"What?! T.M. Opera O didn't use a Late Surger running style—and she was even outpaced?"
At this moment, in the stands, Hana Toujou, who was watching the Race, has a strong reaction to the start of the race. Her eyes gleamed with disbelief, as if she couldn't comprehend what was happening before her.
T.M. Opera O had once again gone against her will. She didn't choose the safer Late Surger running style, but instead opted for her still-immature Pace Chaser running style!
However, Hana Toujou didn't know that T.M. Opera O's Pace Chaser was no longer what it used to be—after all, who could have imagined that an Uma Musume could comprehend the essence of a running style just by dreaming?
If that were enough to succeed, then Uma Musume wouldn't need to train; they could just sleep all day. Perhaps they could even dream of their future Race results, which Race would cause a fracture, and thus avoid it.
Therefore, Hana Toujou didn't think that T.M. Opera O's excellent start came from her strength, but was simply just luck—after all, three Uma Musume in this Race chose to run as Front Runners, so it was normal that they couldn't hinder the Uma Musume in the Pace Chaser group.
But what Hana Toujou couldn't understand the most was how Meisho Doto, who she believed couldn't improve that much within this short period, managed to outpace T.M. Opera O within just two months.
You have to know, two months ago, Meisho Doto was still trying to lose weight! It was like attempting to go from negative to zero. How could she suddenly surpass T.M. Opera O, who was improving every day, within just two months?
It was completely incomprehensible; Hana Toujou couldn't figure out why, so she could only turn her gaze to Wada beside her, hoping he could give her an answer. (T/N: Girl is flabbergasted.)
"Losing weight doesn't mean she couldn't do anything else in the meanwhile, Miss Toujou." Wada had long anticipated this. As he watched Doto, whose strength and speed was now solidly above T.M. Opera O after specialized training, a weight that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted, and a smile reappeared on his face.
In that case, the probability of victory was already 30%. The rest depended on how accurate his predictions were, and whether T.M. Opera O would unleash power beyond his imagination.
"Mejiro McQueen was also losing weight with Doto, but why did she get first place in the mock race? Did she manage to complete her weight loss then? Or is the fact that she is an Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family mean that she can do things other Uma Musume can't, and that it's not surprising at all?"
...Hana Toujou was also rendered speechless and finally turned her gaze to the Race on the track.
"T.M. Opera O is being held back by Doto." At this moment, Ikezoe, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the key point of this Race: "Wada, is your tactic targeting T.M. Opera O?"
However, Wada did not answer at this time. His expression was as usual; he was only focused on the changes in the Race, like an onlooker.
In fact, he was the person who wanted to do such a thing the least. After all, he had personally experienced how it feels to be targeted. Although targeting the biggest rival is a common tactic, this tactic has a prerequisite: you must understand that Racehorse and its Jockey very well.
After all, targeting tactics need to be completely tailored to the opponent's strengths, and the Racecourse is ever-changing; any situation can happen, so targeted tactics often don't work because of these changing variables.
And a scenario that he and T.M. Opera O faced back then... that thing happens only once in a hundred years. Firstly, it was incredibly rare for someone like Wada to incur so much public wrath to the point of causing all the Jockeys to target him and T.M. Opera O; additionally, it's also rare for a rookie like Wada, who hardly adjusts his tactics and wins Races solely by his Racehorse's own ability, to attract such collective attention.
No, rather than fearing Wada, it would be more accurate to say they feared T.M. Opera O. It wasn't a struggle against Wada; it was a struggle against T.M. Opera O.
But now, Wada used the same targeting tactic against T.M. Opera O, to implement a series of suppressive measures, preventing T.M. Opera O from unleashing her full strength and keeping her under Doto's rhythm.
And for now, Wada's tactic is very effective! T.M. Opera O was indeed being temporarily suppressed by Doto!
"...How can this be... I can't break through?"
At this moment, T.M. Opera O on the track also noticed that something was wrong. Although she was surprised that Meisho Doto could start even faster than her, T.M. Opera O didn't pay much attention at first, as physical strength was indeed not T.M. Opera O's forte, and she had also witnessed Doto's growth during this period of training.
But as she kept running, T.M. Opera O began to realize something was off... Was Doto... blocking her path?
T.M. Opera O initially didn't believe it and tried to overtake from the outside. But when she moved to the outside, Doto seemed to have eyes on her back and also moved to the outside, firmly blocking T.M. Opera O's path and preventing her from going forwards.
After adjusting her position several times, T.M. Opera O still couldn't find a good breakthrough point. So, it was clear that Doto was deliberately blocking her attack route!
"T.M. Opera O, your final spurt is very powerful, so I will never give you the chance to use it."
Doto clearly knew what T.M. Opera O was thinking at this moment. As she ran, she murmured:
"This is the only way my Trainer and I can beat you—you can say I'm despicable, but I have to win!"
Only then could she live up to her Trainer's expectations and win this Race!
"How can this be! T.M. Opera O has no chance to break through under Meisho Doto's blockade!" The commentator also noticed the changes on the track at this moment and immediately exclaimed:
"The pack has already passed the first corner! T.M. Opera O still hasn't found an opportunity to break through. Will she continue to be suppressed by Meisho Doto like this?"
The first corner had passed, and every corner could be an opportunity for a breakthrough. However, T.M. Opera O, under Doto's blocking, couldn't find a point to accelerate forth, so she just had to run through the first corner while still being suppressed by Doto in the front-middle of the group.
In front of Doto, there were three Front Runners who were enduring the greatest wind pressure, meaning the pressure on Doto would be even smaller and given Doto's strong physique, these influences were unlikely to affect the outcome of the race.
"How impressive, to have completely seen through my tactics." T.M. Opera O, unable to find a breakthrough point, was not angry at this moment; instead, she thought with some admiration: "Was this also figured out by watching videos? How many times must they have watched them?"
T.M. Opera O began to wonder. She had only run in four Races in total. Her three Debut Races held negligible data. If Wada had truly studied her Debut Race running style, he would probably be panicking by now, as she ran Pace Chaser.
But if it was the Yukinayanagi Sho... that one single Yukinayanagi Sho made them this confident that her tactics wouldn't change at all? You have to know, T.M. Opera O's Pace Chaser running style, after a week of self-training, although not comparable to her long-established Late Surger, was still first-rate and perfectly fine for a GIII Race.
But Doto's sequence of actions... was as if they had perfectly predicted T.M. Opera O's running style. She wouldn't even be surprised if the techniques she learned from her dreams had also passed through Wada's mind; her thoughts and tactics were completely seen through.
To be able to target her to such an extent, was truly... not simple.
"But even so, the Overlord has only just begun."
At this moment, a confident smile also appeared on T.M. Opera O's face, having understood all this—she had to go all out.
She knew that if she didn't go all out now, her chances of winning would quickly plummet to zero. She also clearly realized that her opponent was not just Meisho Doto, but also Wada Ryuji, who stood behind Meisho Doto and formulated this targeted plan!
"Then, let me see how much you have seen through me, Wada!"
"The real confrontation begins now. When we reach the final corner, that's when we'll truly clash!"
Let me see if the Overlord will be defeated by the hero; or if the Overlord will continue to be unstoppable, proudly sitting on their throne and laughing loudly!
T.M. Opera O was very much looking forward to Wada's performance, even if she herself didn't know why that feeling of pride, mixed with excitement, welled up in her heart.
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T.M. Opera O is getting stream sniped so hard rn.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.