Belle Plage V2

This filly is becoming a seriously good racehorse. She started the race at Sapporo as favourite (at amazing 1.3:1 odds!), and proved people's confidence in her with a super two-and-a-half length win that simply left those behind her coughing in the sand she'd kicked up.

Courtesy Carrot Club

My best JRA horse of old, Tenshinramman, currently has a 2-2-1 record, while Belle Plage has now clocked up a 2-3-0 record, despite entering less races. OK, she doesn't have GII history like 'Tenny' as yet, but I wonder how far this beautiful little lady can go? I guess we'll just have to wait and see, but another jump in Class seems perfectly feasible at this stage. In the meantime, congratulations to Katsuura-san, the jockey, and all those involved behind the scenes!

This is a special win, for it's my 20th so far. Let's see how River Spirit can do in England tomorrow - she's running in the 4:40 at Leicester with Sam Hitchcott in the saddle...

Locomotion

True Motion was fourth this morning, in a race that really didn't go her way. Tanabe-san says she's capable of winning, but the dash from the gate was slightly off (meaning those outside her had to be let go), and to avoid the sand being kicked up in her face, a deliberately wide line was taken, which possibly also cost precious split-seconds. If everything fell in the right place at the right time, I have no doubt she'd be finishing further up the field, for she's finished fourth three times in her six races - it's fair to say that her 0-0-0-6 record really doesn't do her justice. But the cold, hard figures are there for reference, and they don't lie...

Balls

Glint Moment kept up his ridiculously poor momentum, despite now being a gelding. In a race of 16 horses, he was the only male, and still managed to finish 15th! Okay, the jockey's job may have got a little easier, but what all the positive vibes are about, I shall never know. A good start is one thing, a decent first half is another, but what really counts is the second half of the race - there was no change of pace, and nothing left in the tank at the end. The last 3F time was 3.3 seconds slower than that of the winner, and the second slowest of the complete field. If I wasn't so tired after 15 hours of work, the talk about him dirt racing would probably make me laugh - as it is, I simply have a dull feeling, as if I've just listened to a very bad joke or one of the current crop of corny pop groups, and I'm just amazed that a future is even being banded about. As far as I'm concerned, after finishing 18 lengths down on the victor (a filly that had gone nine races without a win!), there isn't a single thing to celebrate. Perhaps if it was still February or March, there may be some hope. Frankly, being this late in the season, with new two-year old horses making their debut and a new Carrot Club yearling catalogue sitting on the table, if it was up to me, he'd be retired on the spot!

Popping Along

Progress with Pop Label! Funayama-san, his groom, has reported he's almost back to what's expected of a juvenile champion, so 'Pop' will indeed be taking his ability test on the 9th September as originally planned. That's good news, and if the cooler weather continues, I can't wait to see a good result...

Wet Weekend

Three JRA runners have been confirmed for the weekend, with Glint Moment running in the seventh race (1800m dirt) at Kokura with Yuichi Kitamura, and True Motion suddenly being booked for the 2R at Niigata on the following day; Tanabe-san steps up for duty, as usual. Then we have Belle Plage at Sapporo on the 31st. She'll be going up in class in the 1700m dirt 8R, so Katsuura-san will have his work cut out. Meanwhile, Joyful Step is down as a "maybe" for next week.

Over in the UK, we mentioned River Spirit being booked for Leicester on the 1st. Well, now she's also lined up for the 6:20 on the AW track at Kempton Park on the 2nd as a back-up. I'll keep you posted as soon as an entry firms up - a lot depends on the weather...

BTB V2

Beat The Boarder and Shun Ishizaki teamed up to give me my 19th win at TCK today, and a brilliant win it was, too! Starting as fifth favourite, Shun-kun got out the gate nicely and swiftly took up a perfect position for what amounts to a textbook victory in which only one other horse troubled the filly. She'd lost 10kg, which worried me at first, as she's a slight little thing as it is, but it turns out she was just right today, and I'm very impressed with her mental ability - the way she handled a crowded last corner to come through hard and strong was nothing short of superb! Congratulations to all involved!

That's gone a long way towards making up for yesterday's disappointment with Porthos Du Vallon. In other news, heavy rain equals soft ground, which equals no race for River Spirit on the 28th. Instead, she's been entered in the 4:10 at Leicester on the 1st September, which is the Class 6 Cropston Nursery Handicap Stakes over five furlongs. Win number 20 coming up? Meanwhile, Time For Love has gone for a little holiday, and J'ai Un Reve has also been released for some R&R until a minor hoof problem sorts itself out. About the only other thing worth mentioning is that the trainer wants to give Harmony Fair another run. I'll keep you posted...

Major Downer

I don't know whether I should be surprised or not, but it has just been announced that Porthos Du Vallon will not be running tomorrow after all. Apparently, there's been a problem at the stable, and although it's sorted, he won't be fit in time. He'll be fit enough to go to auction on the 3rd September, though, and maybe even do a flat race in-between now and the sales. Okay. Whichever way you look at it, we're back to square one with the lack of a jumper...