River Spirit V1

Courtesy Lord Ilsley

River Spirit won the opener at Lingfield yesterday, with Sam Hitchcott guiding her to a victory of almost two lengths! It's fascinating to follow the battle campaign of the Channon family, who do things properly - not like the hit and hope tactics of JRA trainers. At the same time, being a member of the Lord Ilsley syndicate is bloody good fun, with the frank and witty comments being a breath of fresh air after the clueless BS you get fed from JRA-based clubs. Whatever happens in the winner's circle in the future, I shall be sticking with these people until the day I die...

Well done, lad!

Today, Louis scored 56.49 in the L1 Dressage competition at Higashi-Kanto, coming fourth along the way on Voyager - a horse he rode for the first time just five minutes before entering the arena! 

If he hadn't made a couple of silly mistakes, one due to a misunderstanding on the length of the arena, meaning he should have turned later, he'd have been in with a chance of victory. Anyway, it was a good experience in many ways. Just hoping that we can all avoid the flu now, as it was a little bit wet to say the least...

Back In Action

Shun Ishizaki managed to motivate Beat The Border enough to get her through her race ability test at TCK (Tokyo's NAR track close to Haneda Airport) this morning, meaning she should be back in action in the near future. She's been out of the game since last November, which is why the test was triggered, but she's coming back far bigger. Her time wasn't great, but the rain we've been having meant the ground wouldn't have suited her, and ultimately it wasn't a race today - Shun would have done just enough to get the job done...

Courtesy Sunday TC

In Australia, Raining Dollars picked up a bit of a virus, but there's nothing to worry about. Hopefully he will be back in form soon and hitting the track with a vengeance.

PS. Looking at the reports, the thoughts above on Beat The Border were pretty much spot-on, with Shun not even touching the whip, allowing her to go her own pace on the wet and heavy dirt. Everyone seems happy with her progress and the way she has bulked up, and she is now scheduled to run at TCK on the 23rd in either a 1200 or 1400m race. We've also managed to add a picture of the young lady (right) after finishing her test.

Luck Of The Irish

It will be remembered that Irish Harp has been shipped off to Hokkaido to race now. Her trip from Ritto TC apparently went without a hiccup, and she looks the part up north already. There are plans to race her on the 14th in a 1700m dirt race for 3yo fillies without a win under their belt. She's a classy horse, so stands a good chance of shining on the day.

It was a pleasure watching Louis and Sophie with Alpha today, the kids braving the chilly wind and sporadic showers to ride a Thoroughbred they have very little experience with. Sophie is definitely a Thoroughbred girl, so the search for 'Bugatti' continues in earnest. There are two TBs in the upcoming Hokkaido auction that interest me, but Louis will have to ride them first and judge their size before one of them - if any - comes south to Chiba.  

Bad Vibes

Glint Moment continues down his path of travesty, failing his gate test. The trainer is saying he will try again next week, but I really don't see the point. This horse has been nothing like a racehorse from the day it entered training, and Carrot Club will do everyone - including themselves - a big favour by just throwing in the towel. At this late stage in the proceedings, with other horses from the same crop already being retired, what use is a nag that can't even get through the gate test? I have horses born a year later that have already got their gate certificate and are ready to tackle the next stage...

The only other piece of racing news at this point is on True Motion, who is set to run at Tokyo-Fuchu on the 21st in the 1600m dirt race. Tanabe-san is in the saddle, with thoughts of another turf run also in the background. If it goes ahead as per the current plan, this will be her dirt debut, which should at least be an interesting experience for all concerned.

So Predictable

Tenshinramman has indeed been shipped off for an R&R session. The trainer is saying there is no need to be pessimistic, and a grand plan is in place. Why this grand plan couldn't have been actioned after things started to go wrong last August, I shall never know. I dare say the R&R session will bring on race rust, and what should have been a decent build-up for a fresh campaign will be wasted. To add insult to injury, a horse that clocked a 33.1 second 3F time in her first 1800m race and missed out on a berth in a classic by an avoidable fraction of an inch, has been relegated in class. Now, even if she does win again in the future, it will be a hollow victory, like putting an F1 car in an F3 race.

NAR Natter

Courtesy Shadai TC

Anyone that knows me will know that NAR is my favourite branch of the Sport Of Kings. It may not be the most glamorous offshoot of the game, and it's certainly not the richest, but I love it for its passion and honesty.

Following a surprise announcement, Phosphorus (pictured here, a month ago) will be in action again on the 9th June, taking part in the 1500m 3R. It means he won't be waiting for the Funabashi meeting for his next outing, but that's fine - the team training him and looking after him is one of the finest in Japan. Excellent value from this big fella, who is my favourite of all my current racers, with this being his eighth race so far.

Courtesy Sunday TC

Hopefully, Beat The Border (right) will get the all-clear to get back on the track on the 7th, and Monsoon Trough
will start her career on the 10th with any luck, albeit in the Hokkaido series until autumn, as she would be an early starter as a 2yo if she passes her test as planned. Looking further ahead, Pop Label should be on his way
to Funabashi soon, too...

As for today, the Tokyo Derby is on TV, and so I'm going to settle down with a cool beer to fight off the stifling heat. Like the one coming on the 9th, it should be a great race!

Now What?

Porthos was fourth at Carlisle with Tom Eaves in the saddle. It sounds okay, but he finished a long way down and his intended career as a jumper - which is what I wanted him for - looks an awful long way off at this stage, even taking into account his lengthy lay-off from racing before the mile run yesterday.

I'm hoping we'll have more luck with River Spirit, booked for the 5:55pm at Lingfield on the 7th June, as the ground should suit her a lot better than that she had to deal with in her last outing. The Channon family know what they're doing, and everything is in hand - there are few teams in which I have more confidence. When she's ready, she'll deliver the goods.

Today's Carrot Club reports are filled with the word 'treadmill' as usual, with only one standing out as different. Sophisticate has damaged his right front leg, and will be retired as a result. Given the promising start to his career, it's a shame. There were apparently thoughts of moving him onto turf, but only after four crap results on dirt to follow his one good one! Had he been moved onto the green stuff earlier, he might have been able to become something. As it is, another Carrot/JRA failure is added to the list, and I'm just wishing that Joyful Step and Dinner Bell join him in retirement soon, as they are simply wasting time and money.

PS. There are apparently still plans to run Porthos over the hurdles, with his first jump race planned for Perth in the first week of August. It's a question of wait and see, I guess, but his staying power will have to improve no end first of all, and in just two months...

Mixed Emotions

Feeling lonely not having 'Jaguar' (Mayano Time) around to spoil, and there's nothing really jumping off the page to excite me as a replacement for me. There's a nice Dance In The Dark gelding that took my fancy, but it's too small to be of use to Louis and myself - only the girls would be able to make progress with him. 'Bugatti' needs to be at least 170cm at the shoulder, or 16.75 hands.

Still waiting to hear what's happening on the Tenshinramman front, with the last report stating that a shorter distance of 1200m to 1400m was being considered. I guess the plan would be to run the legs off all the others, which is something she'd be capable of in the right conditions and with the right person at the controls.

There was a nice article in the Carrot Club magazine on Single Cask, and pictures of quite a few of my horses, as it happens. The way things are going, though, it looks like Single Cask will be the only horse to be carried through from the 2010 and 2011 crop, and there were 15 of them at the start of the year!

Waiting now for the time difference to tick around so that I can see how Porthos Du Vallon does today. It's a flat race, which is not what I was banking on - I bought a stake in him specifically because he was being trained as a jumper after a fairly successful flat season, but at least he's running, and by the sound of things, a career over the jumps is still in the making. Good luck to all concerned...