Over Saturday and Sunday, Koichi visited each attraction on Saki Ikegami's itinerary.
The Burj Khalifa.
Palm Island.
The World Islands.
The Dubai Museum.
Dubai Creek.
He got a taste of the distinctive atmosphere of a different region.
Although he did not feel anything particularly special, Saki Ikegami had a wonderful time.
She even bought quite a few expensive luxury goods, while Koichi naturally picked up some local specialties to take home as gifts.
He knew more and more people now, so he had to make sure he covered that side of things, too.
With nothing to do in the evenings, Koichi also watched videos of the races back home.
He still had to ride in morning training on Monday and Tuesday, followed by an afternoon workout gallop on Wednesday.
His tasks for the following week had naturally been scheduled well in advance, and he could watch the post-position draw on Wednesday evening.
There were so many races in a single day, but he only had one.
Of course.
That also had something to do with how few racehorses had come over from Japan this time.
Koichi mainly watched that week's Nikkei Sho.
There had been no real opposition in the Hanshin Daishoten, but the Nikkei Sho featured plenty of strong horses.
Just as he had predicted, Extraordinary Steed claimed first place in the Nikkei Sho in impressive fashion, immediately becoming one of the favorites for the Tenno Sho.
"What's coming will come. Extraordinary Steed really is in red-hot form."
After watching the race, Koichi shook his head helplessly.
Extraordinary Steed had performed well the previous year and had been fancied in several major races, but unfortunately had never managed to deliver results.
After returning this year, the horse was clearly even stronger.
Naturally, he also saw the messages Sanshokai had