"Spe-senpai, you've got this!"
Up in the stands, the usually squabbling Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet spoke in perfect unison. No one from Team Spica wanted to see Special Week lose the Satsuki Sho—not today.
Especially not with Spe's mother here watching.
A loss now would hit the girl hard. Really hard.
"Hmm? That acceleration… you really have to hand it to Spe, don't you?"
El Condor Pasa mused thoughtfully. To make up such ground after a poor start and still close in on Seiun Sky and King Halo—it showed just how much raw talent and strength Special Week possessed.
"If my leg was fully healed and there wasn't that scheduled race in France… I'd really like to run in the Derby too. To race against Spe and the others."
Barbatos shot a glance at El Condor Pasa. Truth be told, she also wanted to race in the Japanese Derby, to run a race against her own star.
But right now, her sights were set on the Triple Crown.
If they actually ended up on the same track for the Derby… Barbatos wasn't entirely sure how she'd handle it mentally.
Most likely, she'd go all out, aiming for the win with everything she had.
But then, if Seiun Sky won the Satsuki Sho now, and then took the Derby and the Kikuka Sho… wouldn't that shatter her own girlfriend's Triple Crown dreams?
That just didn't sit right.
It wasn't that entering the Derby guaranteed a win, but the odds were heavily in their favor.
In her mind, this generation of Uma Musume was dazzling, a sky full of stars, but she and El Condor Pasa were the brightest two—a cut above the rest, half a step, maybe a full step ahead of their peers.
At least for now, neither her beloved star, nor Special Week, nor King Halo showed any signs of awakening their Zones.
Even Grass Wonder, who had awakened hers, had suffered a severe leg injury because of it. She was nearly recovered, but the training she'd missed couldn't be made up overnight.
Come to think of it, why was Gramps so quiet?
Given how he doted on his granddaughter, you'd expect him to say something like, 'Even if you entered, you wouldn't win,' when El Condor Pasa mentioned wanting to run the Derby.
She turned to look at the old man beside her. His sunglasses hid his expression, but the tension in his posture was plain to see.
This was Seiun's first G1 race, after all. The opening battle of the Classic series.
How could Gramps not be nervous?
Looking over, Special Week's mother actually seemed calmer…?
It was only then Barbatos noticed—Spe's mother was now holding a small photo frame. Inside was a picture of an Uma Musume who bore a striking, seventy or eighty percent resemblance to Special Week.
Ah…
Barbatos paused. She'd learned Special's story back during their first meeting at school—that she had two mothers.
So her adoptive mother had brought her birth mother to watch the race.
Barbatos gave a slight shake of her head, pushing the thoughts aside. She refocused on the track. The final stretch was coming up, and the race would be decided there.
In her view, Seiun Sky's biggest rival in the Satsuki Sho was King Halo.
Special Week had grown much stronger after the trial race and had adjusted her uphill running style, but that poor start had sealed her fate—she was out of contention for the win.
Maybe seeing her mother in the crowd had made her tense, causing the slow break. But for a serious Triple Crown contender to lack the mental fortitude… whether as a classmate or as the partner of a rival, Barbatos hadn't expected that.
Besides, the Satsuki Sho was nothing like Rigil's entrance test. Back then, she'd managed to catch up to King Halo after a bad start.
But King Halo was on a whole different level now, vastly more powerful.
How could she possibly catch up to her own girlfriend, who was still full of running?
On the track…
Special Week displayed incredible uphill speed, putting more distance between herself and the pack behind. The other G1-level Uma Musume in her wake let out collective groans of despair.
Spe, now fully in her uphill rhythm, unleashed a stunning final sprint—a burst of speed that would have secured victory in Satsuki Shos of years past.
She charged forward, chasing down the two leading figures, Seiun Sky and King Halo, seeming to close the gap!
She was going to overtake them all!
The race caller narrated the unfolding drama, highlighting Special Week's surge. This was a true dark Uma performance!
Even though the remark about her speed being "enough to win past Satsuki Shos" might rub some former champions the wrong way, she said it anyway.
This wasn't a careless slip of the tongue! It was the truth!
But…
"Special Week! Special Week with her astonishing final kick cannot close the gap! She can't even catch the shadows of the two leaders!"
"A fully unleashed Special Week cannot catch them!"
"In a contest of this caliber, any mistake is fatal! Was the poor start the deciding factor?!"
Special Week, in the thick of it, stared at the two backs ahead she simply could not reach. Her strides felt light, she knew she had more to give, but those two figures remained stubbornly, impossibly distant!
A wave of powerlessness, unlike anything she'd ever felt, crashed over her.
The most helpless feeling wasn't losing to El Condor Pasa in the Rigil entrance test.
The gap in their abilities had been too vast back then; she hadn't even seen how El Condor crossed the line. It wasn't a real contest.
But now? She was confident she could race against Seiun Sky and King Halo. That poor start had stolen her chance, her opportunity to fight for victory in her first Classic race!
Her mother's face flashed in her mind. Then Silence Suzuka's. Then all her friends from Spica!
No! It's not over yet! The finish line isn't here! It's not time to give up!
You're going to become Japan's top Uma Musume!
The power of friendship, of family, of love surged within her.
Memories of every tough training session at Spica flooded back. Toward the finish line, toward the figures ahead, she pushed, trying to break past her limits!
There's still 400 meters of final straight! I don't want to lose anymore!
--+--
"Special Week crosses the line, nearly two lengths behind the second-place finisher, King Halo!"
"Let's congratulate Seiun Sky on her first Satsuki Sho victory!"
"And congratulations to Team Canopus for securing victory in the opening legs of both the Classic and Fillies' series! Setting a brand new record in the world of Uma Musume racing once again!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.