That evening.
"Let's go. The gala is about to start."
Once the car door opened automatically, Ayano Aoe lifted the hem of her long dress.
For such an important gala, she naturally had to wear an evening gown.
"Right."
Koichi straightened his collar, then quickly followed her.
Tonight was the biggest gathering in the horse racing world.
Luxury cars, big names.
The entrance to the grand hotel was crowded with people chatting.
"Just stay by my side for now."
After climbing the steps, Ayano Aoe turned and spoke quietly.
Sasaki clearly had no experience attending galas, so staying with her was certainly his best option.
"All right."
Koichi nodded.
Today, he was her trusty little tagalong.
His main goal was to collect an award, and his other goal was to get his face known.
This would definitely be different from the racehorse auction he had attended last time.
During the first part of the evening, they could move around freely.
Only when the awards ceremony began later would they need to take their assigned seats.
"Good evening. May I see your invitations?"
Once they had climbed the long flight of steps, an attendant in a suit hurried over to greet them.
"Here they are."
Koichi took out both their invitations.
The assistant had given them to him in the car.
His invitation had been mailed directly to Ayano Aoe.
"Please come inside. Number fifteen, come over and escort these two into the venue."
"Yes, sir."
Ayano Aoe nodded, then followed the attendant inside.
As Golden Masterpiece's owner, she was radiating confidence tonight.
Horse of the Year and Best Three-year-old were surely going to Golden Masterpiece.
Meanwhile, Koichi followed behind, looking around curiously.
It was his first time seeing an event on this scale.
Watch more, talk less.
"Are those Golden