Onward Cristian Soldiers

Don't know why I missed one, but Irish Harp is out at Kyoto on the 2nd February. She is booked for the 5R (1600m on turf), with Cristian Demuro in the saddle. Well, at least that's something to cheer me up on the Carrot Club front, for while the practice times are still far from spectacular, you can guarantee Cristian will give it his all...

Nice day at the stables today, with 'Jaguar' in a very upbeat mood, and Louis doing pretty well in his jumping competition earlier in the morning - rather than an all-out against the clock jumping session, the event was suddenly turned into whoever was the closest to one minute (with faults taken into consideration). With a clear round and only four seconds adrift of the magic mark, despite having had no practice, he can be happy enough with the result. It was fun anyway!

Sixth

What can I say? There was a flash of the old Tenshinramman that we all know and love, backed up by the fact that she was the fastest in the field over the last three furlongs - in fact, only one other horse came close to her! But the bottom line is, she finished sixth, 0.3 seconds down on the winner. Now, had Tanaka not given the leaders a needless ten-length head start (the exit from the gate put her in the middle of the pack), it would have been a different story. It was an odd race tactic, to say the least, especially given the relatively short distance of a mile. I would normally conclude there was a glimmer of hope in the result, but this is Tenshinramman, not Harmony Fair, or even Miracle Rouge. She's a winner and a fighter by nature, and for the trainer to say in the newspapers that she "has speed and power but no race sense" is beyond belief. He should look to his own ability and that of the jockey before blaming a horse with two seconds and two firsts from her first five runs for poor results...

PS. With the benefit of watching a replay, it was closer to a 20-length head start. Today's blame for not winning lies firmly with the jockey for letting the leaders get too far ahead. Tight leg bandages and a lack of race sense doesn't come into it! To lose by just over two lengths in a classy field is a remarkable show of strength given what she had to make up. With Tosaki-san up, she would have won by five or six lengths today. I guess the trainer will now put her on a lengthy R&R session, and we have the race rust problem again - a lot closer to reality as an explanation for her last bad run than not having race sense. Despair is setting in, as this is about the only Carrot Club horse that has a realistic chance of delivering the goods.

Agua Booked

The Yamazaki Stables have booked Agua De Vida for the opening race (1400m on dirt) at Kawasaki on the 28th. Blinkers were tried during practice, but everyone concluded they made no difference, so they will be left off. A new bit, will be used, however, which will hopefully give the jockey, Seiji Yamazaki, more control...

Wakashio-Sho

Tenshinramman's spot has been confirmed for the Wakashio-Sho mile race at Nakayama on the 25th. This is the 10R on the card, and Tanaka is down as the jockey. Apparently, there have been all sorts of things going on in the background, but I'm not going to say anything until after the race - then we will see how much effort has been put in...

In other JRA news, Harmony Fair is now scheduled to run at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 1st February. If all goes well, she'll be in the 8R (1400m on dirt), and Hironobu Tanabe will be at the controls.

Straight As A Die

Just gone through a batch of Carrot Club reports, and everything appears normal - the word 'treadmill' comes up a dozen times, and one of the horses is doing a 20-second canter, which would be slow enough to annoy 'Jaguar' rather than please him!

There are thoughts that the leg bandages were too tight for Tenshinramman last time out, which is a new excuse - my hearty congratulations on finding one, as there can't be many left. Still no guarantee she'll run on the 25th (have to wait until tomorrow for confirmation), but I'm dreading it anyway, even if she does get a berth in the gate - the reputation of a fine racehorse has been ruined. There's a chance Miracle Rouge will be in the 2000m turf race at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 9th February, although the trainer is already warning not to expect a miracle (excuse the pun) as she will have a fair bit of race rust to contend with...

And then we come to a world of contrasts. I've just been watching a beautifully put together video from Mick Channon's stables in England showing the 'Avonbridge Filly' (pictured here). Born in March 2012, she's just started her training, but she's already working a lot harder than the JRA horses - looking every bit like a racehorse. According to Mick, she's "a smashing little filly. Done everything right. Some people say she's a bit small, but she's built like a brick shithouse." It really is a pleasure dealing with folks that are straight and down-to-earth, full of dry humour but professional at the same time.

Horsemanship

Most of the weekend was spent at Tokoro RC, which is nothing unusual, but it does please me to be able to report on how much Louis and Sophie are progressing - not so much on the competition front (although they both have a busy schedule), or even skills that earn bits of paper, but in the area of horsemanship. The level of communication between horse and rider is a joy to watch, and they are left to get 'Jaguar' from his stable, tack him up, adjust things when they change over, then look after him before putting him back in his box. The latter doesn't sound like much, but if you know Jaguar's default character which kicks in - sometimes literally! - when he becomes dozy (I have a feeling he was a crocodile in one previous life, and Kung Fu Panda in another), you can't help but be impressed by the way they handle him, with love, care and respect...

Monday News Update

The race Tenshinramman is supposed to be running in on the 25th is - surprise, surprise - oversubscribed. Given her awful results in her last two outings, the chances of getting special treatment any more are remote, so it's down to the luck of the draw.

In other JRA news, the trainer is aiming to run Miracle Rouge at Tokyo-Fuchu in February. I like this horse, and I'm also looking forward to seeing Mistoffelees back in action again soon. 'Misto' at least ran a great race after his poor exit from the gate last time out - his eighth would have possibly been a win had he not given the leaders a 50-yard head start.

On the NAR side of things, Phosphorus is booked for his second outing at Funabashi in the w/b 10th February, and in England, the Avonbridge Filly (pictured) is coming along nicely. She has a good temperament, eats well, and has taken to her training programme well. Watch this space!