Half A Second

Despite having to change jockeys at the last minute, Time For Love had a pleasing debut, finishing seventh, but only 0.5 seconds down on the well-fancied winner. She got out the gate well enough, held her line well, and showed decent speed at the finish - if she hadn't had to adjust a couple of times on the run-in, this could have been a much better result. As such, this was a good showing overall, and her performance definitely provides the trainer with something to build on...

If you want to watch a video of Time For Love's debut, to see if you agree with my assessment, just follow this link: http://jra/201402040706. She's number 5, with Norihiro Yokoyama in the saddle, who was named as the replacement jockey earlier this morning.

Calm Before The Storm

All quiet on the Eastern Front at the moment, with just one runner this weekend - Time For Love makes her debut in the 6R at Niigata on the 23rd, with Makoto Sugihara taking the reins in this 1400m turf race. After that, hopefully Porthos runs in England on the 25th, with Beat The Boarder pencilled in for NAR action at Tokyo on the following day. Beyond that, River Spirit should be out at Ffos Las on the 28th in the Class 5 Jubilee Park Nursery Handicap Stakes over five furlongs, and Glint Moment is being lined up for an 1800m turf race at Kokura on the 30th, and that's about it.

With the extreme heat we're having in Japan right now, most of the trainers are keeping horses away from the track. However, for some of those less likely to thrive, it could also be a good chance for them to get into a weaker field. One can also bet all the JRA races will be heavily oversubscribed the minute a cooler breeze blows through, and without a priority rating, some of those struggling - like Joyful Step, and even all my Carrot Club four-year olds nowadays - may not even get a berth in the gate.

Way Too Hot

I'm glad we decided to give 'Bugatti' a day off today - the heat has been ridiculous all day, and although you'd think he hadn't been exercised for weeks every time you drag him out of the stable, you do wonder when he's eventually going to show signs of tiredness given his heavy schedule. We shall see what he's like tomorrow - probably bouncing off the walls in hyper mode if past experience is anything to go by...

At the other end of the scale, most of the important Carrot Club horses are on holiday. Belle Plage might do something in a couple of weeks, and there are thoughts of racing Single Cask in September. Bad news on J'ai Un Reve, who may have a leg problem - not what you want to hear on a 80,000,000 yen horse! Time For Love should be making her debut at Niigata on Saturday in the 1400m turf race; Makoto Sugihara jumps into the saddle, as he seems to know her difficult character better than most, having trained with her on several occasions.

Courtesy Sunday TC

Shadai Thoroughbred Club's Phosphorus is in training, but not due to come back to Funabashi until the end of September, while on the Sunday Thoroughbred Club front, Pop Label (pictured) is having an injection course to fix a loose bit of bone, so will miss the test scheduled for the 9th as a result. Better safe than sorry. He looks good when he's running, though, so the future is still promising! Finally, Beat The Boarder is out on the 26th August, racing in the 1500m 4R at TCK in Tokyo.

PS. Thursday morning, and sure enough, Louis has just qualified as a rodeo rider! Now he's settled in his new home, 'Bugatti' is definitely getting better, but when he goes, he goes!

Turn-Up For The Books

With things having gone quiet on the Porthos Du Vallon front, and talk of him being put in an auction at the beginning of September, I'd assumed that was the end of my run with him. Well, he's now been entered in a Maiden Junior Hurdle race over two miles at Cartmel in the north of England on the 25th August; Wilson Renwick has been named as the jockey in the meeting's 2R. Whether Porthos does any good or not is irrelevant - by running him, he will be my first jumper to race, and that alone will complete a dream, on what happens to be my birthday.

Jumping For Joy

No, that's definitely not a reference to my weekend's racing results, as you'll have probably gathered if you tune in on a regular basis - it refers to today's jumping debut for young 'Bugatti', and, at the end of it all, once again, he's amazed me with a combination of his enthusiasm, his natural ability and the desire to please his new family.

Tacking him up, and with the intention of simply breaking up his training programme to keep him interested, we joked about entering him in a show-jumping competition scheduled for November. Well, it now looks as if he will indeed be entered, doing dressage on Saturday and jumping on Sunday! I don't think we can expect any finesse or subtlety - just raw, explosive power in the same vein as 'Jaguar', bless him. Magnificent!