"Koichi, be careful out there. I don't think Asho is in very good form."
The worry in Hitachi Yosuke's eyes deepened.
It really was one bad thing after another.
Golden Masterpiece was a temperamental racehorse to begin with. If anything else happened that made the horse refuse to run...
They would really have to kiss this race goodbye.
"All right, I understand. Leave the rest to me."
Koichi nodded, then swung into the saddle.
Neigh-
As soon as Koichi mounted, Golden Masterpiece lifted those front legs slightly.
Compared with that morning, the horse was clearly feeling uncomfortable this afternoon.
"It's all right. It's all right."
Wearing a raincoat, Koichi stroked Golden Masterpiece's mane.
From the look of things, the loud noise in the parade ring had probably given the horse a fright.
But that wasn't much of a problem for him.
Calming.
Golden Masterpiece really was timid. Even loud noises could give the horse a scare.
As the music began, two lead horses appeared at the head of the procession.
Compared with the hot-tempered racehorses, the lead horses were naturally more obedient.
They had also undergone a great deal of specialized training.
Sometimes, even performing a trick was no problem for them.
Neigh-
Led by the lead horses, the racehorses followed one after another.
"Go, Golden Masterpiece! I'll always support you!"
"Swiss Watch, you have to take first place!"
"Nakayama Knight-!"
"Go, Jockey Sasaki! Make sure you prove yourself this time!"
Amid the racing fans' cheers in the parade ring, the horses embarked on their next challenge.
The moment Golden Masterpiece stepped onto the turf, Koichi could clearly tell that the going was truly poor today.
A whole day's rain had brought water seeping up from beneath the turf.
Neigh-!
Despite being firmly pulled along by a staff member, Golden