Looking Forward

The race confirmation for this Sunday has come through for both Mistoffelees and Sophisicate. As ever, 'Misto' will be interesting to watch in Niigata, as a past winner with a very strong, all or nothing character, and Sophisicate (pictured here) will be making his debut at Tokyo-Fuchu at 11:40am. One never really knows what to expect on a debut run, but as long as he learns from the experience and gets home safely, that's the main thing at this stage. If we have a result like Wednesday - a win and a fourth place - I shall be a happy bunny!

Courtesy Carrot Club

Meanwhile, Harmony Fair is looking in good shape for the 12R at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 12th. This is a 1600m turf race for three year olds, with Masayoshi Ebina at the reins. Also, please make a note in your diary for Divine Daughter's debut - booked for the 20th at Tokyo, with Takuya Ohno in the saddle. Ohno-san did a great job with Miracle Rouge in one of her big races the other day, so let's hope he can get the best out of this young Sunday TC filly.

New Resident

A new arrival has landed at Tokoro RC - Symboli Voyager. There are times when you wonder why we spend time studying bloodlines, for this fella (pictured), a Partholon cross born in 2001, has Nijinsky as one grandfather, and Symboli Rudolf as the other. And yet, on the racetrack, his one outing was far from memorable. Thankfully, he transformed himself into a superb dressage horse, and it will be interesting to see how he does in the hands of the Bamba family...

Meanwhile, Louis and Sophie continued training, with Sophie and Jaguar now starting to look like a dressage combi. With a few weeks of polishing, hopefully they will be able to surprise a few people in the Junior Class of the dressage competition next month.

Godiva's Progress

Just been sent this delightful picture of Godiva's Pride by Ilka of the Gansera-Leveque racing stables. Hopefully, with the recent progress he's been showing on the hallowed gallops of Newmarket, he will be able to make his debut on an all-weather track at some time during the winter months, and then move onto grass at the first opportunity. He's something of a late developer, but then so was Joe Sugden (another of Ilka's proteges), and that one managed to hit the headlines as soon as it hit the track. As it happens, Joe Sugden has just been syndicated. Judging from what I've been told, the purchase price and monthly running costs seem very reasonable...

Stale Pop

A strange run from Pop Label tonight - despite being firm favourite, he came home in a distant fourth, almost as if he gave up trying after turning the last corner. It certainly wasn't the Pop Label we've come to love and respect racing tonight, which makes me think he's being saved for the main event. I hope that's the explanation anyway! 

Mistoffelees is out on Sunday with Tanabe-san for the 1800m dirt race at Niigata (4R), while Sophisticate will make his debut at Tokyo-Fuchu on the same day in a 1400m dirt run. It may be too short for him, but Yutaka Yoshida is sure to make the most of the race. 

In other news, Single Cask has passed her gate test, which means she'll be racing soon, and Divine Daughter will probably make her debut next week - quicker than expected. 

PS. The trainer has admitted that Pop Label was only 70% right for the race last night. It was a combination of race rust and poor muscle tone, but he's convinced it was worthwhile running him as a warm-up for the big race - the Hokkaido Yushun on the 7th November. For that, he'll be 100%...

Agua V1

Courtesy Carrot Club

What a remarkable performance from Agua De Vida tonight - she came from way back on the outside, and blasted down the straight devastating the rest of the field! The second horse was beaten by a neck, but the third one was six lengths down at the finish. Wearing number five, you won't see much of her until the end. She started the 1700m race as favourite, and it's easy to see why if you check out the video: http://nar.jp/362013100206.asx. Hearty congratulations all round...

PS. That run tonight has bought Agua-chan a ticket to the Nankan arena. Assuming she's fit after her post-race check, she'll be making her way to my neck of the woods very soon.

2012 Horses #8: Carrot Club No.58

Courtesy Carrot Club

Well, this is the last of the newcomers
- a filly by Stay Gold, who will be based at the Yoshimura Stables at the Ritto TC. Stay Gold had an incredibly long racing career of 50 outings with only seven wins to show for it, but his fame as a sire has reached fever pitch with the success of Orfevre. He continues the Sunday Silence line nicely, with a lot of French and Canadian blood on his dam side, including that of Dictus (by Sanctus) and Northern Taste (by Northern Dancer).

The dam is Imprevu, who was sired by Twining - a winning stallion that carried on the Forty Niner line that we covered a couple of profiles ago via the Heart's Cry kid. He also passed on some beautiful old school blood from his mother, including that of Never Bend (meaning Nasrullah, Nearco and Blenheim) and War Admiral by Man O'War. Her damsire was Topsider by Northern Dancer, who won a few minor races, but Sir Gaylord is in her DNA make-up, and that means an awful lot. I think we can expect a good, solid performer here...

2012 Horses #7: Carrot Club No.39

Courtesy Carrot Club

This is one Louis was desperate to get hold of as soon as he saw the Carrot Club catalogue - a colt by Agnes Digital, who won all manner of big races on both turf and dirt in Japan and Hong Kong, racing no less than 32 times! He was sired by the quaintly named Crafty Prospector, who carried the blood of Mr Prospector in his veins. His dam was sired by Chief's Crown, who was the only horse to be favoured in all three US Triple Crown events and not win any of them. But a second and two thirds in these ultimate American races is impressive nonetheless, with his blood being a fine mix of Danzig and Secretariat DNA. Alleged blood is added into the gene pool via the female lines.

Mejiro Hilary was sired by the legendary El Condor Pasa, with Mejiro Dober as her dam. Mejiro Dober was also the mother of Mejiro Lourdes, who we've had as a dam for two of the horses I've bought stakes in. We've looked at these before, but need to note that El Condor Pasa's pedigree adds Mr Prospector into the equation once more, thus officially making this colt a Mr Prospector cross (3Sx4D).

2012 Horses #6: Carrot Club No.20

Based at the Takayanagi Stables at Miho Training Centre, this spritely colt is a Northern Dancer cross by Heart's Cry, who we've looked at before when profiling our most successful JRA runner that is still active in racing, Tenshinramman. As such, there's no need to go over him again, suffice to say that he was the first horse to beat Deep Impact in a straight fight, and his blood is certainly well-respected in this house.

Courtesy Carrot Club

The dam is Xiangshui, who managed to win one race before becoming a broodmare. Her father is Swept Overboard, who had an incredibly
solid career on the tracks, even though there were no classic wins in amongst the eight he chalked up. The interesting DNA continues in the sireline, with End Sweep and Forty Niner, the latter (by Mr Prospector) being a multiple Black Type winner that was also second in the Kentucky Derby. Her mother was a Lady Angela cross called Dyna China, with Northern Taste as her sire a strong Argentinian horse by the name of El Centauro as her damsire. I have a feeling it will be well worth watching this one...

Wednesday's Races

We have two runners at Monbetsu on Wednesday - Agua De Vida in the 1700m 6R, with Kuniaki Sasaki in the saddle, and Pop Label in the 'Winner's Challenge Race', which is over the same distance, but the tenth race on the card. Pop Label will be ridden by his usual jockey, Yuji Iwahashi, with the start scheduled for 7:25pm - a couple of hours after Agua-chan's outing, in which she has two main rivals as far as I can see.

Early reports on the new Carrot Club yearlings are starting to come in, with the Heart's Cry kid we'll be profiling next being a horse that loves to run naturally - an excellent sign if we take the teachings of Tesio seriously, and I certainly do. The other notable report concerned the Montjeu colt, who apparently moves quite exceptionally - he's already picking up fans amongst the training staff. Three of the seven I chose have already sold out, incidentally...

2012 Horses #5: Carrot Club No.16

This beautiful filly, by War Emblem out of Chronologist and stabled with Yuichi Shikato, can be classed as something of a rarity, as War Emblem has sired less than 100 foals in the last decade - not much of a record for a stallion, but it's not that he's not in demand, and not that his offspring can't cut the mustard, it's simply that he struggles to perform off the track.

Courtesy Carrot Club

War Emblem was quite magnificent in his racing days, winning two legs of the US Triple Crown by taking the honours in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. He was sired by Our Emblem, one of Mr Prospector's strongest kids, with a 5-5-5 record. On his dam side, Brigadier Gerard stands out as being a special ingredient in his DNA make-up, as a horse that was supposedly unbeatable. Considering this bloodline, the French-registered General wasn't all that amazing on the track, but Lord At War (War Emblem's damsire) had a stunning career, claiming no less than ten victories.

The dam is Chronologist, who only had two races, but came first and third in them. She is a Raise A Native cross, and with Raise A Native also appearing in the sire's bloodlines, that may make things interesting. Officially, though, the extra Mr Prospector blood makes the new filly a Mr Prospector cross (3Sx4D). Chronologist's sire was Kurofune, who we've looked at a few times, and in the most depth when we profiled Agua De Vida. Her mother is In This Unison, who was never raced, but carried a good helping of Sunday Silence blood, which has helped her produce a couple of winners in the past.