Epiphaneia set the pace down both the first and second straights.
The other racehorses had all found their own positions.
The pace was not particularly fast, but some horses had still failed to keep up.
The horses in the front half of the field also began managing their own pace.
The commentators could only run through the horses' positions once again.
Most spectators, however, still had their eyes on the head of the pack.
Epiphaneia and Koichi Sasaki.
Compared with their last outing in the Yayoi Sho, they had adopted a very different strategy this time.
The third straight.
Almost there. Almost there.
Only six hundred meters remained!
Koichi was also beginning to shift into top gear.
With no horse or jockey ahead to use as a reference, he had to follow his prearranged plan for the pace throughout the entire race.
Huff-!
Huff-!
Epiphaneia gradually picked up speed as well.
Accelerate!
Running into the wind at the front had consumed considerable energy, but this was not a runaway lead, so there was still something left in reserve for a final kick.
Whether they could win would come down to the final kick they had saved for this race.
The hoofbeats behind them grew increasingly urgent.
"They're pushing forward! They're pushing forward!"
"Miura Kōjō has brought Crown Gift charging straight up from behind!"
At the five- to six-hundred-meter mark, many jockeys began urging their mounts forward and accelerating.
At Nakayama Racecourse, they certainly needed to accelerate early. Most jockeys chose to start pushing in this section, since they still had to save enough speed to climb that punishing slope.
"The third turn! The final straight!"
"Coming up on the outside is number fifteen, Kaminogahara!"
As they rounded the turn, all the horses surged forward, bunching tightly together.
They fought for