After the disappointing performance by JEF Utd, it was time to enjoy some horses again, with Hideya Sahara winning the 'Ganbatte Kochi' race that my family sponsors each year. I'm going to make a summer and winter version from next year onwards, as I love this track - it may be poor financially, but it is rich in spirit, and JRA could learn a lot from the wonderful people there...
Pop Label was next up, running in TCK's main race three hours later. He looked good in the paddock, and was really settled until the stalls, when he played up a bit. Fortunately, another horse was late getting into its berth, and Mori-kun had a chance to settle him and make a decent start. It was then nice to see shades of the old Pop Label, who loves a clockwise track, and Mori-kun did a super job of guiding him to second after a good fight with the clear favourite; the third horse was three lengths down, so we have a flyer on our hands again, justifying his juvenile champion status. The only sad thing is I know how much work the team at Funabashi put into him, but Funabashi runs anticlockwise and it just never suited him, so their work was never rewarded. I know for a fact everyone is still following his progress, though. A big "thank you" to both camps.
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