JUST IN CASE... 

Just in case nobody noticed, despite the huge level of advertising the JRA has used this year, it's Japanese Derby day today - the Tokyo Yushun race taking place at the Tokyo-Fuchu track later this afternoon. A lot of the new horses I'll be profiling in a bit have close links to this most influential race, with legends like King Kamehameha, Jungle Pocket, Neo Universe and Special Week being past winners that have sired some of the newcomers. It should be a great race, worthy of an 80th anniversary celebration. For what it's worth, my money is on Epiphaneia.

MIRACLE UPDATE 
The post-race reports have come in now, with jockey Hironobu Tanabe stating that he was surprised by the finishing speed of Miracle Rouge, although the race plan - to hold her back, close to rail - went like clockwork. It seems as if the 1800m distance and Tokyo track layout are perfect for her, and the trainer is hoping to get her out one more time at Tokyo-Fuchu if her body is still in good condition. If she needs a rest, fair enough, she shall have one, but if she's still raring to go, I have a feeling her odds will be a lot shorter next time out.

Meanwhile, Pop Label is still in fine fettle after passing his NAR tests, and so a Monbetsu debut is being planned for early June. Now is as good a time as any to highlight the visitor counter, which has now gone beyond the 20,000 mark. People from no less than 58 countries have viewed the blog, and from all corners of the globe. Please stay tuned for some more new horse profiles (can't believe the Shadai Group yearling list is already in print!), plus all manner of Thoroughbred and race-related articles to come in the near future.

SEEING RED 
Moving down from 2000m to 1800m for the first time, Miracle Rouge performed admirably today, coming third, having been beaten to the post by a margin of just 0.1 seconds. In addition, her 34.1 time for the last three furlongs was in another class altogether compared to the other 18 nags in the race (35.1 for the winner, 34.9 for the second-placed horse), so we can definitely conclude that this filly has a future. It looks like my faith in this beautiful creature and her heavy dose of Sadler's Wells blood is starting to pay off...

A WEEKEND RACE AFTER ALL 
Although Harmony Fair's race scheduled for this weekend was struck off the calendar, Miracle Rouge will be running at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 25th (in the 3R - an 1800m turf event) with Tanabe-san in the saddle. 

Meanwhile, the Carrot Club newcomer True Motion is making fine progress, and is expected to make a JRA debut at Tokyo in the very near future. Looking at the training times posted by the Kimura Stables, this pony can move...

THE NEW HORSES #4: BEAT THE BOARDER 
Okay, it's a strange name, but there's nothing strange about the blood flowing through this Sunday Thoroughbred Club filly, with Admire Japan as the sire, and After Beat as the dam. With any luck, she'll be starting her NAR career in the reasonably near future...

Admire Japan was a solid performer rather than outstanding, with the legendary Sunday Silence as his father and Biwa Heidi (Buena Vista's dam, and winner of four races) as his mother. The Sunday Silence line has been well documented, but for me, the Hail To Reason element is important. As for Biwa Heidi, her father was Caerleon, meaning her grandfather was Nijinsky, and she also carries Hail To Reason and Sir Gaylord blood.

Courtesy Sunday TC

On the dam side, we have Creator (by Mill Reef) as the damsire, while After Beat's mother, was incredibly strong, winning five races before she became a broodmare. Her line is dominated by Nearco, Native Dancer, Bull Lea and Lady Angela DNA, but Never Say Die is also in the mix.

Beat The Boarder has yet to be assigned to a racing stable, but you'll be the first to know as soon as she finds a place to stay.

A QUICK UPDATE 
Harmony Fair will not be running on the 26th now - she has damaged a leg in training, and while it's not a serious problem, with no breakages, she wouldn't be able to race at her peak, so her entry has been withdrawn. It's a shame, because the same track and distance gave her her first win. Not to worry...

Meanwhile, Belle Plage has been placed with Mitsuhiro Ogata's stables at Miho Training Centre. After a brief settling in period, she can get down to some serious preparation for her first race. Agua De Vida is also progressing nicely, passing her second gate test with ease; her final exam is scheduled for the 28th of this month.

TYPICAL! 
Yesterday, for some reason, the kids finished school early, allowing some saddle time that couldn't be put in on Monday due to the weather, which reminded me more of England than Japan. Louis took 'Jaguar' out first to work some of the highly-strung tension out of him, and after countless laps of the outer track at Tokoro, handed him over to Sophie. You could tell from his head movements that he was still raring to go, and Sophie took him around at a nicely-paced trot. Then, coming off the third corner, all of a sudden he's doing a beautiful canter - Sophie's first time unassisted, and quite an achievement with 'The Difficult Horse' for anyone, let alone someone her size! But guess who didn't take a camera? Typical...

THE NEW HORSES #3: POP LABEL 
Pop Label is a muscle-bound Sunday Thoroughbred Club colt by Company out of Pop Chart. Assigned to the NAR's Hiromori Stables in Hokkaido for the time being, with luck, he will have the lengthy career of Company (12-4-1), who was winning at top level long after most racehorses have retired, and the fiery DNA of Pops (Pop Chart's dam), which is a combination of Hail To Reason (via Sunday Silence) and Secretariat blood.

Courtesy Sunday TC

Company mixes Tony Bin, Sadler's Wells, Mr Prospector, Secretariat and a good dose of Northern Dancer blood, but winning G1 races at eight years old is remarkable, even for a horse with such noble ancestry. Even the female lines boast some good winners, such as the Irish horse, Sun Princess, who claimed the English St Leger and The Oaks.

On the mother's side, the damsire is Afleet (7-4-2) by Mr Prospector, meaning a Native Dancer line, with a sprinkling of Citation (the legendary US Triple Crown winner) ancestry further back, while Pops, as we've already mentioned, has an all-star family behind her. Pop Label will be making his debut any minute, and given the powerful performance in his test race, it should be something to look forward to. If he can win and get a berth at Funabashi, life would be sweet...

THE GODOLPHIN SCANDAL
Sounds like the name of a movie, and indeed, it could turn out to be a real horror if the scandal keeps widening at this pace. It's ironic that I watched a Frankie Dettori interview a couple of days ago, where he described being nudged out of the Godolphin line-up by a new trainer that had entered the scene. Dettori said he felt so low, with everything he held dear in racing falling away from him, that he turned to drugs as a means of escaping reality, and ultimately got landed with a six-month ban as a result. With some hard work, having now served out the ban, he can hopefully get back his life and return to the winner's circle in due course.

Meanwhile, the Godolphin empire has been rocked by its own drug scandal, but, in many ways, a far more serious one. Dettori did something incredibly foolish, which he has admitted to, and paid the price in full. Furthermore, the drugs that the rider took did nothing to enhance his performance as a sportsman, while those tracked down in the stables run by Al-Zarooni are raising serious ethical questions on sporting code. Doping has raised its ugly head numerous times in America, but Newmarket and the British racing community as a whole is in shock today - first a few Godolphin horses, and now another batch, including the St Leger winner, Encke.

Whereas Dettori may possibly be able to restore his image and pride in the coming months, the damage done to the British racing industry by Al-Zarooni will last for a long time, destroying hard-earned reputations that took decades to establish, and possibly rewriting history along the way, as with the Lance Armstrong cycling case - you can be sure the owners of Camelot will be as gutted as those that came second to Armstrong in the Tour De France on numerous occasions. All we can do is hope this is an isolated case of a misguided individual striving for success at all costs...

THE NEW HORSES #2: PHOSPHORUS 
Phosphorus is another NAR runner sired by Gold Allure, but this one bought through the Shadai Thoroughbred Club, and with Mejiro Venus as the dam. As noted in the previous profile, Gold Allure had won the Japan Dirt Derby in the past, as well as a number of other G1 races, so his blood is highly valued in NAR circles. 

Courtesy Shadai TC

Mejiro Venus was sired by Tony Bin, the Irish registered horse that won the L'Arc de Triomphe and the Italian GP del Jockey Club. The blood flowing through Tony Bin reads like a who's who of the English racing scene, with Hyperion, Gainsborough and Nasrullah crosses, while the female side seems to have a habit of breeding winners. 

Mejiro Venus won two races herself, with her mother claiming no less than eight victories, with very strong blood on her sire side (with Hall of Fame horse, Northern Dancer being the main influence) and dam side, including Chateaugay (winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes) and Swaps, who also won the Kentucky Derby. We shall soon see whether the winning combination has been struck with this horse...

THE NEW HORSES #1: AGUA DE VIDA 
Having gone back over the first batch of youngsters, only to find that two of them have been retired in the same week, it's time to start making our way through the newcomers. Seeing as the NAR kids are making the fastest progress, we'll start there, with Agua De Vida (currently based at the Hiromori Stables in Hokkaido) being first up.

Courtesy Carrot Club

Agua De Vida is a Carrot Club filly, with Gold Allure as the sire and Agua De Beber as the dam. Gold Allure is a popular stallion by Sunday Silence (and therefore having Hail To Reason origins), winning eight races including the Japan Dirt Derby during his time on the track, while the dam line is dominated by Northern Dancer blood, including Nijinsky five generations back.

On the mother's side, although Agua De Beber was never raced, her father is Kurofune, which should surely give excellent dirt racing potential when combined with Gold Allure blood. Kurofune carried on the French Deputy and Deputy Minister bloodlines, while his mother, Blue Avenue was herself a strong racer (five wins from 20 starts) - strong enough to have been covered by Deep Impact. Agua De Beber's mother is Curly Passion, a full sister of Air Groove (a legend in Japanese racing circles), as both had Tony Bin as the sire and Dyna Carle as the dam. Tony Bin needs no introduction on this blog, but Dyna Carle is less well-known, despite winning five races. She carries Northern Dancer, Guersant and Never Say Die blood.

ANOTHER NEW LINK 
Just added another new link to the right-hand side of the page - this one called 'Yes! Come On Funabashi' which is basically a fun site promoting Funabashi Keiba. Always lots of interesting snippets and photos, plus behind the scenes stuff to keep you entertained. There's a Facebook version, too, and if that's easier for you to deal with, you can always try this link instead: https://www.facebook.com/yes.funabashi. The original official blog is still going, by the way, along with the main homepage. There's absolutely no excuse now not to be able to follow events at my local NAR track!

MERRYL S 
A little while ago, another Thoroughbred arrived at Tokoro RC - a female horse from 2005 called 'Merryl S' at the stables, but born and registered as Tokai Charme in her racing days. Sired by Charismatic, she has Secretariat, Bold Ruler, Turn-To and Sir Gaylord blood as a result, while her mother provided her with Roberto, Hali To Reason and Princequillo DNA, as well as an extra helping of Northern Dancer blood. The striking thing about her is not her race record, but how incredibly friendly and lively she is. She's a big hit with Sophie, that's for sure...