After the event staff finished arranging the schedule, everyone left messages of support and encouragement for Inari One before heading to the spectator seats as usual.
Since the Takamatsunomiya Cup was the highlight race of the day, it would only begin in the second-to-last slot. They could watch the earlier races first from the stands.
However, just as they were leaving the preparation area, a staff member approached them and said that they were invited to the VIP viewing room.
After asking a bit, Kitahara was surprised to learn that Maruzensky and CB had come to the Chukyo Racecourse.
Although he didn't know why those two would show up here, their relationship was already fairly close. Since they even took the effort to invite them, the team eventually decided to change their viewing location to the indoor seats at the top of the spectator area.
As soon as they entered, Maruzensky's familiar cheerful voice came from inside.
"Yo, Kitahara, long time no see!"
Sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window facing the track, still wearing the blue-purple uniform of Central Tracen Academy, Maruzensky turned around, waving with a bright smile.
"Compared to before, Eisei's members have grown so much and gotten livelier too."
"Looks like those little ones are getting along pretty well with their seniors?"
The "little ones" she referred to were naturally Oguri Roman and the others. Having a legendary horsegirl mention them directly, the juniors of Team Eisei hurried to respond, slightly nervous.
On the other hand, Kitahara had interacted with Maruzensky many times, and combined with his mental image of her from the game, he didn't act as cautiously as most people in this world did around "old legends" of the horsegirl world. He replied naturally.
"Pretty good, I think. These days they're eating, living, and training together, so they seem to be having quite a lot of fun."
After giving a simple affirmation and signaling for the others to sit anywhere, he looked from Maruzensky to CB—who was also eyeing him curiously—and asked:
"What brings you two here? Don't you still have student council work?"
He still remembered that when he visited the student council before their Nagoya training camp, it was only Symboli Rudolf who was diligently working, while the rest of the student council members were… not very good at clerical work and thus all slacking off.
Given that level of efficiency, he really was a bit worried that Rudolf was overworking herself.
"Actually, we are still working," Maruzensky said seriously.
"In past years, the student council has always had a schedule to check racecourses—especially when major graded races begin."
"You know how Central Tracen Academy has over 2,000 horsegirls. Only observing them on campus can sometimes cause us to overlook certain things."
"So checking their performance in real races, to evaluate development and decide training plans, is very important."
"And with local horsegirls like Oguri Cap and Inari One performing so well this year, lots of students from local circuits have been applying to transfer to Central."
"The school felt they needed to understand the local scenes better."
"So after we're done here at Chukyo, CB and I will also be inspecting some local racecourses around Nagoya."
This surprised Kitahara—he didn't expect Maruzensky, who normally didn't look that into paperwork, to actually be here on duty. But thinking about it, both she and CB were indeed suited for external affairs.
Compared to the stern, strict, and highly disciplined Rudolf, Maruzensky and CB were friendlier. Their personalities made it much easier to communicate with staff and horsegirls alike.
"I see. I thought you two came specifically to watch Inari. Seems I was being full of myself."
Kitahara joked casually, but Maruzensky nodded rather seriously.
"Actually, that is part of the reason."
Seeing Kitahara's surprise, she continued:
"Before coming here, CB, Rudolf, Ramonu, and I discussed this Takamatsunomiya Cup."
"Emotionally, we're closer to your group, so of course we support Inari."
"And her ability is unquestionably among the best of her generation. Under normal circumstances, her chances of winning are high."
"But we also understand her situation."
"If her opponent were ordinary, she'd have no problem."
"But with her personality, if she isn't prepared beforehand, she might fall into Cosmo Dream's 'trap'."
"Rudolf mentioned you'd train her specifically for this during the training camp."
"But the camp only started a few days ago, and now she already has to face the Takamatsunomiya Cup. To be honest, we were worried whether she was ready."
"I see. Actually—"
Kitahara was touched that the student council cared so much about their team, and he was just about to explain when suddenly a loud voice broke in, excited and shocked.
"Ah! So that's it! I finally understand what happened in this year's Oaks!"
Everyone in the room turned to look.
The voice came from Tokai Teio, who stood beside a table, excitedly muttering to herself:
"Cosmo Dream-senpai never targeted the front-runner horsegirl at all. The race looked like the Pace chaser was setting the pace…"
"But in reality, starting from the middle group, the rhythm was under Cosmo Dream-senpai's complete control!"
"Even the Pace chasers's pace was forced out!"
"So in this Oaks, the pace chasing running out of stamina and the closers missing their timing—it was all within her expectations!"
"What an amazing strategy!"
After her burst of self-talk, the energetic girl finally noticed everyone staring at her. But she wasn't embarrassed at all—she relaxedly explained:
"Ah, sorry everyone! I just figured out what Uncle Kitahara wanted us to see from that race replay earlier. I got too excited. My bad, my bad!"
Team Eisei understood exactly what she meant. In the preparation room earlier, Kitahara had played this year's Oaks replay for the juniors to analyze.
It seemed Tokai Teio had been thinking about it the whole way to the viewing room, and with Maruzensky's earlier hints, she finally understood.
For such an important race as the Oaks, Kitahara and the trainers had studied it thoroughly. So even if some didn't immediately grasp Teio's meaning, after a moment of thought, they understood.
Maruzensky and CB, however, did not.
"A race replay…?"
The two exchanged looks, and Maruzensky stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"I see. So you were studying."
"It must've been Cosmo Dream's Oaks victory, judging from what Teio said."
"Yeah. Just a small assignment for them—to see what aspects of that race they should pay attention to."
Kitahara wasn't planning to explain until after the race, but since Teio figured it out herself, he didn't hide it.
"She's right—I mean Teio."
"The most important part of this year's Oaks is undoubtedly the winner, Cosmo Dream. Her tactics are exactly the 'trap' you mentioned—the one that could trouble Inari."
"In this race, the pace wasn't unusually controlled by the frontrunner. The Pace Chaser's pace was forced out by Cosmo Dream's acceleration after the second corner."
"The clearest evidence is that the #3 Pace chaser began losing speed before the big beech tree—meaning that was never her natural pace."
The Oaks, like the Japanese Derby, was held at Tokyo Racecourse.
On the inside of the third corner was the famous giant beech tree. During wide-angle shots, the camera would lose visibility for several dozen meters due to the tree blocking the view.
Somehow, many legendary overtakes and decisive moments happened in those few seconds of the blind spot, making the big beech tree a symbol of the Tokyo course.
"And after the beech tree, in the final sprint, all the horsegirls on Cosmo Dream's inside lane showed acceleration or top-speed issues."
"Those on the outside were forced to run extra distance on the final turn."
"That distance wasn't much—yet her winning margin was exactly that small extra distance."
"It's hard not to think she calculated everything: the Pace chaser, the inside pack, the outside pack."
"Or even engineered it deliberately."
Kitahara paused.
"We won't go into the extremely detailed trainer-level analysis."
"But in summary, Cosmo Dream uses a tactic similar to Super Creek's—manipulating the pace of the entire race."
"Her 'domain' is very likely related to this."
"Because we lack detailed data, we can't determine the exact activation conditions or tempo-shift parameters."
"But under this assumption, we trained Inari accordingly. The results are quite good."
"And for Chukyo specifically, the most crucial part of Cosmo Dream's tactic will likely be the unique 'course depression' segment here."
"We've already prepared Inari for that."
"I see. Then it seems our worries were unnecessary. You've prepared far more thoroughly than we expected."
Maruzensky's expression relaxed into a bright smile.
"In that case, we can enjoy the race with peace of mind."
"With such preparation, I'm sure Inari will give us—no, give everyone—a wonderful surprise."
Although their arrival was unexpected, the atmosphere in the viewing room quickly became warm and lively.
The topics naturally centered on the races unfolding beyond the window.
Kitahara and the trainers had deep theoretical knowledge. Maruzensky and Chiaki contributed the experience of legends. The current racers, like Oguri Cap added "imagined race simulations" based on their specialties.
Before the Takamatsunomiya Cup even started, the discussions were incredibly rich.
The ones who benefited most were Oguri Roman, Tokai Teio, and the other juniors.
Unlike classroom lectures, what they heard now were the most race-accurate insights—straight from top legends and the best young trainers.
Knowledge they previously only half-understood suddenly became clear, and they gained a much firmer grasp of what kinds of races awaited them in the future.
As time passed, the commentary outside reached its most excited tone.
"The highlight of URA's mid-season Chukyo races—the Takamatsunomiya Cup—is about to begin!"
"Although it rained earlier today, both the lineup and the crowd's enthusiasm remain comparable to any G1 race!"
"This year's Oaks champion, the top favorite Cosmo Dream, has entered the parade ring! Her exceptional walking technique has won countless fans, and many spectators traveled all the way to Chukyo just to see her!"
Some sighs of regret rose in the viewing room.
"Ah… just like Tamamo Cross in the Takarazuka Kinen, Inari isn't the top favorite…"
Oguri Cap sighed.
"Well, nothing we can do."
Tamamo Cross shrugged.
"My Takarazuka odds tanked because I'd never run a middle-distance G1 before. Just that alone drops your popularity."
"Inari's opponent this time is the Oaks champion. No comparison."
"But second favorite isn't bad. Her top-two rate is among the highest, after all. Her fan support must be huge."
Top-two rate referred to finishing in 1st or 2nd. Inari One currently had a rare 100% top-two rate, so she naturally had strong fan support.
"But while we focused on Cosmo Dream before, the other entrants in this Takamatsunomiya Cup are pretty strong too."
Tamamo Cross continued:
"First and second favorites go without saying. The third favorite, Tanino Comet, is pretty strong—she's placed in all her recent races."
"And if you look purely at results, the fourth favorite, Floating Bird, is actually the best. She's on a five-race winning streak… Sure, the first three were local races, but winning five straight is still a real strength."
"Another local-circuit horsegirl, huh? So many locals moving to Central lately."
"Of course. Thanks to Inari One and Oguri Cap inspiring them, the student council gets transfer applications every day."
Maruzensky laughed, glancing at the parade ring.
"Not many people still think local horsegirls are weaker than Central."
"Just showing them Inari and Oguri Cap's records shuts them up."
"And the bias between colts and fillies is fading too."
Her gaze slid toward Oguri Roman.
"That's partly thanks to Kitahara."
"Since you're a horsegirl chosen by Eisei's chief trainer and Oguri Cap's little sister, a lot of people assume Little Oguri must be exceptional too."
"Maybe Cosmo Dream's huge popularity is helped a bit by that trend."
Kitahara didn't know any of that.
He became Oguri Roman's trainer partly due to Oguri mother-and-daughter's request, and partly because he was confident her growth under the improved training system would be excellent.
He honestly never thought about the effect on public opinion.
But now wasn't the time to think about that either.
While they chatted, the parade ring session ended.
As the jockey doors lined up at the start, the commentator's voice rose in anticipation.
"All runners are now in position! Then, for the G2 Takamatsunomiya Cup—2000 meters on turf…"
"Start!"