Snort-!
Snort-!
In the pouring rain, a chestnut racehorse galloped with his rider on his back.
After a period of rest, Golden Masterpiece had begun a new round of training.
Great sprays of muddy water flew off the training track.
Koichi had also finished his third week of racing.
Training in the rain was, of course, meant to prepare them for the heavy going at Longchamp Racecourse.
With the weather as it was, there was no way all that moisture would evaporate, so this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe would once again be run on heavy ground.
"How do the numbers look now?"
Ayano Aoe asked from beside the track.
Their main focus now was naturally to get Golden Masterpiece back into form, and there had clearly been improvements over this period.
Other European racehorses had withdrawn for various reasons, making this their best opportunity yet.
Everything was moving in the right direction.
"We're still compiling the numbers as quickly as we can. They're definitely much better than before, but because of the ground conditions, we don't really have any comparable data."
Fujitani Kotomi spoke while holding an umbrella over herself.
The rain was heavy today, so much so that a layer of mist had formed over the track.
Standing beside the two women were, naturally, the horse trainer and the stablehand.
Those two men, however, did not enjoy the same treatment of having someone specifically hold an umbrella over them. Instead, they were dressed in black raincoats.
The two of them were naturally the happiest to see Golden Masterpiece's condition improving. After all, if anyone was held to account, they would also have to shoulder responsibility.
Everyone except the horse was a target for criticism.
"Asho has been cooperating more and more with training lately, and he's still