"All four Umamusumes have excellent starts."
Sakura Bakushin O, sitting in the commentary booth, is taking over the commentary duties.
"Leading at the very front is Mejiro McQueen, followed by Tokai Teio in second place."
"Third is Abyss's Cattleya, closely followed by Bonnie; their positions are not far apart."
"Mejiro McQueen has changed her usual running style, choosing to lead from the front."
Mejiro McQueen mostly uses a pace-chasing style, only choosing to lead when there isn't an Umamusume on the team who focuses on leading.
Perhaps others think Mejiro McQueen's leading ability is weak, but that's a misconception.
"So stupid. No wonder they're the two weakest, leading so fast right from the start," Cattleya, feeling the significantly faster pace of the race, scoffed inwardly.
The short-haired Umamusume Bonnie and Cattleya were not far apart. Both Umamusumes exchanged glances, noticing the mocking smile in their teammate's eyes.
Because this was a 2v2 match, there weren't as many Umamusumes as in a formal match.
The order of the four Umamusumes remained unchanged until the latter half of the race.
"This match seems to be moving at a fast pace. Mejiro McQueen's choice of a leading run is surprising."
"Ms. McQueen's leading is so cool!!" Smart Falcon had never seen Mejiro McQueen choose a leading tactic before.
As a Fugitive SISTERS player, Smart Falcon always had stars in her eyes when she saw a skilled leading Umamusume.
Not only her, but the other two Umamusumes on the team were also watching Mejiro McQueen lead with expressions of amazement.
Satono Diamond was a big fan of Mejiro McQueen, while Kitasan Black was also an Umamusume who frequently used leading tactics.
Mejiro McQueen, with the strongest active-duty record, was displaying a truly astonishing level of leading skill at this moment.
"Mejiro McQueen has entered the third corner!"
"The race standings remain unchanged."
While the early stages of the race were somewhat dull, the overall pace was incredibly fast.
This wasn't solely due to Mejiro McQueen's leading.
Tokai Teio played a crucial role.
Many Umamusumes in the racing world excel at runaway tactics, with Silent Suzuka being a prime example.
However, Silent Suzuka's runaway strategy doesn't consistently maintain a fast pace; most of the time, she's a runaway leader, leading from start to finish.
The Umamusumes behind her, aware of the gap between themselves and Silent Suzuka, continue with their usual approach.
But this race is different.
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen are evenly matched.
Mejiro McQueen's seemingly outrageous leading speed was actually perfectly manageable for Tokai Teio, given her gait.
Therefore, Tokai Teio maintained a consistent distance from Mejiro McQueen, which required her to match McQueen's speed.
Tokai Teio, the front-position Umamusume, was also running at Mejiro McQueen's exaggerated leading speed.
The two American Umamusumes behind her, to avoid falling too far behind, had no choice but to keep up with Tokai Teio's pace.
Furthermore, Cattleya and Bonnie subconsciously believed that Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen came from the weakest team in the academy, so they didn't question the pace of the race much.
However, as the race progressed, Cattleya and Bonnie began to realize something was wrong.
They were only halfway through the third turn, and they were already feeling fatigued.
Meanwhile, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen showed no signs of slowing down.
"Let's see how long you can hold out."
Bonnie thought to herself. Even she was starting to feel exhausted, so Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen must have run out of energy long ago.
Right now, they were just recklessly pushing themselves to the limit.
Cattleya and Bonnie exchanged glances again.
"Once they lose speed, unleash your Zone power!"
When an Umamusume loses speed, her mental and physical strength are at their weakest. The increased momentum from activating the Zone at that moment will definitely have a greater impact on her.
"Mejiro McQueen is about to enter the final corner!"
Sakura Bakushin O suddenly shouted.
Cattleya and Bonnie were both somewhat surprised.
Because they noticed that the atmosphere in the arena had suddenly changed at that moment.
More specifically, at that moment, the Japanese Umamusumes watching around them stopped cheering and encouraging.
But what appeared in their eyes wasn't disappointment or regret, but anticipation.
An anticipation for something that was about to happen.
"What...?"
Cattleya and Bonnie were both puzzled, not understanding what was going on with the Japanese Umamusumes around them.
The doubts were barely formed when they were abruptly cut off by Sakura Bakushin O's booming voice and the surrounding cheers.
"Here she comes! Mejiro McQueen has reached the final corner! She's going to explode!!"
Mejiro McQueen, exuding an aura of luxury, suddenly accelerated as she stepped onto the final corner.
As if a switch had been flipped, air currents formed around Mejiro McQueen with each step, propelling her forward at an even greater speed than during her leading phase.
"What?! She can accelerate?!"
Watching Mejiro McQueen accelerate so suddenly and widen the gap between them, Cattleya and Bonnie were both utterly shocked.
"Where was the promised slowdown?! How could she accelerate? How could she run so fast?! She's already generating airflow while running, which means Mejiro McQueen's speed is also incredibly high."
Cattleya and Bonnie both had a bad feeling. Mejiro McQueen's strength seemed extraordinary.
They glanced at Tokai Teio, who was still maintaining her initial speed, and decided to activate their Zones at this moment.
The two Umamusumes moved in perfect unison, their momentum and speed surging with each step.
"Cattleya and Bonnie have both accelerated at the same time! They're so fast!"
Sakura Bakushin O exclaimed in surprise as she watched Bonnie and Cattleya accelerate simultaneously.