“Use your feet to simulate hugging the turf as you run?” Urara asked, completely bewildered.
Shin nodded.
“Just like when you caught that butterfly.
Learn to use your feet to gently embrace the grass along with the ground, but don’t press so hard you snap the roots.
Hold the turf, then let it go as you move.”
“And while running, glide over the grass like that butterfly did when it fluttered past my hair.”
“Try it out now.”
Urara scratched her head in mild frustration and started practicing.
Her hands would occasionally cup together as if trying to catch something, while her feet trotted back and forth over the grass, step after step.
Watching her, Shin had no idea if such an abstract explanation would actually work, but it was the best method he could come up with on the spot.
He hoped Urara’s stats, with an Intelligence score over 200, would finally kick in.
Otherwise, sticking to her old dirt-running technique would not only be exhausting but also drain her stamina rapidly from digging into the turf.
That would be even worse for a short-to-middle distance Umamusume already ill-suited for long races.
Once she mastered turf technique, her performance wouldn’t suffer much from the surface change, especially in Japan where turf tracks are basically just dirt with a thin layer of grass on top.
Combined with the stamina boost from the system, she could probably be treated as a long-distance turf runner.
That would secure half the victory for the Arima Kinen.
Once today’s mock race was over, he’d lock in another forty percent.
Only ten percent would be left for Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap to try and snatch away with their Domain skills.
Lost in thought, Shin was suddenly startled by Urara’s cheerful shout.
“…I, I think I get it!”
He looked up in surprise to see Urara gliding across the turf like she was ice skating.
Her body moved with a light, fluid grace, her arms swinging like the butterfly’s wings from earlier.
It didn’t exactly match any of the standard turf techniques he’d studied, but Umamusume running styles weren’t supposed to be identical anyway.
Since she said she understood it, and given that Umamusume are fundamentally beings driven by willpower, he decided she’d mastered it.
“Good job, Urara.” Shin didn’t hold back his praise, waving her back to drink some water.
After chugging a few gulps from her water bottle, Urara beamed.
“I felt like I was flying over the grass like a butterfly!
I’m absolutely, definitely going to be faster than before!”
Shin rubbed the top of her head.
“You’ll get to test it out for yourself in a bit.”
“Hehe.”
“Looks like you’re ready.” Trainer Musaka approached slowly, leaning on his cane.
He smiled at Shin.
“I didn’t expect you to teach her turf technique in just two or three minutes.
You’ve got a knack for this.
Unlike my nephew, who still hasn’t made it into the Central circuit.”
Shin chuckled.
“Urara just has good intuition.
She picked it up quickly.”
He glanced toward the track, where other trainers and Umamusume were waiting for them to finish up.
“I hope we didn’t hold things up too long?”
“No, just a minute or two.
And it was worth the wait.” Musaka looked at Urara.
“A mock race only has meaning when facing skilled opponents.
I’m quite curious to see what she can do now.”
“Then watch closely,” Shin replied.
He patted Urara’s back, signaling her to step into the starting gate.
Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross entered the gates alongside her.
Standing beside the veteran trainers, ready to watch, Shin gave the camera in his hand a little shake.
“I hope you veterans don’t mind if I record this mock race?”
“Go ahead.
Just send us a copy when you’re done.”
“Will do.”
Shin set up the camera, hit record, and gripped his stopwatch, ready to press it the moment the gates opened.
Urara, waiting patiently, kept her eyes fixed forward.
The instant the gates flew open, her coiled nerves snapped, driving her legs into motion.
No slow start.
Urara went all out, surging ahead of Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross, steadily pulling away horse length by horse length.
Watching this, the two behind her looked slightly bewildered.
They wondered if she was just too excited and had accidentally switched to a front-running style by mistake.
Otherwise, why would a pace-chaser be in front instead of behind?
In the stands, Musaka raised an eyebrow at Urara’s explosive start.
He turned to Shin and smiled.
“Judging by this, you’re having her front-run?”
“Right.
It’s the only style that gives her a chance to win, isn’t it?”
As he spoke, Shin clicked his stopwatch.
At that moment, Urara was seven horse lengths ahead.
She couldn’t pull any further.
Without support cards active, her raw physical limits simply couldn’t create a massive gap.
The seven-length lead existed only because she was front-running while the others held back, sticking to their own pacing.
Musaka chuckled.
“True, front-running can turn a weak horse into a winner.
But Urara is a short-to-middle distance runner.
Does she really have the stamina to sprint 2,500 meters?”
Of course not.
Shin knew this all too well.
But he used the front-running tactic anyway, deliberately exposing it in this mock race, precisely to lull other competitors into a false sense of security before the real Arima Kinen in three months.
It was a scheme he’d cooked up the moment the system activated at noon!
If the support cards only gave Urara a sliver of a chance to win, he would manufacture and seize every possible advantage to lock down victory.
Shin made a few casual remarks while watching the race unfold.
After pushing hard for about 1,100 meters, Urara’s speed began to fade.
By the 1,400-meter mark, Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross had passed her.
They pulled ahead for the rest of the race.
Tamamo Cross took first place with a time of 2:37.
Urara crossed the finish line 25 seconds later.
“Too slow,” Shin said, looking at the stopwatch.
Not just Urara.
Tamamo Cross and the others had held back too much.
Probably because it was just a mock race.
Both Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross had held back significantly.
Otherwise, the time could’ve been at least four or five seconds faster.
That meant Urara was actually about 30 seconds behind them.
At roughly six horse lengths per second, and each horse length being about 2.5 meters, a 30-second gap translated to 180 horse lengths.
Around 450 meters.
On the Arima Kinen track, that meant the others would’ve already crossed the finish line while Urara was still rounding the final turn.
Truly despair-inducing numbers.
Staring at Tamamo Cross, Shin grinned widely, gripping his stopwatch tightly.
But wasn’t this exactly what he wanted?
No one would believe Urara could win.
Especially after today’s mock race, everyone’s impression would be cemented.
So after three months of preparation, combined with his tactics, Urara would absolutely deliver a shocking surprise at the Arima Kinen!
And as Shin looked forward to that victory three months down the line, a pair of dim blue eyes watched him quietly.