2012 Yearlings

As the last of the 2010 crop that failed to win fade into the history books, although Quadrille should make a fine broodmare, a new batch of horses has been selected from Carrot Club. I've listed them at the bottom of the page, but won't do profiles as yet, as the sales have yet to be officially confirmed. As is often the case with the horses I select, though, they were hardly the most popular, so there shouldn't be a problem in getting a stake in all seven. There was one other I really wanted, but the Montjeu colt hurt the budget somewhat! We'll have to wait and see how work goes, and then check if shares are still available on the eighth one if all goes well. For now, I'm a happy bunny...

Painfully Slow

Courtesy Carrot Club

Quick Bread was disappointing yet again today, which makes his name a touch ironic to say the least. Unless he's tried on turf - and soon - then he may as well be retired now. It seems incredible to me that such a stunning horse cannot race - he has the physique, he has the bloodlines, and I've no doubt he has the speed, it's just that none of these aspects seem to be able to be applied and translated into a race-winning performance. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a Lourdes No Hitomi situation, where she was always fifth or sixth, and one hopes her time will come. With 'QB', he never even seems to be in with a shout...

PS. The news was late in coming, which is understandable because the decision that had to be taken has a lot of implications, but Quick Bread's racing career has officially ended. I'd love him as a riding horse, to be honest, but sadly the budget won't allow it with Louis challenging the All-Japan Championships next year.

TCK Beat

Just learned that 'Beat The Boarder' will be based at TCK's Tsukioka Stable - it means a few more trips to Tokyo each year, although I do like the Tokyo NAR facility, as it has its own unique atmosphere. Born in 1968, Kenji Tsukioka looks after 40 horses at TCK, and has almost 300 wins to his name. With luck, Beat The Boarder (sired by Admire Japan), will be able to add a few more wins to his tally over the next couple of years...

Agua Third

Courtesy Carrot Club

Agua De Vida was third in Monbetsu this afternoon - the first girl home, having started second favourite. Wearing number 2, she fluffed the gate a bit, and dropped right behind on the last corner having found her path blocked, so all told, this was a good, strong performance - the final sprint to the line was most impressive. If you like, please press the following link, and you can judge for yourself: http://nar.jp/hokkaido/362013091201.asx.

According to the jockey, she is still a little immature, but least she's back on track for a victory in the future after her wild outburst in her last outing, so there's still plenty to look forward to with this cheeky-looking filly. Like me, the trainer has every confidence that she will clock up her first win very soon...

Food, Music, Dance

Quick Bread is booked for the Nakayama 4R on the 14th, which is a 1200m dirt race. This is a much shorter distance than his other three outings, and I'm guessing that the jockey will just let 'QB' go flat-out from start to finish and see what happens. Given his remarkably good build, it's incredible that he hasn't got anywhere near the winning frame. He's the last of my 2010 crop to not have won, and to be honest, if he doesn't do the trick with Makoto Sugihara this time, this could well be his last race...

Courtesy Carrot Club

Next we have Irish Harp, with Yuichi Fukunaga (JRA's current leading jockey) signed up as the jockey for his second outing - the 2R at Hanshin on the 28th, which is a 1400m turf run. The picture shows Irish Harp making her debut with Iwata-san over the same distance last weekend.

Meanwhile, the feedback coming from the stables regarding Mephisto Waltz is very positive. It seems that awful race debut that I'd rather forget about may have been useful after all, as he has now not only calmed down a lot, but also woken up to the fact that he's a racehorse. With any kind of luck, his next outing will be far better.

Noon Natter

Agua De Vida is in the first race at Monbetsu tomorrow (3:00pm), which should be interesting. There are a few horses of similar level in the line-up, so this will be a real test for her, both physically and mentally - it was the mind side of things that let her down in her last outing...

I did manage to go to Funabashi on Monday, but for some reason (mainly the lack of a good camera), I took very few pictures. Still, it was a great day, and gave me the chance to meet up with old friends, as well as a good excuse to have a beer with a few of them after the event. Masayuki Abe and Motoki Okada joined in with the fun, and I hope we get another chance to get together before they go back to Australia to resume their riding careers out there.

As well as Yano-sensei clocking up his 500th win as a Funabashi-based trainer, there was some saddle time for the kids at Tokoro RC yesterday, but rain put an end to any hopes of getting some decent photos. At least 'Jaguar' was happy in the cooler climate! And today, it looks like I should be okay for most of my Carrot Club choices for 2012 yearlings. Now the question is whether to push my luck and go for one more? First, some tea to sharpen the brain cells.