Poor Masterson didn't really deliver the goods yesterday (early this morning in my time zone), but in a debut outing, the main thing is to gain experience and come back safely ready for the next battle. In addition, he will have learnt some of the finer points of racing thanks to this race. Post-race inspections revealed no problems. We'll get there...
Meanwhile, later today in Japan, Kalliopeia is in a tough race, while Harmony Fair's retirement would be the best news we can expect looking at the combination of her recent results and her betting price. For anyone interested, Kalliopeia is lined up with Yutaka Yoshida in the 7F at Fukushima, while Harmony Fair teams up with Yoshitomi Shibata in the 9F at the same track; both races are over 2000m of turf.
PS. Both of the JRA horses did better than expected, although the results on paper are nothing to write home about. Kalliopeia's jockey was marking a nag that simply didn't go, so the pair got dropped early on. The seventh place came courtesy of a super finishing straight performance, indicating that this one still has a chance to improve. Harmony was ninth, but her run was blocked at a crucial point, just as she was starting to move nicely, and then she had to play catch-up for the second half of the race as a result. I think a decision is being made as soon as she gets back to the stables to see if she can run straight away in a last-ditch attempt at victory, or retire her if she needs a rest. Personally, I feel Harmony has had more than enough chances already, but today was damned unlucky rather than a failing in the horse. As such, I'm happy either way, although one more chance would be my limit.
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