Birthday Miracle

Well, my girl, Miracle Rouge, made me a very proud man on my birthday. She got a rough gate draw, and started ninth favourite in a class field for the Itoigawa Tokubetsu at Niigata. Although her start was less than perfect, leaving her in the middle of the back of the main pack as the front-runners skipped away, the jockey guided her gently to the outside of the main bunch once the final straight came up, and away she went. It was hard to make out whether she'd finished sixth or seventh off the TV, but sixth it was, and she remained in touch with all those in front of her. A brilliant performance!

Hakodate Hell

Poor old Lourdes No Hitomi! She drew the outside gate, starting fifth favourite, but couldn't do any better than ninth on the day. The jockey is saying there was simply no gas in the tank today, and these things happen, but Lourdes-chan could have picked a better time in her career to have an off-day. She has finished finished fifth and sixth so many times, and in today's field, we all figured she was in with a shout. To that end, the jockey got her out the gate as smoothly as possible, but she simply wasn't in the mood. Whether she will get another chance now remains to be seen - close to a top three finish on numerous occasions doesn't count, only a highly-visible 0-0-0-8 record...

Well, at least Miracle Rouge should raise the spirits tomorrow, and True Motion has been added for a Nakayama 2R entry on the 8th September now, with Tosaki-san in the saddle for this 1800m turf run. That should be interesting!

PS. An interesting point was raised in Keiba Book regarding Lourdes No Hitomi's performance. It stated that the dirt was too light for her on the day - her exceptional stamina reserve only really shows up in heavier going.

Race Update

Lourdes No Hitomi is lined up for the Hakodate 4R on Saturday. Yuji Hishida has been named as the jockey for this 2400m dirt race, which will hopefully suit Lourdes-chan, as she has incredible stamina. On the next day, Miracle Rouge is booked for the Niigata 9R (2000m turf), with Takuya Ohno in the saddle. Looking further forward, Irish Harp is still looking good for her 7th September debut, clocking up some promising times during training.

On the NAR front, the race I'm sponsoring at Kochi looks like it is set for the 3rd November, and four days later, Pop Label will challenge the major 'Hokkaido Yushun' race. Although there were thoughts of fielding him in the 'Sunrise Cup' in October, it's been decided to hold him back until the bigger event, as the trainer has his eye on the 'All-Japan 2yo Yushun' and Nankan classics for this fella.

The New Horses #15: Single Cask

I was just going through the Carrot Club list to see which ones were still available from the 2011 crop, paying particular attention to those I'd already bought into just in case someone wanted to join me - Joyful Step, Sophisticate, Classic Curl and Glint Moment are still listed.
As it happens, Joyful Step (profile #14) was supposed to be the last of them as far as I was concerned, but as I was scanning the listing, a name leapt off the page - Single Cask. Anyone that knows me well knows I have a deep love of Scottish single malt whisky, and seeing that name brought a smile to my face. I had to have her!

Courtesy Carrot Club

Checking into the bloodlines revealed a real bonus - the kind of DNA I always lean towards, with Japan Derby winner Tanino Gimlet as the sire, meaning Brian's Time, Roberto and Hail To Reason blood (as good as it gets in my book). The damsire was Crystal Palace (winner of the Prix du Jockey Club - the French Derby, in effect), and going back further on Tanino Gimlet's dam line brings in the legendary Sea-Bird, who won the Epsom Derby and the L'Arc de Triomphe. 

Single Cask's mother is Specialize, who won three races. She was sired by Special Week, a track superstar we looked at when we profiled Irish Harp, with Special Alert as her dam. This brings Gulch, Mr Prospector and Lyphard blood into the mix, although Special Alert was actually a strong horse in her own right. I've never bought a horse because of its name before, so this will be fun. She will be based at Miho TC's Kurita Stable...

Godiva's Pride

Godiva's Pride is a bay colt sired by Byron, with Lambeth Belle as the dam. Born in March 2011, he is based at the Gansera-Leveque stables in Newmarket, the home of British racing, and is hopefully the first in a long line of 'Godiva' horses to come - a reference to the Lady Godiva legend rooted in Coventry, my hometown in England.

Byron, owned by the Godolphin concern, won a couple of British G-II races in amongst his three wins (3-2-2 from 12 starts) and has already proved to be a useful stallion, passing on the speed and power of his father, Green Desert (by Danzig), and the DNA of a host of other special horses, including Sir Ivor, Mr Prospector, Nureyev, Buckpasser and Swaps, as well as a good helping of both Northern Dancer and War Admiral blood.

On the dam side, while Lambeth Belle was never raced, she was sired by Arazi, who had a wonderful race career in France, mixing Blushing Groom with a Northern Dancer line. Lambeth Belle's mother was the Irish horse Cockney Lass, who clocked up no less than nine wins from 13 races. Her father, Camden Town, had a good solid career, with bloodlines tracking back to Nearco, while the dam side is a traditional mix of English and Irish blood, with Skymaster being a notable ingredient in the DNA pool.

Struggling

I don't know about you guys, but this heat is starting to get to me - over 30 degrees centigrade for weeks now (usually mid-30s), and not much in the way of a cool breeze, even at night. It hasn't stopped me being at the stables playing with 'Jaguar' virtually every day, but I can't remember any other time in my life when I've had so little energy! If nothing else, thanks to Kuri Nakajima, I'm going to look good, as all my competition kit arrived from England. You'll have to wait for pictures, as it's way too hot for all that heavy clobber!

Surprisingly, 'Jaguar' and the other horses at Tokoro RC are holding up nicely. Louis took the onry one around the outer track at the fastest canter I've ever seen on Sunday, and Sophie was trotting with him for ages yesterday. But he was obviously enjoying himself, as he didn't want to return to the tacking area, even with the promise of a warm shower to come - I think he'd have bombed around the track all day if he'd have been allowed. And while Sophie was going dizzy, almost managing a solo canter along the way, 'Heart' showed how much he has matured recently with a spirited display of jumping with Louis. All good stuff...