YAMAZAKI STABLE 
The Yamazaki Stable is perhaps better known by the Hiromi Racing name, and the stylish 'HR' symbol worn on the horses from this well-kept Kawasaki-based establishment.

The stable was founded in July 1998 by Hiromi Yamazaki. Hiromi-san was born in 1957, and was a jockey between 1973 and 1997 before turning his hand to training horses instead of riding them. Hiromi Racing introduced a number of interesting things to the NAR scene, such as group training to calm nervous Thoroughbreds (horses are herd animals after all), new methods to encourage heart development, and a number of other unusual techniques, each programme being based on the horse's individual character.

Hiromi Racing was the leading stable at Kawasaki from 2000 to 2002, and had clocked up 300 wins by 2006; the 400 landmark was reached in 2009, and this year the stable moved beyond 500 wins. Interestingly, Seiji Yamazaki (Hiromi's younger son, born in 1984) celebrated 500 wins at the same time, riding alongside Hironori Sato, who was profiled a couple of weeks ago, as the second contracted jockey in the HR team.

Mention should also be made of the Assistant Trainer, Yuya Yamazaki, seen in black in this picture. Born in 1981, Yuya started his career within the Shadai Group, and went on to learn his trade at various European powerhouses, including the Ballydoyle Racing Stables, with Aidan O'Brien at the helm since 1995. He will make an excellent trainer when his father decides to retire.

On the 21st of this month, a little horse I have a stake in called Fairy Robe will be led out of the Yamazaki Stable. I shall be in Kawasaki cheering for her on her debut, knowing full well that she's been prepared to the highest standards...

LOVE IS... PART THREE
Wanting to keep a image of your friends to look at when you can't be with them!

This is another of the 'finds' - pictures you take, and then forget you have them until you start searching for something else. This shot shows Sophie taking a photo of Tenn-chan (Tempai), who is obviously posing for the camera as all great stallions do.

Tenn-chan represents my first ever shareholding in Nijinsky blood, so he's very special for me, despite the fact that he's tried to put me on a fast diet by biting chunks out of me in the past! He's a beautiful creature and we now have an understanding, so I forgive him. But he was also strong on the racecourse, clocking up seven JRA wins, including victory in the Procyon Stakes. 

WARMER DAYS... 
Just been listening to a beautiful noise that brings back memories of England on a Sunday morning - the sound of Jaguar's brand new iron horseshoes clomping away gently on a road surface. It all seems such a long time ago, being in Blighty, as does the Japanese summer for that matter!

As I was searching for suitable New Year greetings card images the other day, I came across these. They instantly reminded me of the warmth we had a few months back, with Sophie riding Jaguar and Louis busy polishing his new saddle - his 12th birthday present, and a few future birthday presents on account that will take him through to about age 19 in one go! I'm happy to say he is still looking after the saddle, oiling it and polishing it on a regular basis, and avoiding using it in the rain as much as possible. If only he'd learn to treasure his boots in the same way...

LATEST CARROT NEWS 
Fairy Robe's debut has been confirmed for the 21st of this month at Kawasaki - the first of my NAR runners to take to the track. She will take part in the first race of the day, with Seiji 'The Red Baron' Yamazaki in the saddle. For sure, I'll be there...

The Carrot Club homepage currently has a movie called Trainer's Vision on it, featuring the trainer, Tetsuya Kimura, who is looking after two of the yearlings I have a stake in from this year's catalogue - No.10 and No.22 in the list at the foot of the page. All very interesting, and the movie can be accessed regardless of whether you're a Carrot Club member or not.

WELL, I LIKE IT... 
I have a reputation for having little or no imagination when it comes to naming animals. In many ways, I guess I've earned that reputation, calling the Dobermann 'Dobie' for instance, but then I blame it on DNA. After all, in my bloodlines is a father that called his Black Labrador 'Blackie', so what chance have I got of being creative!

Courtesy Sunday TC

However, this time I reckon I've come up with a good one for the Sunday TC No.126 horse. The reason I'm sharing it with you is to settle an argument, for however fitting I think it is, I'm getting the usual eye-rolling in the house.

I like the name 'Kinship' and here's why: The sire is Gold Allure, and gold in Japanese in kin. OK, stick with me, as the dam is De Goddaughter, whose father was De Niro, so there are obvious overtones of The Godfather film. Look up 'kinship' in the dictionary, and the definition is 'a blood relation', which fits in nicely with the image of the movie as far as I'm concerned.

This is the point where I either get deafened with an ocean of applause, or met with a stony silence and more rolling eyes. Which is it to be then?

TAKASHI MIZUNO 
Having made a gentle comeback from injury today, now seems as good a time as any to profile Takashi Mizuno. Known as 'The Prince Of Urawa', Mizuno-san was born in November 1972, the son of a trainer based at the old Takasaki racecourse. As it happens, his twin brother was a JRA jockey who has since become a trainer.

Anyway, having made his debut at the Takasaki track on 10th April 1990, Takashi won his first race on the next day. A further 2060 NAR victories have followed that one, with his win rate standing at 12.6%. In the meantime, he made his first of over 100 JRA appearances in October 1996, riding Dandy Tesio on that occasion - a horse named by someone that's obviously a big fan of Federico Tesio like me.

Takasaki Keiba, where Mizuno-san was leading jockey three times, closed its gates at the end of 2004, and so he moved to Urawa and the Hamamura Stable in the following year. He spent a month racing in Australia in 2007, and now belongs to the Kojima Stable at Urawa.

When not racing, Mizuno-san enjoys spending time on the computer. As with so many of the truly professional riders, he hones his skills in several different ways. To augment his regular training, he uses IT gadgets to record impressions of all the horses he rides to provide a useful reference source, enabling him to quickly remember a mount's characteristics. I wonder how many other jockeys do this, or something similar?

PS. Within three days of making his comeback, 'The Prince' had already made a return to winning form. He then proved it was no fluke by winning again on the following two days...