After spending another half day playing with Black North and Epiphaneia, Koichi returned to Tokyo.
There had been no problems with Epiphaneia, of course, but he still hadn't made any progress with Black North. The colt's mother was simply too wary.
He could only play with Black North from beside the fence.
He had to admit that anyone looking from a distance would have thought he was a strange man.
Fortunately, he held a high standing at the ranch, so even if someone saw him, they wouldn't say anything.
After three days of rest, Koichi felt himself gradually getting back into form.
As soon as he got off the plane, he spotted Saki Ikegami waiting to pick him up.
He had taken two days off, and so had she. Compared with her earlier exhausted appearance, she looked noticeably prettier today.
"Welcome back to Tokyo."
"Thanks. It really is warmer here in Tokyo."
Koichi followed her, pulling his luggage along.
He had originally planned to take the train back himself, but his agent had insisted on picking him up.
She probably wanted to discuss the upcoming schedule on the way.
On the road.
Sure enough, Saki Ikegami went over this week's schedule.
There was only a little over a day left before the races began, so that day would have to be devoted entirely to preparation. Last week's approach had worked well, and they naturally needed to keep it up this week.
"Some of the people who canceled their bookings want to come back, Sasaki. Should we accept them again?"
After taking some time off, she had started answering calls about work again.
Seeing that Koichi Sasaki was performing well again, without having been affected at all, they were starting to regret their decisions.
"Since they canceled, let's leave it at