Wobbly Wesults

Well, this has to be my worst day of race results ever. Finishing last, J'ai Un Reve ran like a donkey - totally unprepared for the track, and even the jockey said so, which is unusual, as they usually try and safeguard their position (even more so amongst the lesser ranks, and this guy is hardly a headline name in the JRA trade). I have to raise the question: If stamina is a problem, why enter a 2200m race? Two things are for sure - never again will I buy into an expensive horse in Japan, and never again will I have anything to do with Ikee Stables, as my experience with them so far has been incredibly disappointing.

Irish Harp then screwed up her race, although control issues seemed to be at the heart of the problem. Watching the race, I wondered what on Earth the jockey was playing at, as there was no way to move forward in the positions I saw on screen. It appears the horse was constantly pulling to the side, which is what caused the poor positioning, and ultimately the poor finish. That aside, the speed wasn't so bad, so perhaps a quick return to the track might just give us a decent result on the flipside.

Then, just to finish off a perfect day (which is exactly what you need when your mind is at rock-bottom anyway!), even Pretty Gully and Sonja Wiseman failed to perform in Australia. I have a feeling I know what the problem is, although I've not had a post-race report as yet. Unlike those behind J'ai Un Reve, though, I have confidence in the JLH team, and I know Pretty Gully will be back in the winner's circle.

By the way, all the English horses - run by professionals driven by passion, I might add - now have names, so we can start doing the profiles over the coming few days...

PS. Everyone seems very pleased with Pretty Gully's finish, so, as I said, there's no real need to worry on that one. The problem, as always, lies with the JRA horses - I have very little faith in the ability of Ikee Stables to turn things around, while Irish Harp seems to be past her best. As yet, there are no trainer reports on either JRA nag - I guess the Ikee outfit will have to dig deep to find an excuse for a performance that ranks alongside that of my worst horse ever, but at least cost six times less money!

PPS. Irish Harp is being lined up for Hokkaido work, as happened last year. As for Ikee, the stable still couldn't be bothered to make a comment, confirming the obvious lack of interest in anything but the continued flow of money. At least Carrot Club's tone was far from impressed, instead of making a feeble excuse and saying everything is fine; a health check has been mentioned. Whatever, things need to improve big time as far as J'ai Un Reve is concerned. 

Nice Start

Courtesy Realta HRC

Danielle's Journey (pictured here) made a nice start to her jumping career, picking up a handy third place on her hurdles debut against a classy field of 11, and in front of Prince Charles no less. One has to be pleased with this result - I certainly am... While we finished ten lengths down on the winner (the hot favourite), we beat the last one in by around 70 lengths! Now 'DJ' can have a break for a while, and attention will turn to A Touch Of Sparkle in Ireland.

Two runners are expected for JRA duty on the 23rd - J'ai Un Reve in the 6R 2200m turf race at Niigata with Hishida-san in the saddle, and Irish Harp in the 7R 1400m dirt race at Kyoto with Kitamura-san at the controls. Pretty Gully might run in Australia at the weekend, too, and on the NAR front, Phosphorus is being lined up for the Kawasaki meeting starting in the week beginning the 8th June, and Pop Label for the next Funabashi meet.

PS. The two JRA runners have been confirmed, and Pretty Gully will be strutting her stuff at Mackay in Australia as well... The only other bit of news at this stage is that after some jaded thought I've decided to give up my share in Tempai.

DJ To Jump

Danielle's Journey will indeed be running at Sligo on Wednesday, teaming up with Andrew E. Lynch in the opener, which is a Maiden Hurdle race over two miles. It should be a super bit of experience, preparing her for the next season over the jumps...

In other news, Trovao is due to take his race proficiency test on the 9th June, so could be in NAR action at Monbetsu in the very near future. All the current JRA reports relate to treadmill work, which is hardly something new!

Ummm...

Harmony Fair was a disappointing tenth at Tokyo-Fuchu today - never really looking as if  she was ever going to trouble even the midfielders. As usual, excuses abound, with the only part of the post-race report that rang true being that Harmony is better suited to turf than dirt. Well, that's always been a known fact. I honestly don't know why on Earth this horse is still being kept on the Carrot Club books, as it's simply a waste of time and money.

At least Belle Plage put in a good solid performance, coming fifth in another Black Type race. I don't think we could have asked for more on the day, and look forward to the next outing. The third entrant today - Danielle's Journey - was declared a non-runner due to concerns over the going. She might still run at Sligo on Wednesday, though.

The kids did well enough, especially considering that 'Bugatti' was not particularly co-operative today, picking up a very close second and a third. Sophie's blue ribbon yesterday means three podium finishes and a couple of nice trophies for the weekend's work.