Bad Joke

The bad joke that lingers on the Carrot Club horses like a foul smell continues to stink the house out. In reality, I don't know what the trainer was thinking of fielding a horse that had ballooned by 26kg since its last race, when the average was minus 3kg over the other 15 nags. Add in race rust (a typical excuse that's easy to avoid if the damn things actually run once in a while) plus the extra half a jockey in weight to lug around, and to be honest, Cristian hadn't got a chance. He's blaming heavy ground, but they all had to contend with the same turf. I blame bad preparation. Another wasted entry to add to the catalogue of disasters...

PS. No direct trainer's report, as he's probably too embarrassed, but decisions will be made after the post-race inspection. I guess it will be another lengthy R&R session, which won't help the horse's chances one bit, as the clock is running, and time is against the beast because of the way the club works. At least it was acknowledged there was a weight issue, and ideas will have to be put forward to address it. Well, here's an idea - train the bloody horse properly! You do not send a horse away on holiday for months, then stick it in the first slot that's available when it's obviously nowhere near race ready. Believe me, if I could sell my shares in every single Carrot Club horse I have, I'd do it in an instant. I'm assuming I can't because the club still haven't responded to my letter saying I wanted to - it took a concerned member to tell me. Is there any other organization on Earth that can legally sell you something, tie-up your finances for an indefinite period, and then never respond to your correspondence? Bad show all round - both on the track, and in terms of customer service.

Cool Running

It was a wee bit chilly at the stables today, but 'Jaguar' seemed to like the temperature, as he was in fine spirit as soon as he entered the arena. Rain had stopped play on Thursday, and tomorrow's weather looks naff, so it was good to spent some quality time with the horses in the morning. In the afternoon, a friend of mine helped me move into the 21st century - time better spent than watching a useless entry at the Tokyo track...

Irish Harp is in action tomorrow, with Miracle Rouge out again a week later. Phosphorus (the Shadai Thoroughbred Club horse) will run at Funabashi in the middle of this month, and then Sophisticate is expected to be racing - hopefully racing is the right word - soon after, in two or three weeks from now. There's a possibility Mephisto Waltz will tackle a 2000m turf race at Kokura (meaning a February or first week of March entry), and Classic Curl has returned to Miho Training Centre, pointing to a race debut in the near future. Maybe.

Shocker

Well, actually, it wasn't a shock at all. As predicted, Harmony Fair was way off the pace because she hates sand in her face. Seeing as this was a fact we'd already established, it seemed rather pointless even showing up at the start this afternoon! There is apparently some thought going into the next race, which has to be an improvement, as there was no thought whatsoever put into today's entry. As usual, she just made up the numbers and came home in ninth, a full second down on the winner...

Is It Me?

I'm starting to conclude that the trainers writing Carrot Club reports know something I don't, and I must simply be plain mad. After all, how else do you explain Tenshinramman's performance as part of a grand plan and a real sign of improvement. I mean giving 18 lengths to the leaders (I measured it!) and staying way off the tail, therefore using a lot of energy just to catch the pack, seems bloody stupid to me. But apparently not.

But here's one that's possibly even better as an example of my failing sanity. Harmony Fair absolutely hates dirt - a one-off experiment proved that, and I stood by the decision to try something different, as she was going nowhere anyway. The trainer states quite clearly that dirt is not for her, so enters her in a dirt race on Saturday. If you want to watch her come in at the back of the field again, she's in the 8R at Tokyo with Tanabe-san in the saddle.

I hope Cristian Demuro can get Irish Harp to move on Sunday (5R at Kyoto, and a mile on turf), as Miracle Rouge hasn't raced in a while, and she's out in the following week. I've been told race rust could be a problem on the 9th, so my mad side asks the question of why let the rust set in in the first place? Stupid question, which is almost as silly as asking why True Motion still has weak hind muscles given the level of JRA training facilities and their famous treadmill...

Wobbly Wednesday

A few more Carrot reports this morning, with 'treadmill' the word that jumps off the page, as usual with the JRA horses. Having just watched a video of the Avonbridge Filly (soon to get a proper name) at a gallop in a tight group of other two-year olds, it quickly becomes apparent that the gap between Japanese training and English training is vast - a treadmill might build up muscle but it doesn't give a horse a feeling of the need to be competitive, or even get them used to being bunched up at speed. As such, with vast amounts of time lapsing between races, it's no wonder the JRA horses run like novices after months of so-called preparation.

On the NAR front, Yamazaki-sensei also thinks progress was seen in yesterday's run by Agua. As one would expect of such a proud stable, the trainer will keep trying different things, which is a bloody sight better than sticking a horse on a treadmill seven days a week and trusting in luck. I still think trying a different track would be a worthwhile experiment. Meanwhile, Pop Label is gently building up race muscle again after his enforced break from the track, and Beat The Border is bulking up nicely - she's still a little bit on the small side, but getting there.

Dry Spell

Agua came home in fifth today, which sounds okay until you know how far she was adrift of all four of those ahead of her. She started sixth favourite, but I'd have had her down for a top three finish if she'd have run properly. I don't know when this dry spell is going to end - I can't rely on the JRA boys to do it, that's for sure, but I'd have thought the NAR gang could have pulled something out the bag...

PS. Seiji Yamazaki, the jockey, is saying she is getting better. I can't really say I share that conclusion looking at the figures. It strikes me she would be better at TCK, with its clockwise track, and a slightly longer distance - a mile would probably suit her perfectly.