Having had my gripe about Carrot Club earlier today, it's time for some better news to lighten things up. I was sent a couple of lovely pictures from Ilka Gansera-Leveque this morning, one showing Godiva's Pride (GP) in his stable, and another with him working out as the dawn broke above Newmarket. He's becoming a muscle-bound little fella, that's for sure, pointing to a debut some time soon I suspect. At least Ilka won't be rushed into making a debut until she knows GP is good and ready...
Saturday, January 11, 2014
New Year News On GP
Having had my gripe about Carrot Club earlier today, it's time for some better news to lighten things up. I was sent a couple of lovely pictures from Ilka Gansera-Leveque this morning, one showing Godiva's Pride (GP) in his stable, and another with him working out as the dawn broke above Newmarket. He's becoming a muscle-bound little fella, that's for sure, pointing to a debut some time soon I suspect. At least Ilka won't be rushed into making a debut until she knows GP is good and ready...
Legitimate Right
There are a few people asking why I'm so fed up with Carrot Club, and the JRA horses in particular. Well, it's a fair question that deserves an answer, and, unlike the faceless organization in question that won't respond to me, I shall be happy to give a reply. After reading it, I'm sure you will agree that I have a legitimate right to take umbrage.
Last season, I had horses running left, right and centre - mixed results, but at least they were out there. During 2013 and 2014, I've had hardly anything running, despite a large increase in the number of horses owned, and when they do run, they run like donkeys and the trainers are left scratching their heads while they come up with an excuse they haven't already used. And, boy, are they running out of those!
TENSHINRAMMAN: She had a glittering start to her career, posting a 33.1 second 3F time and missing out on qualifying for the 2013 Japanese Oaks by a whisker, which would have probably been avoidable had the jockey remembered what the whip was for! She picked up two wins and two seconds from five rides. She was blocked out of her first comeback, so awaiting the second comeback with bated breath, I watch her come in in 13th. She was tired apparently, after four-and-a-half months of training for the event! I don't buy it.
HARMONY FAIR: Won first time out, and has done absolutely nothing since. There were other horses that the club let go that didn't win early on, but certainly had a higher potential. These were sold and started winning in NAR straight away, while Harmony makes up the numbers once in a blue moon and wastes my money.
MIRACLE ROUGE: No complaints on this one, as she's given real value for money. Races are perhaps too rich for her level of talent nowadays, but at least she fights like a trooper.
MISTOFFELEES: The fourth and last remaining of the 2010 crop, he's a bit like 'Jaguar' in his character, in that you catch him on a good day and he's going to be hard to beat, while on a bad day you might as well not unload him from the trailer. Again, though, at least he's a fighter, and has been out 11 times. I also like the fact that Saito-san, the trainer, has a face.
BELLE PLAGE: The first of the 2011 crop. Fourth in June 2013, and second two weeks later. Then six months of nothing, except reports that are so familiar, even I can read them. And I don't read Japanese!
TRUE MOTION: Showed real potential in the June 2013 debut, then a four month wait for a disaster followed by silence on the line.
SOPHISTICATE: A great debut followed by two awful results in quick succession. And this was a horse that was highlighted as being something special in early training. The trainer keeps going for longer distances, when it's obvious shorter is better.
IRISH HARP: Showed real promise in its debut run, then, wow, yet another disaster to add to the catalogue of disasters, despite running on the same track at the same distance. I've not seen this horse run for three months.
SINGLE CASK: Another horse that has shown it has what it takes in the right race with the right jockey. So why choose the wrong race for it, and then announce you're going to make an even worse move in the future?
DINNER BELL: This horse is so slow, I could beat it - walking! It shouldn't be allowed near a track, unless it's used in lead-out duty.
MEPHISTO WALTZ: Quicker than Dinner Bell, but only just. I'd have to run to beat it.
JOYFUL STEP: Bought in Autumn 2012, and still hasn't raced! Will it ever race? They certainly can't win, or pick up any money at all for that matter, if they don't run.
CLASSIC CURL: Ditto Joyful Step.
GLINT MOMENT: Ditto Joyful Step and Classic Curl.
So, there we go. And as the season progresses, I believe things can only get worse, as far
too many horses vie for far too few gate slots in suitable races. Why on earth JRA doesn't concentrate on turf and leave the dirt races to NAR, I shall never know. At least it would double the amount of potential race chances for younger horses. Greed? Let's face it, the JRA boys are quick enough to scoop up the big prizes in NAR whenever the chance arises. Whatever. One thing is for sure, though - JRA's current policy, aided and abetted by the clubs, desperate for nothing more than fresh income, certainly doesn't help in the overall development of Thoroughbred horses, as so few are given the opportunity to show their true potential...
Last season, I had horses running left, right and centre - mixed results, but at least they were out there. During 2013 and 2014, I've had hardly anything running, despite a large increase in the number of horses owned, and when they do run, they run like donkeys and the trainers are left scratching their heads while they come up with an excuse they haven't already used. And, boy, are they running out of those!
There are horses that will never do any good, like Dinner Bell and Mephisto Waltz, and that's fair enough - only magicians can make a precious stone from a lump of coal. But there are so many good horses that are not performing anywhere near their potential. One cannot possibly blame the Miho and Ritto facilities, which are some of the best in the world, and that's a fact.
HARMONY FAIR: Won first time out, and has done absolutely nothing since. There were other horses that the club let go that didn't win early on, but certainly had a higher potential. These were sold and started winning in NAR straight away, while Harmony makes up the numbers once in a blue moon and wastes my money.
MIRACLE ROUGE: No complaints on this one, as she's given real value for money. Races are perhaps too rich for her level of talent nowadays, but at least she fights like a trooper.
MISTOFFELEES: The fourth and last remaining of the 2010 crop, he's a bit like 'Jaguar' in his character, in that you catch him on a good day and he's going to be hard to beat, while on a bad day you might as well not unload him from the trailer. Again, though, at least he's a fighter, and has been out 11 times. I also like the fact that Saito-san, the trainer, has a face.
BELLE PLAGE: The first of the 2011 crop. Fourth in June 2013, and second two weeks later. Then six months of nothing, except reports that are so familiar, even I can read them. And I don't read Japanese!
TRUE MOTION: Showed real potential in the June 2013 debut, then a four month wait for a disaster followed by silence on the line.
SOPHISTICATE: A great debut followed by two awful results in quick succession. And this was a horse that was highlighted as being something special in early training. The trainer keeps going for longer distances, when it's obvious shorter is better.
IRISH HARP: Showed real promise in its debut run, then, wow, yet another disaster to add to the catalogue of disasters, despite running on the same track at the same distance. I've not seen this horse run for three months.
SINGLE CASK: Another horse that has shown it has what it takes in the right race with the right jockey. So why choose the wrong race for it, and then announce you're going to make an even worse move in the future?
DINNER BELL: This horse is so slow, I could beat it - walking! It shouldn't be allowed near a track, unless it's used in lead-out duty.
MEPHISTO WALTZ: Quicker than Dinner Bell, but only just. I'd have to run to beat it.
JOYFUL STEP: Bought in Autumn 2012, and still hasn't raced! Will it ever race? They certainly can't win, or pick up any money at all for that matter, if they don't run.
CLASSIC CURL: Ditto Joyful Step.
GLINT MOMENT: Ditto Joyful Step and Classic Curl.
So, there we go. And as the season progresses, I believe things can only get worse, as far
too many horses vie for far too few gate slots in suitable races. Why on earth JRA doesn't concentrate on turf and leave the dirt races to NAR, I shall never know. At least it would double the amount of potential race chances for younger horses. Greed? Let's face it, the JRA boys are quick enough to scoop up the big prizes in NAR whenever the chance arises. Whatever. One thing is for sure, though - JRA's current policy, aided and abetted by the clubs, desperate for nothing more than fresh income, certainly doesn't help in the overall development of Thoroughbred horses, as so few are given the opportunity to show their true potential...
Official At Last
Well, it's official - my own racing colours have been approved and registered in England. I will now hopefully be able to use these colours in Australia, too, as the system and design options are basically the same for both countries. Naturally, it means more paperwork and expense, but we only live once, and if you don't follow your dreams, there's not much point in being here...Because it's not the best quality image of all time, for reference, the colours are black silks with an orange chevron (vee) and white sleeves, plus a black and grey quartered cap. I hope you all approve, as I think they look traditional put striking enough to be noticed.
Fast Forward
Most of the time, one strives to go back in history, either to better days, or to change something you'd have done differently, but I wish sometimes that I could fast forward the clock and watch this scenario pan out - Louis as a trainer, and Sophie as a jockey. Today, it was really slippery underfoot where the ice had melted, and still frozen in other parts of the training areas, so we took the opportunity to do some trainer and groom training, with Sophie leading 'Jaguar' at the perfect pace and distance after his gentle workout on a lunging rope, aping Naoka-san (one of Sophie's heroines). To get to that stage itself had been quite an experience today, with The Difficult One in a particularly foul mood when he was getting tacked up - he gets sleepy, and then goes into his default mode, which is basically short-tempered bad ass with a touch of crocodile thrown in. But it's all good when one considers it as part of the learning process - if you can handle 'Jaguar', you can handle any horse, and the rewards when he snaps out of it are always worthwhile...
Friday, January 10, 2014
Today's Excuse
Single Cask ran in the 1600m turf 5R at Nakayama at lunchtime. Guided around the track by Hiroyuki Uchida, I'm still waiting for today's excuse on yet another disgustingly poor performance from a Carrot Club horse...
It's a shame, because Single Cask was looking like a potential winner, except for some reason, the trainer decided to go for a distance a full two furlongs (400m) longer than what looks like a distance capable of giving the horse its best chance of victory, and changed from the regular jockey (one of the very best in my opinion) at the same time. Given the competition, being sixth favourite at the start seemed about right - I didn't hold out much hope of winning taking the aforementioned things into account - but to come home two seconds off the pace is just downright awful.
So, while I await both the jockey and trainer reports, which should be classic pieces, my earlier thoughts on abandoning Carrot Club and JRA racing in general is forming into a policy. I feel, for one thing, there are nowhere near enough JRA races for the number of horses kept in training. This then forces trainers to enter unsuitable races, and the situation only gets worse as the season continues. Some of the trainers know this, so put horses out too soon, and those that try and train them properly have no option but to field a pony in a race it has no possible hope of winning. We then get horses thrown by the wayside because they didn't win, when it's not their fault. The whole industry needs to take a careful look at what is happening, and either put more races on (just two meetings in the whole country today, which means 24 races in the last six days, with 11 of them for older horses) or reduce the number of TBs bred for racing.
PS. Eventually, in the evening, the excuses finally came. Tosaki-san had said before this was a nervous horse, so the chances of someone taking its reins for the first time and getting a good result are slim. Mistake number one. The start was good, so we had the distance excuse this time - my point exactly before the race even started, as this horse is obviously not a miler. Mistake number two. And now, the trainer is thinking of making another mistake by moving onto dirt, when shorter distances on dirt are not much different to a mile on turf from a stamina point of view. Add in the fact that not all horses like sand in their face, and we might as well write off this horse now. My future policy has just been formed, and the chances of me sticking to a stated policy are an awful lot higher than those of your average politician. I sincerely wish I hadn't bought more Carrot Club horses from the last catalogue. That was my mistake.
It's a shame, because Single Cask was looking like a potential winner, except for some reason, the trainer decided to go for a distance a full two furlongs (400m) longer than what looks like a distance capable of giving the horse its best chance of victory, and changed from the regular jockey (one of the very best in my opinion) at the same time. Given the competition, being sixth favourite at the start seemed about right - I didn't hold out much hope of winning taking the aforementioned things into account - but to come home two seconds off the pace is just downright awful.
So, while I await both the jockey and trainer reports, which should be classic pieces, my earlier thoughts on abandoning Carrot Club and JRA racing in general is forming into a policy. I feel, for one thing, there are nowhere near enough JRA races for the number of horses kept in training. This then forces trainers to enter unsuitable races, and the situation only gets worse as the season continues. Some of the trainers know this, so put horses out too soon, and those that try and train them properly have no option but to field a pony in a race it has no possible hope of winning. We then get horses thrown by the wayside because they didn't win, when it's not their fault. The whole industry needs to take a careful look at what is happening, and either put more races on (just two meetings in the whole country today, which means 24 races in the last six days, with 11 of them for older horses) or reduce the number of TBs bred for racing.
PS. Eventually, in the evening, the excuses finally came. Tosaki-san had said before this was a nervous horse, so the chances of someone taking its reins for the first time and getting a good result are slim. Mistake number one. The start was good, so we had the distance excuse this time - my point exactly before the race even started, as this horse is obviously not a miler. Mistake number two. And now, the trainer is thinking of making another mistake by moving onto dirt, when shorter distances on dirt are not much different to a mile on turf from a stamina point of view. Add in the fact that not all horses like sand in their face, and we might as well write off this horse now. My future policy has just been formed, and the chances of me sticking to a stated policy are an awful lot higher than those of your average politician. I sincerely wish I hadn't bought more Carrot Club horses from the last catalogue. That was my mistake.
Phos Way
The title is a bit of a play on words for folks brought up in my neck of the woods, where the Fosse Way is a piece of history. As it happens, there are all sorts of historical spots on this famous road with family links, but, for today, this is a report on Phosphorus' debut yesterday morning.Conditions were exceptionally bad, with deep water lying on the track. Kota did a brilliant job of guiding his steed through the puddles at a cracking pace, holding second for a long while. As the horse started to fade, it looked like he'd secured a magnificent third at least, but then a nag came from nowhere on a part of the track that obviously gave better traction, and Phosphorus dropped to fourth at the post. It has to be said, though, it was a fine performance from both horse and jockey...
The potential is definitely there in Phosphorus. He ran swiftly and positively, but fed straight away after his run, indicating that he hadn't quite given his all. And at 525kg, despite having lost some weight already, he's still about 10-15kg heavier than ideal, which is another area where improvements can be made to increase overall speed. Come the Spring, I reckon we'll have a real monster on our hands! I'm really looking forward to his next outing.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Japan Update
 |
| Courtesy Sunday TC |
Agua De Vida should be out at Kawasaki at the end of
the month, while on the newcomer front, the Vermilion yearling (pictured) is looking good by all accounts. She has a difficult character, but knuckles down when asked to do her training, which is fine.
In JRA racing, Single Cask should still be on for the 11th at Nakayama, and Mistoffelees is said to be ready to race again soon. All the other Carrot Club horses are in light training mode, which is nothing unusual.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
What A Ripper!
Raining Dollars not only gained some experience this morning, lining up with other horses in the gates for the first time, he also picked up his papers allowing him to race along the way. The race ability test (also known as a barrier test or jump out in Australia) is the first stage in a horse's racing career, meaning he's fast enough to compete and controllable enough not to be a danger to himself and others. The fact he got his licence so quickly and easily is a credit to Jo Hassett and her stables...
Sunday, January 5, 2014
First Aussie News Of 2014
Just in from Down Under: Raining Dollars is having his race ability test on Wednesday. He is still very young, and this trial run is more for experience than anything else - if he gets his certificate as part of the learning process, it would be a nice bonus...
Shun Ishizaki
We profiled Shun Ishizaki's dad a while back (in November 2012), but with Shun riding Beat The Boarder for us, now is as good a time as any to take a look at the career of the younger element in this father-and-son team based at the Funabashi Keiba track.Born in Chiba in September 1983, Shun entered the JRA Jockey School in April 1999, but quickly moved over to NAR, where his father had made his name. After graduating, he joined Kenji Sato's stable at Funabashi, and won his first race in July 2001 - just a week after his first ride. Perhaps not surprisingly, he was named NAR 'Rookie of the Year' in 2002, and clocked up his 100th win in the following year.
Tough under pressure, Shun had his first of 40 JRA rides in 2003, and has won over 1000 times in the NAR arena, notching up a win rate of 9.5%. Within those wins - 1008 and counting - notable victories have come in the Tokyo Bay Cup, the Santa Anita Trophy, the Kaihin Hai, and many others. Looking back, the decision to go with NAR was the right one...
Terry Biddlecombe
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| Courtesy BBC |
As well as a great loss to the British racing scene, my thoughts are naturally with his wife and family. But browsing through the tributes that are already pouring in, most of those who were close to the man are determined to celebrate the life rather than mourn the death. That seems entirely fitting for such a character...
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