow her pace one bit—instead, she unleashed a third explosive acceleration!
Her orange eyes looked down upon the finish line approaching the latter part of the straight.
Victory was within grasp. But Nearl wasn't one to settle for just that; what she sought was an utterly overwhelming, decisive triumph!
[Thirty-three lengths!!]
[Thirty-five lengths!!]
[Thirty-six lengths!!]
[Without a doubt, we are witnessing a great victory that will be forever etched into history!]
[A new legend is undoubtedly being born here and now!]
The mind-boggling gap widened even further, even though... Easy Goer and Sunday Silence behind her were already gritting their teeth, running with all their might, utterly unable to close the distance by even a fraction!
On the massive screens at the venue and in the live broadcasts watched by audiences around the world, the view switched to a [zoomed-out] perspective, continuously scaling down the image of the final dirt straight.
Even when Nearl's figure was scaled down to the point where her refined, heroic features were no longer clear, the viewers still couldn't see the shape of a second Uma Musume!
Around the world, the collective hundreds of millions of viewers almost simultaneously felt their pupils contract, their faces filled with stunned disbelief at the scene.
After all, the on-site audience usually maxes out at around a hundred thousand. For a globally watched, top-tier international event like this, the vast majority of fans could only watch via broadcast.
And in the broadcast, even though the commentators kept announcing the updated margins... only the live audience could truly, immediately witness the awe of that enormous gap firsthand.
But now, seeing the exaggerated degree of zoom-out, witnessing that even Nearl's heroic charging form was becoming hard to make out while still no second Uma Musume was visible—it delivered an unprecedented, massive shock to the hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide!
This was... the Radiant Knight's final, grand impact!!
--+--
On the home stretch, in second place!
The third-generation Big Red, Easy Goer, strained to maintain her high speed, enduring the pain of pushing her body to its absolute limit as she ran.
This highly competitive and exceptionally skilled crimson-haired young maiden stared dumbfounded at the figure far ahead of her.
What Easy Goer saw was... that Radiant Knight, in the latter half of the home stretch, charging towards the nearby finish line with a final, world-shaking sprint, embodying the powerful stance of a monarch like never before!
Even her own intense fighting spirit froze solid in that moment, ruthlessly extinguished.
'I—am I about to lose just like this?'
'Nearl... Margaret Nearl!!'
Easy Goer's mind went blank, but she knew perfectly well that instead of fantasizing about some miraculous comeback or revenge against the Pegasus...
Her first priority was to try her best to hold onto second place, to fight not to be overtaken by the pack behind her!
Along with Easy Goer, all they could do now was watch from far behind, witnessing the golden knightly figure who had already deeply etched herself into history with this very race.
In the next instant, that dazzlingly brilliant Nearl family knightly maiden accelerated fully across the finish line, reaching her ultimate goal!!
The golden-haired maiden clad in knightly armor had achieved an absolutely solitary, overwhelmingly dominant victory, securing this unprecedented, earth-shattering triumph!
[The Radiant Knight! Soaring ahead, leaving the dust behind!]
[Flawless! This is the once-in-a-lifetime race everyone is privileged to witness!]
[The final distance, a magnificent forty-length victory! The shining Pegasus allows no catching up!]
[Let us congratulate—Margaret Nearl! As she gloriously crosses the line!!]
High up in the stands, as the commentator's exclamations of praise faded.
The packed spectator seats erupted with deafening, fervent cheers!
Any fan with even a passing interest in Uma Musume racing knew the immense importance of the triple crown events—the classic races an Uma Musume gets only one chance at in her entire career.
And now, Nearl had dominated the final and most difficult Belmont Stakes with an utterly invincible performance, crossing the line with a margin that exceeded even Secretariat's record!
At this moment, no one could doubt that this might be the most awe-inspiring race they would ever see in their lives... bar none!
"This... is even more shocking than Man o' War's hundred-length victory!"
"How lucky we are to witness such a legendary race. It'd be worth the price of admission even if I died now!"
"Right! Miss Man o' War won against relatively unknown, ordinary graded stakes Uma Musume back then. But Nearl... she beat the third-generation Big Red, Easy Goer, and the Dark Prince, Sunday Silence! Both are standouts who could contend for the triple crown in other eras!"
"Nearl!! Nearl!! Nearl!!"
"Easy Goer was brilliant too. The first one able to keep up with Nearl for a stretch. A shame she couldn't hang on till the end..."
"The Pegasus won by an unbelievable number of lengths you can't even tell anymore! No wonder she's called the Pegasus; she lives up to the name!"
"If there ever could be a race more awe-inspiring and unbelievable than this... then surely, it would be the next one created by Nearl herself, right?"
At this moment, even the commentator's voice was completely drowned out by the extremely hyped, lively stands!
[Nearl crosses first!!! She isn't just running normally; she's flying!]
[Rejoice! The Radiant Knight wins by an unprecedented record of forty lengths! Every record set by the triple crown winner Secretariat during the classic series has now been surpassed by Nearl!]
[Cheer with all your might! The triple crown monarch, destined to be recorded in the history books of worldwide Uma Musume racing, has been born—having broken the records of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes!]
[Another legend of this era! A Pegasus qualified to enter the Dream Cup as a favorite and challenge the "Second-Gen Big Red: Secretariat" and the "First-Gen Big Red: Man o' War" has arrived!!]
As the commentator spoke in an utterly astonished, pleasantly surprised tone, voicing extreme admiration.
[It's truly unbelievable. For two consecutive years, we've had two triple crown winners!]
[Nearl, having achieved the supreme feat of the triple crown, remains calm-faced, as if holding startling thunder within while her visage resembles a placid lake!]
[And as Nearl halts her galloping steps, she turns to look behind her. The second-place Easy Goer is finally about to arrive...]
[Eh?? What's that? Nearl's Hall of Fame highlight is updating!]
Just as she was about to continue.
The commentator's voice suddenly halted, as if she had seen something that shocked her once again.
The stands reacted similarly; the sky-filling praises also collectively stalled!
--+--
Before the finish line.
The crimson-haired young maiden clenched her silver teeth, burning the last of her strength.
Second place, Easy Goer!!
As she crossed the finish line, her wildly accelerating, pounding heart finally seemed to reach its limit, beginning to gradually calm and enter a resting state.
Simultaneously, her eyelids felt heavy, and she was utterly exhausted to the extreme.
If she were on a training field right now, Easy Goer would probably collapse and sleep right there, too tired to even move the short distance back home.
But this was an international event watched by over a hundred thousand live spectators and hundreds of millions more via broadcast!
If she were to collapse now...
She'd likely be labeled things like "passed out asleep in front of Nearl" or "Number One Captive of the Pegasus, step forward!"
Her dignity as a young lady from a prestigious family wouldn't allow Easy Goer to collapse from exhaustion!
Barely staying conscious, she was about to slowly come to a stop and turn around when she suddenly sensed that the earth-shattering noise from the stands seemed to have died down quite a bit.
What happened?
When Easy Goer looked back, she made the choice she would regret most in her life...
Behind her, on the giant screen where the clips of [Nearl vs. Platinum] and [Nearl vs. Sunday Silence] had just finished playing and were fading away, the Nearl Hall of Fame highlight...
Unexpectedly, abruptly re-materialized and surged up again after she crossed the line?!
And what was playing on the Pegasus Hall of Fame was actually—Nearl versus Easy Goer?!
It showed clips from the start, their duel of acceleration and lead, the turns, and many other exciting moments—just like a [Highlight Replay] or [Killcam] in a game, playing right there for all to see!
In the not-too-long clip, when it reached the final part where the Pegasus unleashed her third acceleration and surged ahead to cross the line first, it even cut to a close-up shot of Easy Goer's own stunned, unwilling, gritting-teeth expression from that moment!!
'You gotta be kidding me...'
'This editing is faster than the live director could manage?!'
After watching this, Easy Goer saw black spots before her eyes. She suddenly felt that not fainting, choosing to hold on until stopping out of curiosity to look back... was a mistake.
'Damn you, Nearl! I'll remember this grudge...'
Maybe just collapsing and sleeping was better!
Wide-eyed, already pushed to her physical limit and borderline injured, Easy Goer felt unsteady on her feet, almost about to fall...
In the next instant, she felt a warm, secure embrace catching her, holding her close to prevent a fall and injury.
That was... Margaret Nearl?!
The tall, heroic golden-haired maiden maintained a gentle smile as she supported Easy Goer's waist, keeping her from toppling over.
"It was a brilliant duel. You gave it your all."
"You ran splendidly and gave me great enjoyment. I look forward to our next match."
Nearl didn't withhold her praise, smiling gently.
A true knight would never respond to a worthy opponent who dared to fight with contempt, even if they posed no real threat, offering high praise instead.
This Easy Goer, who persisted to the end and secured second place despite her condition, earned Nearl's utmost respect and prompted these gentle words of comfort.
'Eh...'
Being drawn into the embrace of the taller Nearl, filled with a sense of security and warmth, the prestigious young lady who prided herself on being well-traveled and unflappable, Easy Goer, felt a blush rise to her cheeks after processing what happened.
Then, from her slender neck to the tips of her ears, the blush spread. Her heart, which had just calmed down, began racing again all of a sudden.
Instantly, the Easy Goer who had just been glaring fiercely at the Pegasus Hall of Fame and silently nursing a grudge in her heart... became completely flustered.
The near-overwhelming gentleness and warmth from Nearl, the sense of security when she was held and supported, left Easy Goer staring dazedly at Nearl's heroic, refined features, unconsciously thinking:
'Nearl she... doesn't seem so bad after all?'
'N-no wonder she's Dr. Lin's niece. That same gentleness and coolness runs in the family?!'
Snapping back to reality, Easy Goer steadied herself, stood up straight, and repeatedly offered her thanks with a bowed head.
In that moment, she also recalled everything that had happened during the race.
"Thank you, Nearl."
"It just occurred to me—your 'Zone' in this race was completely different from the one you used in the Kentucky Derby, wasn't it?"
"My injuries are much lighter than I expected. I thought I'd end up like Sham-senpai from last year, either retiring sadly or barely crawling across the line in last place."
"This... was also your doing, right?"
Easy Goer stopped worrying about face or dignity. She opened her eyes wide, earnestly pressing the question to the Nearl before her.
In this race, besides herself and Nearl, only Sunday Silence possessed a Zone.
She knew that dark beast well and was certain her Zone hadn't changed. It could only be Nearl's influence.
Not only had it significantly lessened her injuries, preventing a repeat of Senior Sham's tragic outcome of severe injury and a last-place finish...
But now, after the race, she was even being comforted?!
A young foreign-born maiden who holds grudges also tends to remember favors.
What was the humiliation of being the featured second place in the Nearl Hall of Fame highlight compared to the protection offered by Nearl's Domain?
"Mhmm, it's my new Zone," the golden-haired maiden admitted frankly.
"Um... may I call you Margaret? Could I possibly have a training match with you later?" an eager Easy Goer blurted out without hesitation.
In the eyes of this third-generation Big Red maiden at this moment...
—Margaret Nearl's kindness was simply too vast to ever repay!
The Radiant Knight was simply the sun!
By the end of one race, a certain Radiant Knight hadn't just defeated her opponent; it seemed she had also completely conquered her heart and mind, utterly turning her into a devoted fan and admirer!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
There should be... around 70+ advanced chapters?
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.