Well, I would say "told you so," but that isn't going to change the truly disgusting performance from J'ai Un Reve. If that was an improved horse, then retire it now, as no-one but me will have the balls to change the trainer, and the current one obviously has no interest in it whatsoever. The overwhelming question has to be why run a nag with Montjeu blood on dirt, when Hokkaido has European-style turf? Enough excuses. Somebody's head needs to roll...
The crap continued with Single Cask - a huge 22kg heavier than before, and four months out of circulation. Nothing wrong with the start, and with a straight run and no blocking involved, the awful result (14th) was once again down to a lack of conditioning and nothing else. I guess the horse shall be sent away for another long break now, when what it really needs is to be run. I honestly believe that we would have got better results today - on both occasions - if my 14-year old boy had trained the horses for a month, and my 12-year old daughter had been the jockey. Disgraceful.
PS. As expected, Single Cask will now go on holiday, when what it needs is more outings and some serious training. It couldn't have put on more weight if you'd have fed it on Big Macs, and now the plan is to let it gain more! At least the answer to why foreign trainers are not allowed in JRA has been answered - most of the existing ones would be out of business in no time. Judging by the results obtained by J'ai Un Reve, the Ikee outfit would be one of the first to go. He's been retired - again, as expected. I could a good living as a fortune teller.
Next retirements we can expect are War Chronicle (that should have been retired earlier, in reality), Kalliopeia and Eclat De Reve, which will knock a bit of a hole in the JRA list. Single Cask can go, too, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm not sure where we stand with Perfumer to be honest. Granted, he won a race, but it was an NAR event, and he's registered as a JRA nag - I'm not certain if that counts as a way of keeping him in the game?
PPS. Louis is quite sure that Perfumer is safe, as it was a JRA/NAR race, hence the lack of panic in getting him out again. If that option was open, then why wasn't it used for J'ai Un Reve as soon as the decision to try a dirt race was taken?
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
UK Update
Gandvik was fourth at Windsor with Charlie Bishop on Monday the 17th. He ran well by all accounts, so the good Lord Ilsley was a little disappointed to come away with such a low position compared to his performance. He should be out again in the 5:25 at Leicester on Monday - a seven-furlong Class 5 race.
Meanwhile, Masterson teams up with John Egan in the 6:35 at Salisbury tomorrow - a Class 5 Nursery Handicap Stakes race over a mile. In addition, Ettie Hart is set to make her debut in the 2:20 at Lingfield on the 26th. Fingers crossed! But whatever happens, at least there's always a sense of enjoyment and value attached to the UK scene...
Meanwhile, Masterson teams up with John Egan in the 6:35 at Salisbury tomorrow - a Class 5 Nursery Handicap Stakes race over a mile. In addition, Ettie Hart is set to make her debut in the 2:20 at Lingfield on the 26th. Fingers crossed! But whatever happens, at least there's always a sense of enjoyment and value attached to the UK scene...
JRA Jokers
J'ai Un Reve is in the 3R at Kokura on the 23rd. Talk of "progress" after all this time shouldn't need to be said and needs to be backed up by results. However, there is obviously no vision of victory in the Ikee camp if the jockey selection is anything to go by. I wish the guy luck, but his record is hardly the best, and I'm left wondering what on Earth the trainer is thinking of given the expense involved in securing this horse - you would have thought he'd of at least tried to give the owners a sense of value, instead of a sense of being given the bare minimum. Personally, I don't even feel I've had anywhere near that. I fully expect the announcement of J'ai Un Reve's retirement after what will doubtless be another disappointing run, as I can't honestly see it being suited to dirt. At the end of the day, there seems to be very little effort put into its challenge, that's for sure...
Single Cask is set to run in the 1000m turf sprint at Niigata later in the day, this time with Yutaro Nonaka in the saddle - another no-hoper. Belle Plage will hopefully be out again next week. At least she is blessed with a trainer that cares, hence my support for the chap in another runner for next year (or later this one with luck). There will definitely be no more JRA horses after this one and another of the same age with Yahagi-sensei, though, even if I was given one! The J'ai Un Reve experience, even if the horse had cost a fraction of what it did, really is the final straw.
In reality, I'll have to think hard about the next batch of Carrot Club NAR runners, too, as the value-for-money element becomes very questionable in horses like Million Ways. At least Chocolat Sucre, which was purchased very late, is coming to Nankan, which means I can at least get to see the thing a few times - Million Ways has just eaten money for a year, and its future is still far from assured. Assuming it can get enough money to secure a place in the Minami Kanto area, with what looks like a good deal of luck needed, even with Nankan-level winnings, it has to actually start winning simply to cover its keep.
Single Cask is set to run in the 1000m turf sprint at Niigata later in the day, this time with Yutaro Nonaka in the saddle - another no-hoper. Belle Plage will hopefully be out again next week. At least she is blessed with a trainer that cares, hence my support for the chap in another runner for next year (or later this one with luck). There will definitely be no more JRA horses after this one and another of the same age with Yahagi-sensei, though, even if I was given one! The J'ai Un Reve experience, even if the horse had cost a fraction of what it did, really is the final straw.
In reality, I'll have to think hard about the next batch of Carrot Club NAR runners, too, as the value-for-money element becomes very questionable in horses like Million Ways. At least Chocolat Sucre, which was purchased very late, is coming to Nankan, which means I can at least get to see the thing a few times - Million Ways has just eaten money for a year, and its future is still far from assured. Assuming it can get enough money to secure a place in the Minami Kanto area, with what looks like a good deal of luck needed, even with Nankan-level winnings, it has to actually start winning simply to cover its keep.
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