The golden voyage: glory never sinks

After several days of adjustments, Golden Masterpiece's condition was rapidly recovering.

His weight had stopped climbing, too.

That let the staff responsible for Golden Masterpiece breathe a sigh of relief.

Judging by the news they had received from her assistant, the young lady attached particular importance to the next race.

If anything went wrong again, they could very well lose their jobs.

"I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Jockey Ikezoe lately?"

Ayano Aoe stretched lazily as she walked with Koichi.

It was already early March, and the old chill had faded. Today's spring breeze felt especially pleasant.

"I've talked with Mr. Ikezoe a bit lately. Mostly about racing."

Koichi made no attempt to deny it.

Staring at his phone after work was a little boring. Since Kenichi Ikezoe happened to be staying at Aoe Ranch lately, the two of them had chatted about racing.

It would have been a lie to say he had gained nothing from it.

He had heard plenty of amusing stories from the more experienced jockey.

For instance, two horses had been racing when one suddenly tried to bite the other.

You think you can beat me?

I'll bite you!

"It's certainly good to listen to advice from someone more experienced. You'll be heading to Osaka to prepare for the race before long, too."

Ayano Aoe looked back with a smile.

Dealing with business in her office every day had left her feeling rather irritable.

As the daughter of a major conglomerate, she was expected to achieve something. Since she had loved Racehorse racing from childhood, she had taken over this ranch while completing her studies.

She felt that Koichi was the same kind of person she was.

Life was one big gamble!

"Are you confident about the next race?"

"Yes."

Koichi answered calmly.

Even if he failed, Ayano Aoe had probably already prepared her next move.

"I heard your family's Racehorse passed his Ability Test, too?"

Seeing how confident Koichi was put Ayano Aoe at ease.

"He took his Ability Test a little while ago, but the assessment wasn't very high."

Koichi told her the truth.

Gold Ship was still unknown, and he probably would not attract much support in his Newcomer Race, either.

"Do you have any photos?"

"Yes."

Ayano Aoe was quite curious about this brother of Asho's.

After all, this gray horse did have some reputation.

Koichi took out his phone.

These photos were naturally taken by Megumi Mitsumori, who needed to post them online for racing fans to see.

Of course, quite a few of the pictures had been edited.

"Hmm... that head really does take after McQueen. His looks and physique are excellent, too."

After looking for a while, Ayano Aoe offered her assessment.

There really were too few gray horses, let alone one with such a remarkable combination of bloodlines.

Because of Nakayama Noriyoshi's second-place finish in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, quite a few people in Japan believed the Golden family would be the key force in winning it.

That had been their cherished dream for decades.

"As for those old men on the assessment panel, don't take them too seriously. If they could actually tell which horses would run well, that would be ridiculous."

Those people were all Deep Impact fanatics now. Any offspring of Deep Impact received high praise from them.

"I'm very confident in Gold Ship, too."

The golden voyage: glory never sinks.

"That's good."

Ayano Aoe narrowed her eyes.

If Gold Ship really had inherited the Golden family's powerful Final Kick, he would certainly be a formidable contender.

Besides, she did not think Koichi Sasaki was a fool. If he was this confident...

Then he surely had a compelling reason.

Gold Ship's large frame gave him more options in how he raced.

She was looking forward to this year's Newcomer Races.

"Come on, let's walk around a little more."

The weather was lovely today, and Ayano Aoe did not want to return to her office just yet.

She had finally found an excuse to get out for some fresh air.

She certainly was not going back so easily.

Koichi followed her, doubling as the young lady's bodyguard.

He had nothing to do right now anyway. After a little more exercise, he could head to the cafeteria for lunch.

After lunch, Koichi followed Ayumu Kusakawa to the staff lounge.

Although he was not particularly close to the jockeys, he got along quite well with the ranch staff.

Whenever they had some free time, they would sit here together and watch the day's Racehorse races on the big television at the front.

Some of the Racehorses were in their care, while other races were simply something to watch to pass the time.

"Ah, what a shame. Fourth again this time..."

Watching the horses cross the finish line, one of them sighed helplessly.

If a horse still could not win a race at three years old, there really was little hope left.

As staff who had cared for the horses since they were yearlings, they naturally shared deep bonds with the Racehorses.

"Don't sigh. That's still pretty good. At least yours picked up some prize money. Mine finishes sixth every time."

Another Stablehand offered some comfort.

They certainly could not force results. More than anything, they hoped their own youngsters would come back safely.

If they could not produce results here, they could still try the local racing circuit.

"Shall I change the channel, then?"

"Go ahead. The race in Kyoto is about to start, too."

Crunch, crunch, crunch-

While the others watched more races, Koichi sat on the sofa eating his snacks.

If he did not eat them now, he would not have time later.

Once he reached Hanshin Racecourse, there was no telling what would happen if he got caught.

He felt that once he had ridden at all these major racecourses, he would no longer need so much preparation time.

"Koichi, didn't you get enough to eat at lunch?"

Beside him, Ayumu Kusakawa could not help asking.

It was not as though he had never met other jockeys. They all worked hard to restrict their diets and keep their weight from fluctuating too much.

If other jockeys saw this, Koichi might get beaten up.

"No, I just want to have some now. I won't have time once I get to Hanshin."

Koichi shook his head.

Fortunately, his secret burger snack last time had not been exposed yet.

Now that he had a skill that kept him from ever getting fat, he could eat however he pleased.

"You still need to be careful. If a reporter outside catches wind of this, it really will turn into a big deal."

Ayumu Kusakawa reminded him anyway.

Since Golden Masterpiece would soon be running in the Spring Championship at the end of the month, interest in the pair had risen again.

Everyone was curious about where this new pairing would finish in the race.

Win, and they would be praised to the skies. Lose, and they would be torn to shreds.

If some unscrupulous reporter found out about this, an obnoxious article would surely follow.

"Got it. I'm almost done."

Koichi wiped his mouth.

He knew his uncle was looking out for him.

(End of chapter)