Third Turn.
Seeing that the horses were about to finish their final lap, most of the spectators cheered.
Unfortunately, their favorite, Gold Ship, was still at the back. From the way things looked, Koichi Sasaki would not be making an early move this time.
But in the latter half of the Third Turn, Koichi decided to push forward after all.
His plan now was to keep advancing alongside the horses on the outside.
With a front-runner setting the pace, the nine horses had stretched into a line. Even moving out a little would cost plenty of stamina, but previously, he would usually have needed to swing three or four horses wide.
"Gold Ship's speed is rising rapidly!"
Snort-!
Once Gold Ship pulled out, he began accelerating.
Losing to One-Way Passage last time had left him with plenty of fighting spirit for this race.
Of course, if he had not had trouble at the start, he would not have needed to work so hard now.
Push forward!
Meanwhile, Yutaka Take had Desperado follow behind Gold Ship.
He had been waiting at the back for an opportunity. Now that Gold Ship had moved up, he could naturally follow him forward.
The horse in first place was about to enter the Hanshin straight.
The horses behind gradually began closing in.
Running in first place against the wind was no easy task. Even at a slow front-running pace, it still burned plenty of stamina.
Yuichi Fukunaga also began accelerating in step with Gold Ship.
Gentle Impact had competed against Gold Ship in last year's Kikuka Sho, too.
Unfortunately, three-year-old Gold Ship had performed exceptionally well in the Kikuka Sho, building up speed with an early move.
It had begun!
It was finally beginning!
Seeing Gold Ship charge up from the rear once again, everyone