Two days later, at Nakayama Racecourse.
"Sasaki, we're not late, are we?"
"We should be right on time. Golden Masterpiece should have finished his morning workout and be on his way back."
Koichi looked around.
This was his first time here, too. Fortunately, his agent knew the place fairly well.
They had originally planned to come yesterday, but Golden Masterpiece had been exhausted, so they had put off their visit until today.
"Koichi, over here!"
Hitachi Yosuke walked toward them, leading Golden Masterpiece.
They had not seen each other for quite a while. In that time, his friend had scored another two major wins.
"Morning, Yosuke. Asho."
Koichi walked over to meet them.
He had not seen Golden Masterpiece in ages. Under today's sunlight, the horse practically glowed gold.
"So this is the agent you found. Hello, I'm Golden Masterpiece's stablehand, Hitachi Yosuke."
Hitachi Yosuke spoke as he spotted the young woman approaching.
Koichi was now a jockey with an agent of his own.
"Hello, I'm Sasaki's agent. Here's my card."
Saki Ikegami handed him her business card.
Then she turned her gaze to Golden Masterpiece beside him.
He's so beautiful.
This was her first time getting so close to Golden Masterpiece. If possible, she really wanted to take a photo with him as a keepsake.
But staying alive mattered more.
"Thank you."
Hitachi Yosuke glanced at the card, then slipped it into his pocket.
Do I call this number to get in touch with Koichi from now on?
"Asho, did you miss me?"
Koichi walked straight up to Golden Masterpiece.
Since this was his first day back in training, his workload had to be much lighter than before. Koichi could tell just from his breathing and how much he had sweated.
Neigh-
Golden Masterpiece let out a neigh as