Currently, Gold Ship was indeed placed at the very back of the pack, a full fifteen Uma Musume in her path, crowding the inner lane so much a breakthrough seemed impossible.
Of course, one could just force themselves into the inner lane, but that would run the risk of a collision, and at that point, winning or losing won't even matter.
Moreover, Gold Ship had no intention of crashing into anyone.
Although knocking everyone in front of her to the ground and then winning by elimination sounded hilarious, it was highly illegal and would probably get her a few life sentences.
Besides, while Gold Ship's body was strong, one against fifteen was simply too much... reality wasn't like snake where she could eat one point after another.
What's more, Gold Ship hadn't forgotten the purpose of this race: to show Mejiro McQueen, who was watching on TV, that even in the most hopeless of situations, as long as one doesn't give up, anything was possible!
This was also the reason why she intentionally gave herself a three second handicap.
Putting herself in an impossible situation, then defying all odds and winning overwhelmingly— wouldn't that be incredibly inspiring?
Of course, to achieve this effect, any of the leading running styles were off the table, so this time, Gold Ship decided to use her specialty, the End Closer running style!
"1800 meters? Piece of cake for the amazing Gold Ship!"
"Although I might still be behind Orfevre-nee's final spurt... mine still absolutely cooks all of yours."
Gold Ship wasn't the most adept at using a regular final spurt, where one starts to sprint once they believe they have sufficient stamina to go all out towards the finish line.
In this aspect, despite having inherited the sturdy legs of the Gold Family, she genuinely wasn't good at this time of instant bursting.
However, though this was the case, she was an absolute monster at utilizing a slow and gradual final spurt over a large distance.
With it, by the time her competitors realized what was happening, they would already be too late to stop Gold Ship's headlong charge.
"Eh? Interesting..."
In a familiar inconspicuous spot in the stands, the disguised Deep Impact let out faint sounds of curiosity, as she watched Gold Ship's method of acceleration.
"Oo... your little Gold Ship's technique is quite similar to mine. Stay Gold, did you plagiarize my running style and teach it to her?"
"Nah, our Gold Family doesn't pass down any super secret techniques or skills, everything is either self taught or from our Trainers."
"This is all Gold Ship, nothing to do with us."
Stay Gold said as she stopped shaking her legs, a scowl appearing on her face.
"What's more... 'plagiarize?' Come on, your running style isn't even all that rare."
"You're just combining the silent footwork of long distance final spurts and the quick acceleration of normal final spurts, ain't all that innovative."
"Still a lazy bum though."
"Oh come on! Just give it a rest already!"
Stay Gold's body slumped back, as if she was deflating while she leaned on the railing.
"...Still, you're the only one in Japan who can pull something like this off. So I suppose some commendations are due."
"Oh? Well, I think there's another Uma Musume who can do it too."
A smile appeared on Deep Impact as her gaze unconsciously turned towards Orfevre, who was currently holding a camera, a hint of anticipation apparent on her lips.
This Gold Family truly was filled with hidden talents, bringing her pleasant surprises again and again.
Stay Gold, Orfevre, Gold Ship, maybe Nakayama Festa, and even that other Uma Musume named Dream Journey who Deep Impact hadn't met yet, were sure to be an incredibly talented bunch.
A family so young, yet each of them already capable of so much... Deep Impact could only imagine just how many surprises they could give her.
"Stay Gold."
"Hmm?"
"...You know, if we were to trace our bloodlines, we might be able to go back to the same ancestor. I don't think us having this many similarities is just mere coincidence."
"Hell no. Ain't no way I'm letting your ass join the Gold Family; I'd rather disband my family on the spot."
Stay Gold rolled her eyes at this, not taking Deep Impact's words seriously at all.
Meanwhile, not far from Deep Impact and Stay Gold, a silent Uma Musume holding a cup of coffee with long black hair calmly sat next to a rather eccentric looking Uma Musume who was wearing a white lab coat.
Just then, the black haired Uma Musume seemed to have sensed something, turning her head towards her back.
There amidst the bustling crowd, she saw a shadowy figure flickering and dancing joyfully.
"...What's wrong, friend?"
"Hmmm~? Did you say something, Cafe?"
The brown haired Uma Musume in the white lab coat turned to ask, as the voice of the Uma Musume called 'Cafe' was drowned out by the crowd.
"...Nothing, Tachyon."
Manhattan Cafe, seeing that familiar shadow gradually calming down, indifferently spoke, as if she had long grown accustomed to supernatural events such as this.
"So, you're here to research the Gold Family's Uma Musume? How are you going to do it?"
"Heh heh~ the uniqueness of the Gold Family, which reflects the way they run, have always been something I've been interested in."
"With Gold Ship as an additional point of reference, it can be prudent to assume that my earlier conjectures on the Gold Family having a unique footwork unrelated to training to be on the right track."
"I just need to swab some skin cells and maybe even a little blood if Gold Ship is willing. Then, I could maybe even create a medicine that can artificially create muscle memory!"
"...Footwork, huh."
As Agnes Tachyon was enthusiastically talking about her research, Cafe subconsciously looked at her slender legs, and after a long moment, said faintly,
"Not necessarily. Even if you share the same body, the same blood... footwork might not be something everyone can inherit."
"Ooh~! So you're saying it might have something to do with the 'self' or something like the brain? Hmm... an interesting theory! Looks like I'll have to increase production on the 'Human Stamina Enhancer' to gather enough funds for an MRI scanner!"
"...Do you really think the school will let you install something like that?"
...
While the people in the stands were chatting, the tension in the race had gradually reached its boiling point.
The positions of the Uma Musume were constantly interchanging, small battles between the runners were constantly being fought, all the while Gold Ship was still hanging at the very back.
What was Gold Ship doing? Well... waiting.
The perfect moment, the perfect chance to overtake everyone in one go with the least amount of effort; an opportunity was bound to come, so all Gold Ship had to do was to be patient and wait.
However, it seemed Gold Ship didn't have to wait for long. The opportunity was at the upcoming corner!
"Then, Gold Ship is about to set sail!"
In an instant, Gold Ship's eyes turned sharp, causing everyone on the track to immediately feel a chill up their spines, all of them showing expressions of fear.
And the moment the leading Uma Musume reached the corner, Gold Ship immediately made her move.
In mere moments, Gold Ship dashed towards the outer lane at astonishing speeds and began overtaking from the far outside!
"GOLD SHIP IS MAKING HER MOVE! GOLD SHIP IS MAKING HER MOVE!!!!"
"What incredible strength! She has overtook over more than half the Uma Musume in one go!!!"
"Fifth place! Fourth place— no! Third place!"
"What a shocking turnabout!! From sixteenth place all the way to the third in just a few seconds! She's not stopping at all! She's rapidly closing in on the last two Uma Musume ahead!!"
"HUH?!"
Everyone watching the race let out a collective gasp, with some even blinking their eyes as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
There was no helping it; everything that happened in that corner just now had suddenly happened too fast. It was a literal blink and you'd miss it moment!
Gold Ship's sudden overtake also managed to garner the praise of some of the more experienced Trainers and Uma Musume.
"Smart, most Uma Musume would forget it in the heat of battle; overtaking from the outside is indeed incredibly stamina taxing, but by overtaking at the corner, she managed to minimize this consumption."
"Not only that, her cornering skill is incredibly good, she practically lost zero speed during that maneuver."
"Could it be... Gold Ship is actually a tactical Uma Musume?"
Like everyone else, Gold Ship's corner overtake also managed to surprise the members of Team Miracle.
While the concept of 'overtaking at the corner' sounded simple, in order to effectively execute it, you had to precisely perform each movement without a single deviation.
Someone like Orfevre would find it impossible to put into action a strategy like this, and in the eyes of T.M. Opera O and Tokai Teio, who were also tactical type Uma Musume, they couldn't find any fault with Gold Ship's maneuver just now.
"No, Gold Ship can't solely be put into the category of 'tactical Uma Musume.'"
Imanami, hearing T.M. Opera O's comment, calmly put down his binoculars.
"She is both physically powerful, and skilled in techniques. Such Uma Musume are rare, but she is indeed one of them."
"Using technique to create a gap, and then using her stamina to solidify that gap..."
This is the perfect combination of physicality and skill, the perfect combination of the Mejiro and Gold bloodlines.
-----+-----
Random Tachyon and Cafe appearance, genuinely forgot they actually appear.
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.