Still Angry

Yep, still angry. And why wouldn't I be? Just read that Kealoha is back at Funabashi, but the groom isn't happy with the horse's condition, so a new plan has been hatched to aim for the Funabashi meeting at the end of September, a good month over schedule. Okay, so please tell me what NF did for their money during the three months Kealoha was there when an extra two months of training are needed to get it race ready? I've said it before and I'll say it again - nothing good ever comes of a break at Northern Farm. But then, with Sunday TC and NF being part of the same monopoly that dominates Japanese racing to sickening levels, nothing will ever be said - owners are left to pick up the bill, and if a horse is left useless, who cares? After all, there will be plenty more for sale next year, most of them breed at Northern Farm, of course.

And in other Sunday Thoroughbred Club news, Pop Label's comeback has moved from the end of August to the middle (close to the end) of September. I guess we will keep paying out and get one final race before a retirement announcement. This is nothing to do with racing - just taking the piss and keeping the boys in clover at our expense. As far as I'm concerned, once a sale is made in Japan, there is no effort to make these horses race-ready and pay their way. The only effort I see is the preparation of an invoice each month, seemingly justified by a cut-and-paste excuse for not running - again! - or a half-baked excuse for failure when they eventually do hit the track.

Five Shadai TC and Sunday TC horses, and, having just received the bills, I can confirm that none have made a penny income this month, while the keeping fees are far from lightweight - so much for spreading risk across several nags. If Magic Key does go back to Funabashi soon and it's as good as Kealoha, that will be another month or two before earning anything, and there's no mention at all about when Phosphorus might go back home. So, we have one 'horse' out of five running, and that's proving to be the most expensive donkey on the planet.

No-one expects to make money, but you should have small bills and an average almost break-even situation if everyone you are paying tons of lolly to each month plays the game. Ultimately, the swindle continues, regardless of the silks out here. In fact, I've just asked the rep if my horses are being deliberately held back for months on end, because if they all need such huge breaks every five minutes, they're certainly not worth anywhere near the money asked for them. Naturally, there was no reply - you only get a response when you're in buying mode, and I'm not the only one to come across this situation either...

At least we have Sayesse out at Newbury on Tuesday, with Masterson running at Lingfield the day after. Thank god I have a decent batch of horses in England, despite them costing a fraction of what the Japanese nags did, otherwise I'd be going out of my mind by now. On the subject of Japanese horses, Larressingle should be out on the 28th (last chance saloon run) and we have Another Door at Monbetsu on the 30th, although I don't expect the latter to do any better than Shine Tiara. Indeed, it's definitely another candidate for a quick retirement as far as I'm concerned.