"The rumors that Gold Ship was in good form were true after all. You can clearly see how spirited the horse is, and how steady those strides are."
"An undefeated Double Crown Winner certainly has the ability to back it up. Gold Ship also took first place in the prep race, getting that warm-up out of the way."
"Of course, the race we're most looking forward to is the Kikuka Sho. Gold Ship is back with the regular jockey, and this will also be Sasaki's first Grade 1 race since returning home."
"Judging by his performances over the past two days, Sasaki is in excellent form. I believe he can lead Gold Ship to an undefeated third crown as well."
The commentators were naturally unanimous in their optimism.
After all, both Gold Ship and Koichi Sasaki were among the very best. Any horse or jockey hoping to beat them would have to give it everything they had.
Gold Ship first spotted the previous race's burden, then spotted the Carrot Dispenser.
It looked like there would be no change of rider this time.
Kenichi Ikezoe glanced at Gold Ship, then jogged over to the horse he would be riding.
Gold Ship was powerful, but that did not necessarily make them a good match. Although he was good at dealing with bad-tempered horses, he was not good at handling the sort that liked to fool around.
He simply could not handle a horse that refused to accelerate when urged forward.
"Are we sticking to our previous tactics today?"
Megumi Mitsumori walked over and asked.
"Given the circumstances today, we'll definitely have to run according to our original plan. Otherwise, winning will be very difficult."
Koichi spotted Ayano Aoe waving at them from over there.
He had never expected the Young Lady