After the thousand-meter mark, the spectators began to grow nervous.
No matter how they looked at it, none of the horses they favored had secured a good position.
Was another horse really going to snatch first place away from them?
There had been races before where two powerful contenders fought it out, only for a third to reap the rewards.
They hoped the race they had waited so long for would not turn out that way.
Gold Ship-!
Golden Masterpiece-!!
Although they knew their shouts would not reach the horses, their support still could.
Ayano Aoe and Megumi Mitsumori looked nervous as well.
Throughout the race, it was clear that the other camps were deliberately targeting them.
Megumi Mitsumori, meanwhile, worried that Golden Masterpiece's powerful Final Kick would catch Gold Ship.
Naturally, they had discussed their tactics beforehand.
Despite being targeted, everything was unfolding just as Koichi Sasaki had anticipated. But could they really shake off Golden Masterpiece at Nakayama Racecourse?!
Come on!
Even if there's only a sliver of hope!
Although the camera had pulled back, everyone was watching Gold Ship and Golden Masterpiece.
The final battle between those two horses had yet to begin.
Apart from Dominant Position moving up from behind, the pack had barely changed during this stretch.
The breakaway they had expected had not materialized, either.
But until they entered the final turn, everyone knew this race was still far from over.
After all, the strongest horses had yet to make their moves.
"The pack is still maintaining a normal pace, and Heart's Sincere has safely entered the Third Turn."
"Yuichi Fukunaga is still maintaining his own rhythm."
"Koichi Sasaki and Kenichi Ikezoe are still waiting for their chance at the back."
The commentators were also eagerly anticipating the battle between the first and second