After entering the backstretch, Oguri Cap had already overtaken Southern Vigorous and Feel Spas, and was only one length behind DS Soarer—in other words, she had reached the middle of the pack, and Don Fortis, who was currently leading, was only a little over six lengths ahead of her.
"She should be controlling the lead pace on this backstretch. There's no way Don Fortis can accelerate for the entire 1800 meters," Tojo Hana said with a confident tone.
"It doesn't matter. I don't know about the other horses, but for Oguri Cap, my instruction for her here is also to conserve energy," he took over, also explaining to Shiraishi.
"Does that mean Oguri is going to hold back here and not charge forward directly?" Shiraishi pursed her lips and asked.
"That's right. It's very important to conserve energy here," he patiently explained to her mother. "You have to pull back your fist before you can punch with force. It's the same in a race."
Tojo Hana made a mental note of the young man's words. "Maybe I can tell this to Silent Suzuka later, to get her to resist the urge to push forward early as much as possible."
He was unaware of Tojo Hana's thoughts. He continued to focus his attention on Oguri Cap, watching as she was about to enter the final turn.
"The key to victory is right here," he clenched his fists in anticipation.
…
Rewind 20 seconds.
The 5 Horse Girls in front of Oguri Cap all knew that their performance on the turn would decide the outcome of the race. And they knew one more thing: none of them were very good at running on the inside of the turn.
Fortunately for them, from her performance on the first turn, it seemed that she wasn't good at running on the inside either.
So the 5 of them, as if by unspoken agreement, all drifted a few steps to the outside just as the backstretch was about to end, leaving a space on the inside.
Her eyes lit up.
"Should I accelerate now? They've already given me the space." This question lingered in her mind.
According to his instructions, at this stage, she should continue to conserve her stamina and only start to push forward after exiting the turn.
But now that a suitable space for acceleration had appeared, it was very tempting.
Her instinct as a Horse Girl was constantly tempting her to seize this glaring opening and tear it into a scar that would be forever engraved in the memories of her opponents.
She was torn—
Trust her instinct? Or trust her trainer?
Her instinct had been praised by him before, but this time, it was at odds with his instructions.
Just then, she remembered the supplement he had added after giving her instructions that day—"I give you permission to adapt, Oguri Cap. If you feel that at a certain stage, it would be better not to do as I say, then go ahead and do it."
"Go ahead and do it..." she bit her lip, lowered her body slightly, and prepared to accelerate. "I'll trust my—"
The next second, Don Fortis, who was the first to enter the turn, glanced back and her gaze fell on Oguri Cap, interrupting her thoughts and making the gray-coated Horse Girl realize the flaw in her thinking.
"If I accelerate here, there are five opponents in front of me. It will take time to overtake them. Don Fortis or Happy Grin could easily drift to the inside after exiting the final turn and legally block her path. Then the other Horse Girls wouldn't even need to coordinate to box her in and prevent her from breaking out of the pack!"
—In the stands, he, having just explained his plan to Shiraishi, was now explaining to Brand New Shine why he wanted Oguri Cap to hold back here.
"Then Oguri, she..." Brand New Shine knew her friend well. She was worried that her friend would not be able to resist the temptation of such an opening.
"I trust her," his tone was firm. "And she will trust me completely."
Just as he finished speaking, Oguri Cap also abandoned her idea, rejecting the call of her instinct.
"I should still trust my trainer's instructions," she said to herself, preparing to enter the turn.
…
After the 5 opponents in front entered the turn, they all, as they had in the first turn, took the wider outside path. The gap on the inside, instead of getting smaller, had become even wider.
But she still didn't cut to the inside here. The lesson of almost "stepping into a trap" just now was still fresh in her mind.
So she still followed the few Horse Girls in front and took the outside path.
"Good. This bunch will definitely continue to drift wide, create acceleration space for themselves, and try to squeeze her expected path as much as possible," he pumped his fist. "The time for the magic show is coming!"
Many people in the supporters' area had noticed his behavior, and a few trainers frowned.
"The trainer from Kasamatsu looks very excited. Does he and his Horse Girl have some trump card hidden?" Their thoughts were all similar.
While the Monbetsu trainers were racking their brains, Oguri Cap followed behind the leading group and reached the second half of the final turn. At this time, Don Fortis was already adjusting her position, preparing for the 330-meter long final straight.
She did not choose to drift to the inside, but continued to take a wider path. For her, her biggest rivals now were all from the same Tracen Academy. They all knew each other's situations—
"If this were a Central Graded Race, I would definitely have to hold the inside as much as possible. But this is Monbetsu. There's no point in holding the inside."
But the next second, a strange sense of crisis welled up in her heart.
…
Oguri Cap noticed that the opponents in front of her were all starting to accelerate.
"That's right, this is it!" The gray-coated Horse Girl realized that the "opportunity" her trainer had spoken of had appeared before her. The next moment, she unhesitatingly took a few steps to the inside, and then, released all the energy she had been accumulating.
"Oguri Cap suddenly cuts to the inside?! Her speed increases instead of decreases! This shatters everyone's impression of her!"
After cutting to the inside, she successfully unleashed her finishing kick. With the advantage of the shorter path on the inside, she smoothly overtook four opponents in a row. Now, the only one still in front of her was Don Fortis.
"Tsk..." Don Fortis had also noticed Oguri Cap's explosive surge. "I was careless. I didn't expect the inside space to be used."
The next second, her expression became somewhat ferocious—proof that she was giving it her all.
"But this is as far as you go! I'm a Horse Girl with three consecutive wins at Central! How could I lose to a dirt rabbit from Kasamatsu!"
-------
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