GW Results

Konno-san got Million Ways out the gate nicely, but there was nothing left in the tank when the extra push was needed. Despite having won at 1500m, 1400m would seem the limit for this one going by today's effort, as the dash down the finishing straight was more like a trot that a gallop. The other six confirmed so far as running this week will have to do a lot better than that!

Thankfully, things improved in Ireland, after A Touch Of Sparkle came a handy sixth (close to fourth) out of 20 runners, while Danielle's Journey put in a brilliant performance to be narrowly beaten into second; thanks to a super ride from Andrew Lynch, we beat Bryan Cooper in third by no less than 11 lengths! DJ might well have one more go before her season ends (let's hope so!), while 'Sparkler' will probably run a bit more whenever suitable events come up, preferably over a bit more distance.

PS. Not worth writing anything more about Phosphorus other than 'very disappointing', and that's being kind to be perfectly frank - Million Ways league again, with two NAR runs to go this week... To be perfectly honest, knowing the way things work now, I wasn't expecting to win with another privileged class Shadai horse in the equation, which is why I didn't bother going to the track, but second should have been easy enough. At least, on the face of it anyway, Kealoha's race is free of conflicts of interest for a change, so who knows, but Chocolat Sucre's one looks way too tough for a decent result. My faith is hardly being restored here, and Shadai has failed miserably if there was any attempt made on getting me to budge on my decision regarding next year's nags.

PPS. If Carrot Club thinks it's got away with it today, the reports on Infinity Love, Massabielle and War Chronicle have managed to get my back up in much the same way as the Phosphorus race did. Notes on retraining that shouldn't be necessary if the horses had been handled by professionals, and War Chronicle being "tired" are not what I want to hear on a day like today. After months of supposed preparation, they still can't get the latter to leave a gate properly (the last minute rush should never have occurred given the length of time between the last NAR run and the first JRA one back), and the blame for any tiredness lies squarely with the trainer, for no Thoroughbred should be that tired after one poxy race that it needs an R&R session hundreds of miles from home. If it's truly tired, it means it wasn't trained properly before the race, period. Still stringing us along with Rush Attack, too, although Perfumer should run at the weekend, assuming the planned races aren't oversubscribed - a big assumption in JRA! The GW conclusion has to be that Japanese racing isn't worth the hassle. Apart from all too rare fleeting moments, it's certainly not worth the expense.