This time, Megumi Mitsumori did not go back to watch the race. Instead, she followed Mirai and Yamana Takuto to the other side to wait for it to finish.
The advantage of waiting here was that if anything suddenly happened, they could rush over quickly.
They could keep any damage to a minimum right away.
The entrance went quite smoothly.
Once the horses entered the course, the spectators who had been waiting in the stands burst into cheers.
They shouted encouragement to the horses they supported.
Gold Ship walked in front, with One-Way Passage following behind him.
Naturally, Shinichi Akiyama had no objections.
After all, the Horse Owner and Trainer had instructed him to let One-Way Passage follow Gold Ship in this race.
"Number six, Gold Ship, has remained undefeated since his debut and previously won the Satsuki Sho at Nakayama Racecourse. As the second favorite today, his ability is beyond question, and his Jockey is last year's Derby-winning Jockey."
"Following close behind is number four, One-Way Passage, who also boasts an impressive record."
After they reached the course, Koichi could clearly feel that Gold Ship had grown much more excited.
Koichi urged him into a trot, while Gold Ship looked around.
There really were people everywhere.
Compared with last year's Derby, this year's crowd was hardly any smaller.
Of course, that might have been because it had rained last year. This year certainly felt livelier.
One-Way Passage, meanwhile, spotted something else of interest.
There was a new gray horse.
But after giving it some thought, he still chose Gold Ship.
When Shinichi Akiyama noticed his attention wandering, he gave him a tug.
Just as the Trainer had said, One-Way Passage really did like gray horses.
If he remembered correctly, that horse was one of Black Ship's offspring.
Neigh-!
Neigh-!