During the warm-up canter, Gold Ship moved along at an easy pace, in no hurry at all.
Koichi looked toward the stands.
There were plenty of people cheering for them.
Of course, they probably still had fewer supporters than Golden Masterpiece up ahead.
Come on!
He silently gave himself a little encouragement.
Once he was out on the course, he could feel that invisible pressure. After all, he would be facing his old partner this time, and from what he knew of Golden Masterpiece, the horse had a very good chance of winning this race.
So...
His only option was to counter him with tactics!
If Golden Masterpiece secured a good position, they really would have no hope at all.
Once the warm-up canter ended, the jockeys and horses moved on to their final warm-up preparations.
The staff had cordoned off the area well in advance.
Every horse competing this time was a famous one, so the organizers naturally demanded that nothing go wrong.
Golden Masterpiece, meanwhile, still had his attention fixed on Gold Ship.
Had Carrot Dispenser run off?
Kenichi Ikezoe stroked Golden Masterpiece's mane.
Their task this time would be incredibly difficult.
Even if they had to expend some stamina early on, they needed to get as far forward as possible. That was the best option the team had given him.
Of course, he felt their chances of doing that were slim.
The other jockeys certainly would not give him that opportunity. But if Gold Ship got it instead, that would be the biggest problem of all.
The team's greatest concern right now was Koichi Sasaki and Gold Ship.
As long as he broke well, Gold Ship would have plenty of options.
"Sure enough, Golden Masterpiece is still focused on Gold Ship."
"From the look of things, he's