Blacklister was a fine second at Kempton Park on Wednesday, narrowly beaten by a short-head. This poor little horse has come so close so many times, needing just a touch of luck to be a major contender. We should hear about a fifth horse with Mick Channon and his family soon, and that's something to be happy about.
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| Courtesy Carrot Club |
On the other hand, there's nothing happening on the JRA front, as the one race that was lined up was more overbooked than an Elvis concert in the 1970s, so we hadn't got a chance. Typical JRA - too many horses, not enough races! Also typical excuses and a lack of common-sense regarding Irish Harp - a horse that ran constantly with Sugai-sensei, but is now mysteriously tired after one race in three-in-a-half months. From past experience, we know this horse also doesn't like travel, so why think about going to a distant track when a local one is available? And, if the last race tells us anything, it goes the right way around, too. Pathetic. Half of the JRA trainers, probably more, don't deserve to be called trainers at all. Thank god for NAR...
PS. On the subject of NAR, War Chronicle had a very easy start-to-finish win at Nagoya, claiming victory by an almost laughable margin (five lengths to second, without a single crack of the whip, and another seven to third). Wait a minute, that's not supposed to happen according to Irish Harp's trainer - a horse needs months and months between races apparently. Leaving them out of action for too long simply makes them forget what they're supposed to do on the track!
PPS. Nice cover on Eclipse
magazine this month, with Trovao stealing the limelight.
