A FAREWELL RACE 
Yesterday, at Tokyo's TCK track, despite the freezing cold wind and the threat of rain (snow wouldn't have surprised me!), thousands upon thousands of NAR fans said an emotional farewell to a couple of dirt racing legends - Furioso and Bonneville Record.

Fortunately, the wet weather held off, but because of the forecasts, I'd left all my good camera equipment at home. Armed with the cheapest DSLR in the house, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if it got wet, I got some nice pictures in the daylight, but some pretty mediocre results as darkness started to fall. Then, to add insult to injury, the battery packed up! Louis had his camera, but his chances of being a top photographer are about as slim as the chances of me becoming an astronaut. As such, nothing wonderful to share with you - most of the images will stay stored as data in our tiny brains.

This picture shows Furioso being handled by Koji Kawashima (the youngest of Kawashima-sensei's boys) in the TCK paddock. He was ridden in this last race by Keita Tosaki, who allowed the legendary horse to lead in fine style going into the first corner. The finish - it doesn't really matter, for I wouldn't have cashed-in my betting slip anyway. To have seen him run in front of a huge and excited crowd, that's all that's important. A memorable event...