Chapter 43: Taking the Lead in the Entire Race

Note: I’m changing the Shining Star Series to Twinkle Series

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Chapter 43: Taking the Lead in the Entire Race

Just like before, their pace training was scheduled twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening.

A small regret, however, was that Scarlet had officially become the dorm manager and could no longer attend every training session like before. For the evening sessions, only Vodka was available to help out.

Still, before the preliminary races, Scarlet had already helped achieve the initial training goals. There was still room for improvement going forward, but that could wait.

In fact, when it came to adapting to different opponents and race dynamics, training alongside rivals with varied racing styles was actually more beneficial.

Vodka happened to be one of the best partners in that regard. In a way, her assistance was a timely blessing.

Makoto didn’t waste the opportunity. After their evening special training session, he brought Kitasan to the dance studio for a race analysis and strategy review.

“I mentioned this to you before, but in that last race—the one that just ended—you were the only rookie this year, and one of only two girls with just a single race under your belt.”

“You might not have felt it clearly before, but now you should’ve noticed just how different the opponents were between your debut and this race.”

Kitasan Black nodded rapidly.

“That’s absolutely true! Especially when I was running alongside Pentium-chan—it felt way easier than the debut race.”

“Back in my debut, I followed the opponent next to me just like you told me to.”

“But pretty quickly, I noticed her rhythm was weird, so I switched targets.”

“That didn’t work either—the rhythm felt off for everyone—so I just ran at my own pace.”

“And right around that time, it was exactly where you said I should make my move, so I just went for it and kept pushing... and I won.”

Before Makoto could respond, Vodka—who had tagged along out of curiosity—let out a surprised exclamation.

“Whoa, seriously? I mean, I knew you were good, Yasui-kun, but pulling that off with zero coaching experience... Isn’t that kind of insane?”

“Hmm... maybe it’s not that crazy?”

Makoto gave a small chuckle and explained, “I’ve compared a ton of debut races. For rookie events like that, overthinking things usually works against you.”

“There are a lot of Umamusume who perform great in training but can’t bring out their full potential in an actual race.”

“That’s why, to win those kinds of races, it’s better to keep things simple.”

“Kitasan’s got a straightforward personality, so I only gave her two simple instructions.”

“Follow someone whose rhythm feels right—she just had to focus on that for most of the race.”

“But I’d already looked into her opponents, and none of them had a better sense of rhythm than she did.”

“So when she realized that on her own, it was already time to make her move.”

“At that point, her only task was to sprint with everything she had—and the others couldn’t respond fast enough.”

Kitasan Black’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding.

“Ohhh, so that’s how I won? It sounds so easy when you put it like that!”

Vodka didn’t say anything, but her thoughts were far more tangled than before.

Makoto had made it sound simple—almost too simple.

But as one of the former top active racers, she knew just how hard it was to control a race at that level.

Especially before the race even began.

Umamusume might look like ordinary human girls, and in some ways their minds were similar—but they weren’t the same species.

In general, Umamusume tended to be more straightforward in their daily lives. But when it came to racing, their sensitivity to external stimuli increased dramatically, and their psychological states became far more complicated.

That’s why accurately gauging both an Umamusume’s own mental state and those of her opponents had always been one of the biggest challenges in the industry.

The night before the race, her sleep quality, her meals, the atmosphere at the venue, the temperament and compatibility of her rivals, the weather, temperature, humidity, even the texture of the track—

All of these could affect her race-day performance.

And when the impact was negative, even the best-case outcome was usually resistance or avoidance of the race itself.

Vodka had seen it happen countless times over the years.

Even among veterans, peers, and juniors, many Umamusume had, for one reason or another—obvious or subtle—refused to enter the starting gates, or even dropped out of a race altogether due to discomfort.

If the trainer couldn’t calm them down at that moment, withdrawal from the race was a real possibility.

And even if they were forced into the gates without properly being reassured, their race performance would suffer to some degree, often unable to display their full potential.

Vodka remembered clearly how Air Groove-senpai had experienced something like that during the Shuka Sho.

Before that race, her record was incredible—three wins and two runner-ups, including a G1 victory in the Oaks. She was on fire.

But just before the Shuka Sho, she was startled by the flashing camera lights. Her focus crumbled, and she finished a dismal 10th. After the race, a check-up revealed a fracture in her right leg, and she was forced into an eight-month-long recovery.

Because of cases like that, being able to properly manage an Umamusume’s temperament during a race was a skill shared by only the top-tier trainers.

And if a trainer could also understand the conditions of their Umamusume’s opponents—and use that information before the race even began—calling them a “super-elite” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Which brought her thoughts back to Makoto. 

For someone his age… just how did he develop such insight and judgment? Surely it couldn’t be from family teachings alone?

As Vodka quietly marveled, Makoto was still going over the previous race with Kitasan Black.

“—The reason I specifically mentioned Satomi Pentium before the last race was because of her exceptional adaptability.”

As he spoke, he motioned for Kitasan Black to look at the laptop screen showing analytical data.

“Like I told you earlier, her first three races were in Sapporo. Then she moved to Chukyo and Kyoto.”

“Sapporo is in Hokkaido. Chukyo is in Nagoya, and Kyoto is in Kansai. That’s a wide range of track locations.”

He pointed out more details on the screen.

“Not only that, her first three races were 1800 meters, and the next two were 2000 meters. That shift from mile to middle-distance means noticeable changes in pace and strategy.”

“Yet despite that, her race results kept improving. That alone proves how adaptable she is.”

“Sure, part of it is natural talent. But she also debuted earlier than you, had more training, and the Satomi family clearly invested heavily in her development.

“The race last time had a complicated lineup. Besides someone like Pentium with great adaptability, there were others who were used to 1400 meters and unconsciously ran at a faster pace, and some with incredibly powerful late-stage sprints.”

He turned to look directly at Kitasan Black.

“You only had one race’s worth of experience back then. There was no way you could have handled all those variables on your own in real-time.”

“That’s why I told you to follow Pentium into the middle stages. As long as you accelerated just before she did, it’d be hard for her to catch up and overtake you.”

“You’ve probably already experienced that for yourself, haven’t you?”

As Makoto explained, Kitasan nodded along with growing clarity.

And by the end, she was brimming with enthusiasm.

“If that kind of strategy can win a race... does that mean I can keep using it for future ones too, Trainer?”

But to her surprise, Makoto only smiled and shook his head.

“It’s not that simple.”

“To be honest, the level of these past two races wasn’t all that high. Your opponents were only relatively skilled and experienced.”

“But from now on, your competition will get stronger and stronger.”

“And even the ones you’ve already beaten will improve. One day, they might turn the tables and beat you.”

“That’s why relying on your opponents to set the pace might work as a surprise tactic once in a while—but it can’t be your main strategy.”

“Your next training goal is to gradually develop your own racing style—and learn to take control of the race from start to finish.”

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