Race day.
Megumi Mitsumori arrived at the stable early to check on Gold Ship.
He would be racing that afternoon. If anything went wrong in the morning, it would be the worst possible timing.
Koichi came along too. Most of his races that day were in the afternoon.
Of course, he had wanted to sleep in at the hotel, but Megumi Mitsumori had dragged him out anyway.
"Yaaawn-"
Koichi yawned, then glanced at Gold Ship, who was lying on his bedding and eating his bed.
Eating in bed was one thing, but Gold Ship was actually eating the bed itself.
Horses could naturally eat their bedding straw, but the feed and hay they were normally given tasted much better. Clearly, he was just killing time.
"Ship, time to get up."
Megumi Mitsumori was used to this by now and clapped her hands.
From what she knew of Gold Ship, there was almost certainly nothing wrong with his health. His condition should still be the same as before.
Neigh-
Gold Ship let out a neigh, then went right back to lazing around.
Clearly, he knew he did not have to train these days, so there was nothing wrong with lying around a little longer.
Meanwhile, Mirai was already preparing his breakfast.
They had also called in a farrier that day to check Gold Ship's horseshoes again.
Deep Impact had raced in special horseshoes, mainly because of the condition of his hooves. Gold Ship did not have that problem.
Still, they needed to take the proper precautions.
If a shoe came off during the race, it would definitely have a major impact on his performance.
"Up you get. Time to get up and get cleaned up."
Koichi went straight into the stall and patted Gold Ship's foreleg.
Only then did Gold Ship