Tokyo Racecourse
The races here had already begun, while the other racehorses were still in transit.
Koichi Sasaki had put on quite a performance on the first day, too.
Koichi was working hard to reach his two hundredth win.
He had been riding here for quite some time, and his understanding of both the course and his opponents had reached a new level.
Naturally, his post-victory interview included a question about when he would reach two hundred wins.
"I hope it'll be soon. After all, I got my hundredth win around last year's Derby, so I need to work even harder this year."
The very best jockeys were certain to win more than a hundred races a year, but that was still a difficult target for him.
Even so, reaching this level in his first few years already made Koichi Sasaki an impressive jockey.
Most of the horses he rode on the first day were front-running types.
That also gave him plenty of race data.
Inside-Track Breakthrough!
Precisely because those front-running horses suited it, the technique worked quite well.
Compared to his initial attempts, when he had kept charging toward the inside, he had now gained some new insights.
Risk and opportunity always went hand in hand.
And thanks to that, he had pulled off an upset in one of Saturday's races.
After the race, he chatted quite a bit with the other jockeys.
As far as they were concerned, Koichi Sasaki was getting bolder and bolder.
Koichi Sasaki had always been a jockey who liked trying all kinds of tactics, and this race only reinforced that impression.
The toughest challenge would still be tomorrow's Derby.
Deep Bond was the favorite.
Two consecutive graded stakes wins.
That had filled everyone with confidence in Deep Bond.
Epiphaneia was the second favorite,