Bittersweet

Chocolat Sucre was a bit unfortunate to only come away with a third place finish on Friday morning. The result can be squarely put down to a dreadful exit from the gate (probably caused by the lengthy delay in getting them all loaded, as we were first in!), giving the winning horse an incredible margin on which to capitalize, and forcing Mori-kun all the way around the outside. To come from the back and pass so many other horses showed good spirit, though, and the next race should be fun to watch. Such a pretty horse, but a monster inside!

Phosphorus (pictured) had a bit of a disaster. I watched him walking across from the stables to the paddock area, and he was in ultra-high tension mode, prancing and kicking out his back legs like he was the model for the Buckaroo game! In reality, he'd kind of peaked by the time he made the gate. In the race itself, having made a rough start, Kota adjusted his pace at one point as a necessity, but a pull on the reins is a sign to stop as far as 'Phos' is concerned. In the end, Kota cruised him in at the back, allowing him to fight another day, with Phosphorus in the kind of condition that would have allowed him to enter the next race. He'll be out again soon, you can bet your life on that. In fact, knowing the way Yano-sensei works, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he turns up at the Kawasaki meeting next week...

News just in: A Touch Of Sparkle should be out for her third race at Tramore on the 26th, while Danielle's Journey is set to race in February with any luck to try and revive the Cheltenham dream. Despite the trainer's positive attitude, I'm not sure whether it can be done beyond a paper exercise at this stage (a lot of things that can usually be factored in to maximize chances have to be left to luck as a lack of time and the need for a quick result is now the driving force), which is annoying as she should have been able to qualify with ease had we not been needlessly disqualified at Down Royal.

Blacklister is up next, when hopefully he will get a bit of luck for the first time in his career and deliver a first win on his own record sheet and my 40th. He certainly deserves the victor's spoils, and stands a lot more chance of securing them than Infinity Love, who runs in Japan on Sunday!