Christmas.
"How are the preparations coming along?"
"It's already baked."
Megumi Mitsumori and Mirai were busy cooking.
Koichi's new home was fully equipped, of course. Appliances such as the oven and microwave had all been provided to a standard befitting the apartment's price.
Yamana Takuto was helping out.
Once Christmas was over, they would begin their own holidays, and Gold Ship would board a plane in Tokyo and fly straight back to Hokkaido.
Golden Masterpiece had returned to the Training Center for another round of examinations. Once those were more or less finished, he would return to Aoe Ranch for a period of rest before going straight to Shadai's Stallion Station.
Overall, there was certainly no rush for Golden Masterpiece. After all, advance bookings had not even opened yet, and his actual work would not begin until March or April.
As a year-end champion and Hall of Fame Racehorse, Golden Masterpiece would naturally have no shortage of farms bringing mares to him.
Koichi and Saki Ikegami were playing video games.
Neither of them had any experience with cooking, so they could only pass the time playing games and wait for the food to be served.
"Sasaki, how are your preparations for the year-end gala coming along?"
"Don't try to distract me. You're about to lose."
Koichi pressed the buttons on his controller even harder.
He had already experienced the racing industry's gala last year. This year, he should be able to pick up a few more awards, since he had the highest total prize money earnings.
His number of wins still left something to be desired, though. He could not compete with Yutaka Take and the others there.
Although his win rate was high, he rarely entered dirt races, and that ultimately left him at a disadvantage.
His agent had