Poor Trovao was second at Monbetsu tonight, but definitely deserved the win, even though I do say so myself. From the start, the favourite had the inside line, and just held it, while Trovao had to fight from the outside, constantly kept wide, which takes its toll over 1700m. And that last furlong was epic - had an adjustment not been made necessary by an Orfevre moment, the race was ours. At least the future looks interesting with this one - a 1-2-0 record from three outings so far, and a mile looks perfect for this fighting horse...
As things stand at the moment, next up is Masterson in England, scheduled to run with Paul Hanagan in the saddle in the 2:55 at Bath on the 13th over a mile and two furlongs, while Beat The Boarder gives us our next Japan race, running in the 1600m 5R at TCK on the 18th. Not convinced the distance is right for this tiddler, but if it stays dry for a while, that might just put us in with a chance.
As for the JRA scene, Belle Plage should be out next week, while Tenshinramman is supposed to be back out in October. The big news, though, is Massabielle being lined up for the Kobe Shimbun Hai race at Hanshin on the 27th September; Tosaki-kun has already been requested as the pilot for this 2400m G2 turf race.
Meanwhile, War Chronicle has obviously never really recovered from an early injury, which is a shame, as this particular horse showed a lot of promise in its debut. However, while myself and another shareholder said she should have been retired there and then, allowing her an easier life as a riding horse or broodmare, eight months - and money - were wasted trying to get the thing back into raceworthy condition without even a glimmer of success. The plan is now to give her an NAR outing (a third race) to see if she can revive her career, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen judging by her last race.
PS. No decision on what to do next with Trovao, but my own thoughts would be to finish the Hokkaido campaign now and let the horse mature a little more - both mentally and physically - ready for a Nankan career, preferably based at Funabashi. Rather than chasing a few short-term pennies, if this one is handled properly, it has the potential to go far in the long-term.
