Champagne In A Cask

Courtesy Carrot Club

Single Cask came through to claim her first victory at Niigata today thanks to Kazuma Harada, who was in the saddle. The trainer chose the race well, giving the horse a chance to shine, and while she may never get another opening like the one today after she moves up in class, she has at least proved to be a fighter. Good job! With our last JRA/Carrot Club win coming as far back as August 2013, this is an auspicious occasion. She will now go off for a well-earned rest...

Courtesy Carrot Club

The next races to look forward to are in the UK, with River Spirit booked in the 4:00pm race on the 29th at Bath as yet another back-up for next week, along with the 6:40 at Newbury on the 31st. Tenshinramman and Divine Daughter should be out next weekend in JRA action, while it's been decided to ditch Beverley in favour of Carlisle on the 2nd June for Porthos Du Vallon, which is closer to his Scottish home stable.

Goodbye, Old Friend!

Waved 'Jaguar' off this morning, as he starts the first day of his retirement. Still can't believe he has left my care after some great years together, but he's getting old now, and it's better he retires while he's still in good condition and can enjoy chasing the fillies at his new home.

In his racing days, as Mayano Time, he won four JRA races (his last victory with Yutaka Take), came second in three, and also picked up four thirds - that's one hell of a record. With me, re-registered as 'Jaguar', he won numerous dressage events, show-jumping competitions and gymkhanas to become an awesome all-rounder. Okay, he was a bad-tempered thing at times, but I loved him. A better horse will be hard to find...

The Latest

Mistoffelees has been retired. I can't say as I'm surprised, or even all that disappointed, although I feel sorry for Saito-san. For all my criticism of JRA trainers, Makoto Saito is actually someone I like - he has a face in a faceless, closed society, and having met the guy recently, my good impression of him that I'd established earlier was confirmed in full. Sincerely, I wish him all the best.

While Glint Moment has finally made it to Ritto TC (is it worth it?), Belle Plage, Dinner Bell, Harmony Fair and Miracle Rouge have been shipped off for R&R, which probably means the end of their careers, given the timing. Meanwhile, Single Cask runs at Niigata on the 24th, with Harada-san at the controls for the 1200m 5R on dirt. As it happens, Dinner Bell was booked for a 1200m turf race there on the same day, but couldn't get a berth in the gate. Having made all the effort to get a horse trained and ready, this is the end result of having too few JRA races on the calendar, and it's happened way too often in my experience. The system is pathetic! It reality, DB's practice times were awful anyway, so another retirement would suit me just fine.

Tenshinramman will hopefully run at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 31st May, competing in the Hiyama Tokubetsu Race over a mile on turf, while Irish Harp is being lined up to challenge the Hokkaido races. At least some thought is being put into this horse's entries. And finally, moving away from Carrot Club and onto Sunday TC nags, Divine Daughter is booked for the 1300m dirt race at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 1st June. Blinkers are being tried this time, and Teruo Eda is listed as the jockey.

PS. One of the horses Saito-san trains has just won the Japanese Oaks! I'm really pleased for him...

News Update

Had a great afternoon relaxing with 'Jaguar' after a hard day yesterday, and I think he enjoyed his walk in the forests as much as we did. Still seems hard to believe that I'm giving him up after all the time we've spent together, but he's earned his retirement, that's for sure, and I have to be happy for him in the knowledge that he'll have a good, easy life from next week. Nothing firm on 'Bugatti' as yet, although it's starting to look as if a trip to Hokkaido may be called for.

On the racing front, in England, River Spirit is down for the 2:20 at Goodwood on the 23rd, with the 4:25 at Leicester on the 26th listed as a back-up plan, and Porthos Du Vallon should be in action at Beverley on the 28th.

In Japan, Monsoon Trough is proving to be a natural, and after a gate session on the 27th, should be going for her race ability test on the 10th June. If all goes well, she should be racing soon after, hopefully following in the footsteps of Pop Label with a successful Monbetsu campaign. All told, we've a few things to look forward to at least...

Kawasaki Capers

Had a wonderful morning at the Chiba Thoroughbred Sale yesterday, and then went on to Kawasaki to watch Kota Motohashi in action with Phosphorus. The big fella travels well and looked good in the paddock, all tightened up (7kg lighter) and in superb condition thanks to the magnificent team looking after him. When Kota came onto the track, the pair were still an excellent prospect for victory, despite being third favourites, and a false start by another horse did nothing to change that opinion thanks to a new technique at calming him down in the gates. When the gates finally did open, Kota found himself in the middle of the field, but he kept moving up nicely and an excellent passing manoeuvre on the inside of the third corner set him up nicely. The leading horse was ultimately too strong on the day, though, having had an easy run from start to finish, and we finished a gallant second. It was another really pleasing run, however, especially knowing that once again, Phosphorus hardly broke a sweat and was breathing easily within minutes of finishing - amazing things will come from this horse, mark my words. He's down to race at the next Funabashi meeting, which is in the middle of June. I'm already looking forward to it!

Kalliopeia

As noted in the last entry, I figured it was better to use those points up rather than prolong the Carrot Club agony beyond absolute necessity, so today Kalliopeia has joined the names at the foot of the page. I don't think she has any chance whatsoever, but she's beautiful and her cost was virtually covered by the points I'd built up along the way.

Courtesy Carrot Club

So who is Kalliopeia? Well, she's a filly by Meisho Samson, who we've written about in the Miracle Rouge profile, with Castalia as the dam. This means she's a Sadler's Wells cross, as Castalia boasts Sunday Silence as her father and Catalyst (a combination of Sadler's Wells and Welsh Love blood) as her mother. As you know, I love Sadler's Wells, and the Sunday Silence element brings in the Hail To Reason DNA that I treasure so much, too. Catalyst won first time out and did very little (except one third place) afterwards, but this horse is purely for fun - something to support simply because she's so pretty and the price was right. She is based at the Takashi Kanari stables within the Miho Training Centre.