"Gold Ship entered the stall safely, and all nine racehorses are ready."
"There was a little trouble, but nothing serious. Please keep your eyes on the starting stalls."
"Can Koichi Sasaki defend his Hanshin Daishoten title at Hanshin Racecourse?"
61st Hanshin Daishoten Turf, right-handed, 3,000 m Weather: sunny Turf: good Post time: 15:35
"It looks like Gold Ship is still acting up inside the stall..."
The commentator muttered under his breath before the race began.
The camera was focused on the entire bank of starting stalls, so he could not see very clearly either.
"Ah-the gates are open! Gold Ship was slow away!!"
An impressive high step, followed by a perfectly executed late start.
At that moment, Gold Ship seemed possessed by Dominant Position.
Gold Ship gave away several lengths right from the start.
Oh!!
Gasps rang out across the racecourse.
Nobody had expected an even bigger spectacle after the trouble at the stalls.
Was Gold Ship really going to lose?
After last year's Hanshin Daishoten, Gold Ship had taught them another lesson.
"Number nine, ridden by Futoshi Komaki, is pushing forward quickly and has secured the lead."
"Taking second is number three, Nothing Special, who came through on the inside."
"Yuichi Fukunaga has secured a good position in the middle of the pack. It looks like he has no intention of accelerating any further."
"Yutaka Take, riding the second favorite, is staying toward the rear, while the slow-starting Gold Ship is even farther back."
"There's roughly a four-length gap between Gold Ship and Desperado!"
The commentator quickly began analyzing the race.
The deciding factor now was whether Gold Ship could catch up. Fortunately, the race was long enough that gradually closing the gap through speed would not be difficult. But exactly how to do it would depend