Gutted!

Poor Beat The Boarder got a bad gate draw at TCK - yet again! The chances of constantly getting an outside berth must be almost the same as me winning the Eurovision Song Contest, but we keep getting an awful gate position - one that in Tokyo at the distance we was running is almost impossible to do well from. As a result, Shun Ishizaki just cruised her around, giving her a good dose of sand along the way so she could get used to it. It's bloody annoying, because she looked superb in the paddock.

To rub salt in the wound, Pop Label can't get a run at TCK on the 28th, so we'll have to wait for the next Funabashi meeting. I must thank Teruya Yoshida for his words in the Shadai magazine this month, though. Yes, it's time we got more organized and stopped being the poor relation to JRA. After all, NAR taught JRA everything they know, and then screwed up a good thing by chasing money and nothing else. Ganbatte NAR!

Courtesy Carrot Club

Meanwhile, Massabielle (pictured) makes his debut at Nakayama tomorrow with Katsuura-san in the saddle. They run in the 2000m 6R on turf, which should be interesting.

Next week, Belle Plage is lining up for the 1800m dirt race at Nakayama on the 4th, with Irish Harp running in the Kyoto 1400m dirt race on the same day. Fuma Matsuwaka has been named as the jockey for the latter, which raised a few eyebrows in the house - I shall reserve judgement for the time being. Hopefully, Harmony Fair and Kalliopeia should be out at Nakayama soon, and Eclat De Reve has arrived at Ritto, so should start her race career soon. One last bit of Carrot news - Time For Love's operation went very well, and light training has already started again. When racing will resume is another question, but at least it's a step in the right direction.