Nakayama Racecourse.
By that afternoon, Nakayama Racecourse was packed with spectators.
Everyone was looking forward to the final showdown of the year.
After all, the horses in this race had been selected by public vote, and the top-ranked horses naturally had the most support.
The favorite, Golden Masterpiece.
The second favorite, Gold Ship.
The third favorite, Dominant Position.
The fourth favorite, Eishin Flash.
After riding in the first and second races that afternoon, Koichi took a break.
One of those was the predecessor to the Hopeful Stakes, though it was still an open-class race and had yet to be upgraded.
There was also a race after the Arima Kinen, followed by Golden Masterpiece's retirement ceremony.
He had spoken quite a bit with the authorities over the past two days.
Although he would not be riding Golden Masterpiece in this final race, the authorities had still invited him to the retirement ceremony, and Ayano Aoe had asked him to attend as well.
Naturally, he had no objections. Being part of Golden Masterpiece's Arima Kinen appearance was certainly something worth commemorating. After all, the two of them had come through two long years together.
As the race drew nearer, Koichi finished changing into his racing silks.
Then he watched the race in the jockeys' room with Kenichi Ikezoe.
Once this race ended, their final showdown would be upon them.
"Looks like Yoshida's going to win after all."
Yutaka Take spoke from his seat beside them.
He was not riding in this race either. As he grew older, he naturally needed to conserve more energy before major races like the one coming up.
His mount was Pioneer of Creation, the tenth favorite.
Still, everyone knew that the winner of this race would surely come from among the leading favorites.
"You can tell from