Tokyo Racecourse.
Before the race began, Koichi seemed to go over his plan for this race once more.
The Keio Hai Nisai Stakes, 1,400 meters.
The course had two turns in total.
Given the likely pace of this race, they would be best off securing a position near the front.
Hanging too far back in a sprint was never a good thing.
The pace would be fast, and they could easily find themselves poorly placed for the final straight.
Man o' War had comfortably become the favorite, while Happy Planet, ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga, was the second favorite.
Koichi was riding in both of that week's graded stakes races.
With Man o' War entering a graded stakes race, he naturally had to give it his all.
Before the race, the commentators were particularly optimistic about Man o' War.
After all, the horse had both speed and a strong final kick.
They were more concerned about whether Koichi Sasaki could adapt to the pace of a sprint.
This was also his first time competing in a two-year-old sprint graded stakes race.
"Everyone has high expectations for Koichi Sasaki this time."
"The pace of a graded stakes race is very fast, but I'm sure jockey Sasaki already has his own tactics prepared."
"I have to say, Man o' War's performance in his newcomer race was quite outstanding. Hopefully, he can maintain that impressive form today."
The introductions during the parade were brief. Although some horses had already raced many times, their results had been consistently mediocre, while horses like Man o' War had only run a single newcomer race.
There were differences between racehorses, too. Sometimes, even breaking out of the maiden ranks was no easy task.
The main priority was to accumulate some prize money at the age of two.
Man