After dinner the night before, Koichi had gone back, taken a shower, and turned in early.
When he woke up early the next morning, he discovered that it had clearly rained overnight.
"Looks like the going today will be a lot worse than last time."
Just as he said that, he received a message from Megumi Mitsumori.
The speed at which she sent her messages showed how anxious she was. After all, Gold Ship had never run on heavy going before.
That really was something they had not considered.
It had caught them a little off guard.
Koichi himself was quite calm, though. After a quick wash, he found somewhere to eat. Gold Ship was naturally still resting, since his race was in the afternoon. There was no hurry yet.
He and Megumi Mitsumori had also arranged to meet at Sapporo Racecourse.
Although last night's rain had passed, the sky was still overcast.
Even the temperature had dropped several degrees.
"Want a steamed bun?"
On his way over, Koichi had bought two small, piping-hot steamed buns at a convenience store.
"Aren't you worried at all now that the going has changed?"
Megumi Mitsumori sounded rather serious.
"The rain was unexpected, sure, but things aren't that bad. It's stopped now, and our race is in the afternoon. A fair amount of the water on the track will have evaporated by then."
Koichi looked at the track and took a bite of his bun as he offered his analysis.
The track looked pretty bad now, but by around three in the afternoon, it would definitely be much better.
There was no need to rush.
Besides, with Gold Ship's strength, running normally would not be much of a problem. As long as he did not slack off, he could handle heavy going.
When