Ferrari?

Louis was in L1 action with 'Bugatti' yesterday and today - no medals, but good, solid performances on both days, and a masterful piece of riding when the wild one decided to quite literally mimic the Ferrari badge, standing right up! It drew a few gasps from the crowd, but thankfully he was able to laugh it off.

Sophie picked up a blue ribbon (gold) in her dressage category, a reward for her improving form - at last close to what it was a year ago. 'Jaguar' was a big lad, but 'Bugatti' is bigger still, and a whole lot more powerful - it's been a tough learning curve for Sophie. Tomorrow, she can relax, with both horse and rider having a bit of fun in a gymkhana. Rush Attack is out at Nakayama at about the same time, too. Good luck to them both...

Kealoha

Courtesy Sunday TC

This second Sunday Thoroughbred Club horse, now named Kealoha, should also be based at Funabashi, although it will probably start its career in Hokkaido if it's an early riser. Judging by the weight of him in his last report (already over 500kg), he could well be making a quick debut.

Like Magic Key, he has impeccable bloodlines, being sired by Kane Hekili, who won virtually everything there was to win in NAR circles, clocking up 12 wins from 23 starts. Kane Hekili is by Fuji Kiseki, who was an undefeated two-year old champion, out of Life Out There, an unraced broodmare who brings together Deputy Minister and Mr Prospector blood.

On the dam side, we have Beyond My Reach as the mother. Now although she was far from remarkable as a racer herself (0-0-0-7), she does boast Wild Rush as her father (featured in the last profile), and She's Princess as her mother. The latter picked up a 2-4-1 record from nine starts, and carries Native Dancer and The Minstrel DNA, which is a real bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Magic Key

Courtesy Sunday TC

Like the Vermilion kid that I was after, this Sunday Thoroughbred Club horse was also very heavily oversubscribed, so I feel very lucky to have got a share in this particular filly. Why was she so popular? Well, there was a certain horse we waved goodbye to the other day called Clave Secreta. She had won 12 races when she retired, including a good few big ones, and was a true heroine in NAR circles. Magic Key is a full sister to Clave, meaning she has the same mother and father...

Her sire is Wild Rush, an American-registered horse with G1 wins in amongst his eight total victories. He was fathered by Wild Again, with an 8-7-4 record, and a win in the Breeders' Cup Classic behind him. In his bloodlines, we have Icecapade (13 wins), who was out of Shenanigans, the mother of Ruffian, and Khaled in the dam line - the Aga Khan's horse that sired Swaps. On Wild Rush's dam side, we have Rose Park (4-3-10) by multiple G1 winner, Plugged Nickle, out of Hardship. She, like her mother before her, had a strong record (ten wins between them), and carried on the DNA of Drone, who had four wins from four starts and became an excellent broodmare sire, or BMS.

The dam of Magic Key is Secret Room, who picked up a 2-4-3 record from 24 JRA starts. Her father was Taiki Shuttle - a horse that won all manner of sprint races in Japan, and is by the unbeaten Devil's Bag, a combination of fiery Halo (Hail To Reason) DNA, and that of Herbager, who won the French Derby. There is also a trace of Nijinsky blood via Caerleon and Welsh Muffin, the latter seeming to crop up quite often in the Long family line-up. Secret Room's mother was G3 runner Ribot's Secret (I love that name!) by Prince Khalid Abdullah's famous horse, Danehill, while Damascus is also brought into the equation - a US Hall of Fame member that won 21 races, bagging the Preakness and Belmont Stakes along the way, but only managing a third place in the Kentucky Derby and narrowly missing out on the Triple Crown as a result.

This beauty will eventually make her way to Funabashi, and while there's no guarantees, if she's only half as good as Clave was, I shall be a happy bunny...

Diary Dates

Having started work at 4:30 this morning, and by hardly stopping at all thereafter, I got a good 14 hours at the computer in today. Thanks to that crazy spurt - which I can't believe I used to consider as being something normal - I'm now on top of a problem project that has dragged on and on, and can at last see the end in sight. With any luck, another week or so, and I can get my life back just long enough to  have a few minutes rest before I start the next project!

Anyway, I'll just jot down a few dates for forthcoming races. Rush Attack is up first, running in the 1800m dirt race at Nakayama on the 8th, with Kosei Miura in the saddle. The following weekend will hopefully see a pair of nags at Nakayama on the 14th - Perfumer in an 1800m dirt run for debutantes, and Harmony Fair in a similar race for older horses. Further along the line, Irish Harp is being lined up for a 1400m dirt outing at Chukyo on the 21st, although Massabielle joins his mates on holiday. The only difference, of course, is 'Massa' has earned the break...

On the NAR front, both Phosphorus and Pop Label are entered for the 1800m 10R at Funabashi on the 11th. Now this will be an interesting one! Not sure who is riding 'Phos' as yet, but Keita Tosaki is signed up for Pop Label. After that, Beat The Boarder should be running at TCK in the middle of the month. And finally, Danielle's Journey has been pencilled in to run on the 17th at Down Royal - there's another one to look forward to, that's for sure.