Million Ways V1

Million Ways did the business, coming out of a tight pack to inch ahead and claim its first victory (and my 33rd), as well as enough in winnings to secure a berth in the Nankan scene. Good job! Raining Dollars has been confirmed for Saturday at Bowen, too - it would be nice to see him win one, as he has so much potential. Wearing blinkers for the first time and Jeff Felix in the saddle might make the difference for us...

Eclat De Reve has been confirmed for the 7R at Kokura, but on the 5th, meaning a mixed race instead of a fillies only one. We can expect her retirement straight after, I imagine. For now, time for a  beer to celebrate Million Ways' super run, and a future in the Kanto area.

PS. Raining Dollars came third, which is great - a top three finish is always nice to see, taking his record to 0-2-2. He's pictured here after the finish thanks to Jenny Felix - the jockey's wife, and sister to JLH Racing trainer Jo Hassett (the lovely lady seen on the right). 

On the other hand, Eclat De Reve was tenth and never really in with a shout. Okay, there were still eight horses behind it, but the nine ahead are the key point. At its lightest ever, and with results getting worse with each race, this pony will never do anything more than make up the numbers in JRA and should be retired, unless a dirt sprint is contemplated - something more in tune with the horse's frame. Even then, with a start like today's, there's still no chance of getting the required win, so we may as well call it a day now...

PPS. Eclat De Reve has indeed been retired, meaning we now have the same number of NAR runners as JRA ones. We can bank on losing a couple more JRA horses soon, which will get the balance right. Meanwhile, Ettie Hart has been pulled from the Windsor race as LIR has decided to wait for something more suitable for her, so it's Trovao that gives us our next race. Unfortunately, as so often happens, we've drawn the outside gate!

News Round-Up

Irish Harp is moving to the Kikuzawa Stable at Miho TC, meaning she will run in the Kanto area a little more. Her time with Sugai-sensei was a good one, though, and much appreciated - owners certainly got a lot more value from him than J'ai Un Reve owners did from Ikee!

Million Ways is due to run tomorrow (on the 3rd) at Monbetsu in a 1200m race, teaming up with Kanichiro Fujii in the 4:15. Fujii-san is also scheduled to handle Trovao for us in a 1700m NAR race at the same track on the 9th. Looking a bit further ahead, Beat The Boarder is scheduled to run at TCK in the middle of September.

Meanwhile, Eclat De Reve should run at JRA Kokura on the 6th in a 2000m turf race, Raining Dollars is expected to run in Australia at the weekend, and Ettie Hart is due to run in the 2:20 at Windsor in the UK on Monday the 7th.

Shine Tiara

Courtesy Carrot Club

Shine Tiara is a bay filly, bought on the last day of sales before the 2014 crop went up on the Carrot Club website. Her sire was Casino Drive, who won four races from eight starts, and comes from the loins of the hugely successful Mineshaft, who brought together the DNA of Seattle Slew (via A.P. Indy), Secretariat and Mr Prospector, while his dam, Better Than Honour, was sired by Deputy Minister and can boast Blushing Groom (by Red God) as her damsire.

This pretty newcomer's dam was Sunday TC horse, Princess Dolce (with a 2-4-3 record from four seasons) by Admire Vega. This brings in my treasured Hail To Reason blood via Sunday Silence, as well as that of Tony Bin and Northern Dancer. Kris is the damsire, with Katies (the grandmother of Princess Dolce) being of special interest to me, as this four-time winner gave birth to Ukon, who Louis used to ride occasionally, along with the legendary Hishi Amazon.

It's very doubtful she will run in Hokkaido at this late stage, so let's hope she comes straight to the Nankan scene, preferably at Funabashi. Wouldn't it be nice if she could be placed with Harita-san's new stable! Anyway, as the first live foal from Princess Dolce, it will be interesting to watch her progress.

Numbers Game

Looks like both Pretty Gully and Raining Dollars will be continuing in Australia for another year (the big fella will hopefully be out at the weekend), while the Irish pair are warming up ready for a new National Hunt season. Meanwhile, the five English flat racers with Mick Channon are going well, and providing all the entertainment I thought they would, if not more.

As for the Japan scene, you may have noticed a few more changes at the foot of the page, including a newcomer (a last minute purchase from the 2013 NAR crop before sales finish), and the details of the 2014 Carrot Club horse I'm after. Its sale has not been confirmed as yet, but I don't think there will be hoards after the nag, so I reckon we can be safe in adding it to the list. I'll do a proper profile on the 2013 horse (called Shine Tiara) in the next few days, and a quick preview of the 2014 one to get a rough idea of its bloodlines before it is named. We can then cover both 2014 NAR additions properly at a later date once they've been registered as racers...