Snort-
Before mounting, Koichi patted Golden Masterpiece on the neck.
He had to put in a good performance in this race.
Golden Masterpiece glanced at Koichi, then looked elsewhere.
He had ideas of his own.
"Koichi, everything's all right, isn't it?"
Hitachi Yosuke still sounded a little worried.
Golden Masterpiece's support in this race was so overwhelming that it frightened him a little.
Being the favorite really did come with a curse.
Golden Masterpiece's first race as a four-year-old was naturally important to them.
It would affect how people judged him going forward.
"Relax. You have to trust Golden Masterpiece's ability."
Koichi turned his head to answer.
How things turned out would ultimately depend on their performance on the track.
"Asho, don't go throwing a tantrum out there."
Hitachi Yosuke was still a little haunted by past experiences.
As long as he didn't copy Stay Gold and deliberately attack other racehorses on the track, that would be enough.
Hmph-
Golden Masterpiece twitched his nostrils, clearly not interested in acknowledging him.
His unbroken string of victories had naturally filled him with confidence.
These racehorses certainly weren't his match either.
Koichi mounted, while the other jockeys finished their preparations. Now they only had to wait for the lead horse team to arrive before heading onto the track.
Golden Masterpiece was a little restless when Koichi first got on, but settled down after a few seconds.
Koichi glanced around, then began waiting for their entrance.
He noticed that they really did have a great many supporters this time. Banners filled the venue.
And once they saw him mount, plenty of spectators on both sides began cheering.
They really had pinned all their hopes on the pair of them.
After exchanging a wave with Koichi, Hitachi Yosuke left.
That was all he could do.