Hero

Masashige Honda was a hero once again, coming second in the S1 Haneda Hai tonight - we only lost by a neck, finishing hard and closing fast, so the victor will have a real fight on his hands as the longer distance will suit us better in the Tokyo Derby on the 8th June. Arayama-sensei did a super job on the preparation side, it has to be said, and I think we can look forward to the biggest race of the NAR Nankan year with a fair bit of confidence given today's performance; the third-placed nag was two lengths down. Although we didn't win, given the break in racing before today, we can come away from TCK happy bunnies, that's for sure - good job, Mar-kun! Balances the Rush Attack report, too...

Next up was Ettie Hart at Catterick in a Class 5 race for fillies only over seven furlongs, with Graham Gibbons in the saddle. We clocked up a solid fifth place, getting her new flat season underway in what was basically a practice run. We have Blacklister at Beverley tomorrow, with a good chance of a win with Ryan Moore at the controls.