Gold Ship was much akin to a miracle to Imanami.
Before him, extremely few Racehorses could possess both extremes of physicality and skill simultaneously; most Racehorses simply leaned into one aspect and supplemented their shortcomings with the weaker other.
T.M. Opera O could be considered to have both extremes of physicality and skill, yet those aspects were simply too intertwined with each other. Once he started to age, his skills were unable to compensate for his weakening stamina.
However, Gold Ship was different; he was a miracle that perfectly condensed the innate skill of the Mejiro bloodline and the physical prowess of the Gold bloodline.
The best advantages and specialties of both bloodlines managed to fuse into him, forging an existence that embodied both extremes of physicality and skill.
He was a perfect being; perhaps even too perfect.
In Gold Ship's earlier years, he was as diligent as any other Racehorse out there, running and winning races.
But as he grew older, he suddenly stopped trying, as if he had realized that he was just a tool, used to amuse the masses, destined to eventually break with no benefits in return.
Once people found out, it truly made them wonder if he could understand human speech.
Gold Ship was too smart; it was because of this that he was able to learn incredibly quickly, yet, it was also due to this intelligence that he realized that the best outcome for a Racehorse is not to run yourself to death, but to live a long and healthy life.
And now, as an Uma Musume, Gold Ship also seemed to have understood a similar philosophy early on:
—Running, while exhilarating, had too many hidden costs behind it.
A fracture, an overexterted body, the disappointment of losing, the hatred of others...
While these things terrified Gold Ship, she knew that once she stepped onto the tracks, she would not be able to go against her innate desire for victory as an Uma Musume.
So laze around! Don't rush to go racing! Just let me enjoy some leisure for a little longer before this desire for victory becomes irresistible— that was what Gold Ship thought.
But now, to no benefit of her own, she still stepped onto the racecourse, officially stepping onto the stage.
For all intents and purposes, this went against everything she stood for.
T.M. Opera O and Orfevre would still be around, the second Undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume Deep Impact had just decided to return to the tracks, Tokai Teio's inevitable assault in the future...
Truly, debuting at such a time, no matter how one looked at it, seemed like the antithesis to everything she wanted to achieve.
Yes, Gold Ship was strong, but her strength had limits.
She understood that even if she trained her hardest, pushed herself to the limit, there was still not much of a chance for her to become equal to actual legends.
Still, she had stepped forward now.
"Even I will run for some things."
"So don't get in my way! McQueen and the Old Man are watching me!"
Gold Ship's pace quickened again. By this point, her rate of acceleration had far exceeded the level of a GIII Uma Musume.
She instantly overtook the formerly second place Uma Musume, and charged towards the final one.
"Second place!!! Like a white meteor! She has overtaken fourteen Uma Musume!!"
"GOOOOO, GOLD SHIPP!!!!!"
"The pack have reached the last 200 meters!"
"FIFTEEN OVERTAKES, GOLD SHIP!!!!"
The impassioned voices of the commentator and the audience constantly overlapped.
This time, the people from Tracen Academy, regardless of whether they had been pranked before, or whether their perception of Gold Ship was good or bad, were all cheering for Gold Ship.
In fact, not only in the racecourse, inside a particular hospital room, Mejiro McQueen was also staring intently at Gold Ship.
"GOOOO, GOLD SHIP! JUST ONE MORE!!"
"Just push a little harder!! You can do it! You must win!!!"
From her initial expectation of Gold Ship, to her exasperation at Gold Ship's disastrously late start, and now her shock at Gold Ship's insane overtake, no one could describe the emotional roller coaster McQueen was experiencing at this moment.
But one thing was for certain: Gold Ship's performance in this race was absolutely electrifying, making McQueen completely forget about her own shame and instead focus intently on Gold Ship.
McQueen herself was so engrossed that she didn't even notice that the muscles in her legs were subconsciously tensing up, wishing she could run in Gold Ship's place.
'Why isn't she pushing?! She just has to go a little faster and she'll win!'
As the chase between Gold Ship and the leading Uma Musume drew longer and longer, McQueen's anxious heart began to beat faster and faster.
'Did she run out of stamina?'
For some reason, although she knew that Gold Ship didn't usually train diligently, the idea of Gold Ship running out of stamina in a race like this seemed impossible.
'It's just an 1800-meter race! Why isn't she putting in more effort!'
Looking at Gold Ship's serious, yet still casual expression, Mejiro McQueen felt that she was deliberately trying to raise her blood pressure.
If Gold Ship really lost at the finish line because she played around for too long, McQueen genuinely felt she would fall into a coma from anger.
At this point, even Tokai Teio had forgotten the purpose behind Gold Ship deciding, shouting with all her heart,
"Run, Gold Ship! Don't play around with us anymore! Just winnn!!!"
Just then, whether it was because Gold Ship had the power to read minds or whether she sensed the change in the atmosphere, a wide grin formed on Gold Ship's face.
"It's been fun— but I didn't come to run this time just for fun, so I'll win beautifully."
"So how 'bout two lengths! That should be plenty enough!"
BANG!
With a heavy stomp, Gold Ship's eyes flashed with a light different from before— no, the colour of her left eye completely turned black!
It was as if another soul had merged into her body, her now heterochromatic eyes symbolizing it!
Right then, the figure of a pure white, four-legged creature flashed almost instantaneously around Gold Ship's body!
Before anyone could react, Gold Ship had already used this power to firmly take the lead from the last Uma Musume!
"AAAAAND SHE OVERTAKES!!!! GOLD SHIP IS IN THE LEAD!!"
"Fifteen overtakes! Even when starting dead last, she still managed to turn the tables around!"
"The gap between her and second place is widening! It's still widening! One length! One and a half lengths! She's not stopping!!!"
The commentator's voice, combined with Gold Ship's own performance, truly set the entire audience on fire.
At this moment, whether it was a scheme Gold Ship had set up earlier or pure coincidence, the commentator uttered the words that would be remembered for a long time,
"She's just like Mejiro McQueen! A white meteor as noble as Mejiro McQueen! Completely dominating every other Uma Musume on the track!"
"WITH THAT, SHE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! THE WINNER OF THE FLOWER CUP! IS! MEJIROOO MC— ahem, sorry, uh, GOOOLD SHIIIP!!!!"
"Despite a 2.3 second late start, she has still managed to win by over two lengths! Firmly establishing the dominance of Team Miracle this March!"
Just like that, the audience exploded into cheers, raining down their applause at Gold Ship who was waving at the stands.
The scene that played before the spectators made many of them recall the Hanshin Daishoten before Mejiro McQueen was demoted for interference.
However, this time, no such foul was announced. It was a true, undeniable, absolute dominance.
The lingering white Aura that slowly dissipated from Gold Ship's body truly made it seem like she was possessed by Mejiro McQueen.
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Holy shit, for how short this chapter was, it was a genuine struggle for me to translate it.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.