"Is this the exercise rider you just hired?"
Koichi tilted his head.
He had met Epiphaneia's stablehand before, of course.
That meant this young man was probably the exercise rider they had found recently.
"Hello, Jockey Sasaki. I'm Yamana Takuto, and I'm an exercise rider at Mitsumori Stable now. Could I have your autograph?"
Yamana Takuto bowed, then rattled it all off as fast as he could.
Happiness really did arrive without warning.
"No problem. Come on, let's get our picture taken first."
Koichi paused for a moment, then nodded.
He was already used to this sort of thing.
In the past, people would sometimes rush up after training and ask him for things like that.
"Koichi, congratulations on another win."
Ayumu Kusakawa gave Koichi a hug.
Koichi had ridden exceptionally well in this race.
"Haha, really, Gold Ship was just strong enough."
Koichi glanced at Gold Ship, who was watching them.
As long as Gold Ship didn't decide to slack off, winning a race like this was pretty easy.
"I know everyone still has plenty to talk about, but let's get our picture taken first."
Sensing that they were about to launch into another conversation, Megumi Mitsumori clapped her hands.
The staff were already waiting over there. Even if they had won, they couldn't hold up other people's work.
"Right, let's go."
Koichi had also noticed the staff waving them over.
He was quite composed during the photo, but Ayumu Kusakawa and Yamana Takuto were visibly excited.
The five of them made a perfect group: Koichi on Gold Ship's back, with two people on the left and two on the right.
After the photo, Gold Ship was led away for a cool shower, then put on the horse walker.
Gold Ship was clearly a little excited today, so