Crystal Ball Gazing

Ettie Hart got in some more experience at Lingfield, setting her handicap for the months ahead, and a few more reports have come through on the Japanese runners. Another Door (Sunday TC) had a test at Monbetsu, but so far looks nothing like a 16,000,000 yen horse. It's a bit on the small side for a Vermilion kid as well, so I don't mind admitting that I'm a little worried at this stage. Hopefully the next report will quash those fears, but an awful lot of work needs to be done in the meantime.

After her intensive gate training sessions, War Chronicle has been confirmed to run on the 30th in the Tokyo 7R (it's a tough race, though, it has to be said - I would have liked to have seen a less competitive one chosen considering the need to claw back money for well over a year away from the tracks when you add the injury and gaps between NAR and JRA, et cetera, together), while Belle Plage will hopefully be able to run there on the 7th or 8th, and Perfumer is aiming for a Niigata race on the same weekend (maybe 1600m or 2000m over turf). A bit later, Larressingle is being lined up for Tokyo on the 15th, with Monsieur Lemaire happy to ride her again, so that should be fun. Shine Tiara is in NAR action at the end of the month, and Trovao is being readied for the Tokyo Derby in early June. Some people are suggesting changing the jockey, with Matoba-san's name muttered everywhere, although for me, the jockey has to be Honda-kun; he's the lad that has brought Trovao this far, and so he deserves the ride without any questions as far as I'm concerned.

PS. Poor 'Ted' (Raining Dollars) quite literally had a rough run in Townsville. Racenet predicted a third place for him, but he was pushed into the fence, which completely knocked him out of the running. Like Arnie, though, he'll be back... Masterson will be running on the 6th now, which leaves us with War Chronicle. Well, after a truly awful start (not mad, at least LOL), the eighth place can't be considered too bad in this company. If she gets out again quickly, she might surprise a few if she can handle the gate like a pro next time. A strange week...