Oh Boy!

Courtesy Carrot Club

Well, what can I say? Perfumer (right) started as favourite, which was frankly shocking, got sand in his face, which would have been the end of the story going by his debut run, and then finished like a trooper to win by two lengths. In reality, Yoshihara-kun timed the race to perfection to give the Long family its 29th win - the 12th in NAR, and 23rd in Japan as a whole. Well done to one and all. In particular, my thanks to the trainer for applying some real thought to the entry - the long journey was certainly worthwhile...

Ironically, Phosphorus started as favourite at Kawasaki and came a disappointing eighth. At the end, Shun-kun just cruised in, as he knew there was no chance. It wasn't his fault - the start was screwed up by a horse that didn't want to go in the gate, and once everyone was in, the starter opened the gates at the worst possible time for our nag. Ultimately, a worse start would have been hard to imagine, and in the ultra-competitive B3 Class, there's no room for error. He will be back, though - of that, there's no doubt.

Starting as second favourite, poor Blacklister couldn't do any better than fourth today in the UK, although the winner was a very firm favourite. It's early days with this one, though, and I'm quite sure his third run will be something to watch out for. For now, time for me to hit the sack!