Belle Of The Ball

Belle Plage came a gallant second this morning, missing out on victory by a narrow margin - the comeback run on a runaway horse was mistimed slightly, but these things happen. What's nice to see is a good filly making an impact, and I'm certain now, more than ever, that her time will come. A good job by all involved, and I'm looking forward to her next race...

The Carrot Club magazine, Eclipse, featured Agua De Vida this time around, plus pictures of Miracle Rouge and Irish Harp. It also features an article on Kawashima-sensei (pictured here), which is the main reason why I bought Umajin this month! Add in articles on Hiroyuki Uchida and Masayoshi Ebina (both winners for the Long 'stable') and the July issue of Umajin is a good read all-round as far as this household is concerned.

Also this morning, after training with Jaguar (who luckily doesn't mind gale-force winds), a nice photo set arrived from the Sunday Thoroughbred Club showing Pop Label's first win. Wouldn't it be nice to build up a collection of them! Hehehe.

Training, Training

Sadly, I couldn't get to the stables yesterday, but at least Louis and Sophie continued their training programmes, with the lad picking up speed and height in his jumping (he's aiming for the 80cm category with 'Heart' next), and Sophie teaming up with 'Jaguar' in their gymkhana challenge. It's amazing how a big horse like Jaguar can get through a slalom at a decent pace, and the obstacles devised by Megumi yesterday were much tougher on horse and rider than any they will face in competition.

Another batch of photos from Louis' last competition outing have arrived from Noriko Mori - thank you! Here's one of them, with 'Heart' looking too cute to be a fighter. But he knows how to get the job done, there's no doubt about that. This pair improve every time they go out...

Race Update

A few new dates for your diary, with Belle Plage running tomorrow with Yoshida-san in the saddle again. This looks like a nice combination, and with a #1 starting position, I have a far amount of quiet confidence in being able to record a good result. It's the first race at Fukushima, over 1200m on turf.

Lourdes No Hitomi should have been out the next day, but the race was oversubscribed. Interesting that the trainer is thinking of 2600m on turf, though - that will be a fascinating experiment. Agua-chan runs on the 10th, as we've noted elsewhere, and then Mistoffelees will fight again on the 13th or 14th at Hakodate, trying a 1700m dirt race once more. He really did have to pull up hard in mid-flight in the last race due to the loose horse, so better to forget about that outing.

Finally, Dinner Bell will make her debut in a filly-only race at Niigata on the 28th July. She is scheduled to run in the 6R (1400m on turf), with the jockey details to follow closer to the day.

New Headings

Not very keen on these bulky new headings, but without using them, I can't get anything to save. I guess I'll get used to them, and at least I'm back in communication...

On the racing front, the word 'treadmill' appears in most reports, but Divine Daughter is making her way to Miho Training Centre on Friday, which will mark the start of her racing career. Quick Bread should be on the tracks this weekend or the next one, and Agua De Vida is booked for the 'Attack Challenge' on the 10th at Monbetsu (4R, 1700m on dirt); a jockey will be named in due course.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd share this picture with you - a shot from Louis' last show-jumping competition kindly sent to me by Kuri Nakajima. Thank you, Kuri!

2012 Horses: Sunday TC No.186

The eagle-eyed may have noticed there's a new name at the bottom of the page in the NAR section - that belonging to a filly sired by Vermilion. Vermilion has just started his career as a sire, and with him winning so many big dirt races for the Sunday TC (including the Japan Cup Dirt, Teio Sho, and JBC Classic no less than three times), I wanted to give him a chance - if he's a good father, his services will cost a lot more than they do this year, and if not, well, at least I'm showing respect for an old soldier...

Courtesy Sunday TC

Vermilion gets his speed from a combination of El Condor Pasa blood, who was his sire, and Sunday Silence, who acted as damsire. El Condor Pasa we covered in Miracle Rouge's profile (a Sadler's Wells cross, and our most recent winner), while Sunday Silence is one of the most well-known US Triple Crown winners of them all, having a huge influence on Japanese bloodlines.

Although Solstice was nothing special as a racer herself, she keeps getting covered by good horses, and has some interesting blood - Kurofune as a father, explaining her colouring, plus Sunday Silence (Hail To Reason), Maruzensky (Nijinsky) and L'Arc de Triomphe winner, Saint Crespin, in her female line. 

So far, because her first-born has yet to race, we don't know if her foals are winners or simply horses that make up the numbers. With the freshness of Vermilion blood as well, this one is an unknown quantity all-round, but it's certainly going to be fun finding out if the DNA mix is a good or bad formula! Her registered racing name will follow in due course.

Circus?

We all know how much Sophie wants to be a jockey. Well, if that dream can't be fulfilled for any reason, there's always another option - the circus! With the hotter weather and high humidity, we're doing all sorts of odd training at the moment to reduce the horse's load but still improve riding skills, such as slick mounts and dismounts, and in Sophie's case, balance training. All these things, combined with more jump training, which is coming along nicely, will help her in her bid for gymkhana glory. In the meantime, I take my hat off to the girl - she's standing on something moving, with her feet well over six foot above the ground. Not something you'd get me doing in a hurry...