I Love The Press

I had an E-mail from an old friend in the States this morning, that half made me laugh and half made me a bit miffed to be honest. He said that certain elements in the US press are blaming their bad weather on the nuclear accident we had here in 2011, as the winds are blowing eastwards. Well, my misguided wonders, we're getting it, too, and it's a lot more likely that your coal-fired power plants are causing it - more likely still to be those in China that you guys keep stoking up by shipping all your manufacturing there! Anyway, whatever is truly causing it, I wish it would cease and desist. Once again, a few race meetings have been cancelled due to the snow, and having just seen a picture of Tokyo-Fuchu an hour ago, I'd be surprised if the racing scheduled there for tomorrow goes ahead. What will happen Miracle Rouge's race after that, heaven only knows...

At least I managed to escape to the stables today for a while. 'Jaguar' has been kept loose by walking out on the surrounding roads that had been cleared by farm equipment, so he was still in very good shape, which is more than can be said for the training areas. A gentle walk and a bit of a trot was all we could manage, but it's a start, at least until the next lot of snow falls in the middle of the week. The picture shows Sophie about to mount up after she'd tacked up the big fella - the protector makes everyone laugh, for she only wears it for putting on his saddle and bridle, never when riding! If you know his character, though, it's not a bad idea.

The New Kids

Courtesy Carrot Club

Had some reports on the Carrot Club youngsters this evening, most of them being routine. The Mejiro Lourdes colt by Harbinger is said to be starting to build up his hind quarters nicely, and the Neo Universe filly is getting there, both mentally and physically. About the only other report with something worth passing on in is the one relating to the Montjeu colt, pictured here. He is slowly putting weight on, and although he's still only 429kg at this stage, everyone says he looks a lot bigger...

Beat The Border from the Sunday Thoroughbred Club is moving nicely by all accounts, with weight going up in a good linear fashion thanks to a lot of fast uphill work. According to the trainer, she'll be ready to go back to TCK to resume her NAR racing career soon.

Coffee Break

Having cleared a few jobs off the desk, just before I start back on the book, here's a few more updates. Divine Daughter - the Sunday TC filly - will be in action on the 22nd, running at Tokyo-Fuchu in a 1400m dirt race, complete with cheek pieces. The jockey has yet to be arranged, so I will let you know nearer the time, as soon as race confirmation comes through.

On the Carrot Club front, Miracle Rouge will run on the 17th as thought - this being an extra race day to make up for the cancelled meeting at Tokyo last weekend. There were hopes of running Sophisticate at Tokyo two days earlier, but he didn't make the cut. Tenshinramman is booked for the 7R at Tokyo on the 23rd (1800m on turf), with Tanaka in the saddle. As for Mistoffelees, hopes of running at Tokyo are fading, as it has been difficult to train properly with the recent weather problems, so I'm assuming he will next run in March. Classic Curl rounds off the JRA reports, although it looks like she is still a long, long way away from being race ready! Of the NAR runners, Agua De Vida was supposed to be scheduled for overtaking practice at the weekend, but the Kawasaki training facilities are once again snowbound looking at some of the pictures I've seen from grooms this morning. With luck, the training can take place, and she'll run in the first week of March...

Thank You

As I'm watching the snow start again, I realized I forgot to mention something yesterday - the track at Funabashi was in remarkably good condition because the grooms had been up around the clock clearing it by hand. They have a tough enough job as it is, but this feat was superhuman. Well done everyone! And on behalf of race fans, a big thank you...

Bugatti

That may seem like a strange title, so I'd better explain. When I was five or six, I had made my mind up that I wanted a horse - not just any old horse, but a fiery Thoroughbred, and it's colouring would be a very dark bay, as in a coat with a hint of rich brown within the close to black hue. As the years passed, the image never faded or changed - I knew exactly what I wanted. In time, the love of vintage cars gave me a name for this horse - I would call the beast 'Bugatti', as both had an exceptional purity of line, and a level of power and speed that put them above their rivals, both equine and automotive. Phosphorus is the image of my dream horse from 40 years ago...

So how did the beauty do today? Well, after a bad start, very well, making up ground nicely (which isn't easy to do in a 1200m sprint), and coming home in a gallant third. This was only his second race, but he looked the part today, despite the track conditions suiting lighter horses, a distance that doesn't really suit his brawny build (no mile options available at this stage), and a lack of training over the last few days due to the heavy snow we've had in Chiba. A win would have been nice (he was favourite at one point in the betting), but, all told, I'm very pleased with what I saw today. With a great team behind him, this horse has a future.

CC Lemons

The latest batch of reports have just come in from Carrot Club. Belle Plage has gone to a different R&R spot, with its last race being in July 2013. I'm lucky to get a day off, let alone more than half a year! The hind quarters are giving True Motion grief, while there's no change in Glint Moment - there never is. Likewise, Joyful Step is still plodding along with no sign of a race in prospect. In fact, as with a few of the Carrot horses, I haven't even seen a picture of the horse since October. I'm starting to wonder if it actually exists. Dinner Bell is apparently full of the joys of spring, but with no training times, we can't see what that translates into. I suppose if you are doubtless going to come in at the back of the field anyway, being happy is better than being grumpy.

Cheek pieces are being tried on Sophisticate, with thoughts of 1400m or 1600m on dirt for the next race. And there are thoughts of trying Single Cask on dirt, too, maybe at the next Nakayama session, which starts in the first week of March. Apparently, Mephisto Waltz panics when too close to other horses. Why do British trainers run horses together in tight groups on the gallops? Well, there's your answer. It's now going on an R&R trip anyway, so that problem isn't going to get solved in a hurry.

Now here's an interesting one - Irish Harp clocked some good times today. It will run with others next week, first chasing, then level with them. The staff looking after the horse are saying dirt should suit the girl, and I know Cristian Demuro will give it his all. They are booked to race at Kyoto on the 22nd.

By the way, the names of the youngsters at the foot of the page should start coming through in a minute, probably at the end of the month. I dropped my suggestions in on the 'Avonbridge Filly' in England (I thought 'Queen Of Shiba' would be a fun play on words) and the new Sunday TC filly, but didn't bother with the Carrot Club horses this year - not a happy bunny on that front at all, as you've probably gathered by now. Even numerous mentions of my horses in this month's Eclipse has done little to soften my attitude - repair work will take a long time...

With luck, I shall be able to escape the office to see Phosphorus run tomorrow - a lot depends on the conditions of the roads, for if it freezes tonight, it's going to be like a skating rink around here. It would be nice to go and see 'Jaguar' at the very least, as I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from a lack of horse hair, warm nostrils checking for apple cookies, and slobber!

Thursday's Race

Courtesy Nankankeiba

We've been having some pretty rough weather in Chiba recently, unless you happen to be a penguin or a polar bear. A quick visit to the stables yesterday was the first since last Thursday, JRA cancelled its Saturday and Sunday meetings in Tokyo, and the NAR races at Funabashi were scratched on Monday. On Tuesday, they were able to restart things, meaning there's a high chance that Phosphorus' outing on Thursday will go ahead as planned - I say a high chance, because the sky above me looks ready to drop another ton of snow. Interestingly, Nobuyuki Egawa (pictured) will be the jockey. Egawa-kun has been doing the morning work-out runs with Phosphorus for some time now, so the pairing are certainly used to each other. Here's wishing them both luck!

Progress In The Snow

The registration certificate has come through from Racing Queensland, meaning my colours have now been officially accepted for use in Australia. This is an exciting development, as I love the Aussie racing scene - so open and friendly, yet passionate and professional at the same time.

The closest you can get to Australian-style racing in Japan is via NAR. A report has just come through on my youngest prospect in this arena - the Vermilion kid fielded by the Sunday Thoroughbred Club. According to the farm riders, she is growing big and strong, and already showing some real fighting spirit, which is a good sign. This should be a really interesting one to watch in the coming months.