Promise Shown

Courtesy Carrot Club

Million Ways (pictured) was a bit disappointing in his Nankan debut, finishing seventh, but there were plenty of lessons learnt, and from what I saw in the early stages of the race, I have confidence that this horse will come good if we keep giving it track experience. The gate exit (and mature attitude in it) was fine, with a good turn of speed all the way through to the final two furlongs, when the tongue moved and destroyed the horse's breathing. This can be cured quite easily, and I reckon when the necessary fix is combined with lighter track conditions over a similar distance (1200m), Million Ways will show his potential and do justice to his Vermilion bloodlines. He'll be out again in the middle of February.

Next up is Chocolat Sucre tomorrow, making a full debut (there was no Monbetsu campaign with this one) with Mori-kun in the saddle. Kota Motohashi has been confirmed for Phosphorus later in the day. With the pair back in training together in the morning, it will be nice to see these two back in a winning partnership. Soon after, Blacklister should be running with John Egan at Lingfield in England on Saturday, hoping for a bit of luck for once, Infinity Love and Iwata-san team up at Chukyo on Sunday (JRA), although I don't really rate their chances over a longer distance (over dirt to boot!) given the last outing. I hope I'm proved wrong, of course, and the experience will be a good thing anyway, whatever the race scenario. Meanwhile, Shine Tiara has been pencilled in to run on the 26th at Kawasaki (NAR). With Konno-san at the controls, it should be a race well worth watching.