"Welcome everyone to this broadcast! We are here at the Nakayama 2000m turf course for the first jewel of the Classic Triple Crown, the mid-distance race, the Satsuki Sho! The weather today is sunny and the track condition is excellent. Powerful horse girls have gathered here to compete for the honor of the Triple Crown. What kind of race will they show us today? The number one favorite is, of course, this runner! Possessing the title of [Demon King], she has remained undefeated since her debut and has now secured five victories (excluding her debut race). She is the immensely popular runner—Gold Ship!"
As the commentator introduced her, a close-up of the runner's face appeared on the big screen. In front of the gate, this runner, who on the surface looked like a quiet, literary beauty, stood with her arms crossed, gazing forward. Her imposing posture was the same as always, like a king upon a throne. In the stands, fans cheered with all their might, the roar sweeping through the entire venue. It was as if this had already become her home turf.
In the audience, Trainer Okino, Agnes Tachyon, and the others were already used to this. Ever since Demon King Ship took the crown at the Hopeful Stakes with a terrifying record, her popularity had skyrocketed to its peak. If not for the limited capacity of the venue, the cheers of the fans alone would probably have been enough to affect the other runners.
"As expected of the Demon King, hailed as the strongest in history! Her posture looks incredibly composed, as if she were already certain of her victory before the race even began. The fans here are also very enthusiastic. Let's hope the other runners aren't affected by this situation and can display their own unique styles." The commentator continued to introduce the other runners.
"Number two favorite, Mejiro Ryan! This runner's performance has been very reliable. Her greatest pride is her strong body. She is a very capable runner."
Compared to Demon King Ship who was doing nothing, this somewhat boyish horse girl was doing stretching exercises. She seemed completely unaffected by the audience's cheers for the Demon King, possessing a strong conviction that she absolutely could not give up on this first race of the Triple Crown.
[Mejiro McQueen] and several other Mejiro family horse girls stood in the audience, looking at Mejiro Ryan with concern.
Although Mejiro Ryan seemed to be in good shape, dealing with that Demon King, Gold Ship, was still an extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, task. Now that "skills" had been exposed, they knew very well that the Demon King's strength had reached another dimension. Although everyone was currently learning skills, while they were still mastering the basics, Demon King Ship, as the one who revealed the skills, had unfathomable strength.
"Number three favorite, Narita Taishin! Having suffered a loss in the Hopeful Stakes, does she have hope of exacting revenge in this race? Also a 'Chaser' style runner, we look forward to her clash with Gold Ship."
Narita Taishin glanced at Demon King Ship over there and quietly clenched her fist. After special training, she had indeed become stronger. But how far she was from where that Demon King stood... she would confirm it through this race.
Narita Taishin's trainer was in the stands, watching her assigned horse girl seriously. From a runner no one had high hopes for in the past to her growth today, Narita Taishin's performance had been nothing short of brilliant. Even though her spotlight was stolen by the Demon King in the Hopeful Stakes, she had fought her way back into this Satsuki Sho as the third favorite. Although participating in this Satsuki Sho wasn't a smart decision, as her dedicated trainer, she decided to support Narita Taishin.
The introductions for the top three favorites were finished. The subsequent runners received almost no close-ups, merely a sentence before being passed over. By the time all runners were introduced, it was time for the race to start. Accompanied by the race music, all runners entered the gate together. The countdown began after the music ended, and the lights on the gate flickered.
"All runners are in the gate! The opening of the Classic Triple Crown, the Satsuki Sho, officially begins! Who will be the runner to seize the first crown?!"
With the commentator's voice, the gates opened, and the runners rushed onto the track together. Although Demon King Ship's start was a step slower than the others, looking like a late start, it appeared intentional. While a late start was a bad habit, Demon King Ship had no choice. She had a powerful skill that required a late start to maximize its effect. So, she was practicing how to meet the "late start" condition while affecting her run as little as possible.
Luckily, she was a Chaser. If she were a Runner (Escape) or Betweener (Senkou), she wouldn't even need to run; a late start would mean falling behind regardless. Against the current opponents in this world, it was fine; it wouldn't affect the result. But if she faced an opponent of Mejiro McQueen's level... daring to start late as a Runner or Betweener would just be waiting to get crushed. So, although she had aptitude for Betweener, to maximize her strength, Demon King Ship resolutely chose the Chaser style.
And with this running style, a slight late start didn't actually have much impact. As for the breathing irregularity caused by the late start? That wasn't a problem for Demon King Ship's physical constitution. She could recover in just a few seconds, and the impact on the whole race was negligible. Although if she were facing Mejiro McQueen, there would still be some impact, this was already the limit of perfection she could achieve. Demon King Ship could choose not to start late, but then she would be sealing one of her own "Glimmer" skills.
The power of a Glimmer skill didn't need explaining, let alone one with such restrictive conditions; its effect would only be stronger. Demon King Ship couldn't discard this power. Since she couldn't discard it, she could only minimize the negative effects, making the late start almost indistinguishable from a normal exit. This might be impossible for others, but for the Demon King, nothing was impossible, because she was the strongest!
"Runners have completed the start! Currently leading is Seiun Sky! Behind her is Smart Falcon! This is a competition between two escape horses!"
Although the commentator made it sound good, everyone could see that the veteran Smart Falcon was no match for Seiun Sky and could barely follow behind her. However, few were surprised by this result, as Smart Falcon's strength was indeed very average. This was the last deadline for Smart Falcon to participate in the Classic Triple Crown. If she didn't challenge it this year, she would completely lose her eligibility next year. So she forced herself to participate in this Satsuki Sho. But the race had just started, and her completely inadequate form was already exposed.
The deadline for the Classic Triple Crown is within three years of debut. Some cautious runners choose to run other races first and challenge the Triple Crown in their second or third year, but many geniuses choose to challenge it in their first year. Both are allowed.
Smart Falcon had been debuted for three years, but her results were tragic. In fact, many suspected this runner was on the wrong track. Back when she first debuted, Smart Falcon's strength in Dirt races was very formidable. But who knew what her trainer was thinking, insisting on switching her to turf? Was he trying to modify her track suitability through training? But judging by Smart Falcon's performance over the past two years, it clearly hadn't had much effect. Today, Smart Falcon's performance was as doomed as ever.
"Looks like Falco is going to lose again today."
"Yeah. As expected, she's running on the wrong track. She used to be such a dazzling horse girl."
Two old fans couldn't help but sigh.
Smart Falcon's trainer, hearing their conversation, clenched his fists, but then relaxed them, finally just sighing. He had thought Smart Falcon's potential could create history. But compared to Dirt races, the "Royal Road" races were mostly medium-long distance turf races. So he wanted to change Smart Falcon's suitability through training and races. But now, it seemed this was indeed just his delusion.
'This is the last time.'
He made a decision.
He couldn't delay any longer. Falco had strength. The reason she had fallen to this state today was entirely due to his willfulness as a trainer.
In the race, Tosen Jordan, behind Smart Falcon, looked at the veteran whose breathing was unstable and shook her head.
'This senior is really weak. It's only because the Demon King didn't use "that move" today. Otherwise, this senior would have already fallen to the back.'
Losing control of her breathing after just the first section... it was the first time she'd encountered such a weak runner.
After passing the corner, Tosen Jordan didn't hesitate to step up and take second place from Smart Falcon. Since Smart Falcon had slowed down, she couldn't stay behind her. The distance Seiun Sky was pulling ahead was getting dangerous. On this straight, she had to close the gap between herself and the escape horse!
Although Tosen Jordan didn't think she could beat the Demon King behind her, she had her pride as a horse girl. Besides, her trainer and her old friends were watching this race! She couldn't put on an embarrassing performance!
"Runner Smart Falcon has fallen behind! Runner Tosen Jordan has charged up! Still leading is Seiun Sky! The runners behind seem to be mostly waiting for their chance... are they wary of the Demon King currently hanging at the very back?"
In this race, it seemed everyone was trying their best to restrain themselves. Almost no one went to limit the escape horse. The only explanation for this situation was that the runners had a target they had to be more wary of than limiting the escape horse. And one didn't need to guess who that was.
It was the Demon King, hanging all the way at the back!
...
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