Chapter 12. The Strong Remain Strong
After the starting gate opened, Mejiro Dober immediately accelerated, aiming to reach the front of the pack.
However, Noverre from gate 5 and Lajeef from gate 2 were faster out of the gate, and both Uma Musume unhesitatingly chose to move outwards against conventional wisdom, forcing Mejiro Dober, who had a slight disadvantage in her gate position, to abandon her plan of continuing to accelerate and forcefully overtake them.
Immediately after, Dubai World, who started from gate 8, overtook Mejiro Dober, then cut to the inside. Lajeef from gate 2 continued to block Mejiro Dober, while Noverre moved in front of Lajeef, following behind Dubai World to enjoy the slipstream benefit.
Caught between Lajeef and Dubai World, Mejiro Dober found it difficult to slow down and disrupt her own rhythm. She simply chose to stay behind Lajeef and observe the situation.
"This is..."
Admire Vega frowned, not quite understanding why those Uma Musume would make such moves.
Shuta, however, was not surprised.
"Lajeef, Dubai World, and Noverre are all from the same team, and it's normal for Dubai World to target a big favorite. Dober being boxed in like this was somewhat anticipated before the race."
"But Dober-senpai doesn't seem to have been prepared"
Admire Vega said.
"She hasn't encountered opponents who execute team tactics so resolutely before," the young man shook his head, "but it's alright. Dober is still in fifth place right now. Lajeef trying to single-handedly block Dober's acceleration path is a pipe dream."
If Lajeef truly possessed such excellent tactical prowess, she wouldn't have been used as the one to target Mejiro Dober in a team strategy.
Admire Vega understood this without Shuta An needing to explicitly state it.
As they were about to enter the bend, Mejiro Dober noticed several opponents had stacked up on her outside.
"In that case, I can't consider pulling out from the outside lane,"
She clarified this point, but felt a bit hesitant inside.
No matter what, an all-out surge from the outside was considered Mejiro Dober's regular tactic.
Mejiro Dober hesitated, wondering if she should slow down on the bend, fall as far back in the pack as possible, then circle to the far outside, and then, after entering the final straight, unleash a powerful burst of her final spurt to make up the distance.
"Running like this is a tactic I'm good at," Mejiro Dober thought to herself, "and I don't have to worry about being boxed in by opponents here. In this situation, pulling out from the outside is basically impossible."
—
"This isn't good," Admire Vega whispered, "It looks like Dober-senpai is surrounded."
"We've only just entered the bend. Don't panic," Shuta An said calmly, "Who knows, maybe an opening will appear later?"
"Will there really be one?"
Admire Vega was skeptical deep down.
Because no matter how she looked at it, she didn't think the other Uma Musume would give Mejiro Dober an opening—unless all her opponents on the outside were thrown out by more than a length due to not resisting centrifugal force.
But for such a thing to happen, it wouldn't be surprising if one or two Uma Musume did it, but for all the Uma Musume stacked outside Mejiro Dober and running in front of her to experience such an accident was unthinkable.
Admire Vega had watched many races, and she felt that the man beside her had an unreasonable amount of confidence at this moment.
Shuta An, of course, knew that hoping for all opponents to make mistakes and create an opening for Mejiro Dober was a very unrealistic expectation.
"So what Dober needs isn't for all opponents to make mistakes at once, but that one opportunity that will inevitably be left for her,"
The young man pondered while watching the spread of the pack on the big screen,
"The pace of this race is slow, creating a situation favorable for front-runners. As long as Dober can break out of the pack, victory will surely belong to her."
On the bend, the leading Dubai World slowed down her pace again.
Immediately affected by this, almost all the Uma Musume following behind also slowed down to avoid colliding with the opponents in front. However, after adjusting their rhythm, although most Uma Musume chose to follow this slow pace and enter a cruising state, Mejiro Dober did not follow suit.
Already close to the rail, she simply took another step to the left, hugging the rail.
Mejiro Dober could even feel the metallic chill of the rail against her waist.
But she showed no fear, not worrying about being grazed by the rail. Instead, when Lajeef, who was running in front of her, wasn't paying attention to her bold positioning, she lowered her center of gravity and instantly accelerated.
"MEJIRO DOBER BURST OUT FROM THE GAP BETWEEN LAJEEF AND THE RAIL!"
The live commentator noticed this immediately and shouted loudly.
"Eh?!"
Admire Vega rarely showed such a surprised expression.
"Starting her surge here?"
Shuta An muttered softly, his tone betraying no emotion to outsiders.
But he himself felt it was a bit early.
This Dubai Turf, as an 1800-meter turf race, although today's rhythm seemed more like a middle-distance race, it was still in the middle of the bend. There were still approximately 800 meters left to the finish line, and accelerating here wasn't the most perfect timing.
"However, opportunities are fleeting. Dober had to break out when Lajeef wasn't paying attention. So, accelerating here was unavoidable."
Tactical designs might exist perfectly, but it's difficult for them to be perfect when actually put into practice.
The young man clearly knew this, so he didn't plan to say anything about this choice of acceleration timing after the race.
The leading Dubai World hadn't noticed Mejiro Dober accelerating and surging forward. By the time she realized that the opponent her Trainer had repeatedly cautioned her about before the race was already beside her, it was too late.
Mejiro Dober was running neck and neck with her, and Dubai World didn't dare to elbow her.
Aside from the fact that a foul would lead to disqualification, such an elbow would definitely affect her own teammates and other Uma Musume behind her, leading to a major accident. Although Dubai World was a wingman, she didn't want to sacrifice her Twinkle Series career, let alone her future.
So Dubai World could only honestly run side-by-side with Mejiro Dober.
"Anyway, she's caught up to here. She can't surge ahead now,"
Dubai World comforted herself mentally.
—
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Sule, the Trainer of her and Lajeef and other Uma Musume, was now beet red. Sule couldn't understand how Mejiro Dober could have gotten clear.
"Just that small gap on the bend, and Mejiro Dober dared to force her way out?"
He frowned tightly,
"And Dubai World, why didn't you hug the rail when you were leading?! How could you let Mejiro Dober surge all the way to the front of the pack?!"
If he could have directed from the track, Sule felt his tactics this time would have absolutely suffocated Mejiro Dober in the pack.
As the home Trainer, he had told reporters before the race that he would definitely win two of the three major G1 races on this year's Dubai World Cup day. He had fielded four Uma Musume in the Dubai World Cup, including two strong contenders naturalized from America, so he was full of confidence.
As for the Dubai Sheema Classic, Sule only fielded one Uma Musume, and with Tokai Teio in that race, he had no confidence at all. So his biggest chance was in this Dubai Turf.
As a result, both wingmen had problems, and his biggest anticipated opponent before the race was now completely clear.
What frightened Sule most wasn't Mejiro Dober's current position, but her composed demeanor as she ran alongside Dubai World.
Sule believed Mejiro Dober was waiting for the right moment to accelerate, and at that point, Mejiro Dober would unleash a final spurt that would dominate the entire field, leaving all her opponents far behind.
As Mejiro Dober and Dubai World entered the final straight side-by-side, Sule was on edge for half a minute, and the scene he dreaded seeing still appeared before his eyes.
"Now!"
Mejiro Dober unhesitatingly lengthened her stride, vigorously pumping her legs, and in just a few steps, she created a gap between herself and Dubai World.
Then she moved diagonally to the right by two steps, moving away from the rail, and the condition of the grass she was running on was also slightly better than near the rail.
Immediately after, Mejiro Dober ran like a gazelle, beginning her sprint.
When Mejiro Dober had already opened up a three-length lead, Dubai World realized she needed to make way for her team's ace, Noverre, who was behind her.
So she simply moved a few steps to the outside—this made the distance between her and the rail even wider.
Street Cry, who was originally following behind Mejiro Dober, saw Dubai World offer such a great gift and happily accepted it, surging forward alongside Noverre. Street Cry, being stronger, not only overtook Dubai World with Noverre but had already closed the gap between them.
"Damn it!"
Noverre knew that Street Cry was taking advantage of her team, but she had no time to focus on Street Cry, because she knew that Mejiro Dober, four lengths ahead, was the most important opponent right now.
Street Cry also couldn't be bothered with Noverre's thoughts. She just wanted to quickly catch up to Mejiro Dober, who had surged ahead, while there were still 300 meters left to the finish line.
"I have to give it my all!"
Mejiro Dober had already left all her opponents behind; the whole world was left with only the sound of her footsteps and breathing.
"This is it!"
Mejiro Dober was experienced in races, and she had long grown accustomed to this feeling of solitude on the final straight.
She continued to mechanically pump her arms, focusing intently on the finish line.
On the commentary stand, the local commentator at Meydan Racecourse gasped, clutching his head,
"MEJIRO DOBER IS PRACTICALLY FLYING ACROSS THE GROUND! HER LEG STRENGTH HASN'T DIMINISHED AT ALL AFTER PULLING AWAY FROM THE PACK! THE TACTIC OF ACCELERATING EARLY TO MOVE FORWARD SEEMS TO HAVE HAD NO EFFECT ON MEJIRO DOBER'S CONDITION!"
His colleagues sitting nearby had no time to laugh at his reaction, because all the commentators were startled—the reason for their expressions was, naturally, Mejiro Dober's astonishing performance on the track.
After 100 meters, even with Street Cry and Noverre giving up their rivalry to chase Mejiro Dober together, the gap between them and Mejiro Dober widened by another length.
Everyone was sprinting, but it was as if the resistance they encountered was completely different.
Mejiro Dober's steps were light and swift; with every stride, she seemed to leave her opponents further behind.
"OH~~~~~!"
As Mejiro Dober neared the finish line, the deafening cheers from the stands finally broke through to her ears, but this wave of sound, far from distracting her, instead became a driving force that aided her, and Mejiro Dober's speed increased rather than decreased.
"Mejiro Dober-senpai!"
Admire Vega called out, then covered her mouth, her cheeks flushed, clearly her impulsive cry was just an infection of the atmosphere at the scene.
"Dober! Go!"
Shuta An squeezed Admire Vega's hand, cheering loudly, then turned to look at Admire Vega—
"Ayabe, you shout too."
Facing her Trainer's gaze, Admire Vega reluctantly gathered her courage, turned, closed her eyes, and leaned forward,
"Mejiro Dober-senpai, you can do it!"
As if hearing the cheers from her lover and cute junior, Mejiro Dober turned her head to glance outside the racetrack.
Just that one glance met Shuta An's eyes.
"Ann is watching me! Ayabe-chan must be too"
The moment she realized this fact, Mejiro Dober seemed to forget the fatigue of the previous 1700-plus meters.
Her strides became larger, and she sprinted forward fiercely, step by step, each step on the grass leaving a clear and distinct footprint.
"MEJIRO DOBER! THE SUPERSTAR FROM TEAM SADALSUUD—! SHE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! FIVE LENGTHS AHEAD OF THE SECOND-PLACE FINISHER! THE MOST EXAGGERATED PERFORMANCE SO FAR TONIGHT! BEING BOXED IN IS NOT A PROBLEM, NOT GETTING A GOOD POSITION IS NOT A PROBLEM! THE STRONG REMAIN STRONG!"
"1:47.6! MEJIRO DOBER BREAKS THE RACE RECORD! TEAM SADALSUUD'S UMA MUSUME REMAINS UNDEFEATED IN THE DUBAI TURF!"