A Less Than Glowing Assessment

They broke cleanly from the gate.

Koichi was in no hurry to have Gold Ship accelerate. All Ship needed was a passing time.

The Ability Test was only an entry ticket. It could not determine a racehorse's future.

Some racehorses posted good results as soon as they debuted, while others only gradually began producing results at three or four years old.

That also had something to do with each horse's individual traits.

Clop, clop, clop-

Into the turn.

Gold Ship was quite obedient today and did not defy any of Koichi's commands.

This was his first time running on turf.

This is so much fun.

Compared with running on dirt, running on turf really did feel much more comfortable.

Running like this did not take much effort on his part.

Accelerate!

With Gold Ship's tremendous stamina, completing this one lap of the Ability Test was no problem at all.

After the third turn, Koichi loosened the reins a little.

Keeping the reins tight meant maintaining a steady pace, while loosening them meant accelerating.

After all their work over this long stretch of time, Gold Ship had finally learned those two commands.

Huff-!

Huff-!

Gold Ship began charging ahead as he swept around the turn.

As a member of the Gold family, he had naturally inherited his father's powerful finishing kick.

And thanks to his own strengths, he could also employ a variety of running styles.

"We're almost there. Once you finish, we can go home."

Koichi spoke softly to him.

Gold Ship still had no real understanding of racing. He only knew that once he finished running, he could go back and rest.

Excellent!

Seeing Gold Ship cross the finish line perfectly, Megumi Mitsumori almost jumped for joy.

Ship might have been a little mischievous at home, but he was still very dependable when it mattered.

The only thing they had not accounted for was that no other horse would complete the Ability Test alongside him.

All they could say was that the other horse was far too timid.

One look was enough to tell it was a front-runner.

"Great job, Ship."

Megumi Mitsumori hurried over and stroked Ship's broad face.

Although his attention had clearly wandered for a while midway through, Koichi's guidance had quickly brought his focus back to the track.

"How did it feel?"

"It felt pretty good this time, but there are still a few things we need to correct. At the very least, we need to stop him from looking all over the place on the track. And Ship was a little too excited this time."

Koichi thought for a moment before giving his answer.

Of course, their main goal this time had been to pass the Ability Test.

Discovering these shortcomings was an unexpected bonus.

They could simply work on correcting them once they returned.

"Then I'll pay a little more attention to that when we get back. Ship is still young, after all. We still have some time to work on it."

Megumi Mitsumori nodded happily.

She trusted Koichi's abilities, and a jockey's feedback was one of the most direct ways to identify problems.

She still had at least four months to make adjustments.

"Right. How long will it take for the results to come out?"

Koichi glanced toward the observation stand.

They had finished their run, but they still had to wait for the judges to deliver their results.

"It should be soon. They're probably writing their assessments now."

Megumi Mitsumori did not know much about that either.

But the intimidation at the starting gate would probably be written up.

And Ship had clearly shown a lapse in concentration midway through.

Neigh-?

Gold Ship, who was still circling nearby, gave a whinny.

How much longer do we have to stay here?

"We just have to wait a little longer, then we can go home."

Megumi Mitsumori smiled as she reassured him.

She was very fond of Ship, and she also saw hope in him.

Clop, clop, clop-

Growing a little impatient, Ship began amusing himself with Koichi still on his back.

Three steps left, three steps right.

Entertaining himself was pretty fun, too.

At the observation stand.

"Have you finished your assessment?"

"More or less. The Gold family's finishing kick is still very strong, but they do tend to mature late."

"But this horse clearly has a bit of a bad temper. He actually scared the other horse before it entered the gate."

"Aren't all the Gold family horses currently racing like that?"

At this point, none of Stay Gold's offspring had produced particularly impressive results.

Stay Gold himself had also been a late bloomer.

And his explosive temper was notorious.

Compared with other outstanding stallions, Stay Gold was clearly lacking.

"I think this horse is fairly average, but getting some results probably won't be too difficult."

One of the judges who thought highly of Golden Masterpiece also offered his opinion.

Although they were colleagues, each of them had his own views.

"Then hurry up and compile everything, and submit it. They're still waiting over there."

"All right, we'll give him a pass. But we can't leave out his shortcomings."

The judges had clearly split into two camps.

They were more curious about Koichi Sasaki than Gold Ship.

Unfortunately, they could not get their hands on any inside information at the moment.

The online discussions about Koichi Sasaki and Golden Masterpiece had never died down.

"Got the results?"

Having changed his clothes, Koichi leaned against the vehicle's door and waited for Megumi Mitsumori to bring the results.

"Hmph! Those old men really have gone senile. How could they write such a harsh assessment!"

The moment she saw Koichi, Megumi Mitsumori launched straight into a tirade.

Ship had only scared the other horse a little at the start, yet they had outright called him hot-tempered.

That was pure stereotyping!

In any case, the overall message was that the judges did not think much of this racehorse.

What's wrong with a gray horse?

Did a gray horse eat all your food?!

If this had been one of Deep Impact's offspring, they definitely would not have dared say that.

They were simply picking on their Ship.

"All right, don't be angry. We've got the certificate, so let's head back."

Koichi pointed toward the horse compartment.

"Ship is still waiting for you in there."

"Hmph! When the Newcomer Race comes around, we're going to make those old men eat their words!"

Although Megumi Mitsumori was still angry, she followed Koichi into the vehicle.

Even when she was upset, she knew where to draw the line.

"Don't worry. Ship definitely won't let you down."

Koichi took out a bottle of mineral water and tossed it to her.

There really were too few gray horses with good results.

"Yeah, let's go home. This lousy place..."

Having successfully earned the certificate today, they naturally had to celebrate a little once they got back.

Over the coming stretch, he could no longer spend all day at his own farm as he had before.

Golden Masterpiece's vacation was over, and so was his.

They had to begin another round of preparations.

As for Ship, his care would have to be left to Megumi Mitsumori and Miku Kuchiki from here on.

His race would also be scheduled for around July.

(End of chapter)