MIRACLE ROUGE V1 
Plus and minus today. The big news is that Miracle Rouge - a Sadler's Wells cross - won the 3R at Tokyo-Fuchu this morning, having started second favourite. She has always ran with consistency, except in the one race, so I guess it was only a matter of time before the hard work at the Uehara Stables was rewarded. Today was an 1800m turf run, and her extensive experience at 2000m would have paid off in the heavy going. My hearty congratulations go to the jockey, Hiroyuki Uchida, the stable staff, and fellow Carrot Club owners.

Courtesy Carrot Club

That deals with the plus side, but ten minutes later, disaster at Hakodate. Starting fifth favorite (second at one point) and running up front for a long time, Mistoffelees ultimately finished a disappointing ninth. Granted, the longer 2000m distance may not have perfectly suited the fella, but I'm seriously wondering if Genki Maruyama is a mismatch with this horse. The Saito Stables work hard, and the horse definitely has ability, but results only seem to come when 'Misto' has been allowed to run freely, as in his first outing, when he led from the start to take second over 1800m. Such a nice horse should have better in-depth results to show by now. Ironically, looking back through my old race records, Miracle Rouge's only bad result has come with Maruyama in the saddle, and she won today. Ummm. On saying that, I'm sure I spotted a very subtle limp in the right front leg during Misto's paddock walk, so maybe this had something to do with it if I'm right...

PS. Having seen the full race at Tokyo, I think we can mark Miracle Rouge's race up as the first win of more to come in a promising career. Such a strong finish on such heavy ground, whilst still last but one and fenced in with three furlongs to go, deserves a special mention, as does the skill of Uchida-san guiding her with supreme precision around the slower obstacles.

THE NEW HORSES #10: DINNER BELL 

Courtesy Carrot Club

Based at the Kurita Stables at Miho Training Centre and progressing quickly, Dinner Bell is a filly with an interesting mix of blood, dominated by a heavyweight Lyphard cross (3Sx4Dx4D). There's even a touch of irony in it, with Dancing Brave as the sire's father and Bering as the damsire - both having Lyphard roots, but great rivals in their racing days, as witnessed by their classic clash in the L'Arc de Triomphe.

Dinner Bell was sired by King Halo (a horse full of promise that never really had a chance to show his full potential), thus bringing Dancing Brave, Hail To Reason and Sir Ivor into the frame. Between them, they won the L'Arc, the Epsom Derby, the 2000 Guineas twice, and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, plus 20 other races. Add Northern Dancer into the equation, and we have a number of multiple big race winners on our hands. King Halo also has a strong female blood element in Goodbye Halo (11-5-4) and Navajo Princess (16-4-6).

As far as the dam line is concerned, Dinner Time was a strong French horse, with Bering as her sire. Bering won the French Derby and was second in the L'Arc de Triomphe to Dancing Brave, but he has also sired 77 Stakes race winners! This is probably Sea-Bird blood showing through, as he won both the Epsom Derby and L'Arc de Triomphe in his day. 

PS. The report from 19th June noted that Dinner Bell has passed her gate test. With luck, she'll be making her debut any minute...

THE NEW HORSES #9: MEPHISTO WALTZ
With nothing much to report on the racing front, other than the release of True Motion for a period of rest and possible move from a 1200m to a 1700m distance for Pop Label, we may as well continue with the profiles on the newcomers.

Courtesy Carrot Club

Mephisto Waltz is a young colt based at Kenji Nonaka's stable at Ritto Training Centre. As far as I'm concerned, he's racing royalty, having Conduit as his father. Conduit won the St Leger and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in England, but also passes on Dalakhani blood (winner of the L'Arc de Triomphe and Prix du Jockey Club - the French Derby), which is a mixture of Shirley Heights (Epsom Derby and Irish Derby winner) and Miswaki DNA. Going back another generation on the sire side brings in Mill Reef, Mr Prospector and Crystal Palace into the equation. If there is such a thing as a star-studded bloodline, this one has to be a good example. Conduit's dam, although never raced, brings with her more celebrity horses, including Sadler's Wells (Northern Dancer line) and Irish River, who had a fabulous career in France.

Mephisto Waltz's dam is Indigo Waltz, which combines Sunday Silence, Northern Dancer (this colt is a Northern Dancer cross, incidentally) and Buckpasser blood, and while the female line was hardly raced, it seems to have a habit of creating winners, perhaps thanks to Best In Show, who won five races from a gruelling 27 starts.

BUSY BUNNY 

Courtesy Carrot Club

We reported a little while ago that Miracle Rouge was running at Tokyo on the 16th, well now Mistoffelees is also booked to run on the same day in a 2000m turf race (the Hakodate 4R) with Genki Maruyama in the saddle. Agua De Vida is still booked for the 20th, and Belle Plage will make her debut on the 23rd. Now, Belle Plage will be joined in Tokyo by Lourdes No Hitomi, as she'll be running in the 3R (2100m on dirt) with Tanabe-san at the reins, while Mosto Verde (pictured here before his first dirt race) runs at Hakodate on the same day in a dirt sprint - the 1000m 2R, with Maruyama in action once more. Mosto Verde showed promise on dirt last time out. It will be interesting to see what the shorter distance does for his results...

THE NEW HORSES #8: SOPHISTICATE
I've chosen to do Sophisticate next because he's so easy to profile. It seems a shame that such a beautiful colt can be summed up so quickly, but there's little point in going over old ground in great depth when the time can be better used describing new bloodlines.

Courtesy Carrot Club

Sophisticate was sired by Symboli Kris S, which means he has the same father as Harmony Fair and Lourdes No Hitomi, as well as Fairy Robe, who was retired a bit back with a leg injury. A glance at any of those profiles tells you all you need to know on the sire side, while the dam side is almost as simple to clear in one line, as Grand Prix Sophi was the result of the bringing together of Agnes Tachyon and Manfath - both covered in the Belle Plage piece (The New Horses #7). Grand Prix Sophi was never raced, and this is her first foal, so everything is pretty much an unknown quantity at this stage. But a horse that cost well over $1m when she was sold in 2007 has to hold some promise...

THE NEW HORSES #7: BELLE PLAGE 
Born in February 2011 and based at the Ogata Stables at the JRA-run Miho Training Centre, Belle Plage is a good-looking filly by King Kamehameha out of Belle Feature. 

King Kamehameha won the 71st Japanese Derby, as well as the NHK Mile Cup. Indeed, from eight starts, he passed the post first in all but one of his races, when he came home in third. It goes a long way towards explaining his popularity as a stallion, passing on Kingmambo (multiple G-I winner in France and England), Mr Prospector and Nureyev (Northern Dancer) DNA from the male side, and, via Manfath, a mixture of Last Tycoon, Blakeney, Northern Dancer, Mill Reef, Buckpasser and Nijinsky blood. It's also worth mentioning Kingmambo's dam, Miesque, as she won the Breeders' Cup Mile twice in the States, along with the 1000 Guineas in England - not surprisingly, she was inducted into the US Hall of Fame as a result.

Courtesy Carrot Club

On the dam side, although Belle Feature had a great race record of her own (3-4-3 from 13 starts), in her job as a broodmare, she should pass on some star-studded blood. The unbeaten Agnes Tachyon is her father, passing on Sunday Silence genes on one side of the family, and a classic mix of old British and French blood on the other. Her dam was sired by Hall of Fame horse, A.P. Indy, whose predecessors reads like a who's who of US racing, including Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Buckpasser. Meanwhile, going back through the female lines reveals Mr Prospector and War Admiral. If the theories on breeding are proved right, this will be one to watch...

RACE UPDATE 
Miracle Rouge is still racing on the 16th, but with Tanabe-san out of the country, Hiroyuki Uchida is now in the saddle for this JRA girls only race - the Tokyo 3R, which has a distance of 1800m on turf. A few days later, and Agua De Vida makes her debut at Monbetsu on the 20th in a 1200m dirt run (the 5R in this NAR meeting, although the jockey has yet to be confirmed). Then, on the 23rd, Belle Plage makes her JRA debut at the Tokyo 5R (1600m turf) with Yutaka Yoshida at the controls. The only other piece of news worth relaying tonight is that Dinner Bell has made it to the Kurita Stables at the Miho Training Centre, and will hopefully be going for her gate test soon.

TO BE CONFIRMED 
A couple of things were put in motion yesterday, but both things - a sale and a racing naming - have to be confirmed, so more details in due course. If things go to plan, I will have a stake in my first ever grey, and in August, we'll have The Coventry Friendship Race at the Funabashi track. Okay, it's not an amazing name, but hopefully it sums up its purpose. It would have been nice to have used the 'Coventry Stakes' moniker, but seeing as this race still exists as part of the Royal Ascot meeting, it's a bit of a no-no. Friendship is the object of the race sponsorship, so it all seems to fit.

As it happens, my hometown of Coventry is twinned with Hiroshima - a city I love dearly, but it's a long way from Chiba! They were twinned after WWII, as both were devastated during the conflict. My family lost virtually everything in the war, including my Great-Grandfather's stables, and about the only thing to remember us by nowadays is a road named after the gang leading up to the area that used to be our farmland (with a history in Coventry and the surrounding area dating back to the Doomsday Book, I come from the Hunt and Lowe family lines, and Hunt Terrace is their epitaph).

In reality, there probably isn't that much to link Coventry to Funabashi, or Chiba in general come to think of it. Coventry was the centre of Britain's motor industry, with motorbikes and aeroplanes also playing a large role in the development of the city. Before that, it was silk, bicycles and watchmaking. For centuries, it was the second most important city in Britain, long before the likes of Birmingham and Manchester came to the fore, and was the birthplace of the Lady Godiva legend. But there's a Coventry kid who's made Chiba his home and Funabashi his haven. At the track, we may struggle with each other's language, but we come together through our passion for racing. We communicate through Thoroughbreds, and become friends as a result. Hopefully the race will raise awareness of a city 6000 miles away, and help further promote friendship between two very different cultures with one thing in common - a love of Keiba.

STARRY-EYED
One look at the walls in Louis' room will tell you everything you need to know about him. There are posters, saddle cloths, race whips and goggles, and signed pictures and pieces of paper everywhere - anything and everything relating to Keiba can be found in there, along with a collection of medals and rosettes he's picked up along the way in his own riding career. One jockey's wife saw it and said it was more than a touch scary, even after Sophie's room, which isn't all that much different! To be honest, my office isn't all that much different either, except there's a bit more variation - old car stuff and cameras augment the horse racing memorabilia! Although this picture isn't new, I only got it yesterday or the day before, and thought I'd share it with you. It shows Louis with one of his heroes, Fumio Matoba, and one of his many treasures...

SAD NEWS FROM THE UK

Courtesy RacingPost.com

News has just come through on the death of Sir Henry Cecil - a name synonymous with flat racing in England, as he was Champion Trainer ten times and won every English classic race on numerous occasions, including the Epsom Derby four times. Born in January 1943, he was Knighted in 2011 for his services to British horse racing, although he had been battling cancer for some time. He finally succumbed to the illness earlier today.

ALL TIED UP 

While I was at Nakayama watching True Motion in action on the big screen, buying an 80th Nippon Derby tie and getting rather more excited than my reserved British nature usually allows me to get in public (it really was a stunning finish), Sophie was busy doing canter training with 'Jaguar' and Megumi the lion tamer, while Louis continued his show-jumping adventures. I noticed yesterday that Sophie looks really relaxed at a canter now, which is quite an achievement on a horse like 'Jaguar' - he's hardly the easiest horse in the world to handle! Louis is covering more and more fence and spacing options, so he should be ready for anything they throw at him in his next competition outing.

MOTION SICKNESS 
Feeling a little bit gutted by True Motion's result today - both the filly and Tosaki-san deserved better than the fourth place they bagged in Tokyo. Unfortunately, the positioning the jockey found himself in coming off the last corner meant there was no way to start the final sprint at the desired time, with the pair blocked on numerous occasions, all critically important from a timing point of view as they pushed for the line. I can say this for sure - after Tosaki-san had skillfully guided her to a safe zone, knowing she can fight another day in a better scenario, that was one hell of a finish (you can see it for yourself on the JRA website), and we can definitely expect some exciting racing from this special combination in the future...