While I'm waiting for some proper racing in England, I thought I give a summary of the Japanese horses I have a stake in. First off, the JRA/Carrot Club donkeys, with a look at the NAR lot another day when I've calmed down:
Rush Attack: All downhill since August 2015. Last ran in March 2016, with hoof problems delaying a return to the track. No idea when it will ever return (certainly not as quickly as the sickly sweet Carrot Club reports imply if experience with this particular problem is anything to go by), and it feels like we are being used simply to pay for the recovery period until it can be sold following what will inevitably be a bad run when it does finally make a comeback.
Massabielle: Looked unbeatable until a miserable G2 race, followed by a very disappointing G1 debut. Sent to Northern Farm (NF) in October 2015 and came back totally useless five months later. On holiday for 'retraining' since March 2016, by the same people that made the beast useless in the first place, and no sign of it coming back any time soon! The question of why a horse of this calibre should need retraining has never been posed, let alone answered, but a lack of race runs is obviously at the heart of the problem. Now we have a muscle problem on the flanks, too, so another delay meaning the comeback could be months away yet. One really does wonder what the NF staff get paid for!
Belle Plage: Probably the most consistent of the JRA ponies, I suppose she has done enough, and recent poor results set her up nicely for retirement, allowing newcomers from the multitude of new catalogues to take her place.
Larressingle: Was doing well, but now has a "bad back" which, if it's true (and not just an excuse to make space at the stables), means that a 0-3-1-2 record is probably the end of it. In the meantime, we'll keep paying out until the recovery is complete so that someone can pick the horse up for a song at the auctions.
PS. Apparently, according to a new report published after this original piece was written, it will "take time" to get Larressingle back to the race arena. Well, in case no-one has noticed, due to the way Carrot Club works (keeping only winners, regardless of whether it was a worthy or lucky win, while good horses get tossed out if they haven't clocked up a victory), time is running out...
War Chronicle: Born in 2012, yet still only raced six times! On holiday since the end of April, and doubtless will be for months and months still to come. This horse will probably go down in history as the least run nag of all time!
Perfumer: Being kept because of one lucky win in a JRA-NAR joint race following a dismal first outing. Eight months off followed by two joke-level races and one half-decent one, and then another NF holiday since early May. As of the 21st June, that holiday looks like it will continue for a long time.
Infinity Love: Two disgusting outings under Yahagi, in which the horse ran as if it hadn't been trained at all, then a four-month break before a new trainer took it on. It was a fair bit better in its May debut, but we are still waiting for a second run under the new guy's watch. At least it is at a racing stable - the only one of all the JRA 'runners' that is not fading away at Northern Farm.
Somebody once said, why did you buy into so many JRA horses? Well, if you buy into one, you might get three races out of it in a year, simply because there aren't enough meetings for the amount of horses they keep breeding. Not much fun in that, is there? Next up, the NAR collection...
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