Training Center.
After the week's races ended, Koichi returned to the Training Center in Ritto.
Epiphaneia had also returned from his break and begun preparing for the upcoming Satsuki Sho.
Gold Ship, meanwhile, was preparing for this weekend's Hanshin Daishoten.
By now, he had long since shaken off his holiday mood.
Naturally, Koichi would ride him through his final workout gallop before the race.
The Ritto Training Center was very close to Hanshin Racecourse, so the trip there and back would hardly take anything out of Gold Ship.
Today's final workout gallop would also feature the three favorites for the Hanshin Daishoten running together.
Compared with last year's Hanshin Daishoten, this year's field was not only smaller but also noticeably weaker.
Everyone felt that Gold Ship was certain to win this race.
Yutaka Take, Fukunaga, and Sasaki were all ready.
Naturally, Yutaka Take and Fukunaga knew they had little hope of winning this race.
Without Golden Masterpiece, last year's Horse of the Year would surely have been Gold Ship.
The horses they were riding were simply a long way behind Gold Ship in ability.
That was also why only nine horses had entered this race. Last year, there had been more than ten, with no shortage of strong contenders.
Huff-
Huff-
Although his workout partners had changed this time, Gold Ship was taking it very seriously.
Losing to One-Way Passage last time had really upset him.
Since Carrot Dispenser couldn't get the job done, he would just have to work harder himself.
After they had been running for a while, the horse trainers watching from the side could all see the difference.
Apart from Megumi Mitsumori, the other two horse trainers shook their heads.
It was obvious at a glance.
For them, this was still a good thing. Even if