The weekend's races wrapped up smoothly, and Koichi performed noticeably better on Sunday than on Saturday.
After taking Monday off for a brief rest, he went straight to the filming location on Tuesday to appear on a live show.
While he was getting his makeup done backstage, the director walked him through quite a few things. After all, this was his first live appearance, so he was bound to need some time to adjust.
Fortunately, they had also invited Yuichi Fukunaga to help guide his junior.
"Sasaki, just follow the host's lead and keep the conversation going."
"Got it."
Koichi knew there was no need to try to stand out.
After all, they were paying him to appear, so he needed to follow their wishes.
It was just like being chosen for a race by a trainer: he would ride according to the trainer's instructions.
"Don't be nervous. We can just chat normally. This host is pretty good at making things entertaining, too."
Yuichi Fukunaga turned to glance at Koichi, who was sitting beside him.
His schedule this week was certainly much lighter than Koichi's. He was not riding in the Tenno Sho this time, which took a lot of pressure off him.
"I'll give it a try."
Koichi's makeup was almost done, too.
With his looks, he really did not need much makeup. A few minor touch-ups were enough.
Meanwhile, their agents were naturally chatting as well.
People in their circle needed to exchange information, and Fukunaga had the best connections. After all, he was a talented second-generation jockey.
A jockey like Koichi, who had fought his way up on his own, was still a long way from enjoying those advantages.
Koichi was still rather nervous when he first went onstage.
It was his first time seeing so many