NAR Natter

Pop Label will be timed against some other horses at the weekend, allowing a decision to be made on the Hokkaido Yushun race, scheduled for the 7th November. I sincerely hope he can make it, and in good condition to show what he's capable of...

Meanwhile, I've checked on the progress of a few of my old horses that have moved out of JRA racing and into the NAR arena with new owners. Mosto Verde is based at Kochi, and has two seconds and a third from three races so far; Lourdes No Hitomi (stabled at Monbetsu) has two thirds and a win from three races, and Quick Bread, now based at Iwate, has come first and second in his two outings. All told, they are doing exceptionally well in their second careers, and that's nice to hear.

PS. Beat The Boarder has now arrived at the TCK stables, ready to start her racing career.

Weekend Racers

Courtesy Sunday TC

The confirmations have come through for Single Cask (Tokyo 6R, on the 26th with Tosaki-san at the controls), Divine Daughter (Niigata 5R, on the 26th with Yoshida-san in the saddle, and shown here), and True Motion (Tokyo 2R, on the 27th with Tosaki-san again). These races are for sure, including two debuts, while there are also thoughts of fielding Harmony Fair with Ebina-san at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 2nd November in a 1400m dirt race.

With Luck...

With luck, we have three horses running at the weekend - Divine Daughter, Single Cask, and True Motion. We noted the details in the blog entry of the 17th October, so there's no need to go over them again. And, of course, the gate positions have to be confirmed as yet, with Divine Daughter's race being oversubscribed by quite some margin. The only other news on the race front is that Agua De Vida is expected to be out for next month's Kawasaki meeting...

Meanwhile, Louis was training with Orion yesterday, perfecting dressage techniques, and today he was jumping with 'Jaguar' - a combination that looked the part, and holds promise for the future. I'd like to try the onry one over fences at least once, as he seems to enjoy jumping, and this is the last discipline for him to challenge - he's already won JRA races, dressage competitions and gymkhanas. As usual, Jaguar was in all or nothing mode, clearing the fences by a crazy margin. I think he was trying to impress 'Merryl' in the stable next to him!

News From Newmarket

Godiva's Pride is working out nicely, training on soft grass at Newmarket with a group of other horses to hone his muscle tone at the moment. So far, Ilka Gansera-Leveque (his trainer) has won for every owner she's had on the books, and let's hope she can maintain that enviable record with this cheeky little fella. As it happens, there's still a few shares available in him if you fancy owning a racehorse in England, and also Joe Sugden, a proven winner featured in this advert...

Misto Close

Mistoffelees came fifth this afternoon, but I have to say that this was not as disappointing as it looks if  one takes the cold hard fact of the finishing result only. The bottom line is that his finish was magnificent, and had he had a few more yards to play with, second place was within easy reach, as his last 3F time was 36.1, against a best of 37.2 for the three horses just ahead of him. A close call, and heartening, even if no cigar today...