Pop Culture

There was a glimpse of the old Pop Label at TCK tonight, coming second to a horse that was bloody good (interestingly it was nothing special in JRA days, coming to life only after NAR trainers took it on), and on the kind of ground (combined with a short distance) that really doesn't suit him to boot. I felt Sasagawa-kun had blown it to be honest, but he found a striking position by the time the last corner loomed up, and followed the winner all the way through to claim second with ease. Still no win for Pop since his Nankan career started (I can't help but wonder if he'd have got his fourth win had the race been over a mile), but at least his champion form as a juvenile is starting to show again at last...

PS. Saysesse came fourth on his debut, as the ground was heavy (soft in places), and the run was used simply to give him some experience before the flat season starts in earnest. As such, knowing he's far superior to what the result suggests on paper and the super team behind him, I think we can expect bigger and better things next time out.

A Few Diary Entries

Pop Label is running at TCK on Friday, but I have a feeling we'll be disappointed again, as the ground is pretty waterlogged, with rain forecast again for tomorrow. He really hasn't had the rub of the green one little bit, meaning this may be the longest comeback in history the way things are going. Anyway, let's see how things go - the distance is getting closer to better, and the heavy going might play into his hands for a change being a balance for the extra distance that suits his form (as far as I'm concerned, he's a 1600 or 1700m horse, because he's awful coming out of the gate).

Sayesse may or may not run at Leicester on the same day - a lot depends on the going, which is already far from perfect, but the threat of extra rain will have to be taken into account closer to the race. The GST time means we won't know what's happening until after the Pop Label run, but this is a debut that we are all looking forward to. At the end of the day, no-one is expecting anything more than a practice run anyway, so there's no real pressure to win.

Perfumer should be running at Fukushima on the 10th, posting a time that wasn't too shabby in the meantime, while Blacklister is booked for Windsor on the following day. War Chronicle should be out at Nakayama on the 16th (in a mile turf race), with Irish Harp hopefully making it to the track on the same weekend. On the NAR front, Million Ways is due to race at Funabashi on the 13th, with Phosphorus and Kealoha - at least - lined up for the same meeting, and Trovao's big race the following week. There was mention of Lotus Blossom being sent to Monbetsu in April, but that now appears to be an underhand bluff to try and get the last shares sold.

PS. The club is still selling shares in Lotus Blossom, which strikes me as being very naughty, to say the least! The "Monbetsu for April" schedule was obviously a lie, and, to be frank, I feel cheated as a result. At this rate, the club will have to take next to no responsibility for the horse, and we'll be back to the meaningless excuses for failure before you know it...

PPS. Belle Plage is being lined up for the 16th, and Larressingle for the following week. As usual, Ogata-sensei impresses with his attention to detail. Different league!

More BS From NF

I thought it was an April Fool's joke at first, then realized it was too late for that. Northern Farm have been told to check over Massabielle properly, as if that should impress those of us left in shock after the last outing. Hello - it should have been trained properly and checked properly before going near the racetrack. To add insult to injury, they are saying it will take time. Hello again - five months with the bloody horse the last time, and it wouldn't have won a donkey derby! What do these people get paid for? The biggest problem of the lot was too much time off, in the wrong hands to boot, and now they want to do it all again at other people's expense. Pionero, who ran in the same race (another Carrot horse) is one year older, but has been out 21 times and never been off the track for longer than three months in a spell; it's at the stable ready to run again, while everyone is still scratching their head over Massabielle. As far as I'm concerned, a gaggle of monkeys could do a better job of training.

Pop Label's muscle definition, photographed last month.
(Courtesy Sunday TC)

On the subject of pure bullshit, NF is still messing around with Infinity Love, too. Looking at the most recent picture, she had better muscle definition in the yearling's catalogue, and her coat is terribly dull. Again, questions need to be asked, but they won't be, of course, because this is the land of golden handshakes and no-one can possibly accuse anyone of not doing their job properly. And what does it matter anyway, when someone else - a faceless idiot in the crowd that you'll never have to meet - is footing the bill?

Infinity Love - spot the difference! It will
take months to get her to look anything
like a racehorse. (Courtesy Carrot Club)

No news on Rush Attack either, when the decision to retire the horse should be a fairly straightforward one given the problem. I guess we'll be kept in the dark for as long as possible, paying away to keep the flow of greenbacks moving in the direction of the JRA boys. Well, let's see how Lotus Blossom goes in NAR - I've just increased my stake in her, not because I think she's a great horse, but because I know that the club will have to pay for most of her upkeep (about one-third of the costs instead of nothing, creaming off the profits once others have paid all the bills for them), as well as prove a point to those that sat on the fence, and will therefore try an awful lot harder than they do with the JRA nags we get palmed off with in order to get their investment back. This, of course, relies on the club doing what they said they would by closing the sales any minute in order to start a race career ASAP, and will be an interesting experiment if they keep their word...

PS. Chocolat Sucre and Shine Tiara are due to be out again in May, as both had lost a bit of their condition. As the missus read the reports for me, and the bit 'five months' came up, for a second, I thought that might mean five months off like Massabielle. And then I thought, no, only JRA people do stupid things like that unless there's a serious injury or problem. Sure enough, it was a reference to May - the fifth month. By the way, Pop Label runs on Friday at TCK.

PPS. I stand corrected - there is some news on Rush Attack. "Houston, we have a hoof problem." Yes, we know, but how bad is it, and how long is it going to take to get the horse back to the track and paying for its keep? A message of that level has no value - it's much like a Japanese typhoon ranking, where the same description is used for the equivalent of someone blowing into a whistle all the way through to gusts that blow roof tiles off. As such, we're still in the dark - as expected.