I bit my lip. I should have taught her how to lead. I'd tried to get her to memorize lap times, but Urara wasn't the type for mental math while sprinting. A Trainer's job is to cover for their runner's weaknesses, and I had failed to give her the tools for this specific scenario.
But even so, she had the legs. Even at a slow pace, if she could just hold that lead into the final straight, no one would have the burst to catch her.
As long as nothing went wrong.
"The pace remains sluggish as they hit the turn. Who will make the first move? Wait—look at Number 9! Castanet Rhythm is flying! She's surged from the back! She's passed the sixth, fifth... she's tearing through the field! What a move!"
"She might be 'hooked'—straining too hard," the analyst warned. "If she can't settle after this burst, she'll blow her engine."
Castanet Rhythm was moving with the speed of a final sprint, but the race was barely half over. She swung wide, taking the long way around the turn to avoid traffic, refusing to slow down.
"She's fast! Unbelievably fast! She's passed Compromise! She's challenging Feudal Tenure!"
"Taking a turn at that speed, with that centrifugal force... the strain on her legs must be immense," the analyst's voice was tinged with worry.
I clenched my teeth so hard they ached.
"You idiot... what are you doing!?" I hissed.
The crowd was cheering. They loved a come-from-behind miracle. But I could see it. It wasn't a miracle; it was a breakdown. She was pushing past the limits of Umamusume biology. She was red-lining.
"Castanet Rhythm and Feudal Tenure are neck-and-neck! Feudal Tenure is accelerating too! She refuses to be passed! But the exit of the turn is still far! Can they sustain this!?"
"This is..." The analyst trailed off, his voice hollow. He saw it too. Nakayama's final straight is an uphill battle. A long sprint into that hill is suicide.
"They're reaching for Duo Talicar! Haru Urara still holds the lead, but the trio is only two lengths behind! No, one length! The predators are closing in on Urara!"
"Duo Talicar joins the sprint! Urara is... she's holding steady. She looks like she has plenty in the tank. A very clean line through the corner."
I didn't care about the lead anymore. I wasn't even looking at Urara.
(Stop it... slow down... please, just slow down...)
I was praying for Castanet Rhythm. The girl with the brown twin-tails was white as a sheet. She was sprinting with everything she had, yet she wasn't even sweating. Her body had stopped cooling itself.
I didn't want her to slow down so Urara could win. I wanted her to slow down because I knew what happened to engines that ran this hot.
"Haru Urara leads them into the final straight—!"
I couldn't stop it. No one could. It was the mechanical inevitability of a disaster.
"Oh! Castanet Rhythm has gone down! A horrific fall! Is she alright!?"
The commentator screamed. The analyst let out a sharp, devastated breath.
"Urara! SPRINT! GO! DON'T LOOK BACK! RUN!"
I screamed until my lungs burned. I didn't want her to see. I didn't want her to lose her focus. But my lone voice was swallowed by the collective gasp of ten thousand people.
Urara's ears twitched. She'd heard the crash right behind her. I saw her head turn, just a fraction, looking over her shoulder. I covered my eyes with my hands.
"Haru Urara is still in front! But Feudal Tenure and Duo Talicar are on her! They've pulled level! The straight is short! The hill is here! 200 meters to go! Who wants it more!?"
The final 200 meters. A two-meter vertical climb.
Usually, this is where training wins out. Urara had been cruising; she had the energy. The other two had spent theirs in that mad dash on the turn. They should have faded. They should have.
"Feudal Tenure edges forward! Duo Talicar fights back! Urara is giving it everything! It's a three-way dogfight! Who will take the glory!?"
My predictions were worthless. These girls weren't running with their legs anymore. Urara was running a race; the other two were burning their very lives to stay upright. That raw, terrifying desperation—the "must win or disappear" energy of the Maiden Circuit—was something Urara hadn't learned yet.
Urara's pace faltered, just for a heartbeat, overwhelmed by the sheer, violent pressure of the two girls flanking her.
In her debut, she was unlucky.
In her first Maiden Race, I had failed her.
And now...
"Feudal Tenure and Duo Talicar cross the line together! It's a photo finish! And just a nose behind them, Haru Urara takes third! The rest of the pack is—wait! Feudal Tenure! She's collapsed! She went over the line and just... hit the dirt! Duo Talicar is down too!"
"Ah... no..." I whispered.
She had lost because of the gap in their obsession.
Haru Urara.
3 Starts, 0 Wins.
In her third race, she achieved her best result yet: 3rd place. But because the first and second-place finishers had suffered catastrophic breakdowns at the finish line, the Winning Live was cancelled.
There was no music. Only the sound of the wind.