Two white lead horses were at the head of the procession.
The eighteen racehorses competing in the race followed slowly behind them.
Golden Masterpiece walked in the middle of the procession.
He wore his usual aggrieved expression, as though someone had been bullying him.
Before the race, Koichi had more or less settled on their front-running strategy. As long as nothing went seriously wrong at the start, they should be able to get a good result.
King Babylon and Grand Boss were the ones he needed to watch most closely.
King Babylon was strong at racing near the front and would definitely fight for a position right from the start.
After all, Koichi and Golden Masterpiece were starting from Starting Stall ten this time.
The commentators continued discussing them while the racehorses followed the lead horses onto the Racecourse Track, then began warming up along its edge.
They still had about ten minutes to prepare.
Neigh-!
Neigh-
The sudden commotion on the Racecourse Track drew the commentators' attention again.
"Golden Masterpiece seems to have gotten into an argument with Eishin Osman?"
"Well, he is Stay Gold's offspring. This isn't exactly unusual."
"It seems Golden Masterpiece draws attention wherever he goes. Still, there's no denying his tremendous finishing kick."
Fortunately, the little squabble would not interfere with the race.
For the commentators, it was only a minor interlude. The race to come was what truly mattered.
Koichi quickly worked the reins and moved Golden Masterpiece somewhere else to warm up.
Asho really never let him relax.
Fortunately, he had reacted quickly. If they had actually started fighting, there would have been real trouble.
Neigh-!
Golden Masterpiece neighed again, then turned to look back at the other horse.
He simply could not stand that bay horse.
"All right, all right. Let's focus