Chapter 9: Make Debut!!

Today, September 6th at Nakayama Racecourse—it’s the opening day of the autumn meet, and a large crowd has already gathered. Now, guided by fanfare and applause, each horse girl heads out toward the race.

This is the 6th race at Nakayama Racecourse: Junior Class, Make Debut, turf 1600 meters. Thirteen runners will compete. The turf condition is officially listed as firm.

The horse girls have gathered at the starting point; gate entry has already begun.

First, the odd-numbered horse girls enter the gates. Number 1, Geshi Succeed, looks a bit unwilling but settles in. Gate entry is smooth.

Next, the even-numbered horse girls begin loading. Number 10, Yamato Rebloss, and number 12, Shield Black, are in and settled. In the 2nd gate of the 2nd frame, wearing the black saddlecloth, the race favorite—Witolum Pedes—steps in.

All horse girls are now loaded.

…And they’re off!

The start is a little scattered. Number 1, Geshi Succeed, may have broken a bit slow.

Now then, who will take the lead? Number 10, wearing the orange saddlecloth—Yamato Rebloss—looks ready to go. She cuts in from the outside, aiming for the front.

From the inside, Sweet Empress pushes forward.

Number 9, Kapua Café, drops back slightly and settles in third.

In fourth, Witolum Pedes moves up from the outside. Oh—on the turn into the second corner, Witolum Pedes sweeps around the far outside and is already trying to seize the lead.

In the rear group, the slow-starting Geshi Succeed has already advanced to the front of the pack. All the horse girls conserve their energy as they round the second corner.

At the front, Witolum Pedes overtakes Yamato Rebloss from the outside and enters the straight in the lead. Number 2, Witolum Pedes—despite taking the front—doesn’t ease her pace; she opens the gap to one length, two lengths. Is she running too freely?

On the far side, from second place all the way back to the last, there’s already a separation of about nine or ten lengths. The second-place group is Yamato Rebloss, followed by Kapua Café one length behind.

Ahhh—there it is.

She really is running too freely. Witolum Pedes is pulling farther and farther away from the rest. She’s already more than ten lengths ahead. On the downhill slope, she accelerates even more and widens the gap.

The crowd is in an uproar.

Witolum Pedes, running away at the front, passes the 800-meter mark. The time is 46.1. She has opened up roughly a two-second lead—an enormous breakaway.

On the far side, Geshi Succeed steadily advances and is now in fifth. Yamato Rebloss keeps her position in second, but can she really reach the leader?

Now Witolum Pedes enters the third corner. The gap isn’t closing. It isn’t closing at all. It even looks like it’s widening. The crowd erupts into cheers.

And now Yamato Rebloss makes her move—perhaps deciding she can’t wait for the straight and attacking early in the third corner.

Geshi Succeed follows that move and pushes up as well.

From the rear group, Shield Black also breaks free and charges forward.

What kind of ending will this race deliver?

Number 2, Witolum Pedes, continues her runaway. She’s already approaching the fourth corner. The horse girls behind her are picking up the pace, but the gap shows no sign of shrinking.

Is she going to go wire-to-wire just like this?

Around the fourth corner, Kapua Café is advancing from the outside. Sweet Empress appears to be struggling.

But Witolum Pedes is fast—unbelievably fast. She enters the final stretch completely alone. Maintaining her speed, she flies smoothly along the inner rail.

The horse girls behind her don’t look like they can possibly catch up.

Witolum Pedes leads. In second is Yamato Rebloss.

Now, the leader Witolum Pedes charges up Nakayama’s steep hill still in front. Her stride hasn’t weakened.

She’s strong—she’s incredibly strong. Witolum Pedes, wearing the lone black saddlecloth, charges down the final stretch.

The battle for second is between Yamato Rebloss—attacked from the outside by Kapua Café.

However, Witolum Pedes stays firmly in the lead and crosses the finish line with plenty of room to spare.

Witolum Pedes wins in overwhelming fashion.

The battle for second is tight between the two contenders. Did Yamato Rebloss pull ahead by a nose? And they’ve reached the finish.

About four seconds behind the winner, Yamato Rebloss takes second place, and a neck behind her, Kapua Café finishes third.

Witolum Pedes—what an incredible performance. The winning time is 1:32.1. She crushed the competition with overwhelming strength. It’s Witolum Pedes.

Oh—Witolum Pedes, the winner, is no longer on the turf. Looks like she headed toward the exit area. Let’s hope she isn’t injured.

…………………………

Witolum Pedes’ Perspective

Nakayama Racecourse was pretty crowded. In this sweltering heat, massive, sweaty crowds kept pouring in. In every sense of the word, it was oppressively hot.

The paddock at least had those mist showers, so even when all those stifling gazes fell on me, it was tolerable. But out on the turf, there was no such mercy.

To make matters worse, the race was at midday. I was irritated, wondering who thought this was a good idea, but according to Trainer-san, if I win a few times, my races will eventually be scheduled for the evening.

Honestly, I don’t remember much of the race itself. Since this was pace-control training, I’d been ordered to run from one furlong marker to the next in 11.6 seconds—but adjusting to that is tough.

The reason everything else left so little impression is probably because that task ate up most of my focus. Originally, the method was “when you pass the nth pole, it should be however many seconds,” but there was no way I could memorize that, so we ended up with this simplified version.

After finishing the run, I left the blazing hot turf immediately. A quick horseshoe check—done—and my destination was the prep room!

Fortunately, the horse girls who participate in a race are given access to an air-conditioned prep room. It’s mainly used for pre-race preparations and getting ready for the Winning Live, but it’s well-equipped, spacious, and yes—you’re allowed to bring your own belongings.

There’s even an old but functional TV, letting you comfortably play all sorts of games. Between that, and the racecourse’s private underground walkway equipped with moving walkways from the station, the whole place is incredibly considerate. Honestly, I thought Nakayama Racecourse felt a bit far, but boarding the train that departs from the station near Tracen Academy gets me here directly with no transfers. Surprisingly convenient.

Feeling pretty good as I mentally scored the racecourse’s facilities, I walked to the prep room—only to find that I’d forgotten the cable needed to connect my console to the TV. And there wasn’t a spare cable installed. Minus ten points!

With no choice, I picked up potato chips with chopsticks and played on the small handheld screen. Suddenly, the door burst open, and Trainer-san stepped inside.

“Wee—congratulations on winning your Make Debut!!!!”

For some reason overcome with emotion, Trainer-san grabbed my hand, tears streaming down their face.

“You really… you really did it…”

Even though they were the one confidently telling me “You’ll definitely win,” this was awfully dramatic. With my free hand, I quietly shoved my potato chips and game into a drawer.

Once Trainer-san finally calmed down, I glanced at the clock. The hands were already creeping toward 3 p.m.

“Come to think of it, it’s about time.”

“Hmm? Do you have something you need to do?”

Well, you could call it something I need to do.

“My roommate from the dorm is running today, so I was planning to watch her race.”

I had assumed I’d have to go all the way to the turf vision screen inside the venue, but then I remembered—there was a TV right here.

“Aren’t you going to the stands to cheer for her?”

“She’s not running here—her race is in Sapporo. Ah—good, it hasn’t started yet.”

She’d been acting pretty confident, and honestly, if I didn’t watch it, I’d be terrified of what would happen afterward.

The race result? My roommate won. She stayed around the middle of the pack until the fourth corner, then blasted down the final stretch from the outside, overtaking the other horse girls.

Looks like she’ll be in a good mood next week—thank goodness.

The Winning Live was scheduled for just about when the sun was beginning to set. Costume assignments, stage positions, rearranging parts when a horse girl couldn’t perform—every kind of preparation swept through like a storm, and before I knew it, I was being pushed out onto the stage.

Tens of thousands of people were facing our way, waving glowsticks and cheering.

Right now, I’m basically a machine dancing “Make debut!” on auto mode, so unfortunately, I don’t have the spare focus to wave back.

Still, with my eyes and mind relatively free, people-watching is pretty fun.

There’s a group of older men in the front row swinging their glowsticks with all their might. A tiny horse girl perched on the shoulders of someone who seems to be her father happily claps along. Toward the back, a horse girl casually moves her glowstick with only her wrist, arms crossed. On the left edge, a couple is looking on with warm, parental eyes—oh wait, those are my parents. I hadn’t noticed them at the race, but they came after all. They could’ve told me.

While I was observing all that, before I knew it, the song had ended.

Switching off the auto mode, I let out a long stretch as I stepped down from the stage, relieved that it was finally over.