Not Sunday, But...

Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest, but it was brought forward for 'Jaguar' today, as he had a slight nosebleed when we arrived at the stables. It was only an occasional trickle, so it's probably nothing to worry about - most likely a reaction to the huge gaps in temperature we've been experiencing over the last few days, as his eyes were shining bright and his appetite was certainly there, as always! Anyway, we'll give him the day off today, and then, if everything is OK, we can do some light training together tomorrow, and see what happens...

Soon?

Courtesy Sunday TC

Pop Label is doing a great deal of harder training right now, which would tend to point towards him being ready for his move to Funabashi. The early entries in Hokkaido were magnificent, including a victory in the Breeder's Gold Junior Cup race at Monbetsu, but the heavy schedule on a young horse took its toll, and the beast was put in recovery mode for winter. He seems to be back in form again now, though, and following patterns to give an idea of timing, could well be where he belongs at MK Stable within the next three or four weeks. Hopefully he can then slowly rebuild a remarkable race record. I'd be watching for him to excel as a four-year old...

Fukushima

Two Carrot Club horses running at Fukushima on the 13th, with Single Cask in the 2R (1200m turf), and Harmony Fair in the 12R (also 1200m turf). Belle Plage is being put forward for a similar race at Fukushima within the next couple of weeks and, with luck, True Motion will be out for an 1800m turf run at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 26th, with Hironobu Tanabe already booked for the ride.

Meanwhile, Sophisticate is going through a varied training programme at the racing stable, including some chase work with True Motion, while the Sunday TC horse, Divine Daughter, has been sent off for an R&R session - we may as well write her off as a result.

Every Day

The kids have been training with 'Jaguar' and 'Orion' virtually every day of late, thanks to the school holidays and a series of early finishes following their return to the cage at the start of the week. Sophie built on yesterday's progress nicely, with easy canters and the fastest trotting I've ever seen - 'Jaguar' was certainly on form today, probably due to the perfect weather for riding. Louis, meanwhile, is training hard with 'Orion' - a horse that requires the same level of subtle control as his stablemate. I'm enjoying watching the boy develop and hone his skills, and would rather he continued on this path than get blinded by the sparkle of light bouncing off trophies. Horses need to be treated with care and respect first and foremost, and as trust and a bond is built up, then you can think about winning as a team. There are too many riders out there who kick and whip the living daylights out of a beast that's not even theirs in order to win a prize. It might feel good to take gold, but there's nothing but disappointment if you come second. On the other hand, if there's a bond between horse and rider - a level of communication that only a true horseman can understand - it doesn't matter even if you come last as long as you gave it your best shot, because you can take home something in your heart that no amount of silverware can replace.

Daucus Carota

Just going through the Carrot Club reports, and they're a mixed bag to say the least. Tenshinramman seems to be back in form, and the pace of her training will be picked again as a result, although both Miracle Rouge and Mistoffelees need a lot more work before they're ready to roll again. The other four-year old, Harmony Fair, is hopefully going to run on the 13th. Hayato Yoshida has been booked for the Fukushima outing, and apparently 'HF' is in good condition. In reality, though, the race is ridiculously oversubscribed, and even if she does get a gate slot, the chances of her coming out ahead in a classy field are remote in the extreme - somewhere on a par with getting all of Ukraine's problems sorted by this time tomorrow. Without a doubt, the trainer should have gone for the race on the 12th.

Of the three-year olds, Sophisticate has landed back at Miho TC, and Irish Harp is being held at Ritto. As noted earlier in the week, the little lady is almost certainly going to get released for a break, and indeed that was the thought. Instead, though - and credit where it's due here for thinking - she will be cosseted at the stable for a bit to see if she can get another race in before summer. But at least there is a sense of urgency in the air, and that's appreciated. Meanwhile, although we won't know for sure until tomorrow, Single Cask has been booked for the 1200m turf race at Fukushima on the 13th. The original plan to enter her on the 19th has been adjusted as she looks good; Genki Maruyama will be at the controls if the green light is given.

As for the no-hopers, Glint Moment and Joyful Step keep going on and on, but never seem to get near a track, or even a racing stable. Mephisto Waltz is improving, but frankly couldn't get any worse, while a Niigata run is being planned for Dinner Bell. Apparently she picked up some minor damage from her last race, which makes me even more dubious about her future - I would retire her now.

Another Wall Smashed

Sophie broke down another wall today, holding 'Jaguar' at a steady canter for as long as she wanted, and ended with a couple of nice jumps in practice for the Gymkhana GP. It may not sound like much, but believe me, getting 'Jaguar' to do what he did today takes skill - a lot of skill, and a great deal of communication. This was a good, solid achievement that will see Sophie's rise through the ranks accelerate at a staggering rate. I'm proud of her, too, for wanting to break down this wall with a horse that's notoriously difficult, and not take an easier mount just to make faster progress. Well done, kiddo - on the one day I didn't have a camera with me!

Agua Retires

The X-rays showed up a crack in one of the bones in Agua's right leg, and that brings her race career to an end. She finished with an NAR record of 1-2-2-4, which will hopefully secure her future as a broodmare, as the injury still allows her to move around freely - it would just be too painful to put the kind of stresses imposed by racing on a cracked bone. What a shame...

Phos-kun!!

Phosphorus started as third favourite today in a good strong field, but taught us a lesson - he doesn't like sand in his face! With the longer distance, Kota held him back a bit, but Phos-kun hated the sand being kicked back at him, and fell to the back. Knowing the race was lost, Kota just cruised him round ready to fight another day with a lot of fresh knowledge in hand. Certainly, the shadow roll seems to work nicely - bit by bit, we're getting there. Because I feel welcome in NAR, and because I know everyone is doing their very best with what little they have at their disposal, I feel no anger whatsoever, which is quite different to my feelings with anything relating to JRA. Indeed, my relief that it wasn't an injury delaying progress even outweighs any disappointment that might have crept in. As a team, we'll regroup and fight hard next time, and I'm sure we'll win again soon...

Hehehe

The JRA jokes continue this morning with the announcement that 49 horses are vying for 16 gate berths in Harmony Fair's race, which was planned for the 13th. It makes a mockery of the system when yesterday 16 gates were available in one GII race, and only eight horses ran! Indeed, if you look at the four-year old races, there were plenty of slots available, but only in the longer distances, which indicates a general lack of conditioning in JRA steeds if the trainers only ever want to tackle shorter distances with them. There were also gates available in a few three-year old races, but the qualifying money eliminates so many. Question: How can horses win enough money and gain experience if they can't race? Then you get the same batch competing against each other, and one strong one stands out as being something special, when in fact they are simply the best of a bad bunch. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - not enough races!

Always Tomorrow

Irish Harp came fourth today, just beaten by a neck for third. The jockey is saying she performed very well, and the result might have been quite different had she not been drawn on the outside gate. Well, I'm not sure what to say at the end of the day, as the field was full of debutantes and no-hopers - only the winning horse looked like it had a strong record behind it, and that was fighting from the inside gate, which didn't really help our cause any. But of the 2011 crop, this was the horse that was my number one choice from the entire Carrot Club catalogue for her year - I had chosen her long before I knew how much she cost and which stable she was going to. She was the one I wanted, period, no matter what the price was. Will another opportunity like today come along, with her in good condition against a relatively weak field? I doubt it. I guess she'll go away for weeks of R&R now, and then hit the summer heat followed by the last-minute rush to get an entry in before the next batch of catalogues are published. Although she tried, I might as well say sayonara to the young girl now...

PS. The trainer is saying the two leading horses were male, so she did OK. But a) you can't use that as an excuse if you've selected a race that you hope to win, knowing there's a mix of male and female horses in it, and b) the horse that pipped her to third was female anyway. It's pretty feeble to say such things and think that's sorted. A decision will be taken on her next race after she has been looked over, but by JRA standards, she's already been at the racing stable for quite a while. It's obviously time to spread the riches around to others to keep the JRA money train in motion. Need I say more.