On April 14, the sky overhead was brilliantly clear, enough to make anyone aware that spring had arrived.
The opening leg of the Classic fillies' campaign, the Oka Sho, was held that day at Hanshin Racecourse—though Poetic Banquet, stepping onto the same track as the Classic contenders, was running in an entirely different race.
The Forget-Me-Not Stakes, a listed turf race restricted to fillies, held two races before the Oka Sho.
After the race began, Poetic Banquet broke from the gate surprisingly well, so well that it was easy to forget she had once failed a gate trial before making her debut.
With a gentle urging from Devon Coe, Jockey, Poetic Banquet, starting from stall five, effortlessly secured second position directly behind the leader on an ideal path.
Master Ikee beside him seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said something along the lines of, "Looks like she can win."
In truth, the early going felt quite promising. Even the pre-race concern that Poetic Banquet might be distracted by the cherry blossoms in the stretch never materialized.
However, just as the backstretch was about to end and Poetic Banquet moved past the leader to take the front, something unexpected happened.
On the big screen, the bay mare, having opened a small gap over the horses behind her, seemed to start flicking her ears vigorously.
Damn, that girl is about to lose focus. At the same time, the look on Master Ikee's face, caught from the corner of his eye, shifted into one of concern.
She had not slowed down or drifted yet, but it was clear that she was not truly running with focus.
However—
Aboard, Devon Coe, Jockey, did not hurriedly use the whip to urge her on. He merely gave the reins in his hands a small,