Kenichi Ikezoe was naturally delighted during the post-race interview.
It was only a Newcomer Race, but he felt like an old farmer at harvest time.
While answering questions, Kenichi Ikezoe also expressed his confidence in Epiphaneia.
At the very least, the rides for the second half of its two-year-old season were his.
After such a strong performance, entering a graded stakes race after its two-year-old races certainly seemed feasible.
But he would still have to discuss that with Megumi Mitsumori.
Epiphaneia was naturally delighted with its victory, too. It had given the horse an enormous boost in confidence: none of those horses running alongside it had been a match for it.
It remained excited after the race, so they loosened its gear and took it to the showers to cool down.
Racehorses were quite prone to heatstroke during summer races, so they were cooled down both before and after competing.
If a racehorse fell ill, it would have to rest for a long time, and there was no telling when it might regain its form.
"You can send your Young Master the video when you get back."
Megumi Mitsumori was relieved as well.
This made Epiphaneia's upcoming races easier to arrange.
To play it safe, though, she probably would not enter it directly in a graded stakes race. She would choose an open-class race first and see how it did.
The strongest two-year-old graded stakes race this year would undoubtedly be the Tokyo Sports Hai.
Whether they entered would depend on its recovery and condition later on. As for the two two-year-old Grade 1 races, she felt it made little difference whether it ran in them.
They could afford to take a longer-term view.
"Epiphaneia was really strong today. Its final kick looked explosive, too."
Mirai had not expected Epiphaneia