40,000

The visitor log passed the 40,000 mark this morning. It's a shame there's very little in the way of good news to report on the racing front - in fact, most of the Carrot Club results have been beyond disappointing, taking me to the stage of wishing I had never seen one of their catalogues! Tenshinramman has just been shipped off to rest, and although nothing has been said officially, reading between the lines with my own experience added in, I imagine that is the end of her career - perhaps a mystery has been answered, too. The usually reliable Miracle Rouge just ran the worst race of her life, and if Chukyo was chosen simply because there was a berth in the starting gate (the choice certainly wasn't a logical one), then it only reinforces my earlier statement that there are too many horses and not enough races in Japan. As for Harmony Fair, she should never have been kept, and even Mistoffelees screwed up badly the other day, too.

Regarding the 3YO JRA crop, it looks like there isn't a good one amongst them (or more correctly, due to widespread incompetence and the blind leading the blind, they have little chance of ever reaching their potential, despite multi-million dollar training facilities), and the NAR filly is walking a tightrope - we will have to wait for an injury to clear up, and one simply doesn't know when or even if that will happen. I'm at the point where I'm almost looking forward to September when I can take a ton of names off the bottom of this page, for the chances of getting a win from any of these nags is about the same as me winning the lottery, and that's a slim chance seeing as I never buy a ticket! At least with 14 or 15 less horses in the mix in six months time (including a Sunday TC JRA runner), I can divert funds to a more worthy cause - one that actually deserves my support. It would take a miracle to get me back into the faceless Carrot Club and JRA fold. And let's be realistic, they can't even be bothered to respond to a letter, so the odds on them creating a miracle are very long indeed...

The surprising thing is I'm not alone in my observations on this subject - it's not just gaijin eyes that have exposed the flaws in a system that simply uses horses to turn over money, with not a single thought devoted to improving conditions as long as profits remain sky-high. For this reason, I shall devote 100% of my attention to NAR activities in Japan at the soonest possible juncture (probably 18 months, as I have a niggling feeling that the 2YO Carrot horses will be no better than the last lot), where things are rough and ready, but horsemen - and ladies - dominate, rather than beancounters. I shall also give a lot more support to the stables in Australia and the UK, as well as Ireland at some stage in the future. I'm not worried about winning all the while. I just want to see visible effort and some passion, and horses being treated as something special - not pawns in a game that quite frankly stinks. I think it may be time for me to rekindle an old Toyota contact - I haven't spoken to him for a long time, but his position in the JRA hierarchy could make for an interesting coffee break!

Thankfully, as we hit a landmark on the blog, there are a few signs of a brighter future on the racing front. Godiva's Pride is back on form after a training mishap, Lord Ilsley's syndicate is fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing my first steeplechaser in action soon. In Australia, Raining Dollars looks a peach, and I appreciate all the effort JLH put in - a worthy cause if ever there was one. Also, the NAR circus moves to Funabashi this week (my home track) with Phosphorus in action on Wednesday. In the background, we have the various competitions the kids are entering, with progress on all fronts, so at least we can finish with a bit of hope.