Megumi Mitsumori's stable.
Koichi had timed his arrival for when all the horses had returned, with lunch just around the corner.
It was sensible time management.
Coming at this time let him do what he wanted, then head off to eat shortly afterward.
As for the stall assignments, Epiphaneia was on the far left, Gold Ship on the far right, and Man o' War in the middle.
The stable staff naturally greeted Koichi warmly when they saw him arrive.
He was the hope for their horses' future.
Their chances of winning were high with Koichi Sasaki riding them, and even if they couldn't win, they might still pick up some prize money.
As Koichi walked in, heads poked out of the stalls one after another.
Quite a few of these horses had worked with Koichi before, so they were familiar with him.
"Haha, our star jockey is back."
Megumi Mitsumori handed Koichi a bottle of mineral water.
Naturally, she had watched the Dubai race live, and Koichi Sasaki's performance had been flawless.
Getting results like that with just one race in two weeks was impressive.
"If I stayed away any longer, I'd really run out of opportunities. The competition here is so fierce now that I can't afford to slack off at all."
Koichi played along.
Well.
Gold Ship was as aloof as ever.
Even with Koichi standing right outside his stall, he showed no reaction.
"You almost had me believing you. Aren't you Northern Farm's most promising rising star? How could you possibly run out of opportunities?"
Megumi Mitsumori certainly didn't believe him.
He was such a rascal.
The rides he got this week would probably be fairly ordinary, but things would improve afterward.
"Haha."
Koichi laughed too.
Only at the sound of his laughter did Gold Ship turn