Washed Up On The Beach

Starting as second favourite, Belle Plage was sixth in a distinctly average performance at Nakayama, not helped by the jockey letting the leading horses get too far ahead by the time the back straight came along. I just hope that she hasn't hit the ceiling of her ability, as she will be in this Class for the rest of the year...

Having Kosei Miura in the saddle might help us, but I have a feeling Rush Attack will disappoint tomorrow. For sure, Belle Plage was the big hope of getting a JRA win this weekend as far as I'm concerned - maybe the best hope we have for getting more wins in JRA per se, in reality.

Oh well, after tomorrow, we have two NAR runners on Wednesday, then, like Raining Dollars in Oz, Blacklister should be out again on the 10th (booked to run in the 7:10 at Chelmsford over a mile, with Wolverhampton on Saturday as an option), and then two more NAR nags on Friday. Maybe more JRA runners after that, with Pop Label on the 14th, and Danielle's Journey hopefully running in the Cheltenham Festival on the 17th.

PS. Rush Attack was eighth - a disappointment on paper, but a good run, it has to be said, with fourth easily in sight. All concerned obviously put the effort in, and can count themselves unfortunate not to be placed a lot higher up the standings.

PPS. Pleased with the straight post-race report on Rush Attack, too. The trainer and jockey are thinking a shorter 1600m or 1800m distance for the next race, where explosive power can be put to use more effectively. Not sure when the follow-up run will be, but I tip my hat today - the team deserved a better result, and would have probably got one as well had the proposed race a couple of weeks ago not been oversubscribed.

The UK Newcomers #1: Sayesse

Courtesy Lord Ilsley Racing

The replacement for Gandvik in the Lord Ilsley Racing syndicate, run by the jovial Michael Channon, has been named Sayesse.

This beautiful-looking colt can boast the Irish-registered Sayif as his sire, who ran in Europe and America, and while his win rate wasn't stunning, he was always competitive in big races looking at his 3-5-2 record. Lots of nice DNA in there, too, with Derby-winner Shirley Heights (by Mill Reef), Mr Prospector, Nureyev and Sir Ivor in the mix.

His dam is Pesse (born in 2000), who had a remarkably long career, winning seven times before settling into broodmare duty. She hasn't passed on her winning ways to many of her foals as yet, although Super Aurora was pretty handy, and her dam line is strong. Her sire was Eagle Eyed, full brother to Danehill, while Caerleon (by Nijinsky) adds spice for me, of course. Fun season ahead in England...

2015 Newcomers #3: Another Door

Courtesy Sunday TC

This Sunday Thoroughbred Club filly, born in January 2014, doesn't need a lot of introduction, as both the sire and the dam have been profiled in-depth on these pages before. Vermilion is a favourite of mine, as anyone reading this blog on a regular basis will know, although he hasn't been kind for me so far - one premature death (Monsoon Trough), and one runner that struggled to pick up its first win (Million Ways). Still, I will stand by him, as he seems to deliver nice, big horses, and that's what I like to see in a dirt racer.

Secret Room is the mother of Magic Key, which can also be read as a blessing or a curse depending on the day of the week - she was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, but apart from five minutes of glory thanks to Nakano-kun, Magic Key been little more than an expensive disappointment so far, in more ways than one.

Well, this little lady was a costly beast, too, bought in an era before I swore not to buy any more overpriced ponies thanks to the bitter experience of J'ai Un Reve, and more recently Magic Key - the next lot will be reasonable price-wise, or they'll be left to others to buy, even if that means I have nothing. She has a lot of work ahead of her to convince me to change my mind...

All Rosie

Courtesy JLH Racing

All Rosie (or 'Davey' at the stables) is the replacement for Pretty Gully in Australia, with Jo Hassett taking him on at JLH due to an illness in the family of the original owners. Born in September 2011, he has won three of his 11 races so far (3-0-3), and we expect him to quickly add to his tally once he's settled in.

Looking at his pedigree, his sire is All Bar One, who won nine races from his 25 starts, and had a fantastic 2006 season Down Under. His father is the US-registered Hennessey, who won four of his nine races, and passes on Northern Dancer bloodlines via Storm Cat, which means there's some Secretariat DNA in there, too. His mother, Island Kitty, was pretty handy herself, running in G1 before broodmare duty called.

The dam is Bermuda Rose, who passes on yet more Northern Dancer blood, this time by way of the Irish-bred and highly-successful Last Tycoon, who also brings Mill Reef into the equation. Native Dancer and Tudor Minstrel stand out in her dam line, although Sharpen Up was no mug, and Shahram adds a little spice with all his French victories.

Huge News

Looks like Danielle's Journey will be going to the Cheltenham Festival, which is a huge thing - an ambition not only for Sean and the rest of the gang at Realta, but for me, too. After a few dark moments, it seems we are out of the tunnel and taking her where she belongs. With luck, she'll be able to race on St Patrick's Day. Fingers crossed for all concerned!

In other news, Phosphorus won't be going to Kawasaki this week, but is expected to run at Funabashi instead, while Shine Tiara will be competing in the second Kawasaki meeting of the month, meaning we can expect a race from her in about four weeks. Meanwhile, Chocolat Sucre and Phosphorus should be out at Funabashi on the 9th, and Million Ways and Kealoha should be fighting there on the 11th.

By the way, there was a very strange incident in Hokkaido at the weekend, involving the shooting of two young racehorses. Incredibly sad on a number of levels, and raising a lot of questions, too. I hope the questions are duly answered and those responsible, including anyone further up the line if it turns out to be an insurance job or a warning rather than simply a nutcase firing three shots at the nearest wildlife, are swiftly brought to justice.

PS. A few Carrot JRA dates are filtering through, including Belle Plage at Nakayama on the 5th (1800m over dirt), Rush Attack at Nakayama on the 6th (2000m over turf), and Irish Harp at Nakayama on the 13th (1200m over dirt). The races for the 5th and 6th have been confirmed, dispelling my fear of them being oversubscribed, while we'll know about the race on the 13th on Thursday next week.

2015 Newcomers #2: Lotus Blossom

Courtesy Carrot Club

This Carrot Club horse was secured only a few days ago - it doesn't seem to be fancied much, but watching its progress, the little filly is coming along nicely, and should provide us with some good value-for-money on the NAR tracks.

The sire is Lohengrin, who was a bit of a superstar, winning the Nakayama Kinen twice, and proving competitive in G1 racers as far flung as Japan, Hong Kong and France. In reality, he is blessed with some wonderful bloodlines, with Japan Cup winner Singspiel as his father (a grandson of Sadlers Wells with Hail To Reason's best on the dam side), and Carling as his mother - a multiple G1 winner who added some extra Mill Reef DNA into the mix.

The dam is Locus, who won three times before settling into broodmare duty, and can boast Tony Bin as her father. Her mother is Star Alpha, who won on both turf and dirt, with solid Sunday Silence and Northern Dancer bloodlines, with a bit of Nasrullah and Bull Lea thrown in for good measure.

The interesting thing is she has been slow to develop, and is only just starting to show signs of promise. That's fine, for missing the early Hokkaido races is no big deal as far as I'm concerned, and Lohengrin was still winning big races as an eight-year old.

PS. The latest report from the Club, just released a few hours after putting this up, suggests an increase in the training pace in a bid to challenge Hokkaido's early race season. Well, it should add a bit of extra interest into the equation...

2015 Newcomers #1: Vertice

Courtesy Carrot Club

We've had this one in the line-up for a while, but I was waiting for the name to come through before doing the profile - the same is true of a few more that we'll look at over the next week or so, so be prepared! Anyway, this is Vertice, an NAR filly sourced from Carrot Club.

Her sire is Casino Drive, who we've profiled when looking at Chocolat Sucre and Shine Tiara, so there's no real need to cover him again. Her dam, though, is new to us, being Prima Forza, who won three races in her Sunday TC era. Her father is Gold Allure by Sunday Silence, who we've covered a few times, notably as the sire of Agua De Vida on our books. Her mother, Bene Vento, provides a combination of Tony Bin and Dyna Shoot blood. The former needs no introduction on these pages, while Dyna Shoot was successful in her own right, winning four times (including G2 and G3 races), and passing on a strong helping of Hyperion DNA via Northern Taste, as well as that of War Admiral. She should give us some interesting sport in the months to come...