"WHERE'S SOPHIE?"
This is the question I was asked yesterday by quite a few of the Tokoro RC members, and it's a fair one, too. Sophie is my nine-year old daughter who loves all animals, but has a special bond with horses. With all the fuss being made about Louis' competition ambitions (the second session of jumping went well, by the way, but rain spoilt any chances of nice photography), she's tended to remain in the background a bit recently. On saying that, though, she is becoming something of a mascot at the Funabashi Keiba track!

Being small compared to Louis, she's only recently started making huge strides in her riding ability, as her legs are now just about long enough to give signals that mean something to the horse. She may look like a delicate little girl, but she's as tough as they come, and her John Wayne impression after her first big fall will stay with me until the day I die - after flying off Jaguar and landing face first in the dirt, she brushed herself down, spat the sand out of her mouth a few times, and jumped straight back on.

Looking towards the future, she wants to become a jockey, like her hero Kota Motohashi. She may never be as good as Kota (that Tokyo Derby win was magnificent!), but I can see no reason why she can't be wearing silks in a few years time - she certainly has the right spirit. And I wouldn't mind betting she'll give a few people a surprise if she does make it to the tracks. There's an old English saying that seems to sum her up very nicely: Never judge a book by its cover...