As soon as Koichi stepped outside, he saw plenty of people waving at him.
There were still plenty of fans supporting him.
He gave them a slight nod, then hurried over toward Golden Masterpiece.
The race he had waited so long for was finally about to begin.
"Koichi, over here."
Hitachi Yosuke waved.
He had thought Koichi would spot them right away, but Koichi had headed off in another direction. Luckily, he called out in time.
"Haha, I wasn't looking this way."
Koichi laughed and ran over.
"Good luck out there. We all believe in you."
Keigo Kudo offered a few words as well.
Though their relationship had not been particularly good before, they had worked together for so long that he did not want to see this partnership fall apart either.
"No problem. I have faith in Masterpiece."
Koichi looked at Golden Masterpiece, who stood quietly in place.
For nearly two months, he had been waiting for this race.
This time, no other racehorse would be ahead of them on the final stretch.
"Mount up. It's almost time to head out."
Hitachi Yosuke glanced toward the other horses before speaking.
Naturally, he would once again be the one to lead Golden Masterpiece into the starting stall.
"Right."
At Koichi's height, mounting was no trouble.
Some jockeys needed a little help because of their height.
Once he was up, he stroked Golden Masterpiece's mane a couple of times.
Golden Masterpiece's coat really was groomed beautifully every day, though his mane did not feel particularly soft.
Still, it looked quite impressive when he charged ahead.
Neigh-
Golden Masterpiece tossed his head, then looked away.
"Good luck."
"Good luck!"
Koichi and Hitachi Yosuke exchanged encouraging gestures, then Koichi got Golden Masterpiece moving.
They had not begun heading onto the course yet, but