The first week of racing in the new year came to a smooth close.
Koichi finished with three wins, and he had also secured a top-five finish in each of the graded stakes races.
"Can you see him? Your new general?"
Megumi Mitsumori pointed her phone at Man o' War.
On the screen, a stablehand was leading Man o' War back and forth along the path.
Naturally, they were doing this to check Man o' War's gait.
Every racehorse was different, both in running form and in certain habits.
Besides his gait, they also needed to examine his conformation and muscle mass.
"I can see him. It looks like he still needs to build more muscle, but his gait is pretty good."
Koichi watched for a while, then nodded.
Although Man o' War had historically performed poorly before the age of four and had spent a long time resting because of injuries, now that he was in Koichi's hands, Koichi was determined to change a few things.
"That's still a work in progress. His muscle mass should keep increasing through his regular training. I've looked at the plan they put together, too, and it's quite good."
Megumi Mitsumori offered her assessment as well.
She felt that, if everything went normally, he could enter the stable in April or May to prepare for racing.
The more she looked at him, the more pleased she became.
What pleased her most was Man o' War's good temperament. She felt she could keep coming to see him whenever she had time.
She wanted to nurture a racehorse that liked her.
"Aoe's training ranch is pretty good. We can keep working with them in the future."
Training ranches were also a crucial link in the process.
In any case, their current partnership with Aoe Ranch