Today's Also-Rans

Once again, Carrot Club came up with a magnificent catalogue of failures. From four runners, only Irish Harp performed anywhere near its expected level, and despite mentions of a possible victory in the pre-race reports and starting third favourite, a fourth place (two lengths down) was the best she could pick up. At the end of a long day, though, that seemed like a wonderful achievement!

Belle Plage was tenth, and no-one knows why, which means that the typical Carrot downhill trend has started with that horse now - one of the few real hopes of the 2011 crop. At least until today, and now it's as good as finished, like all the others from that year.

With the four-year olds, it was even worse, and you wouldn't have thought that was possible. The first shock: Harmony Fair. Oh, hold on, her 12th place wasn't a shock really, because this horse hates dirt - a fact that was established early on in no uncertain terms, then confirmed. For a trainer to then try it again is pathetic. There may only be 1000m turf races available, and that may not suit her perfectly, but it's a lot better than making the horse hate going to a track before the gate even opens and entering it in a race you know with absolute certainty she'll flop in. Ultimately, not only does it defy logic, highlighting the lack of JRA races that I've mentioned in the past, and the general low level of JRA trainer ability, which I've also mentioned before. There should be no entry until the right race comes along, or you may as well retire the thing now as unsuitable and save Carrot Club members some money.

Poor Miracle Rouge was the next disaster. She hates long distance travel, and while Niigata may have been pegged as her limit, the last time she was there in August, she was a massive 22kg lighter! The start was OK, but the jockey dropped behind way too much, making the good start irrelevant, then held her back too long and left himself in a dreadful position even if there had been anything in the tank - it was his fault for putting the horse where he did, and then the crap really hit the fan as she cruised in in 11th. It was a total waste of an entry. Again. From what I saw, if she lost 10kg and raced in two weeks time with Uchida-san on her back, she might have a chance. Otherwise, please retire her, too, so I can invest in an enterprise more deserving of my support.

I notice Classic Curl has put some pennies in the coffers by retiring before racing, and let's hope Glint Moment does the same, because it's way too late in the season to start a campaign...