Proud

Despite having a horse in the G1 main race, I didn't bother going to Kawasaki, as I was expecting the usual JRA benefit that always happens at these events - easy pocket money for fat cats that don't need the extra money, while the NAR stables certainly do need it. It's not that the JRA horses are better, and certainly not the trainers in most cases, pound for pound - it's simply the difference in the facilities and the money available to spend on the ponies, on things like feed and general care. Look at the training area at Kawasaki where they raced tonight - a tiny dirt track roughly railed off by the river. If you want an aqua pool, you jump into said river. Treadmills? No. Hill training? Well, you have to walk up an incline to go back to the ageing stables! Still, even that's a lot more than Funabashi and the others have - they train on the race track. The jockeys aren't better either - the vast majority of the current top JRA people are ex-NAR riders or foreigners. Change the situation around, giving the NAR folks state-of-the-art training facilities, and the JRA boys wouldn't stand a chance.

Proof of what I've just said can be seen in the results from a few minutes ago, with NAR jockey Sakai-kun riding a blinder from the off to come third on an NAR horse, and Honda-kun taking Trovao (pictured) to a magnificent fourth after a rough run until the second corner was out of the way. A slightly longer distance - even 50 yards more - and/or smoother early race (not the jockey's fault I should add) and a top three spot was ours for the taking. The winner was a superb ex-NAR jockey, who beat us by 0.4 seconds, and second was Mirco Demuro, who beat us by a tenth of a second! We beat the third and fourth favourites (both JRA) by 0.5 seconds, and both had real class on their backs - Take-san will always be a hero to me, JRA man or not (a one-in-a-million genius that deserves to be compared to Lester), and Uchida-san is one of the best (ex-NAR). Arayama-sensei said we wouldn't be embarrassed, and he was spot-on! We clocked the same last 3F time as the nags that finished first and second, trained in their multi-million dollar environments. I wouldn't mind betting the trucks they arrived in are worth more than most NAR stable blocks, including the land they are on...

In addition, Pop Label put in a miracle-level training time, so looks well and truly back in form - we may yet see a return to the form he showed as a juvenile champion. In the meantime, we have a last chance saloon scenario for Beat The Boarder (long overdue), and maybe Pretty Gully, too, which pulls at the heartstrings a lot more than the loss of the TCK runner.

Courtesy Rika Watanabe

Having lost his number (a hefty insurance bill for each entry with a lot of zeros on the income side made me look carefully at the monthly invoice), I've just realized that J'ai Un Reve sold for joke money, which - as promised - means I'm not buying into the remaining NAR horses whatever happens with the JRA list. As far as I'm concerned, there was no effort whatsoever put into that pony, and I'm fairly sure that was the way things were wanted from the outset to keep the likes of Montjeu out of the desirable sire list in Japan. We wouldn't want any competition, now would we? If it had been given to me (or better still by a hundred times, a proper trainer like Mick Channon), I have no doubt we'd have had ourselves a winner in no time. I don't think anyone could blame me for being annoyed about this episode. Anyway, doing the maths, it just doesn't make financial sense to buy into others, and, right now, with the way I'm feeling, that comes into play a lot more than it used to, even a week ago - although I'm chuffed to bits with Arayama-san and Honda-kun tonight, and proud of what they have done for NAR's image (thanks to some excellent preparation focused on the job in hand, including using Mika-sama's vast experience and skill behind the scenes), the other day's race at Funabashi has made me a lot less inclined to support something blindly. It will take a while for the bitter taste to go away, that's for sure.

Strengthening that resolve, the reports released on the current JRA horses today were full of the usual BS, including a promise of more money down the drain with Tenshinramman and yet more holidays all-round, with only Ogata-sensei making any sense as usual - one of the few real trainers in this inbred organisation that is seemingly there simply to make money for the boys, and ultimately has very little to do with real racing. It's a shame, for with the right management and a change of attitude that would involve making things competitive, killing off a lot of the unwarranted snobbery, and knocking down an ivory tower of gigantic proportions, JRA could be something very special.

As for England, Blacklister (currently 0-3-1) was pulled from the Kempton race as the search for something more suitable continues - Chelmsford on the 21st is looking good at the moment...