THE NEW JRA HORSES 
The Sunday TC number 126 horse has been christened Divine Daughter. She has a very positive character and a sportscar-like movement. Never seeming to tire, she's on an advanced training programme that may allow her to make an early debut. At this rate, she might be on the tracks before Quick Bread!

Courtesy Carrot Club

Of the Carrot Club horses, number 08 is a filly called Belle Plage (pictured), and looks like a turf runner at this stage. Number 10 has been named True Motion, and she eats like a horse - literally! Filly number 17 is called Joyful Step, and already has a nice riding feel. Number 22 has the Sophisticate moniker; he's doing well, improving steadily. Number 27 has been named Classic Curl, and seems to have inherited Jungle Pocket's high tension. But she's doing okay, and happily obeys the jockey's commands.

Carrot Club number 34 is now called Dinner Bell, which is ironic, as the trainer is building up the body weight on this petite filly. The number 71 filly is to be known as Irish Harp. She has a nice character by all accounts, and now takes the bit far better than she used to. Number 87 is a colt called Glint Moment. He's a bit tired now, so the training pace has been reduced to allow him to recover. And finally, the number 88 colt has been registered as Mephisto Waltz. Nothing special to report on this one, as he's just returned from a R&R break.

So there we have it - a total of 14 new names added to the foot of the page (four NAR and ten JRA). Keep tuning in, as profiles will appear on each of them soon. At the same time, I'll also repost the existing profiles on the older horses with updated information that includes race records so far and character notes...

THE NEW NAR HORSES
Sunday TC number 188 is now called Pop Label. This is a powerful horse, and there are hopes that he can make an early debut. Number 190 is to be known as Beat The Boarder from now on. Unlike Pop Label, this filly is fairly small, but getting much stronger all the time. Her mature, serious character will help with her training, that's for sure.

Courtesy Shadai TC

The Shadai Thoroughbred Club number 82 colt (pictured here) is called Phosphorus. The trainer is busy building up the stamina of this big horse. Meanwhile, the Carrot Club member is now registered as Agua De Vida, with the training team working on her rather stiff movement to make her worthy of her special bloodlines.

Now all the horses have received their racing names, we can start their profiles over the next few weeks...

THE OLDER RACEHORSES
First, a quick update on what's happening with the 2010 crop before moving on to the 2011 horses, who have now all been giving official racing names at last...

Tenshinramman is fine after her race, but going to Fukushima to relax for a while before returning to the tracks. In the meantime, with luck, Quick Bread will make his debut in this batch of Nakayama races, while Harmony Fair is due to race in the Anemone Stakes on the 9th March. As soon as confirmation is received, you'll be the first to know.

FAIRY ROBE IMPROVING 
As usual, 'Fairy' looked superb going into her race at Kawasaki yesterday, but there was always going to be a niggling doubt about her ability to get out of the gate in the back of everyone's mind. Sure enough, she didn't want to go into the stall at first, but once in there, she played the game and got off to a decent start.

Courtesy Carrot Club

During the race, a couple of riders broke away, and managed to give each other enough momentum to make it to the end in first and second. Fairy Robe came through with a nice spurt at the end, and maybe another furlong, the race would have belonged to her. But third is good, with the potential for even better things crystal clear.

The trainer is a little disappointed, knowing that 'Fairy' can do much better, but at the end of the day, she's still young - with the level of care shown by the Yamazaki Stable, she'll improve for sure. To get her back out there quickly, there are now thoughts of trying a race at Funabashi, which should be fun...

UPDATE ON 'TENNY' V2 
Thanks to the kindness of Hiro Tachibana, I've now seen Tenshinramman's victory for the first time. If you remember, I was at an event with 'Jaguar' and the kids, so couldn't go across to Nakayama. Anyway, it was a very impressive show of speed alright, and the confidence Tanaka-san has shown in the horse is definitely warranted. A textbook win, with the promise of more to come looking at that form...

AN AMUSING STATISTIC 
Having just finished work for the day, I thought I'd check on Carrot Club activity, and with nothing more to report on, have a quick look at which of my 2011 crop have all their shares bought up and which have been left on the shelf, so to speak...

Well, of the ten Carrot Club horses that I bought a stake in this year, half have sold, with five of them still available. I'm not surprised, as the same thing happened last year - as a European with a passion for history and fond memories of a golden age of British racing, the blood I find desirable is quite different to that of Japanese punters, especially younger ones.

Courtesy Sunday TC

These are the ones left that are on my list, and why I fancy them: #17 (Hail To Reason cross, with Roberto blood), #22 (I like Symboli Kris S's ancestors, and he's the sire, plus Agnes Tachyon is the BMS; there's also a dash of Mill Reef and Nijinsky in there), #27 (Northern Dancer cross by Jungle Pocket), #34 (Hail To Reason, Sir Ivor and Bering blood), and #87 (a lot of Hail To Reason and Nijinsky blood, with Special Week as BMS, plus Blushing Groom and Danehill in there, too).

Just noticed that two of my Sunday Thoroughbred Club choices are still available, too: #126 (Hail To Reason and Sea-Bird blood), and NAR prospect #190 (Hail To Reason, Nijinsky and Mill Reef blood, pictured here). Anyone want to join me?

FAIRY ROBE'S SECOND RACE 
Confirmation has just come through regarding Fairy Robe's second race - it's scheduled for the 1400m opener at Kawasaki on the 28th, with Seiji Yamazaki in the saddle. If you remember, Seiji was already assigned to another horse for Fairy Robe's debut, so this could almost be classed as an official debut, seeing as she's now paired with her proper jockey...

THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN! 
Despite a howling wind that was blowing jumping fence posts over (hardly an ideal scenario for nervous animals like horses), and one mistake where Jaguar decided he'd suddenly stop for no reason, Louis and 'The Difficult Horse' took gold in Dressage this afternoon at the Olympic Club. Competing in the open Class at the 2課目 level today, they scored 56.62, which was a full 2.36 ahead of the second-placed pairing. 

Time now for Jaguar to take a well-deserved break, because hard training begins in March when an old friend comes to town. Then, with show-jumping practice back on the agenda, we'll find out once and for all if this 12-year old boy has what it takes to become a good all-round horseman...