Porthos Du Vallon is being sold by the sound of things, never having jumped once for me. Okay, he won a couple of races for the Long equipe, but my dream of having a jumper in amongst my racehorse line-up is still very much unfulfilled. I've found a nice little place in Ireland that could be exactly what I'm looking for, concentrating on nothing but National Hunt racing, so let's wait and see what happens on that front...
In Japan, Joyful Step has lapsed back into 'Sorrowful Limp' mode having had a particularly bad run this morning - eighth, but a long way off the pace, as she was in her last Niigata race. Despite what the jockey says, she didn't even put in her blazing last two to three furlongs, which is really disappointing - at least if she had finishing speed, it was one area less to have to work on. Now, she still needs a significant improvement in all-round ability to get anywhere near the head of the pack, and there simply isn't that time available. The heavy ground doubtless went against such a lightweight horse (412kg), and the trainer is saying he wants to give it another go as a result. Let's just hope Ban-kun can do better tomorrow, as Tenshinramman is a completely different beast!
And in Australia, we opened our campaign Down Under with a fifth place for Pretty Gully. Ridden by Braydn Swaffer, she started as second favourite, so JLH Racing had a right to expect a little more from her. Still, it's something to build on, and I'm sure she'll do the business next time out - today's sloppy track didn't suit her, and the long trip to Innisfail seemed to take its toll by all accounts. At least she's finished the race in one piece, and that's the most important thing at this stage.
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