"Oh-looks like Gentildonna isn't too keen on letting Jockey Sasaki ride her."
As the jockeys began mounting, the commentator let out a startled cry.
Something had gone wrong right at the start.
"Stop that-"
Fortunately, the stablehand in the Parade Ring quickly grabbed the reins.
If she threw her jockey off before they even got started, they would be in serious trouble.
Of course, replacing the jockey now was still possible. Plenty of jockeys were resting in the waiting room.
That had been a little dangerous.
Koichi quickly steadied his balance.
He had come within a hair's breadth of being thrown off.
He had let his guard down and completely failed to watch for it. After all, none of the racehorses he had ridden before had done this.
Quick Reaction.
Calming.
This time, he activated every skill he could.
Falling off a horse was no pleasant experience. It would most likely land him straight in the hospital.
Neigh-!
Gentildonna backed up a few more steps, then settled down again.
The weight on her back had increased again.
She still wasn't very familiar with Koichi Sasaki. After all, she had only met him once before.
"Jockey Sasaki, are you all right?"
Gentildonna's stablehand sounded worried.
She had been perfectly fine earlier, only to start acting up the moment he mounted. That certainly wasn't good news for them.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Hand me the reins."
Koichi shook his head, then took the reins.
That incident had instantly made him much more alert, and everyone around them was looking their way.
He wasn't the sort of jockey who wanted to attract attention. Everything had simply happened too suddenly.
Of course, it didn't really affect him personally. As far as the trainer and club were concerned, all he needed to do was win