Hearing Sakura Bakushin O's high-pitched voice, many of the Umamusume spectators gasped in surprise.
"The race had clearly given BH a huge advantage, but then Miracle Fantasy fell!"
"How serious is it? Satono Diamond is almost catching up from behind!"
"Miracle Fantasy hasn't gotten up yet; that fall looks pretty bad!"
"Are you... are you alright? Should we request a timeout?" Smart Falcon asked worriedly, looking at Miracle Fantasy, who was struggling to get up after the fall.
"Haha... no, I'm fine." Miracle Fantasy slowly propped herself up, thinking, "Why isn't TCB's Umamusume catching up yet? I can't hold on much longer."
She absolutely didn't want to be ahead of Smart Falcon.
"Miracle Fantasy got up; she hasn't given up."
"But the advantage her two teammates built for her was completely squandered by this accident. It's such a pity."
"Satono Diamond finally arrived and completed the fourth leg of the relay!"
Smart Falcon glanced back at Miracle Fantasy with some concern, then grabbed the baton and ran forward.
Having been away from the Turf for so long, Smart Falcon now realized how difficult it was to run on the Turf.
"Indeed, the Turf is very difficult for Falco to adapt to. Thank goodness Trainer-san had a keen eye."
Smart Falcon silently thanked Sakura Baimu, then, enduring the discomfort in her legs, ran towards the finish line.
Miracle Fantasy, behind her, started running the moment Smart Falcon began her run.
But once Miracle Fantasy started, she noticed something was wrong.
Smart Falcon wasn't running fast.
She wasn't even judging it from the perspective of a Zone Umamusume anymore.
Instead, she was judging Smart Falcon's speed as that of an ordinary Umamusume with limited strength.
Slow, really slow.
It looked like she was running clumsily.
"What's going on? Wasn't she incredibly fast on her first run on the Dirt yesterday? If she can run that fast on the Dirt, how can she be so slow on the Turf?"
Miracle Fantasy was puzzled, but she quickly came to a conclusion—
Smart Falcon was deliberately waiting for her to overtake!
"That's awful! Really awful! No wonder she's the kind of person who suddenly slows down before the finish line and then overtakes!"
"I won't fall for it! She's too good at it!"
Miracle Fantasy thought to herself, slowing her pace.
"Oh dear, this race doesn't seem too intense."
"Smart Falcon isn't running very fast on the Turf; is it because she's not used to running on Turf?"
"Miracle Fantasy isn't very fast either; it looks like she injured her leg after a fall."
...
Finally, thanks to Miracle Fantasy's efforts, Tokai Teio successfully completed the fifth leg exchange before her.
Immediately afterward, Miracle Fantasy handed the relay ribbon to USA Durian, who was staring at Smart Falcon with a similarly horrified expression, standing next to Tokai Teio.
"Finally! The last leg!"
"Smart Falcon and Miracle Fantasy have completed the handover. Tokai Teio and USA Durian started less than a second apart!"
"What a pity, BH."
Sakura Baimu looked at the scene in the arena, her head was filled with huge question marks.
"What's going on? The Umamusume who raced against GG yesterday was like this, and now this one is too?"
"Do they all really think she's cute and can't bear to overtake her?"
"That's weird. I was worried she'd be sabotaged by these American Umamusumes, but they all seem really afraid of GG?"
Sakura Baimu felt like she was seeing ghosts, completely unable to understand the intentions of these American Umamusumes doing these things.
At this point in the race, Sakura Baimu felt there was no point in watching any longer.
USA Durian probably couldn't beat Tokai Teio; it was just a matter of how big the gap would be.
"Seriously, USA Durian, what was the person who named it thinking? Does America even have durians?"
Sakura Baimu muttered, walking down from the stands to stand next to Mejiro McQueen.
"Still angry?" Sakura Baimu chuckled.
"No," Mejiro McQueen replied, turning her head to the side.
"Pretty impressive, actually managing to pull ahead of the Zone Umamusume. Your strength is getting stronger and stronger." Sakura Baimu praised, then reached out towards Mejiro McQueen's head.
However, before her hand could even touch Mejiro McQueen's hair, she immediately blocked it.
"Didn't you think it was dirty?"
"Just kidding, I really wanted to touch it."
"Now you don't have the chance," Mejiro McQueen said leisurely.
"Heh, quite stubborn." Sakura Baimu chuckled. "Don't let your anger stop you from training according to the guide I gave you. That's the essence that can defeat the Golden Crown Eagle; I went through a lot of trouble to get it."
Mejiro McQueen's eyes flickered slightly at this, but she didn't respond.
--
"Tokai Teio, a final burst of speed on the straight!"
"USA Durian can't catch Tokai Teio at all!"
"Tokai Teio—"
"Now, crossing the finish line with a 7-Length lead!"
The cheers from the Tracen Academy Umamusumes around the track signaled the end of this relay race.
Sakura Baimu listened to Sakura Bakushin O's commentary, feeling no joy.
Because, if it weren't for Smart Falcon's race, TCB would definitely have lost.
When the team members returned, Sakura Baimu was the first to grab Smart Falcon.
"GG, what's wrong with you? Why did the Umamusumes you raced against both times go easy on you?"
"Falco doesn't know either... Falco also finds it strange..." Smart Falcon said somewhat awkwardly.
"Forget it, forget it. This competition was originally for Kita-chan and Dia-chan to gain experience against strong opponents. You're not suited for Turf, so winning or losing doesn't matter."
Sakura Baimu shook her head. "You guys go train on your own. I'm going to take Dia-chan to find Special Week."
--
That evening, in the Tracen Academy cafeteria.
Special Week shared her day's experiences with Grass Wonder.
She excitedly pulled out two vouchers for the deluxe buffet restaurant and happily told Grass Wonder:
"Grass Wonder, look! I helped TCB's junior trainees train today, and their Trainer-san gave me two buffet vouchers!"
"Wow~ Spe-chan is so popular! That Sakura-san even gave you something," Grass Wonder said softly, looking at Special Week.
"Tomorrow's Saturday, let's use them!" Special Week exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey, Spe-chan!" Grass Wonder suddenly called out to the excited Special Week, pointing to her meal voucher. "It says 'Weekdays only' on it, so it can only be used on weekdays."
"Oh, I see. Thank you, Grass Wonder. I'm so grateful to you." Special Week scratched her head, expressing her gratitude to Grass Wonder.
"It's nothing, Spe-chan."
"Then I'll go find Suzuka-san next Friday!"
"Huh?"
--