Another Disaster

Another Door has got a new name from me - Another Disaster, which replaces my previous moniker, Another Dud. Today, we found a different excuse for a pathetic failure (which takes some doing as we must have used most of them in the book), this time being a gate problem. Indeed, it reared up in the stalls, and damaged its back thigh (apparently), although the starters were poor in their response to the situation, allowing the horse to stay in the gates for too long, 'AD' getting more and more uptight with every passing second.

The horse was duly withdrawn, along with the nag next to it, meaning another week of no income, another big bill (despite the horse being stationed at Northern Farm - not even a racing stable, which is frankly unbelievable for a pony that cost as much as it did, and could be part of the reason it can't run!), and an uncertain future. If it is injured, it should be retired on the spot, as it is nothing more than a drain on finances, even when it is racing. It has no right to be called a racehorse - a rip-off is closer to the mark, and even that is being kind.

Still no report on Phosphorus (16 days now, which probably means bad news), and no sign of anything happening with Magic Key (last run in January!), Pop Label or Kealoha either. Oh that's surely a lie, as there must be something happening, because the owners get landed with an inflated 400,000 yen bill for each of them month - the only element of the Shadai TC and Sunday TC racing experience guaranteed not to fail! I've never seen anything so poor as the so-called 'racing' out here, with absolutely no relation to the silly money it costs to be involved, and that's a fact.

PS. Belle Plage is supposed to be going back to the stables soon, and about bloody time. War Chronicle is "getting better" but still not ready for heavy training - not that NF knows what heavy training is anyway, which is why the horses in their ultra-expensive 'care' are never anywhere near ready to race after a holiday there (most are useless). The reality is, it is all just an excuse to keep Northern Farm in the pennies. Phosphorus is supposed to be returning to Funabashi in October. Why so late (even early October is a long way off), and will it be able to race straight away? I doubt it. Another Door has picked up a 20-day ban for its gate antics, which I'm sure could have been avoided if it had been trained. This damned horse, like most of them out here, isn't worth its weight in waste paper. As I said earlier in not so many words, racing my ass!