Sayesse V3

Courtesy Lord Ilsley Racing

Graham Lee rode exceptionally well to guide Sayesse to his third victory in great style, despite the handicappers doing their best to hold him back. Indeed, the betting had him as the rank outsider at 20/1, but Mick bringing down the distance to a straight sprint over 5F enabled the pony to show his class. A brilliant win!

For the record, Sayesse has brought in roughly twice his auction price already, while the other LIR runner, Ettie Hart, is within a grand of getting her cost back. This, remember, is their first year of racing (both first ran in April 2016), and to recover purchase costs that quickly is remarkable, not to mention absolutely impossible in Japan. This is the difference - reasonable auction prices that allow a margin for error, versus sky-high prices that mean you will hardly ever recover purchase costs, even after multiple wins. Add in costly running costs, and it is clear that only one in a thousand horses in Japan will ever pay for themselves - prices are set without a single thought for owners, while those in England are kept reasonable to give owners the best possible value for money. Racing, at the end of the day, is about enjoyment, but finance and greed dominates to such an extent in Japan, that one simply cannot enjoy the experience as soon as those rose-tinted glasses are removed.

PS. Blacklister runs at York on Friday, hoping to make it four in a row! Sayesse and Masterson should be back in action again next week, while Larressingle should be out again on the 28th, this time with Monsieur Lemaire in the saddle - this really is the horse's last chance...