Matt Black Tiara

There was certainly no glitter in Shine Tiara's performance today. In fact, starting as third favourite (although I have no idea why given its recent results), I think I have every right to say that was a pathetic run of epic proportions. The donkey was never in the race from the off, ran awful down the back straight (to the point of me thinking it may be injured) and cruised home in eighth as if next week would do, despite Mori-kun showing it the whip on several occasions to avoid the embarrassment of coming last. Talk about making up numbers and nothing else! To be perfectly frank, my patience has run out completely with this one - I don't think it will ever earn a penny in keep, as it doesn't matter what the scenario is (wet, dry, leading from the front, holding back), it fails miserably. Finishing a massive 4.5 seconds (or 22 lengths) off the pace, it doesn't deserve to be called a racehorse and should therefore be retired on the spot...

PS. The post-race reports are blaming the poor conditions, which were awful, sure enough. But they were the same for all the horses that ran today, and I don't honestly see how good weather is going to make a difference in any case. The bottom line is that this horse hates sand in its face - wet sand or dry sand - and it hasn't got the power to take the pace from the front and stay until the end; this is a fact, as we've seen that approach attempted with nothing more than another disaster to show for it. In reality, the perfect race conditions cited as a reason to keep going simply do not exist in NAR, full-stop - like most of the useless nags out here, the horse is just a drain on finances and a source of constant frustration. It's no wonder Konno dropped the ride like a hot potato. The next Kawasaki meeting is in the middle of September, but gate spaces will be limited (it's only a three-day meeting) and then it's the first week in October - both are a long way off for a horse that has red marks all over its accounting sheet. It wouldn't be so bad if it provided some enjoyment, but it doesn't even do that - there's no pleasure whatsoever in seeing it trail in at the back of a field month in, month out.