"Are you all right, Sasaki?"
Ayano Aoe asked as she watched Koichi dodge the attacks.
It seemed this pair had run into a little trouble, too.
Golden Masterpiece had thrown his jockey off right after the race, and now he kept causing trouble during the photo shoot.
Take that!
And that!
Golden Masterpiece lifted a foreleg and stomped at Koichi, but Koichi was quick on his feet, too.
Golden Masterpiece's scheme had accomplished nothing.
Koichi had been on guard all along. He certainly wasn't going to let Asho get his way so easily.
If that hoof came down on his foot, it would be done for.
"I'm fine. We just had a little disagreement during the race."
With the photos finally taken, Koichi let out a sigh of relief. At last, he no longer had to stand rooted to the spot.
Posing for photos with a group of strangers really was awkward.
Especially when he had to keep smiling the whole time.
Still, when he thought of the ten lottery draws and the prize money, standing there a little longer didn't seem so bad.
"Then you can leave things here to the groom. You should head over and get ready for your interview."
Ayano Aoe looked at Koichi and Asho, then nodded.
They wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. At the very least, they would have to wait until Dream Journey finished his race next week.
Besides, they still had plenty to prepare for the upcoming Satsuki Sho in Tokyo.
"Yosuke, I'll leave the rest to you. Be careful."
"No problem."
Hitachi Yosuke assured him that he had experience with this, too.
When it came to Golden Masterpiece's temper, he was surely the one who understood it best.
Now that the race was over, his job was to take Golden Masterpiece