The positions of the horses kept shifting.
Golden Masterpiece tucked in directly behind Toward Glory. Following the veteran Fukunaga gave Koichi quite a sense of security.
Beside him were Triumph Ballet, ridden by Yasuo Iwata, and Eishin Flash.
Both horses were formidable competitors.
That left mostly average runners behind them, while the much stronger Dominant Position remained in an excellent position among the horses pressing the pace.
The field's current formation put Koichi at ease.
"Number sixteen, Cat Impact, still leads, but the gap isn't particularly large. Number five, Smile Jack, is only four or five lengths behind."
Running away with a race was no easy task after all. This horse's attempt to build a huge lead had clearly failed, but it had still contributed a great deal to the race.
Golden Masterpiece had successfully escaped the pocket, and the pace of the race had picked up considerably.
Even after escaping the pocket, Koichi did not rush.
There was still plenty of distance left. He felt he could watch a little longer, then swing wide if necessary.
Of course, finding an opening on the inside would be ideal.
Whether that would work depended entirely on the situation after the third turn. After all, the jockeys ahead knew he was behind them.
There was no chance the other jockeys would simply let him through.
He would have to find his own opportunity!
Beside him, Hiroyuki Uchida and Yasuo Iwata were naturally keeping their attention on Koichi as well.
The front-runners had disrupted the field's original formation, allowing Golden Masterpiece to find a very favorable position.
With half the race already run, there was no way to target him again. Besides, they had entered this race to win, not to become someone else's pawn.
Dominant Position, up ahead, now had the fewest