Upbeat

Shun Ishizaki rode a superb race with Beat The Boarder today, despite the conditions being a lot heavier than ideal for such a small horse. I must say I was surprised to see him drop back so far from what was a reasonable start, as, to be perfectly frank, I didn't think Beat-chan was capable of such finishing pace after a mile of sodden ground. But Shun kicked her in the ribs and then guided her through a series of gaps coming off the final corner to claim an excellent third place. Well done!

The sale of the Carrot Club newcomer has been confirmed - a Casino Drive filly out of Prima Forza. I'll do a profile on her once she has been named, or before then if I get five minutes. At least Casino Drive has been looked at before via other newcomers added to the foot of the page earlier this year.

PS. Raining Dollars came a handy third in Australia on Saturday afternoon, and will now go for a spell of well-deserved R&R. Then, on Sunday, Belle Plage started favourite and came home in a very disappointing tenth! Never in with a shout either, with Ebina-san failing to get in a decent position from start to finish. Downbeat on this one, that's for sure. At least Louis was second with 'Bugatti' at Tomisato, scoring 70.78 in L1 after handicap points were added, which is quite remarkable...

Nippy Round-Up

Nothing much happening in reality, although Blacklister is looking to win in the 4:00 at Newbury on the 19th, building on Masterson's recent success in the UK. This is a Class 3 race over seven furlongs. Raining Dollars is also in action in Australia on Saturday, in the opener at Ewan, but before that, back in Japan, Beat The Boarder runs at TCK on Friday. Meanwhile, the kids are in show-jumping mode at Tomisato over the weekend, through to Monday.

On the NAR front, other than Beat-chan's run, it has been announced that Trovao will be based with Arayama-sensei at TCK (Tokyo's NAR track), and should be entered in an S2 or S3 race soon after he arrives at his new home.

As for JRA news, Kalliopeia is on borrowed time, with the next race being its last chance, while Belle Plage is entered for the 1800m dirt 8R at Nakayama on Sunday the 20th. Meanwhile, Massabielle looks like he will be stepping onto the G1 trail on the 27th, taking part in the 2400m Kobe Shimbun Hai at the Hanshin track with Tosaki-kun in the saddle if all goes well. This G2 race is a Japanese St Leger trial, so it's incredibly important to get in the top three. If you remember, we were robbed of a berth in a "classic" race with Tenshinramman, so we definitely don't want a repeat of that! We've got a far better jockey for starters, so the mistake that cost us third place by a nose - not using the whip on the final dash - is unlikely to happen again, at least.

PS. Blacklister has been pulled from the Newbury race, but we still have Beat The Boarder on Friday, Raining Dollars on Saturday and Belle Plage on Sunday to look forward to...

Livin' Legends

Courtesy Lord Ilsley

Livin' legends are a dying breed, but
I'm happy to say that Mick Channon is definitely very much alive and well, and still in top form in his second high-profile career, too. Yes, Masterson (pictured) won handily at Bath yesterday, giving me my 34th winner, but one of the most satisfying of them all, as it fulfills a dream of mine. Brilliant! Fun season ahead.

Meanwhile, Louis won both of his dressage competitions with 'Bugatti' over the weekend, having had a lot of useful advice from the charming Jan Geary on Friday. Let's see how he can do next weekend.

Next up, Beat The Boarder in Tokyo, and then Raining Dollars should be running at Ewan in Australia with Jamie Long in the saddle - no relation, but it's a fairly unusual name, and adds a bit of extra fun into the equation. It would be nice to be able to say the jockey is Sophie Long one day!