Crap End To Year

Well, was Million Ways' long-awaited comeback worth all the time and expense? No! Definitely not. As expected, it was a pathetic performance from Million Ways, despite a promising run and decent position up until the last corner. As soon as the straight appeared, it was as if the jockey threw out an anchor, and all the others (all low level nags, I might add) flew past as if the Carrot Club horse was standing still. At a massive 1.9 seconds off the pace, that wasn't race rust, that was a complete and utter lack of training - training that has cost owners a lot more than it should of, too. Two disgraceful runs in three days, and they wonder why I'm fed up with paying excessive amounts for this. It's that word again: Retirement!

PS. The post-race report expresses surprise, but it doesn't alter the fact that the trainer still got paid - we're the ones that have paid out month after month for the damned thing being on the injured list, although in reality, it was never technically injured at any point in its career, just useless. The report says it will be out at the next TCK meeting. It can't do any worse, I guess, but if it doesn't come at least second, it should be retired on the spot, for it's nothing more than a money pit.

PPS. The horse is back at Midway Farm again, which is 70 miles (115km) away from where it's supposed to be based - its home track being listed as TCK. Not only that, Midway Farm sell and prepare their own horses for the same events, so they're really going to try hard to get a rival to win, aren't they? Seeing as they get paid whether the horse does well or not, I somehow doubt it. One thing for sure, though, is that we can safely say that the next bill is going to be huge again thanks to unnecessary transport fees (allied to yet another month of zero income), and we can almost certainly say that the next race will be no better. A totally unacceptable situation, and oh so typical of Japanese racing - too many horses and nowhere near the level of staff, facilities or appropriate race calendars to deal with them properly. The next Tokyo meeting is at the end of January, when I hope a clear conclusion can be made. Right now, I just want to get rid of the damned thing, for it's costing a lot more than it should (that doesn't bother the club, though, for we're the ones paying, not them!) and giving nothing but constant disappointment in return. It should join Shine Tiara, Chocolat Sucre - and Nine Half, the only Carrot NAR nag I didn't buy into that year - on the retired list. And if Trovao doesn't improve, that can go, too! 

Progress Stalled

Pop Label let me down badly, coming a pathetic tenth at TCK today, despite Christophe Lemaire taking the place of Mori-kun at the last minute and starting as third favourite. After waiting ages for the thing to run a proper campaign, I saw no effort whatsoever, and I would definitely have no hesitation in retiring the horse after such a poor performance! Numerous post-race excuses, as always, but none of them acceptable. A serious toothache (following a difficult lower wisdom tooth extraction) prevented me from going to Tokyo, as the thought crossed my mind (I haven't been for a very long time as a form of protest), and I'm bloody glad I didn't, for I'd have been even more furious than I was watching the race from my armchair. Three years without a win now, and with the current team, that ridiculous situation isn't going to change. Million Ways next, but I'm not expecting much better than today, to be honest...

Meanwhile, the main race was a bad joke for NAR supporters, with all 122,000,000 yen leaving NAR circles to go to JRA stables. When will TCK learn that all they are doing is encouraging folks to leave NAR, for it doesn't pay at the best of times? Keep donating all the decent pots to JRA runners and the NAR owners' list will just keep shrinking at a time when new owners are desperately needed in order to replace those dying off, let alone increase numbers.

Signs Of Progress

Masterson was fourth at Fontwell yesterday, tiring at the end after taking up the pace for most of the race. For a flat runner, it was a sterling effort, and who knows, he might have a go over the jumps again after such a bold performance.

Trovao is supposed to be aiming for a big Nagoya race as soon as winter fades, although keeping the horse at Northern Farm in the meantime is not a good idea as far as I'm concerned. In fact, I think it's a bloody awful idea - I just hope I'm proved wrong. Meanwhile, Lotus Blossom has passed its race proficiency test, so hopefully it can start clawing back a few pennies after it makes its very, very long overdue debut. Phosphorus also passed, so can get back into action, albeit an annoying five months behind schedule!

The first time out, Vertice ran a stinker. We were told to forget it, as it wasn't an authentic display of the horse's potential, so had a right to expect something decent this time around, despite the extreme outside gate. Well, we didn't win, but third (three-and-a-half lengths down) wasn't bad at all, and it certainly gives us more to build on than the awful debut run.

PS. The post-race report notes that Vertice will disappear to NF for a while in the New Year. Why? Today is the first month since time began that the horse has actually broken even on the finance side - in fact, it's the first cent it has earned. Now off to Northern Farm at needlessly huge expense, and you'll probably have a donkey on its return. That mention of 'progress' in the post title didn't last long did it? Pathetic! At least Lotus Blossom might run in early January, and that's good, for this one also has an expense sheet running in rivers of red ink.

PPS. Just checking, and Larressingle is now at NF again following its Sonoda campaign; Rush Attack has been there forever; War Chronicle is at the stable so far (we'll wait for a new report to see what happens next, although there are hints of a break being such a fragile horse, bringing into question its worth as a racehorse, full-stop); Trovao is at NF; Vertice is off to NF soon, while Million Ways is at Midway Farm. This means that of all my Carrot horses, apart from Million Ways, only Lotus Blossom is totally free of Northern Farm's grip, which is madness. And they wonder why they are struggling to sell NAR horses. Maybe it's because constant Northern Farm breaks (after we've been paying for nothing other than cut-and-paste reports for a year, ready to get long-overdue debuts and what should be a promise of regular racing thereafter, something absolutely necessary in NAR) pisses people off! I think you can see why my shares in Japanese horses have fallen off to such a large extent compared to a few years back. It is nothing like racing - Carrot Club should change its name to the Northern Farm Supporters Club.

Contrasts

Larressingle claimed a seven-length victory yesterday, beating the other heavily backed horse (fresh from JRA) by no less than eight lengths. I guess it will go back to JRA now, although I'd rather it stayed in NAR, running once or twice a month like a proper racehorse. Great run on the day, though...

On the flip side, today Trovao ran a race more in the mould of Perfumer or Chocolat Sucre than Larressingle's effort. It has to be one of the worst performances I've seen in a long time, and god knows I've had to suffer more than enough of those in Japan. It finished 11th of 12, a disgraceful 3.2 seconds off the pace (at least a fifth was needed to justify the trip), which naturally means nothing in the way of income and doubtless a break to follow at heavily over-priced rates. As such, it would have been better running the horse once a month in regular TCK races - we'd have got some entertainment and almost certainly for free. I really do wonder what is planned next. After a piss poor performance like that, having started at second favourite, a lot of thought needs to be given when considering the horse's future direction. Does it even have a future? Not if today's run is anything to go by - it was for the Gold Cup, but the pairing weren't worthy of a cracked tea mug with a missing handle. Furious!

PS. Just had the report in on Trovao. The trainer doesn't have any idea what went wrong, but one thing I can tell you for sure is you're not going to find the answer by shipping the bloody horse off to Northern Farm. So what do they do? Ship it off to Northern Farm. I honestly cannot wait to leave Japanese 'racing' behind me, for it is truly just a very bad joke that does nothing but act as a vessel for funnelling money to an undeserving monopoly in every direction possible. No thought whatsoever is given to providing owners with any kind of value for money, despite us paying over the odds for monthly keep, and way, way, way over the odds in initial purchase price. Fed up of being badly let down and no-one giving a toss as long as 'the boys' keep getting paid. The sooner this nightmare is all over, the better.

Weekend Resume

Raining Dollars was fifth, so no cigar (or pennies) Down Under, but at only 0.6 lengths down on the winner, we can take comfort in that it was a good strong run at least. The ground wasn't ideal for The Jazz Singer, having rained hard in the Fairyhouse area for a couple of days, so a fifth against some top horses was no disgrace.

Early betting on War Chronicle simply raised my question of why the donkey was being kept again. But after a dreadful start, the jockey kept his nerve and found a nice little gap down the inside for an unbelievable second place - if the finishing post had come ten yards sooner, it would have been a stunning win! Well, another pleasant shock, but now we need to keep up momentum and make up for all those lost months. If it was up to me, I'd keep the young jockey for War Chronicle, as he seems to understand the horse a lot better than her previous pairings.

Next up, Larressingle at Sonoda, followed by Trovao at Urawa...

Financial Disaster

Really annoyed with the bills from Carrot Club again - it's a damned good job they're running War Chronicle this weekend, for there's a mad bill for her that could and should have been avoided. In reality, she should have been retired at the beginning of 2015, or at least have stayed in NAR once that route was taken - at least we might have got some action out of the horse instead of feeble excuses for failure or the threat of yet more time off, as if it hasn't had enough already (three races within four weeks in NAR, but only a truly pathetic five races over 24 months in JRA). Rush Attack should have been retired eight months ago as well, for I can't see any meaning in spending out for almost a year (as I predicted, one will remember) to get back a horse than was nothing better than average at best. Yet another exercise in keeping Northern Farm rich with no thought whatsoever given to the shareholders.

Million Ways is on my radar as one that needs to perform very well over the first three months of 2017 (it's supposed to be arriving at TCK at the end of December) to justify keeping it, for the bills are pretty damned silly considering it isn't doing anything constructive - this month's invoice would be for a ridiculous 550,000 yen, and that simply cannot be justified unless it starts clawing it back in a hurry. After a win in March, four dreadful runs is all we've had for our money, so if it does no better than it did in the last three quarters of 2016, it should join Chocolat Sucre and Shine Tiara without hesitation, for it is a drain on finances and nothing more.

Trovao's bills, too, are outrageous - yes, there was transportation fees to take into account, but the club didn't have to buy the bloody truck, which it looks as if it did judging by the invoice we've got. Had Trovao not won, it would have been a serious loss yet again, for six out of nine horses brought in zilch, one got something but nowhere near enough to cover its keep, and two gave a plus sign, with Trovao covering them all. Considering he hadn't run for five months before that, though, he's probably only +/-0 after all is said and done, and needs another exceptionally good result on the 21st just to break even. What's more annoying is those six liabilities will almost certainly pull in zero again next month!

Larressingle should be out again on the 20th, but another win will be needed just to break even for the month - that's right, without two wins within the month at Sonoda rates, you make a loss! And they want you to keep supporting Japanese racing? I'm not happy about the horse going back to JRA, but at least it has more chance than War Chronicle and Rush Attack put all their power and speed together...

After an overly-long period of nothing happening, at least the Shadai TC and Sunday TC stuff has started earning its keep a bit better. Another Door has knocked a dent in its mountain of debt with a big win in the week; Pop Label is due out on the 29th, and Kealoha and Magic Key (both winners at Funabashi this month) are out again in early January. Only Phosphorus is letting the side down now, with bills coming our way for the incompetence of others, and how often is that the case out here? Far too often unfortunately, and, as far as I'm concerned, Phosphorus will have to go if it doesn't come back strong after yet another long break.

Tomorrow, we have races in Australia and then Ireland, and War Chronicle here on Sunday. Let's see what happens...

In Shock

For a change, a pleasant surprise... Another Door, beautifully guided by Osamu Shihara, was able to take advantage of a breakaway group that went too fast and take its second win today at Sonoda, claiming a healthy purse worth 3.3x more than it has managed to accumulate in all of its seven previous outings! I don't think anyone would have been more surprised than me at the result, and if I was asked to give a pre-race prediction again, it would still be fifth at best (amazingly, it started as ninth favourite). Interestingly, it found another gear at the end, pointing toward longer distances suiting the horse, for the 1700m 9R was 500m longer than any of the earlier races. At last, and not before time after so much disappointment, we seem to have found a way forward with this one.

PS. Looks like they've found another race for War Chronicle, and Larressingle should be out again a few days later with any luck. Amazing that you can run horses every two weeks in NAR, but the same horses need several months between runs in JRA. Ummm...

More Waiting

At last, thoughts are turning toward getting War Chronicle back out on the track and, as usual with JRA, the race the trainer was thinking of has 42 declarations aiming to get in a gate holding 18! It could be an excuse, of course, showing owners that "we tried," as there must be other options, even if it means travelling. The reality is the horse will almost certainly do no good anyway, so it's better to just run the thing - if it does well, it will get it in race mode, and if it does badly, it makes the decision to retire it that much easier and sooner. With too many horses in training and nowhere near enough races, waiting for something that will suit out here will simply mean more expense for shareholders and no chance of seeing anything but copy and paste reports each month. If past results are anything to go by, the distance and ground will make no difference in any case! It would be worth waiting if you had a horse like Larressingle with the potential to do well, but War Chronicle is not Larressingle - despite two wins on paper, it's never been anywhere near that calibre even at its peak, and certainly not now...

Just seen the gate draw and line-up for Another Door's race on Wednesday, and personally I think Shadai have made a huge mistake. Yes, the money is good, but Another Door has not shown the kind of form that would justify any confidence in a decent position - I'd be surprised if we came away from the race with a penny, let alone a decent purse for finishing in the top three. Despite the super bloodlines and equally super purchase price, it has done nothing so far. To be frank, the 16,000,000 yen purchase price was ridiculous for this nag, with results making it hard to be happy if it had cost 10% of that. I could be wrong, but I can see me being annoyed rather than pleased on Wednesday.

Ganbatte Kochi!

Just held my annual 'Friendship' race at Kochi (the 5R), with Akaoka-san riding the perfect start-to-finish race to claim a convincing victory against the odds - although he was second favourite, the odds were strongly in favour of the horse that ultimately came third. Mai Beppu came fifth despite having a tiddler that no-one fancied (weighing in at just 396kg), which was a fine performance as well. One thing for sure, one always gets an entertaining race at Kochi - I will certainly continue to sponsor races there, and may well keep a horse there one day to keep a certain level of interest in Japanese racing once the current lot have retired. For now, well done everyone, and thank you for a super race...

Magic Key V3

Nakano-kun rode a well-timed race to give Magic Key a third victory at Funabashi tonight. Tucking in close to the rail, behind a gaggle of horses and with the favourite in a seemingly perfect position, I felt he'd blown it to be honest until he went really wide off the last corner and then found another gear to power home in the final furlong. Well done, that man!

Phosphorus is supposed to be having a test on the 27th, the same day as Lotus Blossom. This shouldn't have been necessary considering all he went away for was gelding - it's no good moaning about the six months of lost racing, though, for it will fall on deaf ears anyway, as all 'the boys' got well paid while he was away, and customers losing out obviously isn't important out here. With luck, both Phosphorus and Lotus Blossom will be in action in January - if they pass! - and hopefully they can start paying for themselves after a ridiculous run of nothing but overly-inflated bills for diddly in return on both of them.

One Good, One Awful

Wednesday started with Larressingle's NAR debut at Sonoda. Of course, one only needs to look back through the blog to guess where Larressingle started from - tenth gate in a ten-horse race! Larressingle is a super horse that had never won in JRA, but had come second no less than six times. Its last run was on dirt, which confirmed that sand wasn't a problem, so hopes were high given that Shingo Oyama was in the saddle.

The problem, of course, is the very poor purse - 300,000 yen to the winner, and even that doesn't cover a month's bills at Carrot Club rates, so coming second does nothing more than drain finances to crazy levels (the horse that finishes fifth gets just 18,000 yen), which is hardly a way of encouraging ownership. Thankfully, despite a rough start and the horse not settling until the third corner (the first curve to be tackled), Oyama-kun rode a calm race, hardly touching the pony to win by five lengths.

Unlike Larressingle, Chocolat Sucre got the inside gate at Funabashi - an ultra-rare happening for my stuff! Travelling jockey Fujii-san was named for the ride, although my confidence wasn't much different - my feeling was that even Lester at his peak would struggle with this one! As it happens, my worst fears were confirmed, with a worse and worse run as the race progressed. In the end, it tied with four others way off the pace (a full 1.5 seconds behind the winner in what was ultimately a poor class race), with only Shine Tiara (a name from the past) further back. It seems to hate sand being kicked back, and it hasn't got the pace or stamina to lead from the front. This leaves only one option as far as I'm concerned - retirement!

Meanwhile, confirmation of a cock-up at Yamamoto TC with Phosphorus, so it is they that should be paying for the six months of lost racing, not us. I also heard of blatant team orders within the Shadai camp from a very, very reliable source, which is something I have always suspected - the owners' horses are given priority over the regular club nags, which is frankly disgraceful. I've been on the receiving end of this before, and noted a conflict of interest in the past as a result. It is also not healthy having the same trainer fielding a lot of horses in the same race as far as I'm concerned, but the team order thing is totally unacceptable.

PS. Larressingle is due to run one more time before the end of the year, and if a win can be secured, it will be back in JRA again for 2017. Meanwhile, Chocolat Sucre has been retired - there was no other option with such a fragile horse that wouldn't eat properly, and couldn't be trained properly as a result.  

Kealoha V4

After the bitter disappointment of Vertice's jog home and a fall from 'Jazz' in Ireland, at least Kealoha delivered the goods at Funabashi with his fourth win from six runs tonight (he was second and third in the other two outings), giving me my 64th win in the process. The finish was a lot tighter than I would have liked, and indeed I thought Masashige Honda may have left it too late to recover from the awful start at one point, but winning by a neck is better than coming second, or much further down the order as is far too often the case with the Japanese stuff. Anyway, well done Mar-kun...

PS. Looking at the replay, Mar-kun didn't seem too worried, as he only cracked the whip coming off the last corner and once on the finishing straight. Kealoha will have to get out of the gate a lot sharper in future, though, if his winning ways are to continue. 

WTF Was That?

Well, the stable reports said this should be an interesting race coming up, as the horse is up and ready for its long overdue debut. As such, I was actually looking forward to today. The betting also said Vertice was a clear favourite, and it looked as if it would live up to that promise off the last corner. And then what? To say it ran like a donkey would be cruel to donkeys, for they can run much faster than that! In the end, Vertice finished an incredibly distant seventh (3.5 seconds or 18 lengths down) out of eight runners, despite a few smacks of the whip in the closing stages. That has to be probably the poorest race performance I've ever had to suffer, and there have been plenty of stinkers in Japan, that's for sure. Having missed the 'Fresh Challenge' series at Monbetsu, that was the only chance of an even remotely respectable pot, too - this will be a drain on finances and nothing else, for there's no fun in watching a horse simply make up the numbers and finish so far off the pace that a three-legged greyhound could beat it. I'm now looking forward to the retirement notice more than its next race, if there is one. It's hardly a brilliant advert for shifting the remaining three out of four NAR Carrot yearlings, is it?

PS. The only thing you can say is at least we saw some honesty in the post-race report summary, which is usually sickly sweet and overly positive, written from a high and mighty perspective. Mashima-kun described the performance as a "shock," and Arayama-san, the trainer, said it was a "disgusting" run. Doesn't help pay the bills, of course (back to zero yen syndrome again with a bump), but acknowledgement of total failure is hopefully a foundation on which to build improvement.

PPS. The pain continues... The Jazz Singer was doing quite well at Fairyhouse until a fall at the last fence. At least horse and rider are fine, so we can fight another day.

They Never Learn

The big race at TCK fell to a JRA interloper again - a horse that has now stolen 45,500,000 yen from more deserving NAR owners in three races (a massive amount that would normally take four years to accumulate on regular NAR winnings, if very, very, very lucky). Well, as I said before, until NAR starts standing up for itself, looking to the future and looking after those who allow them to survive, I don't see why I should keep going without to support the organisation. No new horses from me until NAR is NAR, and not a quick way of boosting JRA's coffers by entering all the big races and then promptly pissing off to where they came from - where they should stay. Would a Formula One team be allowed to run in Formula Two races? No. And if JRA is F1 in terms of available finances, NAR is closer to F3, except for running costs passed on to owners, who are then expected to say nothing when a JRA runner comes and goes after robbing the few healthy pots there are in local dirt racing.

One More Down

It's a shame Belle Plage has been retired, as it's a beautiful horse, but there really was no option. There has been nothing to point towards 'Belle' being a keeper for a long time, and the entries probably haven't helped in that respect - the jockey said he thought the nag unsuited to turf (an observation backed up by early history and all of her three wins coming on dirt), yet the last three races were on grass, each over wildly varying distances, which doesn't particularly inspire confidence in the knowledge of those looking after her; the jockey may not be perfect, but he was certainly right on that score. Goodbye, old girl. I hope she has a long and happy retirement...

Well, that leaves me three JRA horses - War Chronicle, which is perpetually injured and should have been retired before 'Belle' in all honesty, and Rush Attack, which should also have been retired long, long ago. The only decent one of the three is Larressingle, which is currently running in NAR, if the trainer in Sonoda ever decides to run the thing.

No word on Another Door either (with the same Sonoda-based stable), although at least we have a debut for Vertice on the 2nd. Magic Key, Kealoha and Chocolat Sucre are booked for Funabashi in the following week, and The Jazz Singer is out in Ireland again before that with any luck. Trovao has been entered for a big race at Urawa (I had thought that would be my Urawa debut at first, until I remembered an awful race from Phosphorus) close to Christmas, which is when Million Ways is due to go to its new home at TCK - something I'll believe when I see it. Pop Label should also be running at the end of the year, but God only knows what will happen to Phosphorus - another one long overdue a retirement notice, as much as I like the horse.

PS. Larressingle should be out at Sonoda within the week according to a report posted on Thursday. Another Door, too? 

Questions

Raining Dollars was fifth in Oz, and although the trainer was happy enough with a nice recovery from a poor start, he has once again finished outside the money. More disappointing, by far, was the performance of Belle Plage - 15th in a race of 18 horses. Belle Plage has done absolutely nothing other than eat through money for over a year now. It's time as a racehorse is over, surely? Nothing as yet in the post-race report, so I hope there will be something regarding retirement on Monday...

PS. The date for Lotus Blossom's test is the 27th alright, but December, not November, meaning yet another month of nothing but bills on that one. At this rate it will be a three-year old before it runs, by which time there will be no way on Earth that it can ever recover a fraction of what it owes already. Shouldn't be surprised, I guess - all you do is throw money away with Japanese racing, with Rush Attack and War Chronicle being just the tip of the iceberg; Belle Plage, Million Ways and Phosphorus are much the same, and Pop Label and most of the others not much better. With excuses already being bandied about regarding Larressingle, Kealoha and Magic Key are about the only nags worth keeping out here, now they are back after long spells of sunbathing. Let's hope that retirement notice comes for Belle Plage - at least that would be one lot of dead wood out of the way.

New Dates

Belle Plage gives us some JRA action on Saturday (I don't think War Chronicle or Rush Attack will ever run again - we just keep paying for them!), and on the NAR front, Lotus Blossom is supposed to be having its race proficiency test on the following day, while Vertice is being lined up for a debut at TCK on the 2nd December, with Mashima-kun booked as the jockey. Soon after, Chocolat Sucre should be out at Funabashi, along with Kealoha, Magic Key, and possibly Phosphorus. There's plenty of races at Sonoda, so with luck, Larressingle and Another Door can get a race there in the near future, too. Finally, Million Ways is due to go to its new home at TCK by the end of the year.

PS. Phosphorus has hit another problem, and should be retired on the spot. We cannot keep going on and on being served with a multitude of excuses for the thing not being able to do the job it was intended for. It went in for an operation that a horse can usually return from two weeks later... five months ago, and will be at least six now. As usual, the only efficient part of the Japanese racing scene is the invoicing department, for the bills are guaranteed to arrive on time, regardless of whether the inflated numbers contained within are justified or not, and more often than not, they're damned hard to justify - this month's Sunday Thoroughbred Club and Shadai Thoroughbred Club ones are very, very high, so let that serve as a warning to others - to break even at these levels, a win is an absolute must, as the usual prize money for coming second won't cover bills like this, and if nothing runs for half the year, you can see why it just doesn't make sense. Yes, I want to support NAR, but all I'm doing is supporting Shadai organizations (which are already rich enough) and getting nothing back for it most of the time, other than unrealistic bills and stress from reading bullshit. If nothing else, with luck, Pop Label should be out at TCK at the end of December.

RIP Tempai

It is sad to report that Tempai (aka Tenn-chan) died on Sunday, having been a shadow of his former self for quite some time after a bad case of colic. I owned a stake in this lovely horse (winner of the Procyon Stakes) for a long while, even riding him in a gymkhana once, but gave him up a year ago due to an issue with one of the other shareholders.

In some ways I wish I hadn't seen him just before he died, as the time before that he'd seemed really bright, sticking his head out the stable window with his ears pricked - a sign that he was happy to spot me from the car park. To see him struggling to get up isn't a nice experience, but even then he eat some apple and carrots as if nothing was wrong - a fighter to the end... RIP Tenn-chan.

Revenge

Courtesy Iwate Keiba

Well, thanks to Arayama-sensei and a perfect ride from Daisuke Mashima, Trovao claimed an easy, six-length victory in the Derby Grand Prix at Mizusawa - it's a small Derby title (M1) compared to the Tokyo Derby one that we and the other proper NAR runners were robbed of, but it's certainly better than nothing, and beating the JRA pretender into third (by seven lengths) takes a little of the bitterness out of missing the last Nankan 'classic' race and the result at TCK.

After a downright awful combination of bad results and a distinct lack of action for longer than I care to remember out here, things have definitely picked up. Three wins from the last five NAR runs, along with a third to offset a disaster. And although Belle Plage was poor - again! - in its JRA run, we had the win in Ireland a week ago, of course. Let's hope we can get a few more wins in the bag before the year ends...

Better. Much Better...

There was a glimpse of the Pop Label of old at TCK tonight. Okay, third place isn't a win, but today I saw a horse that looked prepared and looked ready to run just for the hell of it - it's the first time in a very long while that I've seen anything like that from Pop, and a lot of it is probably down to Mori-kun's riding style, for he's the type of guy that can create a race scenario rather than just follow one. Anyway, it was the B2-B3 main race, so the competition was strong, and if this kind of form can be carried forward to next month, we might just get that long-awaited fourth win before I start drawing a pension...

Next up is Trovao, racing at Mizusawa on Sunday in the Derby Grand Prix. That's a big race, of course, and I'm worried that Trovao is a) going into it cold, and b) having to go in cold with a new jockey. Mashima-kun is a good lad, but Trovao is Masashige Honda's horse as far as I'm concerned. Well, let's see what happens - Carrot Club has a lot to prove, with my recent string of results from their nags being downright awful, apart from Larressingle. Today, at least, Pop Label has restored a little pride in the Sunday Thoroughbred Club line-up.

Chronicle Of Bull... Again!

War Chronicle is being held captive at Northern Farm once more, which I guess means we'll be paying for another three months of bullshit reports, each conflicting the last to ensure that it stays there as long as possible, funnelling money at every possible opportunity to an undeserving empire. If there's nothing wrong, why was it sent to NF, cutting short the promised 'autumn keiba' that we waited three months for? If whatever was wrong is now "under control," considering the speed with which an all-clear has been given, why couldn't the racing stables have dealt with it? Oh, that's right - no-one at the stables can remember the bloody horse, because, like most of its contemporaries, it spends most of the year at Northern Farm! It's all just a string of excuses to cover up a distinct lack of races, a lack of space at Mito and Ritto, and an overwhelming lack of interest in providing shareholders with anything other than totally unjustified invoices month after month. The fact is, like Belle Plage and all the others, the horse will never do any good with three and four month gaps between each race - the only time it has performed well was in its NAR era, when it raced every couple of weeks. That's what it needs - race conditioning and experience. It won't get that being stuck at NF for 37 of the 46 weeks so far this year, a number that will probably go to 43 out of 52 by the time 2016 ends if previous form is anything to go by. Disgraceful.

Having done the seemingly obligatory Northern Farm trip, Larressingle should be out at Sonoda in early December, if all goes to plan. If it's a similar scenario to War Chronicle, I guess they will run it as many times as possible within a couple of months (amazing how the "tiredness" that hits JRA horses so often, if we're to believe reports, doesn't seem to affect them when they run in NAR) and then send it back to JRA to go back to a campaign of 'once a season' racing with NF stop-overs in-between. The only reason it raced so much before was to try and get the all-important win to guarantee easy income for the club for two or three years - once it's got that at Sonoda, there will be no interest in progress, just billing shareholders, as has been the case so often before with Carrot's JRA nags. Such a waste of a decent horse. It should stay in NAR, where at least we might actually get some racing instead of perpetual Northern Farm reports for our money.

The Million Ways report has filtered through, and we can safely say it will have been out of racing for half of the year by the time 2016 comes to an end. I'm sure these reports are written to piss me off - most of the time they succeed anyway! It wouldn't be so bad if we knew it would come back strong, but you can bet it won't, and we'll end up being fed excuses for failure instead of enjoying races, as with so many of the Carrot Club horses.

On the subject of excuses for failure, Pop Label is running on Friday with Mori-kun in the saddle. The Sunday TC report is saying he's not perfect, which is a way of preparing us for yet another awful run, I guess. Personally, if it was down to me, this would be the final chance for this nag, for March 2015 was the last time it ever truly looked like winning, and that race was thrown to give someone a retirement present. Since then, the odd second place that followed hasn't looked anywhere near as convincing, and midfield is not what one expects of a Juvenile Champion - especially one that has had so much time off for this and that and owes owners a fortune in lost revenue. If it continues at this level, it's not a question of not being able to claw money back, it's the prospect of definitely losing more money ad infinitum.

PS. Phosphorus might make a comeback at the next Funabashi meeting in early December, but I wouldn't bank on it. Magic Key and Kealoha are also promised, and entries are much more likely on these two. Another Door is moving to Sonoda on Friday, so progress on that front, too. The Carrot Club stuff, however, continues to disappoint - they can't win (or even take the sting out of their running costs) if they never run, or do badly when they do finally hit the track...

PPS. Chocolat Sucre should be out at Funabashi in early December (it did only jog around the last time, after all), while Vertice is due to make its debut at TCK in the week before that with any luck. Nothing firm as yet, but at least it's a statement of intent. Lotus Blossom is still a problem, though, having lost weight on its trip south, despite looking like a wooly mammoth. When it will be ready to run, god only knows.

The Jazz Singer V2

Paul Townend paced the race at Navan perfectly to claim a second win for The Jazz Singer. It was a hellish close finish, but the jockey knew he'd got it off the last fence, and knew he didn't have to push too hard. Townend really is one to watch out for - a very talented lad...

Anyway, Clare Moore is now the majority share-holder in the horse, hence it ran (and will continue to run) in her colours, and I'm not sure what that means with regard to the future as far as I'm concerned. I still have a 25% stake in the nag, but for how much longer, who knows? With any luck, another run at Navan is on the cards in the near future - a track that has been good to this attractive fella, giving him his two wins so far, although the handicappers will doubtless try and slow him down.

NAR Affairs

Courtesy Sunday TC

There's been a fair bit of shuffling within the NAR line-up of late, with Pop Label (pictured earlier this month) and Million Ways moving, Another Door in the wilderness (still held by NF), and Larressingle joining NAR from JRA. After Kealoha, the latter is probably the most exciting prospect to be honest, although the intention is to go back to JRA by the sound of things. In reality, I'd much rather it stayed in NAR, running often and earning its keep. Anyway, this is how we stand at the moment, with the stable and track in brackets.

Active (some more than others): Pop Label (Murakami Stable, TCK), Magic Key (Kawashima Stable, Funabashi), Kealoha (Kawashima Stable, Funabashi), Chocolat Sucre (Sato Stable, Funabashi), and Trovao (Arayama Stable, TCK).

Not active (due to lack of race fitness or a recent move): Phosphorus (Yano Stable, Funabashi), Million Ways (Fujita Stables, TCK), Vertice (Arayama Stable, TCK), Lotus Blossom (Sato Stable, Funabashi), Another Door (Morisawa Stable, Sonoda), and Larressingle (Morisawa Stable, Sonoda).

As anyone that has followed this blog will know, I have no time whatsoever for JRA, and I'm on rather a downer with Japanese racing as a whole - too many injuries (or unnecessary down time), too much outlay, a lack of visible effort, thrown races, you name it... It has all come together to totally drain my enthusiasm for NAR as well, but I've decided, nonetheless, to continue my annual 'Friendship Race' at Kochi, as they've done nothing down there to annoy me and need the support. It will be in December with any luck, and I'll let you know the date as soon as everything is arranged.

PS. The Kochi race has been set for Sunday 11th December. I hope the race is more realistic than the G1 one held today.

Homecoming

Belle Plage has now officially been booked for the 2000m 7R turf race at Tokyo on the 12th. Vertice's debut has been delayed from mid-November to late-November, so it will be interesting to see what that extra time brings in terms of results... if anything. And, at last, Phosphorus is back at Funabashi, but it has been let get so overweight while it was away, I can't see a worthwhile comeback any time soon. Indeed, he will have to improve a lot to give anything worthwhile full-stop. For now, at least, it's where it belongs.

PS. Another awful performance from Belle Plage, and it can't be blamed on the gate draw (outside again, incidentally!), for it would have been a poor result whichever gate we'd got. What was that long break for? All it did was kill the nag's desire to race, as is usually the case, but still the trainers do it to keep NF in clover. What was the extra 'training' for after the disastrous comeback? Beer money, probably, for it definitely didn't improve the horse's performance. What the hell are we paying for? That one I can't answer, because I can't figure out what we get of any value. Retire it, and let the horse jog around fields at its leisure, instead of jogging around a track once in a blue moon and wasting our time and money. It's certainly not a racehorse any more, and hasn't been for a year now... 

PPS. One tiny bit of good news from Carrot Club - and there hasn't been much of that to report of late - is that Lotus Blossom has escaped NF, now that its shareholders have been bled dry. A test is scheduled for December, with a January debut being planned. Next race is The Jazz Singer jumping at Navan tomorrow, with Pop Label (a Sunday TC horse with a lot to prove) on the 18th, and then we have Trovao (Carrot Club) a couple of days later on the 20th.

Wednesday Rant

The grey three-liner did indeed land on Wednesday regarding Rush Attack. "It will take time..." This is something I said as soon as the diagnosis was belatedly noted, and there's no way on Earth that this horse - that has won once! - is worth spending a year on. Retirement was the only answer back in March. It's now November, and even if it comes back by the end of the year, it will need retraining. A ridiculous decision made purely and simply to keep Northern Farm in clover. And before people criticize what I've just said, I have put my hand in my pocket to save ex-racehorses, and run one now at great expense. Have you? A racehorse is not a racehorse if it isn't racing (unless, of course, you are convinced it is worth holding back), and ten races from a nag born in 2012 is naff. When the results are consistent midfield, that is when I suggest retirement. It isn't doing its job, and needs a change of profession.

Likewise, War Chronicle. Eight races from a horse born in 2012 is pathetic. "There isn't any damage." That's today's statement, but judging by previous reports, they will find something next week, and keep pouring owners' money into Northern Farm with no regard for the future. This horse was second first time out, then 14th eight months later. After a spell in NAR, picking up two wins and a second, it went back to JRA and promptly finished midfield three times - over ten months! It's now back at NF yet again, and the promise of "autumn racing" will be over and done with again. Of course, they didn't say which autumn. Maybe they meant autumn 2017?

While we're at it, we may as well finish the JRA 'runners'. Larressingle has actually gone to Sonoda (NAR) in a bid to return to JRA later - personally I would leave it in NAR, but there we go. As it happens, it will be based at Morisawa Stable, which is where Another Door is going. And the last one, Belle Plage. This was a good horse, but hasn't delivered anything decent for a year now. I'm confused by the next entry, too, with the jockey saying the horse isn't really suited to turf, so 1800m on turf it is! It's certainly a stark contrast to the 1400m on dirt that the trainer was aiming for last week. Like I've said before, it's just a big joke, but I'm certainly not laughing...

PS. Not laughing about Chocolat Sucre either. We've waited six months for 'the big comeback' and I couldn't find one single nice thing to say after watching the race. The start was reasonable, but Mori-kun was already whacking the thing in mid-corner, and despite continued use of the whip for encouragement, the donkey just kept falling back, eventually finishing sixth in a very poor class field, looking totally knackered after just 1200m. Nine months of zero income off this one now, and no sign of improvement. Carrot Club has got to buck its ideas up, and quickly! That was a disgraceful performance... again!

Kealoha V3

Kealoha has given us our second win in two days, with Mar-kun (Masahige Honda) justifying the Sunday TC horse's status as favourite via a two-length win that looked all too easy at the end. He'd drawn the outside gate, but sat patiently until a gap opened on the inside, and then somehow found another gear to pull away from the others and leave them eating sand. His record now stands at 3-1-1-0, so it's a good horse for a change - all that is needed now is a regular run each month with similar results, for those four months off in summer (most of it almost certainly needless) will take some clawing back.

PS. As of today, Million Ways is on the move, now at Midway Farm, and then on to Fujita Stables at TCK, rather than back to Funabashi. Well, it can't do any worse. Trovao is doing well apparently, but I notice none of the training is being done with the guy selected to race on the 20th. I hope this oversight is corrected before the big day, as it's an easy thing to do with Mashima-kun based in Tokyo. I would have liked Honda-kun to have had the ride, but Mashima is a good lad at least. And we have another NAR runner - Larressingle has arrived at Morisawa Stable at Sonoda, although the intention is to move the horse back to JRA again by the looks of things. I don't like that system - once a horse has moved to NAR, it should stay there...

Magic Key V2

Courtesy Miho Long

At last, some long overdue good news on the Japanese racing front - a win for Magic Key, being her second, and my 60th overall. Although the decent prize money - being a "tokubetsu" race - is almost as much as Million Ways (with the same trainer) has won in its career so far, as well as over twice what Another Door has managed to get after eight attempts, it is still only four-and-a-half months of running costs, and one should not forget that the thing was off for nine months this year and ran only once last year. This horse owes me, and owes me big, so I'm not going to be doing cartwheels around the room or breaking open bottles of champagne for a long time yet - an injury free season with a few more good results in the bag might cheer me up, but I'm afraid I've simply been let down by too many for too long now to bounce back into the enthusiasm zone after one win, for I am not a rubber ball. Anyone that knows me well will tell you that I am by and large an understanding type that gives things a fair chance, but once I have been annoyed or feel I've been slighted, repairing the damage is not an easy process. That said, at least I saw some effort today, especially from young Nakano-kun, who didn't panic under constant pressure from Mori-kun and being forced to keep the pace up by Harita-kun in the early stages. My hearty and sincere congratulations on the win. Now keep them coming!

PS. A mile seems just a touch too far for Magic Key - I'd say the 1500m distance races would be more suitable, as the horse looked quite tired at the end having watched the replay again. That was not the kind of domination I'm sure the trainer and Sunday TC would have wished for - in fact, it was a little too close for comfort at the finish line. What happens next is important. Today was simply about starting to claw back a lost season.

Monday Rant

We were supposed to have a runner in Ireland today, but the entry was scratched. I'm not particularly happy with the way the Irish campaign is going if I'm to be honest. Granted, it's a damned sight better than the Japanese farce they have the nerve to call racing, but then it would be hard to imagine any country giving you less bang for the buck than Japan - I don't think it would be possible at the end of the day, beyond someone selling a donkey that ran once or twice a year and spent the rest of the season costing the same as a racing month in someone's backyard, hundreds of miles from its proper stable with minimal care.

From experience, Japan is not far off that, but it's not quite that bad, as you do actually get a Thoroughbred - the fact that it runs like a donkey, on those all too rare occasions it hits the track, is a different subject, for at least it looks right. Exaggerating? Make your own mind up. Here's the NAR review this year (from the start of January), and bear in mind that running costs average 400,000 yen (or US$4000) a month, split between shareholders:

Phosphorus (born 2011, cost 14,000,000 yen) - eight races this year, but results of 11th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 6th are hardly fantastic, and hardly touch the monthly bills, let alone pull back any of the purchase price or the months and months off through questionable injuries in previous seasons. He's been at YTC since early July, going there to be gelded - yes, that's right, a two-week operation. He should have been retired the minute it was realized he wasn't coming back straight after his op.

Pop Label (born 2011, cost 12,000,000 yen) - six races this year, with 3rd, 8th, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 14th being his record, the latter coming after nearly four months away from the track, and two months ago (or at least it will be by the time the intended race takes place). If it does nothing on the 18th, it should be retired on the spot - a long overdue move. It wouldn't be so bad if the running costs were a third of what they are, but at Shadai TC/Sunday TC/Carrot Club rates, no-hopers cannot be justified, especially when the same people keep flooding the market with more and more horses, giving those already in training less opportunities to run and be looked after properly, in a manner their fees should dictate but sadly don't.

Magic Key (born 2013, cost 16,000,000 yen) - two races, including a win in January and a 7th, the latter after nine months off! Of course, the bills didn't stop coming, and as favourite, to finish seventh in the 'big comeback' is hardly encouraging. So far, both Phosphorus and Pop Label have failed to do well since the same knee operation, so I can see another waste of time and money in the offing. The fact that injuries are rife is also disturbing. We will find out today whether my thoughts are overly pessimistic or simply realistic.

Kealoha (born 2013, cost 10,000,000 yen) - four races this year, for a third, two wins and a second. Nothing to moan about on this one then? Well, those four races have brought in 2,800,600 yen, while running costs have been over 4,000,000 yen so far, and that doesn't claw back anything of the initial costs and the hefty one-off pre-race insurance bill. So you can see why NAR stuff sold through the bigger clubs has to run every month without fail, and get damned good results each time just to stand a chance of breaking even. When the cost of horses is so high, it brings the whole thing into question. You try and support NAR, but if nothing is done to try and make it worthwhile for owners spending a fortune each month, there are limits.

Chocolat Sucre (born 2013, cost 8,000,000 yen) - four races, giving a 3rd, 1st, 12th and 8th, with a fifth race (a comeback after six months off) due this week. Well, it's going to have to start doing well and keep doing well very soon, but at least its purchase price was more sensible - and realistic - compared to the heavily overpriced Sunday Thoroughbred Club stuff.

Million Ways (born 2013, cost 12,000,000 yen) - seven races this year, delivering a 7th, 4th, 1st, 11th, 9th, 11th and 9th. Amazing! That last race was in September, and the thing has been at NF ever since. I dare say it will be there for months yet, too, as the three months in-between the first five and last two races of the year did nothing whatsoever to improve form. As a Carrot Club horse, this was an expensive purchase, and the cost has simply not been justified.... again. Over ten races overall, it has brought in 2,020,000 yen, which doesn't even cover the costs between buying and the first race. It's racing career has been in the red from day one, despite two wins.

Trovao (born 2013, cost 10,000,000 yen) - two races this year, including a second and a fourth. At least these have been top level races, but the latter was ruined by stupid rules that the NAR people should have had changed years ago but are too weak to challenge, and ultimately one is now left thinking ten lower class races would have been a better idea. The next race is due at the end of November, but the horse last ran in June (not good), and you can bet the race will be full of JRA hawks looking for easy pocket money, destroying the purse available to NAR folks.

Vertice (born 2014, cost 6,000,000 yen) - the cheapest horse I've managed to get, which should give you an idea of how ridiculous the prices are out here. Naturally, the damned thing hasn't ran, so it's already over 4,000,000 yen in the red this year, with no guarantees of getting anywhere once it does finally hit the track. And Carrot Club is wondering why it is struggling to sell 75% of its NAR runners...

Lotus Blossom (born 2014, cost 7,000,000 yen) - this one hasn't even made it to a racing stable yet, so obviously hasn't got a green light to race. There is talk of it reaching Funabashi this month, but there has been talk of that happening on many occasions before, and it's still in the grip of the vampires (ie. Northern Farm). By the time it finally races, which will be January if you are very lucky, it will owe owners 12,000,000 yen, and the chances of getting even a fraction of that back, with hefty bills month in, month out, are very remote to say the least.

Another Door (born 2014, cost 16,000,000 yen) - eight races, giving a 4th, 7th, 3rd, 4th, DQ, 2nd, 1st and 3rd. Sounds okay, with the late results coming on the back of proper training (unbelievably, given that this was the most expensive nag in the Sunday TC catalogue, the horse was stationed at Northern Farm in its early days), until you realize the low level of racing this nag is competing in. All of this has brought in just 765,000 yen, which doesn't add up when you look at the monthly costs. Now it's going to NF (of course!) en route to Sonoda rather than Funabashi, where it should be, and a very uncertain future lies ahead unless it improves an awful lot very quickly. Not good for a fiercely expensive horse, now is it? You will rarely see anything costing more than this in NAR, and so far it simply hasn't lived up to its promise. It's far from alone if one checks its contemporaries.

Anyway, the mathematics do not make sense. Yes, one isn't into racing for financial gain (you stand more chance with even the riskiest of shares than with racehorses), but the system out here is such that it doesn't allow gain, full-stop - all it does is make money for the monopolies that dominate the scene, the kind of monopolies that wouldn't be allowed in any other country outside a banana republic. If the horses ran regularly and real effort was seen, one could still justify the expense as a form of enjoyment. When they hardly run at all (partly due to getting injured seemingly every five minutes, and certainly a lot more often than in the other countries I have racing interests), and feeble excuses are all you get for them running badly when they do hit the track, the outrageous cost cannot possibly be balanced with the return, financial or visceral. Getting into the Japanese racing game was the worst thing I have ever done. There, I've said it. I have tried to support NAR, but until things change on ownership rules and overall cost (and, more importantly, the cost-performance ratio), I can no longer blindly keep throwing money away. Ultimately, I feel like I have been badly let down, and I'm sick and tired of being treated like a mug and an ATM machine.

The only thing you can say in NAR's favour, is that the JRA side of the business is even worse. Another rant in the making, no doubt, as War Chronicle and Rush Attack - two that should have been retired long ago - will almost certainly have a grey three-liner against them in a very poor attempt at justifying the expense yet again. No firm plans, no firm dates, just a constant stream of bull, since March in one case, and basically since purchase with the other. Or how about Belle Plage, held back for a dirt race that was oversubscribed (as usual!) because the jockey says it's not suited to turf, then gets entered in a turf race the next week, assuming it does actually run...

Here We Go Again

Well, Another Door runs tomorrow (in quite a testing race as it happens), and Kealoha, Magic Key and Chocolat Sucre should be running at Funabashi next week. Progress, at last, after months and months of paying out and getting absolutely nothing for it - other than a feeling of being pissed about. Pop Label should be out on the 18th, and there can be no excuses for another bad performance this time, although I'm sure Shadai will manage to find one somehow when the seemingly inevitable happens - 'Pop' has not ran well for three whole years, so I can't see anything changing to be perfectly frank. The horse should be retired. Any club that gave even a modicum of thought about owners would have got rid of it last year, if not before.

On the subject of retirement, Phosphorus is still is no-man's land, with no hints on a return date - a situation that is not acceptable considering it went for a simple snip god knows how long ago. Definitely up for retirement is War Chronicle, with the trainer saying ridiculous things that basically mean constant holidays and give him a perfect excuse for crap results at the same time. If the horse has a problem, you fix it once and for all, or retire it. Pathetic! The same number of races, or gate appearances at least, as Another Door, despite being a full two years older. How on earth Carrot Club can allow a situation like this, offering owners nothing but bullshit, month in, month out, is beyond me...

Larressingle is no closer to being posted at a new place than the month before, filling the coffers at Northern Farm nicely, but really annoying me, along with other shareholders no doubt. I'm not sure what to think about Belle Plage - the mumbling seems to be another way of covering up the fact that it won't run, and that's what it needs more than anything. Million Ways is still on holiday, by the way ("getting better," which is obvious, as it couldn't possibly get any worse), as is Rush Attack, and again there's no sign of a return any time soon.

Rounding things up on the Japan front, Trovao is entered for a big race, but it's not ran for an eternity, so, although it grieves me to say it, I think it's a hollow gesture rather than a serious attempt at victory; Mashima-kun is being lined up as the jockey apparently. Vertice might be out at the next TCK meeting (in the week Pop Label is due out), but there's no guarantee.

Lotus Blossom has just moved from one NF facility to another, spreading the money around the boys for as long as possible, and keeping a debut out of sight for yet another month. To rub salt into the wound, while it's contemporaries are winning (and therefore starting to cover their extortionate running costs), we'll be charged two lots of transport to get the horse where it should have been months ago, on top of the usual highly inflated bill, then there will be proper training, a test, and eventually a race. At this rate, 'Lotus' will be a three-year old before it makes its bloody debut! It will have to win everything in sight for the next three or four years to cover its cost and bills thus far. You can bet that won't happen, and you also can bet that's why I won't be buying any more Japanese horses until the day I die - it's just a total waste of money, with frustration outgunning the fun element by a ratio of ten to one.

PS. Another Door started as firm favourite at odds of 1.7:1, and finished third, not far off fifth. The earnings will cover about four days of expenses, which I think you can imagine is something that does not go down well, especially given its 16,000,000 yen price-tag. It has now won the princely sum of 765,000 yen from seven races (eight if we include the one it was excluded from), and I'm not exaggerating when I say we have a 23-year old TB at the stable that could have done better than that over such a campaign. Guess what? Before going to Sonoda, it will go to NF. Wow, what a shock! I suppose we'll still have NF reports going into the Spring now. 

PPS. As expected, the softening up yesterday was a way to break the news that Belle Plage will not be running again this weekend, and I guess the next thing will be a trip to Northern Farm - it's been at the stables for five weeks now, so judging by the form that seems to be standard practice in JRA, I imagine we'll have a notice any minute saying the horse will be shipped off for a short break, which usually ends up at three months or more. Not enough gates available for the selected race is the official excuse. Ironic that it should have run last week, when there were spaces in the gate for once, but it was stated "next week would be better." Either way, it really is all just a bad joke, with not the slightest relationship to real racing. Let that be a warning to all those thinking of getting into the scene - I would recommend sitting on the sidelines and letting others part with their silly money, for I guarantee you would get more enjoyment from burning the cash and watching the colours in the flames than you would from 'investing' it in Japanese racing, and it would probably cost you less, too. If you want to have a go at the race game, do it in England. In fact, Zimbabwe would be a better bet than the Land Of The Rising Sun.

In Need Of A Strong Drink

Courtesy Jenny Felix

Our Aussie lad Raining Dollars (pictured) ran at Home Hill today with Jeff Felix at the controls. Sadly, he got bumped, causing him to clip his leg quite badly - the cut will definitely need some TLC, as it looks quite deep. It's a damned shame, because we were expecting a decent result from him, but that's racing. We've not been having much luck in Australia of late, but, as in England, I know the effort was made, and if we don't win, there's a good reason for it. Wish the same could be said of the Japanese campaign!

War Chronicle ran at Niigata having had over three months on holiday, and looked awful on the back straight. Yoshida's riding didn't help, as he'd placed the horse in a terrible position on the run in, but 0.8 seconds off the pace is never going to challenge a podium spot, and seventh or eighth, 0.7 or 0.8 seconds adrift seems to be the norm nowadays. If it can't get another start within the next couple of weeks, now it remembers what it was bought to do (ie. race - something it's only managed to do a pitiful eight times so far, despite being born in 2012) and show definite signs of improvement on the day, I would personally throw in the towel, as, if nothing changes, it's just not up to the job under its current trainer. Staying in NAR would have been the only sensible answer, in reality. The two other Carrot horses that ran in the same race were 10th and 13th, by the way - another pair of nags that simply made up the numbers up to 15, which is a totally pointless exercise. It might keep generating income for so-called 'trainers' and Northern Farm, but it's just wasting time and money from the shareholder's point of view. It's not as if there's a shortage of horses in circulation - indeed, there's too many for the sparse calendar to deal with properly, so keeping donkeys makes no sense whatsoever.

Looks like we'll be continuing with Mirzam and Masterson for the Box 41 syndicate next year, with a new colt being introduced to fill out the numbers and give us a two-year old to play with. Another exciting flat season ahead then, and hopefully we can get some jumping action from The Jazz Singer over the winter to keep things ticking over.

Japanese Outlook

I'm amazed that War Chronicle has got a berth at Niigata on the 29th. Of course, it hasn't raced for three months, so the chances of a good performance are remote, or I should say even more remote, for we haven't seen a decent run since rejoining the JRA scene the best part of a year ago. Having just got the race-rust free of Belle Plage, the proposed race for the 29th has been dropped, with the following weekend now being cited. Umm... There are gates available in the stated race, so that's not the reason for cancellation. Doesn't look good, does it?

Pop Label and Magic Key keep having races postponed. The planned one for Magic Key at Kawasaki was overbooked, but the back-up on the 4th has now been dropped in favour of a Funabashi run on the 7th. Hopefully it will run properly this time, whenever it finally does make it to the track! As for Pop, I would just retire it, along with Phosphorus.

Rush Attack is still wasting money, too, having last raced in March, and, just as importantly, having last finished in the top three 14 months ago! So, in reality, we are covering an injury that people should have known was going to take almost a year to clear up, and the chances of getting anything back if and when a return does happen are very slim. The horse should have been retired in the Spring. Larressingle should be heading off to a new stable in the second half of November; the future of Another Door hangs in the balance, with another Monbetsu run being lined up until a new stable is sorted, wherever it may be. For a 16,000,000 yen horse to be unable to qualify for Nankan minimum winnings is a disgrace, but this is what has brought about this crazy situation of trying to find somewhere when stables south of Hokkaido are already full to bursting point.

Chocolat Sucre and Kealoha are supposed to be running at the next Funabashi meeting in early November, when hopefully Lotus Blossom will arrive - at last - at its racing stable there. I have forgotten how many times I've heard that, and a spell at a different Northern Farm site before the final move to Funabashi has me wondering if it will ever make it. Whether Million Ways ever makes it back to base is another question mark. Vertice has a race proficiency test tomorrow, and Trovao has a big race booked for next month - some progress at least.

PS. Vertice has passed the test, and will hopefully be making its debut in the middle of November. Before that, Another Door should be out at Monbetsu on the 3rd. Meanwhile, Phosphorus is supposedly doing well - he's doing well at eating, that's for sure. I don't know where they get the idea of training from, as he's now 30kg overweight - a huge amount that will have to go before a race career can be resumed, which means yet more time away from the track...

Whinging Pom

You've probably gathered that I moan a lot about Japanese 'racing' (the racing is in inverted commas, because it's more like a show they put on involving Thoroughbreds than real racing). Well, maybe I do moan, but my observations are not based on an odd rogue horse - I'm talking from experience I've gained over several years by having had a stake in no less than 44 horses out here, via Carrot Club, Shadai Thoroughbred Club and Sunday Thoroughbred Club. One of the big differences, of course, is I've had shares in many horses in England, Ireland and Australia, too, as well as full ownership of two ex-racers and a part-share in another (a famous Stakes winner). I also have friends in the industry, including top-level grooms and vets. In other words, I know when I'm being told bull! Having just seen 'Bugatti' do over an hour of jumping on one day, and go to him the next and he's in high-tension mode ready and more than willing to go hard again, on a low power diet to boot (compared to what he would have been eating in his racing days), I don't believe that a three year-old is "tired" from doing the odd 17-17 canter. That's warming up stuff, not training, and that's the real root of the problem - the horses are not trained properly, and then there's a mad rush to get a nag prepared by whoever happens to be around and it gets injured. Again! From experience, Japanese horses are three to four times more likely to be off through injury (or "tiredness"), and race three to four times less than their UK counterparts. Oh, and they cost an awful lot more to buy, and a lot more to run once your stake is secured, too. Good value? I don't think so. And that is what gives me the right to moan. Ask Mick Channon how many times I've complained over my years with him. He'll tell you that I've never moaned, not once. That's because I see sincere effort and feel like I'm getting damned good value for my money all year, every year. And as with most European and Aussie outfits, realising that you can go wherever you want whenever you want, taking your money with you, I'm treated like a client rather than a mug. Here, racing is more like the civil service than a business! The sooner I can leave this ridiculous farce behind me to concentrate on real racing abroad, the better...

Daiso Goods, Cartier Prices

The bad joke continues with the news that War Chronicle's chosen race is oversubscribed two-to-one, so the chances of getting a berth in the gate are remote. Is there a back-up plan? I doubt it. So, from having what looked like a few Japanese races fairly close together for the first time in months - literally - we're back to diddly squat except for feeble excuses for non-runners, and nowhere near enough races to go around for those are actually are able to run, or jog, as that's probably a better description of the movement they have the nerve to call running out here. Without a doubt, the most pathetic 'racing' in the world, as well as the most expensive - an observation backed up by the bills that have just come through my door, with the one for Phosphorus being extremely annoying (Another Door's win won't cover it, and there's nothing else coming in because nothing ever runs!). He goes in for a simple snip, and four months later, we're still waiting for a return and being charged racing stable rates! I would say I don't know how they have the balls to keep sending out bills like this, but that's a terrible pun given the operation 'Phos' went for. Whatever, like Pop Label, if he can't run (and gives crap results when he does), he should be retired, as he's completely failing to fulfil his role as a racehorse. The fact that he's cute is irrelevant. Summing things up is simple: He is paid to do a specific job, and if, for whatever reason, he consistently can't do that job, he should be fired and find employment elsewhere.

PS. At least the trainer has acknowledged that Belle Plage's run was unacceptable - considering we've been paying for months and had nothing in return for the best part of half a year, a little effort would have been the least we should have been delivered. As such, it is supposed to be out again next week, although I guess the chosen race will have too many going for it, so I'm not building up any hopes as yet. The only thing you can say is this is proof that a lack of racing is the problem (as it usually is), and I salute the guy for not going down the usual Japanese route of saying "it's tired" as a way of covering up a stable's incompetence, a lack of available races and a backhanded way of filtering money back to NF at owners' expense.

PPS. The Sonoda plan is on hold for Another Door, but it has now missed a chance to race in this week's meeting. It should be out next week, apparently. The week after that is the final Monbetsu meeting for the year, but the pissing about, trying to get a horse to race without proper training, and race bans and downright awful performances that came as a result of the lack of training (which we still paid a hefty bill for each month, by the way), has left owners in no-man's land - I'm assuming the Sonoda plan is being delayed because the stables are all full, and, due to Nankan rules, too little money has been earned up north to allow the horse to go to its proper stable at Funabashi. There seems to be far too little concern for getting the best from a horse once a sale is made. The only effort I see from Shadai TC and Sunday TC is in selling new horses and getting the inflated monthly invoices out. We live and learn. At least Chocolat Sucre has passed its test and should be back in action soon...

Joke Racing Assoc.

Sayesse was entered in the 4:30 at Newbury on Saturday, which is a bit late to stay up JST for an oldie like me, so I got the result and feedback from the race on Sunday morning. Ummm. The poor thing was hampered early on, so the jockey just cruised him home in order to give him a fighting chance next time around. He's given us some wonderful racing this year, though (as has Ettie Hart, his stablemate in the LIR syndicate), so he's allowed to cruise hime as far as I'm concerned, as I know 100% that if there was any chance of finishing well, the horse would be allowed to give his all, and he'd give it willingly.

Next up, a rare JRA entry. Of course, Belle Plage got the outside gate (if I cared as much about Japanese racing as I do English racing, I would ask for an enquiry into how I manage to get so many outside gate draws), which isn't a good way to begin a comeback after an awfully long and almost certainly unwarranted holiday - itself, a handicap of sorts. As such, the odds were awful, even in a race full of supposedly similar level horses. Well, it finished 1.5 seconds off the pace, second from last. Great. Well worth waiting five months for that. Race it next week, now it's shaken off some of the race-rust, or simply retire it!

Pop Label was due to run at TCK on the 25th, but for some reason it's name doesn't appear on the race card. There's nothing up on the Sunday website (probably consulting the book of excuses and struggling to find something they haven't used before), but we can assume the bloody thing is injured yet again! Three years without a win, and still the club is sponging off us. It wouldn't be so bad if it ran often and provided a bit of entertainment, but it has run just six times this year, and provided only two top three finishes - it was 14th in the last outing, which, like Japanese racing a whole, is a bad joke...

Another Door V1

At last, with a proper trainer on the scene, Another Door ran like it was supposed to over four months ago! Although the official winning margin was five lengths, it looked like more to be honest, but one has to remember this was a very low level race - indeed, the winnings only just cover a month's running fees, so to break open anything more than a Max Coffee to celebrate is still going to leave me in the red. If you think I don't sound very enthusiastic for a guy that's just had his 59th winner, it's because I'm not - this horse cost a fortune, and has done nothing but disappoint until today. Now, if the damned thing can keep running for more than five minutes without picking up an injury (something which seems almost impossible in Japan) and run at the kind of level its bloodlines and extortionate price demand, then my mood might change. Unfortunately, the folks at Carrot Club, Shadai Thoroughbred Club and Sunday Thoroughbred Club (and those they employ, particularly the jokers at NF) have combined to dampen my enthusiasm for Japanese racing to such an extent that I don't think I will ever feel an ounce of joy in racing over here ever again. Let's put it this way, it will take an awful lot more than one extremely isolated win (despite having a lot of expensive nags in training in both JRA and NAR, my last Japanese winner came in the first week of May) to smooth things over and raise my spirits as far as I'm concerned...

Far From Magic

Apart from a silly moment soon after the start, where it looked more like a giraffe than a racehorse, Magic Key ran okay. However, the distance proved too much, even with the lighter jockey allowance, and - yet again - we come away from a Japanese race with nothing, despite starting as favourite! The extra two furlongs over and above what the horse has attempted before was really telling, and it was questionable even trying a mile in such strong company. Typical really - you wait for ages for a race, and then the result is as disappointing as to keep being tossed a constant barrage of excuses for why they can't run! I hope Nakano-kun will be put back into the saddle at the next Funabashi meeting (or sooner, as the accounting sheet is full of red again), and a race can be found that is a lot more suitable than this one was...

No luck at Newmarket either, although, as the long odds indicated, Sayesse was fighting above his weight in the G3 race, and, in total contrast to the Japanese nags, he's more than paid for himself many times over, while the stuff out here can't even cover the monthly bills, let alone the ridiculously steep purchase prices! Considering he's just done a G3 race, with a purse 3.5 times higher than Magic Key was going for tonight, and Another Door (a Sunday TC horse that literally cost 20 times more at current exchange rates) can't even get close to a win at the lowest level, I won't have anything said against him. At the end of the day, like all the UK runners, he gives us good sport on a regular basis, and that is all one can ask for. The Japanese horses bring no joy whatsoever, just a string of unjustified expenses, cut-and-paste reports and excuses for failure when they finally do make an all-too rare track appearance.

PS. Mirzam made an uneventful debut at York, although I know Mick Channon and those looking after the horse think a lot of her, so let's just put this one down to gaining experience.

PPS. Graham Lee backed off the gas on Masterson at the testing Windsor track once it was obvious that the leading pair had slipped away, but still finished a handy fourth. Ettie Hart was cruised in at Brighton, this being something of a warm-up in readiness for a proper comeback next time out, and The Jazz Singer was also cruised in at Punchestown after what looked like a promising start - hopes are now pinned on a Down Royal race. In more jumping action over the weekend, Masterson managed to lose his jockey at the second at Kempton!

Plus, Minus

Well, at least I saw some improvement and effort with Another Door today - a good second, at a time that would have won the first race by a small margin. With only six days of keeping fees covered due to the poxy pot, though, it's what happens next that's important. The horse needs to keep improving (by a lot!) and stay free from injuries during a schedule that ideally requires at least two, preferably three, races a month. Unless that can be done, it will end up at a dead end track and any kind of return will be nothing more than pure fantasy - retirement would be a better option if the Monbetsu campaign keeps going at this pace. The Sunday Thoroughbred Club needs to remember that this is a 16,000,000 yen horse, and it needs to perform like one - a purse of 305,000 yen from six races could have been achieved by a blindfolded mule...

PS. There's talk of Another Door racing at Sonoda to get enough money for a Nankan campaign that much quicker. The problem, of course, is the horse can't win a donkey derby level race in Monbetsu, so what chance has it got at Sonoda, let alone Funabashi? No plan for Larressingle, at least as to where it is going to further its career, assuming they don't screw it up at Northern Farm in the meantime (that's assuming a lot), and yet more annoying news on War Chronicle - the "autumn keiba" reports have now been adjusted to "it will take some time" once more. This horse is just too fragile to be a racer, at least in the hands of those keeping it, and should be retired on the spot.

So, hardly anything left compared to previous Japanese levels, but still problems galore - problems that simply don't occur outside JRA and NAR, or when they do, far less fuss is made about it because the problem is caught quickly and dealt with effectively. Phosphorus went for a simple gelding operation in early July and is still miles away from a track return - after half a year out not long before, this is something of a bad (and expensive) joke. Horses get injured, yes, but once in a while, and certainly not every one you own and every five minutes. That kind of scenario stinks of incompetence or poor quality horses. Or both, period.  

Of the other Shadai stuff, Pop Label has come back but done nothing, and now the next race it was being lined up for has been scrubbed in favour of one two weeks later. Why? Because his "movement isn't very good." Piss off! Nearly four months off, one poxy return race, and we're already back to the bullshit flying. I guess the next thing, despite a new date of the 25th being set for the next race, will be another sob story and an excuse to funnel owners' money off to NF until retirement. Magic Key looks like it might do something, and about time after eight months out of action! Kealoha, too, needs to claw back some pennies having spent four months away, while Another Door's situation is a pathetic one that we know about.

As for the Carrot Club nags, Lotus Blossom and Vertice look like they will never race at all at this rate, Trovao might come back to TCK within the next few weeks (assuming nothing goes wrong in the meantime), and Million Ways and Chocolat Sucre have been a disaster zone from day one. War Chronicle is another disaster zone, being injured every few minutes; Rush Attack is another waste of time and money, last racing in the first week of March, and Belle Plage is at last back at the stables after a long five-month break. Who knows what will happen with Larressingle? I guess Northern Farm will keep it as long as possible, generating yet more pennies for the boys, with no thought of what the lack of racing is doing to the horse... 

We'll Be Back!

Sayesse blew the big race at Newmarket, but will be out there again in a week's time to reap some revenge. Actually, although the finishing position was a long way down the list, the distance behind the winner meant that he wasn't too far off the pace. Ultimately, there were just too many horses in the race for him to show what he's capable of, but he'll be back in winning form soon, of that I'm absolutely sure.

At least we're having some real progress with 'Bugatti' - Louis working him yesterday and Sophie today, in a combination of fine control training and jumping practice. Sophie, in particular, has come on in leaps and bounds thanks to the clinic. By the end of next week, if she keeps up with the programme laid out for her, Louis will have a new and very real rival in the shape of his sister! I often think what a fine steeplechaser 'Bugatti' would have made with his stamina, natural jumping ability and love of work; I reckon he would have been a master over the jumps.

PS. News just in that Another Door will run at Monbetsu on the fourth. Strange thing is that it runs in the 2R, full of tough competitors, when the opener is over the same distance and has the same prize money attached, yet is full of poor quality nags. Because of this careless miss, unless there's a huge improvement, I can see us coming away with nothing again! 

A Small Step

Kealoha came a strong second, which will just about pay for its running costs for a month - it won't eat into the bill for the four months away from the track, of course, or help cover the costs for the likes of those seemingly constantly injured, such as Phosphorus, but it was a decent comeback overall. Had the start been anything like one expects from a trained racehorse, we should have won it with ease; I guess that's what you have to take away from the race as a positive, the fact that - for once - a nag has returned from NF as a horse instead of a donkey. Now, if the bloody thing can stay fit for more than five minutes (something that seems incredibly difficult out here if recent events are anything to go by, despite the English ponies racing far more often and basically remaining free of the troubles that strike down the Japanese runners with a truly maddening regularity), we might just get a bit of sport from this one. About time we got some value for money out of something, for we're still cursed by a ton of horses out here that either can't or won't run for whatever reason. This one race is a very small move in the right direction, but I'm still a very, very long way from happy with the way my horses are being handled, in all respects. Ultimately, there is still a huge (maybe insurmountable) distance to go before my enthusiasm for Japanese racing returns to any extent, and I have yet to see any reason on the horizon for the gap to close any time soon. For instance, unless a race at Oi, Urawa or Kawasaki is attempted with Kealoha, there's no Funabashi meeting in October, with the next one being in the second week of November. That's a long time to wait, with more outlay and no income once more, just for a different reason to the usual excuses.

Cowboys!

After another month of no income from the Shadai and Sunday horses (actually, that's not strictly true, as a few pennies came in this time - around half a percent of the monthly outlay), a crap return from Pop Label, and yet another injury for Phosphorus (can any of the cowboys out here actually keep a horse going for more than a week without injuring it?), we need a damned good result from Kealoha. It is due to run with Honda-kun at Funabashi on Friday, with Magic Key due out the following week at Kawasaki as it happens. Despite the fact that we need winners to recoup a tiny bit of pride, not to mention a bit of cash, I don't think we'll be treated to anything spectacular, so I shall watch both races at home, making sure that things that are close to hand are too heavy to throw at the TV screen.

Belle Plage and War Chronicle are due to go to their racing stables soon, which is about bloody time, after months and months of kicking their hooves back and sipping on pina coladas. While Rush Attack may never see a racetrack again at this rate (and Lotus Blossom may never see one at all, for empty promises are all we've got to show other than a possible late-October or early-November career start date, which will doubtless be shifted further and further back if past experience with this horse is anything to go by), Chocolate Sucre has made it back to Funabashi, and Trovao is getting closer to Tokyo again. To be honest, though, there is little excitement in my office, for what little spark of enthusiasm there was has been dowsed by the news of Phosphorus being out of action again at a time when it should have been returning to the track, and you can bet Chocolat Sucre and Trovao, as well as the JRA horses, are still a long way from race-ready to rub salt into the wound. Thanks to a niggling problem, Vertice is still no closer to starting its career either, with the end of October being cited as a test date - a month beyond the original plan, and I wouldn't mind betting it drifts still further by the time October comes around.

You sometimes wonder if all these injuries are created on purpose, just to take the piss, for surely no professional outfit can keep clocking up maladies at the rate the people out here do? You buy NAR horses because they're supposed to run more often, and therefore provide more sport for your money. Ha - what a joke that assumption has turned out to be! When it comes right down to it, I'd have more trust in the care and skill administered by the likes of Delboy and Rodders than I have in the cowboys that look after racehorses in Japan, especially those camped at Northern Farm. Or maybe it's the breeding, with bloodlines creating nags that are simply too fragile? Either way, I'll be glad to be out of it ASAP - the new catalogues went in the paper recycling box, the invite to the club party was torn up, and I don't even bother looking at club magazines or going to the tracks nowadays. What's the point when you know you'll be told your horse is injured, or performs like a geriatric donkey with asthma when it finally does make a rare appearance in a race? It's simply wasting yet more money and setting myself up for yet more disappointment, which is something I just don't need - indeed, the only race I've seen any kind of real effort in for months on end out here was the third place of Larressingle the other day (far better than the two second places beforehand). This nightmare, brought about by a combination of the greed and incompetence of those who control Japanese racing from all angles, cannot end soon enough for me...

The Jazz Singer V1

Paul Townend pulled The Jazz Singer clear of a 25-strong field at Navan in a finely timed jumps race, keeping the horse out of trouble on the outside all the way around (adding to the 3800m distance), and only pushing the pace once the final straight came into view. The trainer did say he was looking good at home, and he was certainly strong at the finish, keeping the lead with ease once he'd nosed in front. Well done to all involved!

Hollie Doyle brought Masterson home in a handy third at Chester soon after, so a win and two thirds from four starts on the day can't be bad. We've lost All Rosie, but he seems to have lost the will to race, so it's better he retires anyway. We'll have to wait and see if Larressingle can adjust to dirt racing in a tougher environment, but judging by Saturday's run, she should provide us with some good sport. Louis thinks she will probably end up at Nagoya, although nothing has been said for sure as yet.

Busy Day

Another disappointing race from All Rosie on Friday, although he is being given another chance today as a swansong run under Lee Attard. Larressingle (0-6-1-2) is also facing the chop at Nakayama, in what looks like a totally unsuitable race on paper - the price we've paid for leaving things too late, and handing races to others. Someone in the know lined up as a buyer, perhaps? Nothing would surprise me nowadays. Well, whatever - I'm past caring to be honest...

On a brighter note, this is probably the first day we've ever had horses running in all four countries we campaign in - I certainly can't remember it happening before, and I tend to recall things like that, even though I can't remember what I had for dinner the day before half the time. Some of the results won't be in until the wee hours due to the time differences, but we'll be able to confirm the Japanese and Aussie ones shortly after lunch.

PS. I have to say, Larressingle did much better than I expected on dirt, although third place means goodbye nonetheless. The horse did well, but the typical blocking - a black mark on Japanese racing that makes a mockery of the sport when the nags finally do escape the money-grabbing grips of NF - screwed things up from halfway round. Uchida-san could have gone wider from the start, I guess, but it's no good going over what could have been now, as that was the final chance for Larressingle, and without a win, it's fate was sealed. The only good JRA horse we've had in ages, and now it's gone. All Rosie, too - it's a shame it couldn't have performed in a manner that reflected Jo's hard work, but another chapter has come to an end, and a lot less painfully than with a lot of the Japanese ponies!

PPS. A fascinating situation has come about with Larressingle. After such a fine dirt debut, it has been decided to run the horse in NAR for a while, with the long-term plan of bringing it back into the JRA fold at a later date. If it goes into NAR, I'd rather it stayed there, as I'm against this swapping and changing business, but at least the only Carrot horse worth keeping is still on our lists, and we'll see how things go as soon as a new stable is found.

Japan Blues

Despite having been on holiday for over four months now, there's still no sign of Belle Plage running any time soon, which is frankly ridiculous, although reports state that War Chronicle is three to five weeks away from getting back out on the track. However, I guess there will be another barrage of excuses to keep it at NF in the meantime - plenty of money for 'the boys' and no effort from the trainers, which is the way they like it in Japan (especially in JRA circles). Larressingle is down to run at the weekend, but the race hasn't been confirmed, nor has a jockey been lined up - I don't rate the chances of a good result anyway, what with a long (doubtless needless) trip up north and a dirt debut over a longer distance than ever attempted before. I think we'll be saying goodbye to the nag, assuming it can even get a race, when I'd much rather be rid of the long-term cripple, Rush Attack, and the overly-fragile War Chronicle.

In NAR, Another Door has moved to a trainer at Monbetsu, but almost certainly too late to make the difference needed to claw back money and make a horse worthy of Nankan levels. I honestly believe this is waste almost akin to J'ai Un Reve - another horse that was never given a proper chance through a lack of training, despite the great expense involved. It has a test on the 26th, and - assuming it passes that - it can then race again. Vertice should be having its first test at the end of October, when most of its contemporaries, except Lotus Blossom of course, have been out numerous times by now, actually learning their art in the heat of battle - the learning curve will be long and hard having left things this late. Meanwhile, Pop Label is at TCK today, although I'm not expecting much (again!) due to the wet track and a thick layer of race-rust, and Kealoha should be running at Funabashi next week.

At least the kids have been doing well, with Sophie picking up sixth place in her A3 debut, and only dropping a few points on the second day - she seemed to put too much pressure on herself after such a good start the day before. Louis got 56.5 in L1, which went to 58.5 with his handicap ('Bugatti' being born in Japan), and that has to be regarded as an excellent performance; he did okay in L2, but he's still learning that particular exercise as yet. After four dressage runs, 'Bugatti' was given a rest - that means he missed two sets of jumping on top of his two days and four lots of dressage, and not because he's tired, but because there wasn't a jumping competition this month, otherwise he'd have done it. It brings the comments against horses like Belle Plage into perspective - to be told that a horse is tired after a few seconds of cantering and/or being on the treadmill implies that it is either seriously out of condition or needs retiring, or maybe we are just being fed bull. Either way, it's not a good situation, and it's certainly a poor return for our huge financial outlay.

PS. Pop Label wasn't last, but too close to being last for comfort. It's bloody annoying, as the jockey gave him the best shot possible (over a distance he likes but was kept away from for far too long), but there was just nothing there coming off the last corner. Now, we know he doesn't like a wet track, and seeing as a heavy typhoon was blowing over, the boggy conditions were thus a long way from ideal, but even so... Summing up: Ridiculous rain, ridiculous result, ridiculous waste of time and money - the latter comment featuring in the summary of this horse's races all too often. Personally, I'd give it one more chance and then retire it if it finishes outside the top three.

PPS. Larressingle has been confirmed for Nakayama on the 24th, in a rather odd 1800m dirt race. At least Uchida-san (the jockey) knows what he's doing on dirt. The question is will Larressingle be able to perform on the new surface over a longer distance than usual? Masterson is due to run at Chester on the same day. I think we'll have more success with the English horse...