"Welcome everyone to Niigata Racecourse at this very moment! Today, we will be hosting the Debut Race for our Uma Musume! The distance for this race is 1600 meters, on turf! The Uma Musume who achieves final victory in this race will win the Debut Race and become a newly victorious Uma Musume!"
"Now, we will announce the popularity rankings for each of the participating Uma Musume!"
"It's finally here… I almost thought that during my years as Student Council President, I wouldn't get to see Gold Ship step onto the Racecourse."
In the spectator stands of Niigata Racecourse, as expected, Symboli Rudolf, Air Groove, and Narita Brian, the three main members of the Student Council, had indeed come to watch the first race of this rookie representative from the Gold Family.
This was Gold Ship's first race, and her first step as an Uma Musume after a long period of waiting—if she could win this Debut Race, then in the second year, she would embark on the path to conquering the Triple Crown.
And regarding this, Symboli Rudolf, who had a very high opinion of Gold Ship, was extremely confident.
The prerequisite was that Gold Ship could discover and unleash the potential within her, which was the biggest obstacle currently troubling them.
"President, do you think Gold Ship can win this race?" However, Air Groove held some pessimistic thoughts about this. She watched the Uma Musume, who were either from other Central academies or from local areas, and couldn't help but ask uneasily:
"Before this, Gold Ship had hardly undergone any systematic training. Although I occasionally saw her training on the Racecourse during this period, to be honest… it won't have much effect."
"She needs a Trainer, a Trainer who can give her systematic training, and who can also earn her trust, allow her potential to be unleashed, and sufficiently understand her."
"And we still don't know where Gold Ship's potential lies." Narita Brian, who had been sitting idly with a blade of grass in her mouth, also spoke indifferently: "We only know that she has great potential. At such a young age, without even training, that explosive 'Presence' has already manifested itself… She's definitely a good prospect."
"In fact, her talent is even stronger than Tokai Teio, whom the President cares so much about… But why can't it be unleashed?"
Narita Brian was quite puzzled by this. She and Gold Ship were actually quite familiar. Because their personalities were similar, Narita Brian appeared cold and fierce to others, but in reality, it was because she was timid and lacked a sense of security, even getting scared by her own shadow.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have the title "Monster with Blinders." Few people knew about these things concerning Narita Brian; everyone thought she was aloof. But Gold Ship… from the first moment Narita Brian saw her, she understood that this seemingly fierce Uma Musume's heart was actually the same as hers.
It was precisely because of this that Narita Brian was the first Student Council member to recognize that "Gold Ship is an Uma Musume with immense potential." But to this day, even though everyone in the Student Council acknowledged this, Gold Ship had not shown anything particularly special.
"I don't know either… Perhaps Gold Ship is an existence beyond our comprehension." Symboli Rudolf also didn't know what to say, only stating indifferently: "The Gold Family is a family known as 'coexisting with risk and Miracle,' and they are notoriously difficult to manage. Without exception, all their family members have very high potential, even not losing to the Mejiro Family in some aspects."
"But the biggest flaw is that every Uma Musume in the Gold Family is extremely individualistic and difficult to manage. To this day, Trainer Imanami, who managed to tame Gold Ship… I thought he was the most likely to manage an Uma Musume from the Gold Family."
"But, Gold Ship, I am convinced that if there truly is one person who can manage Gold Ship, then that person can only be him."
As she spoke, Symboli Rudolf's gaze also turned to the other side of the stands. Air Groove and Narita Brian followed her gaze and noticed a row of rising star Trainers and their assigned Uma Musume.
Of course, Symboli Rudolf's main focus was still Ikezoe—because he was unusually absent from the scene at this moment.
Symboli Rudolf didn't believe Ikezoe wouldn't be there. He couldn't possibly miss Gold Ship's Debut Race.
So… where did he go?
…"Hehe, today is Big Sister Orfevre's Debut Race! I never thought I'd see Big Sister Orfevre compete one day."
At this moment, Gold Ship, next to Imanami, had half her body draped over the railing, saying with a face full of anticipation and joy: "I wonder if Big Sister Orfevre knows we're all here. She's probably so stressed she's about to cry, right?"
"Gold Ship… Giant is your older sister, is it really okay for you to say that?"
Next to them, McQueen also rubbed her head with a hint of helplessness—her Debut Race had concluded perfectly, everything was very smooth. After systematic training from Imanami, McQueen's growth was significant, and her weight had also been brought under control.
Due to the timing of McQueen's Debut Race, the Satsuki Sho was undoubtedly out of reach. McQueen was now preparing for the Japanese Derby, actively training and planning to win a few key races to secure priority qualification for the Japanese Derby.
"Trainer, we've come all this way… With all due respect, is it really necessary?" Mejiro McQueen clearly didn't quite understand Imanami's actions and couldn't help but turn her head to ask: "If Gold Ship wants to challenge the Triple Crown, that would be next year. Why do we need to watch her race?"
Is it just because she's Gold Ship's older sister? Mejiro McQueen didn't voice this question. She felt that this reason shouldn't be valid; the Trainer was a very fair person and wouldn't show such favoritism.
"Just coming to watch Gold Ship's race, that's all." Imanami simply said this, a faint smile on his face as he spoke to Gold Ship and McQueen:
"McQueen, Gold Ship, you two must watch carefully. Gold Ship's race will definitely be very beneficial to you."
"Study her racing and running style carefully. Even if we don't encounter her this year… eventually, we will compete against her."
To compete against the Uma Musume known as the strongest in All Japan. Imanami didn't voice this sentence, but both he and Wada, or even Ikezoe who had temporarily disappeared, knew this.
"Opera O, Doto, you two need to pay close attention to Gold Ship." On the other side, Wada also spoke very solemnly to his two assigned Uma Musume: "Gold Ship… might be the most threatening opponent we could face in the future."
"Observe her running style and racing methods carefully. This will be very helpful to us."
Gold Ship… this world truly makes one feel full of Miracles. Wada's heart was also incredibly uneasy. He never thought that one day he would be competing in almost the same era as the Racehorse known as the strongest in All Japan.
Fortunately, they were separated by a year; otherwise, many of Opera O's achievements would probably have to be recalculated… Ikezoe-kun, it seems your luck is much better than mine… "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do…"
"I got carried away and now I'm on the Racecourse, and I'm even the second favorite—how could an ordinary Uma Musume like me be the second favorite! If I end up in last place, wouldn't that be a huge disgrace?!"
Gold Ship was currently standing alone in a corner, facing the wall and trembling. However, the more she feared, the stronger the unconscious "Presence" emanating from her became, causing the surrounding Uma Musume to be terrified and quickly move away.
At this moment, many Uma Musume also noticed Gold Ship. Their expressions changed drastically, and they all regarded Gold Ship as their formidable enemy—completely unaware that Gold Ship was currently in a panic, almost wanting to withdraw from the race on the spot.
"Gold Ship? Someone is looking for you outside, it's your Trainer!" At this moment, a staff member suddenly walked in and said to everyone. Gold Ship, startled from her panic, subconsciously turned around.
"Trainer? I…"
However, before Gold Ship could finish her sentence, a figure slowly walked in. She paused slightly, then subconsciously said:
"Ikezoe? Why are you here?!"
"Of course, I came to cheer you on, look."
As Ikezoe spoke, he raised the box he had been holding in his hand and said to the slightly stunned Gold Ship: "I even brought you a gift, as a congratulatory present for your certain victory in the Debut Race!"
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