By the time Koichi got up, it was already past eight in the morning.
Sleeping in his own home without any pressure really was a pleasure.
He had been away so much lately that he had almost forgotten what his own bed felt like.
After a quick wash, Koichi headed over to the office.
"You're up?"
"Yeah, just woke up. The air's still better here."
Koichi nodded as he came through the door.
Coming home really did help him relax.
In Tokyo, he had genuinely been afraid of running into strange racehorses and spectators. Coming back was better, especially since he had nothing much to do in Tokyo anyway.
"You seem to have recovered pretty well. You were in fantastic form in last week's race, too."
Megumi Mitsumori spoke.
The morning training sessions had naturally all finished, and the horses were now returning to the stable to rest.
Things had been going quite smoothly on her end lately, with everything proceeding according to the original plan.
"Have you been in touch with Ikezoe lately?"
Koichi pulled over a stool and sat down.
Then he found Megumi Mitsumori's snacks.
He had not eaten anything since getting up and was a little hungry, so this was a perfect chance to raid her snacks.
"Of course I have. Don't question my professionalism."
Megumi Mitsumori rolled her eyes as she recorded the data.
She was no longer the trainer who had only just entered the industry.
When he received the news, she could tell that he was in an especially good mood.
Epiphaneia was not an easy racehorse to handle.
Perhaps...
Kenichi Ikezoe really did have a taste for that sort of thing.
"All right, all right. You're a trainer with a Grade 1 win now. You've made a bit of a name for