KATSUHARU TANAKA 
Katsuharu 'Kacchi' Tanaka will always have a special place in my heart, as he rode my first winner - Tenshinramman. Indeed, the picture, albeit poor quality due to the ban on flashguns, captures the moment at Tokyo-Fuchu last October.

Born in Hokkaido in February 1971, and brought up around horses due to his father's involvement in a stud farm and as a racehorse owner, he made his JRA debut in March 1989, claiming his first victory a few months later, in the October of that year. As a new jockey, progress was slow, but Tanaka soon started to make an impact, with over 100 wins in 2007 and his berth in the Super Jockeys Series being testament to the fact.

So far, Katsuharu-san has clocked up 1555 wins, with a similar number of second and third place finishes, from a total of around 16,000 rides. In the ultra-competitive JRA arena, this is very impressive, and the fact that 'Kacchi' wants to ride Tenshinramman so much, in my eyes at least, points to a combination with great potential. I hope you will join me in wishing them both luck for the 27th!

PS. For those of you who can read Japanese (the majority of viewers, it seems), you can access his blog via the following link: http://ameblo.jp/katsuharu-biyori/. All good stuff!