Megumi Mitsumori looked grim.
Koichi had chosen a fairly good position in this race, but the other jockeys and horses had soon boxed him in.
That left them waiting for the Third Turn or the final straight to break free.
But those were undoubtedly the two hardest options, demanding exceptional timing and an equally sharp response to commands from the horse.
Epiphaneia's restless head made his anger plain.
Fortunately, Koichi Sasaki still had him under control.
If Kenichi Ikezoe had been riding him, she hardly dared imagine what would happen.
Pat, pat.
Beside her, Ayano Aoe patted her shoulder.
Until the race was over, none of them could know how it would end.
"Don't be so nervous."
"Mm."
Ayano Aoe had naturally been keeping a close eye on Flagship, too.
Christophe Lemaire had just won this year's Oka Sho, so she trusted him to deliver a good performance at Tokyo Racecourse as well.
As for Koichi Sasaki, she was silently cheering him on, too.
Although it was hard to see things opening up for him now, he still had a chance.
The main question was how much longer Epiphaneia could endure it. His displeasure was becoming increasingly obvious.
Koichi had activated Calming early on.
Only the skill's effects, combined with the Bridle drawn from the system, had kept Epiphaneia from completely losing his temper.
But he could feel that Epiphaneia was already on the verge of erupting.
Over the preceding stretch, the horse had visibly been restraining himself, probably in part because Koichi Sasaki was the jockey on his back.
Snort-!
Snort-!
No matter how angry Epiphaneia became, the other jockeys had no intention of letting the Divine Might Knight out before the Third Turn. Otherwise, all their earlier defensive efforts would have been wasted.
Meanwhile, Ryuji Wada, Yuga