Food For Thought

California Chrome cost $30,000 (3,500,000 yen) and won the $10m main race in Dubai, while Japan is jumping up and down with joy at the fact that Real Steel, costing 80,000,000 yen (or 2,000,000 yen for a 1/40th share), won the earlier $6m race with "the best jockey in the world" on his back. Interesting, isn't it? Of course, it will be used as another Deep Impact coup, keeping his stud fees sky-high, when in reality, everything is carefully crafted to keep things that way anyway - we always hear about the victories, but there are a lot of folks out there who have been burnt. A lot of it - especially in Japan's JRA scene - is down to luck, regardless of trainer names and bloodlines. Generally speaking, if they get that good horse and things go well, they do well, otherwise they fail miserably...

While I'm in moaning mode, in readiness for Massabielle's run later today, I am also saddened by the way the Japanese media has gone wild over Japan's "first lady jockey in 16 years." She now has a nice little contract with a promotion company that will make sure she stays on the front pages, in much the same way as Ryo Ishikawa did in golf (and look how useless he went), and still has yet to win a race. I say that in the knowledge that she has won two NAR races, for they obviously don't count. I mean, Mai Beppu has nearly 600 NAR wins under her belt and is still going strong - strong enough to beat the girl in question by a long way when they met last week - and yet her fantastic achievements don't seem to be recognized. Or those of Rui, Mayu, Aoi, Chiaki, Akane (now retired), or even Maki, who is now a damned good trainer; there were others, too, in days gone by - two of whom being personal friends of mine. It's a sad reflection on JRA when the girl gets promoted to the hilt, simply so that they can say "yes, we have lady riders, too," when the NAR girls have been there for years, fighting hard in a lot tougher conditions, and places like England and Australia are full of top-flight lady jockeys. To make such a big thing of it in 2016 just shows how far behind Japan is as a society. Who knows, maybe in another 16 years, we'll have a foreign trainer over here? Somehow, I doubt it!