Saturday.
Koichi arrived at Nakayama Racecourse on schedule.
"Sasaki, you can just leave your umbrella here."
"Hmm, I doubt I'll be able to tell which one is mine when I leave."
Koichi looked at the umbrellas already left there.
Sure enough, everyone had bought theirs at convenience stores. The umbrellas looked almost identical, apart from a few with black handles.
Oh well, I'll worry about that after the races.
He did not have many races today, but it would still be a rough day. The track was already muddy, and the rain kept falling.
"If you can't tell, just take whichever one."
Saki Ikegami said it with a smile.
This sort of thing was fairly common. Once one person started doing it, everyone else followed suit.
The workload today was not particularly heavy. It was mostly preparation for tomorrow, and it also gave her a chance to see what sort of form Sasaki was in.
"All right, I'll go get changed."
Koichi nodded, then went to weigh himself first.
He was quite confident about his weight. After all, he had already checked it before coming.
When he reached the room, he saw that Yutaka Take was already there.
"You're here early today, Take."
He took the initiative to greet him.
"I woke up early today and felt pretty energetic, so I came a little earlier."
Yutaka Take answered with a smile.
He had once raced against Koichi when the younger jockey was riding Gold Ship, though that had been back in Hokkaido.
He had never expected Koichi to keep winning all the way to this point.
Of course, the horse he was riding this time was not the same Deep Impact offspring he had ridden back then.
"Then I'll have to work even harder today."
Koichi quickly began changing, putting