Hanshin Racecourse.
"Sasaki, are you ready?"
"Just about."
Koichi was about to race with Old Gold's daughter.
Red Dream.
The club that used "Red" as its naming prefix was quite an old one. Since Koichi was good at handling horses from the Gold family, they had specifically sought him out.
Their secret weapon against the Gold family.
Still, with Koichi Sasaki on board, the horse had certainly become much more popular.
"I'm jealous, Wada. You've practically got this one in the bag."
Kenichi Ikezoe spoke from beside him.
Although he was competing too, he was still riding a horse his father had assigned him.
His chances of winning really weren't great.
Ryuji Wada, on the other hand, was riding his regular mount, with whom he had won two graded stakes for two-year-olds.
"You're jinxing me before we've even started. Vega is the favorite here."
Ryuji Wada felt considerable pressure.
The horses entered in this Grade 1 for two-year-olds were all exceptionally strong.
Deep Impact's two-year-old daughter, in particular, had a final kick that really evoked her sire.
"That's true. Vega, whom Kawada is riding this time, has only won one graded stakes race, but that final kick is no joke."
Yuichi Fukunaga nodded too.
"One of you has the second favorite, Polar Bear, and the other has the third favorite, Dream of the Stars. Hard to say. Very hard to say."
Kenichi Ikezoe wore an inscrutable expression.
Yuga Kawada, Yuichi Fukunaga, and Ryuji Wada were all leading contenders for the win.
Although Koichi Sasaki was very good, he wasn't particularly familiar with races over this distance, so most people didn't fancy his chances this time.
The commentators and analysts felt the same way.
Mostly, they welcomed Koichi Sasaki taking part in more mile races. This was part of getting familiar