Reasons To Be Cheerful

After 'Bugatti' got rid of some stress, first throwing Sophie (she held on really well for a long time, but he went loopy with a combination of pent-up tension due to the bad weather delaying training, and flies pestering him) before running round and round in circles for literally about two miles in all, he had a good session. I'm pleased, too, with the way Sophie handled the situation - smiling, patting 'Bugatti' when he finally decided to stop, and getting straight back on without any signs of angst. She really has matured into a superb horseman over these last few months, as no-one short of a rodeo star would have stayed on today, and the recovery was magnificent, despite the dented pride and dirty jodhpurs...

Next up was Infinity Love's race, and I have to say, although tenth place was nothing special on paper, it was a marked improvement. Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a different horse to the nag Yahagi fielded and duly walked away from - in stark contrast to a those initial outings, this one looked as if it had been trained! Four months earlier, with the same going on the same track and Yutaka Take in the saddle for the same distance (plus the same 470kg at the weigh-in), the time was 1:37.4, while today, with a jockey that has only won 15 times before, the time was 1:35.7; the winning margin was cut from 1.5 down to 0.9 seconds, too. Add in the fact that the Deep Impact horse from the Ikee stable, ridden by Mirco Demuro, was only 0.2 seconds ahead and actually 0.1 seconds slower over the last three furlongs and, given the race-rust which would have hindered progress, I think we have a right to expect an even better finish next time. For now, well done, Watanabe-san!

In England, Masterson was fifth, but we have a lot more UK racing to come in the week (including a big event for Sayesse, and the possibility of a novice hurdle for Masterson, which would be very exciting), along with Phosphorus at Urawa. If the latter race goes ahead, it would be my first ever runner at the Saitama track.