Another Dud

Today, as expected, Divine Daughter was pretty useless. Well, totally useless is a more accurate description of her performance, as she refused to go when she got the sign, and finished way down the field. The only consolation, as far as I'm concerned, is that she will now retire, and that's one less JRA horse I have to support. What's truly galling, though, is that a share I was offered in a horse in Australia was turned down earlier in the year, as I said I needed to free up some budget before taking on another beastie. Yesterday, it won, and at almost exactly the same time as Tenshinramman screwed up!

Tempai Time

Today, with the temperatures hovering around silly heat levels, it was decided to go out for a quiet stroll in the countryside with the horses. Although I hold a small stake in him, we haven't used Tempai properly for a long while, as it seems there is always something to train for of late. Louis warmed the old soldier through on the track, and then two other horses went out with him in amongst the shelter of the tall trees surrounding Tokoro, with Sophie taking over Tempai's reins halfway through, and then cooling him down with a walk around the outer track once they arrived back at the stables. He certainly enjoyed his wash afterwards, that's for sure!

No Words

There are no words that can possibly describe how disappointing it was watching Tenshinramman a few minutes ago. I'm guessing the trainer said go to the front, so after one of the worst starts in history, the jockey pushed her into a long lead within a furlong of the gate, and then she just went backwards in the closing stages, obviously having used a great deal of energy to follow a game plan that was never going to work given such a bad launch. Although it could have worked out if she'd made a decent start, as it is, her good name has been dragged through the mud. Again!

Not holding out much hope for Divine Daughter tomorrow (putting Single Cask's win to one side, Tenshinramman was the best possible chance of getting a Japanese JRA winner in months, and look what happened there!), so hopefully Porthos Du Vallon can do better at Carlisle in the UK on Monday.

Courtesy Carrot Club

PS. The jockey report echoed my thoughts exactly, with him following a plan no matter what the scenario dictated. Having stated that 'Tenny' has devastating speed, which is something we all know, the result was yet another wasted outing. I guess she will now either go for weeks of R&R and become race rusty again, or be retired. In some ways, a horse that once filled pages in racing columns deserves an escape from further embarrassment, and retirement might 
be the best answer given that folks seem to be determined to destroy her reputation, or at best have no idea of how to restore it. Here's a picture from the day - probably the last 'Black Type' race she'll have... 

Friday Fill In

Not a great deal to report, although River Spirit came fifth at Bath yesterday, the heavy going provided by the English turf on the day not really suiting her. But she's a fighter, and with a great team behind her that I have every confidence in, she'll almost certainly be a winner before the year is out...

In Japan, True Motion is back at the Miho Training Centre, with a JRA race lined up for the middle of the Tokyo-Fuchu era, while Tenshinramman runs there in the 9R with Masami Matsuoka. I'm looking forward to this, as it's the first time 'Tenny' will face the track with a fresh jockey onboard, which is a long overdue experiment. Divine Daughter runs there in the 2R on the 1st June with Teruo Eda in the saddle. Looking a bit further ahead, Irish Harp should be challenging a 1700m dirt race at Hakodate on the 14th June, with Ryoya Kosaki already booked for the ride. Meanwhile, Harmony Fair has moved to the newly-opened Okumura Stables.

On the NAR front, Monsoon Trough has passed her gate test and takes the race ability test on the 10th. Ironically, Beat The Border retakes hers on the 7th, as she's been out of action for a while. Then, in the week beginning the 16th, Phosphorus is back out again at his home track. I love this horse!

British Rail

While Single Cask was winning in Niigata yesterday, Louis made his L1 Dressage debut at Tomisato's Olympic Club in the Japan Cup, and scored a creditable 52.93 with Orion. 

Today, despite Orion being more than a little jumpy after an incident in the warm-up arena, he managed to increase his overall total to 53.45, so, like British Rail, we're getting there. In reality, of course, given his age and the relatively short period of time that he's had to practice at this level, Louis' progress is probably far quicker and a damned sight more efficient, but the catchphrase certainly fits...