Impressive

Courtesy Carrot Club

I'm quite happy to admit that I was all but ready to write-off Belle Plage, but she certainly did the business this morning, coming in in a handy second place, and well in touch with the winner (the only male in the race). I guess a lot of people had something to prove on the day, but there's no denying that all involved did a good job in Sapporo.
A fraction more speed in the final furlong and she'd have got the win! With three seconds from six races, it will be worth giving her another run now, preferably at the end of the Sapporo era now she's actually in race mode. This picture shows her in the paddock at her lat race, by the way...

Even more impressive - as Belle Plage had already proved to be a good horse and gone off the boil - is the performance from Joyful Spirit. Starting as 14th favourite of 15 horses, and rightfully so given her awful first outing, she stormed past the post in fourth. Okay, she was 0.8 seconds down on the winner, but she had a slow start and was a long way ahead of all those from sixth back. This is a truly remarkable improvement, prompting the jockey to think she'd be better over a slightly longer 1800m. All I ever want is to see some effort, and I certainly got that from both Carrot equipes today.

Mark My Words

As usual, Louis was quiet for an hour or so last night, as he is every time the latest copy of Yushun pops through the letterbox. Towards the end of his stint, during which you may as well talk to the wall as try and get any kind of response from the boy, he turned to me and asked if I'd seen the high prices achieved at the recent Tattersalls sale. Well, yes, I had, and I said to him that I found it all rather worrying. Why? Because it's making the sport too elitist, where money talks more than enthusiasm, and when yearlings start going for silly money, silly things are done to make sure they win to recoup investment. With Thoroughbreds, a high purchase price doesn't guarantee anything, it simply makes the need to win that much greater. And if prices continue to rise, racing will soon be out of reach for average Joes, and the whole industry - except for the chosen few at the top - will suffer as a result. There is already a shortfall in the number of small-time owners in many countries where racing is an important sport with a long history attached to it. Celebrating high auction prices and making them the norm will only make the situation worse...

Showing Spirit

River Spirit has been declared to race at Carlisle on the 27th, entered in the 2:40 with Paddy Pilley in the saddle. That gives us three runners on the day now, with River Spirit giving us the best chance of victory if one is to be realistic.

So far, we've clocked up 16 wins: Three for both Phosphorus and Pop Label, two for both Tenshinramman and Porthos Du Vallon, and one win each for River Spirit, Beat The Border, Mistoffelees, Miracle Rouge, Harmony Fair and Single Cask. Can we make it 17, or even 18 after the weekend?

As a back-up, in case the weather takes a turn for the worse, River Spirit has her name down for the 6:15 at Ffos Las on the 31st July - the Class 5 Clogau Welsh Gold Nursery Handicap Stakes. Let's hope she runs on Sunday after all, as Carlisle is a lot easier to spell!

The plan to delay - or possibly abandon - Porthos' jump debut has been hatched, which doesn't surprise me. As soon as his contract runs out, I shall start looking for a jumper with a stable in Ireland or Australia that specializes in horses working over the hurdles...

Karotte

Quite a few fresh Carrot Club reports, with thoughts of running Tenshinramman and Harmony Fair at Niigata in the near future, although Miracle Rouge will be held back until the autumn. Whether she'll be given that run as a one-off chance I still don't know for sure, as she hasn't won anything this year, and I don't know where the line will be drawn. In reality, she's only put up a decent fight once in the whole of 2014!

Belle Plage has suddenly been entered for the 1700m dirt race at Sapporo on the 27th. This is a different type of race to what she's used to, but there's nothing wrong with that - it makes sense if one thing isn't working to try something else. Masaki Katsuura is in the saddle again, and let's hope he can do better than last time.

Joyful Step is in the 1700m dirt race at Fukushima on the 27th, with Keita Ban in the saddle - he can still claim a few pounds as a youngster, which is fine on a horse like JS, as any advantage is taken gratefully, but I do question the logic of him being teamed up with Tenshinramman, which is a horse that needs an experienced hand. Whether Ban-kun working with 'Tenny' is a training situation or a race plan, I'm not sure as yet. But if she'd have been given the right jockey from day one, she'd have been winning G1 races by now, instead of floundering aimlessly in amongst the dregs. I'd have thought the trainer should have realized that by now. Or maybe not...

Courtesy Carrot Club

Irish Harp - that little stormer, pictured here in her
last outing - is out yet again on the 2nd August, competing in the 1700m dirt race at Sapporo with Yuichi Fukunaga at the controls. Sugai-sensei is quite sure she has what it takes, and he's certainly given her enough chances to prove it! This next run will take her beyond 'Tenny' in the number of races entered, and she's already way more experienced than Harmony Fair. All she needs is a tiny bit of luck.

Single Cask is supposed to be out of the same day at Niigata in the 1200m dirt race, teaming up with Kazuma Harada, who gave her her first win. She's not perfect apparently, but the run will at least keep her in the right frame of mind for next season's campaign.

Limbo

Had a great morning with Segesta - Sophie going the fastest she's gone in a long while, with no choice in the matter and on a lunging rope at that! But she came away smiling, and that's the main thing. The big fella's medical has been moved to the 28th, which is delaying his purchase, but it's also good, as I have some business in Tokyo tomorrow anyway - the day his medical was supposed to happen. I've really fallen for this horse, as his character is the exact opposite to 'Jaguar' - the mean streak has been replaced by a kind and accommodating temperament, so grooming no longer represents a survival-level challenge, but youth and constant high-tension has replaced experience and predictability. 'Jaguar' - one of the best friends I've ever had - was an amazing teacher, and his prospective replacement should finish the kids' education as all-round horsemen perfectly.

River Spirit won't be running until the 26th or 27th, so nothing to report on that front for a few more days, and only Joyful Step scheduled to run in Japan over the weekend. One can guarantee a poor result with the latter anyway, so we'll have to rely on River Spirit and Beat The Boarder, who's supposed to be running at TCK next week (2R on the 29th), to give us something worth reporting on.

As for Carrot Club news, Glint Moment has been gelded and is back in training, apparently as an altogether calmer beast, and True Motion is set to return from her R&R session quickly. At last, someone has realized there isn't time to mess about with the 2011 crop. If it doesn't win within the next few weeks, it's gone! With the 2012 horses, they're already talking about timing to send Time For Love to the racing stables, which puts True Motion's predicament into perspective, and Rush Attack should be going for his gate test soon.

Porthos V2

Porthos Du Vallon and Tom Eaves won the 4:25 Class 5 handicap at Ayr yesterday, which is a super result considering they started as the third favourite equipe. Beating the firm favourite by half a length to give me my third UK win in seven weeks, this is supposed to be his last run on the flat, and he'll now begin a second life career as a jumper.

Meanwhile, we can look forward to River Spirit running on in the Class 3 Sky Bet Nursery Handicap at York on the 26th, or the Class 5 Knauf Handicap Stakes at Carlisle on the following day. Both races are over five furlongs, which seems to suit this filly just fine as long as the ground is fast. She's been unlucky not to win in her last couple of outings, so let's hope she gets a kinder rub of the green over the weekend.

TM Update

The jockey report on True Motion's awful run came out straight after I wrote my piece, but didn't make all that much sense to be honest. Anyway, the trainer report clarifies a few things - the usual tale of woe, including high tension in the paddock, high tension in the gate, and bad positioning during the race. Well, the tension can be reduced if the horse gets used to racing situations rather than an outing every full moon, and the positioning problem certainly doesn't explain a loss of 12 lengths - a loss of two or three, maybe, but not 12. At this level of racing, in amongst the no-hopers, that's simply bad preparation. Apparently, TM will now go for a rest and recreation session (surprise, surprise!), and then a decision will be made on the future. Personally, I see no future for the horse whatsoever with things left the way they are. After another lengthy bout of R&R, all that will happen is we'll see a repeat of today's performance. As far as I'm concerned, you either race her in the next available slot, or simply retire her now and stop wasting time and money...

Lazy Afternoon

After working away all morning, it was really nice to have a lazy afternoon playing with Segesta again, who is starting to feel like family already, and I haven't even bought him officially as yet! He was certainly full of beans today, with a walking pace close to a trot, and a trotting pace close to a canter. When Louis took him up to a proper canter, there were thoughts of putting him back on the track. He's got a lovely character, though, and now knows what apple cookies are for. Great news from earlier in the day, too, with Yoshimi claiming the All-Japan title with 'Voyager' - the Thoroughbred Louis will be using in the Junior Championships next month. Congratulations all round!