46th Kyodo News Hai Turf, left-handed, 1,800 m Weather: clear Turf: firm Post time: 15:45
"The long-awaited 46th Kyodo News Hai is now in its final preparations."
"All eleven racehorses have entered the Starting Stalls without incident."
Clack-!
With the crisp sound of the Starting Stalls opening, all eleven horses burst out.
"At last, they're off."
"Number five has made the best break."
"Gold Ship wasn't slow out of the gates this time, but there still seems to be a problem."
"Second favorite Gorgeous Glory is accelerating quickly and has gone straight into the lead."
The commentator began analyzing the start as quickly as he could.
The horse in gate one had no physical advantage and could only choose to hang back.
Charging forward would never get it past Gorgeous Glory and Gold Ship.
As for Koichi, the start had really given him a fright.
He had thought he and Gold Ship could take the lead heading into the first turn, but Gold Ship had started bobbing his head right from the outset.
Koichi was urging him to accelerate, yet Gold Ship just kept bobbing his head.
Their acceleration had turned into a tug-of-war between him and Gold Ship.
Fortunately, after a little while, Gold Ship returned to normal. He stopped bobbing his head and began accelerating to catch up.
Naturally, though, the trouble had opened up a gap between them and Gorgeous Glory.
Iwata really had secured a good position.
Koichi had originally planned to target him, pinning him against the rail to put him under pressure.
But because of Gold Ship, he had to shelve that plan.
He could still take the lead if he accelerated Gold Ship now, but he chose to maintain this pace and stay in second or third instead.
Number five, who