Running Out Of Words

A thesaurus only contains so many words, and so I've run out of superlatives for disgusting. Even Tosaki-kun can't make miracles, and it would have taken a miracle to get Massabielle near the front today, as no matter how good you are, a horse that has obviously had no training whatsoever since it last ran last Autumn will not perform. Starting second favourite (naturally, given his G1 and G2 history), he flopped out the gate as if the noise woke him up, never looked anywhere near frightening any of the runners (and none of them should have been able to touch 'Massa' if he'd been even halfway close to being on form), and finished 3.2 seconds down on the winner. Now, if that was purely a warm-up for a race next week or the week after, it would simply be disappointing. But knowing how stupid the JRA trainers are, that disgraceful performance will probably be taken as a sign of tiredness rather than a lack of training, and if that happens, it will probably end up at Northern Farm again - a kiss of death for any horse. Tenshinramman again, with natural ability screwed up by poor care and poor training? Whatever it is, the JRA disaster continues, and now it has gone well beyond a joke...

PS. Tosaki-kun has stated in his post-race report that there was no sparkle in the horse at all, and 'Massa' will basically have to start a race campaign from scratch. Well, that was what I saw, and I would suggest that if that's the case, it's done with a new trainer (from experience, preferably Ogata-sensei, Sugai-sensei or Makoto Saito, although there would be a couple of others I would try because I know their brother or key staff members) and kept as far away from NF as possible. Otherwise, just retire it - owners shouldn't have to suffer just to keep one of the boys in business. 

PPS. The trainer report has come through, and basically a restart is being cited as the way forward. Well, that bit is obvious. But hold on, why should it be necessary? The horse hasn't been injured since its Classic run, so how has it been let get into such an unworthy state? Before saying anything about reset buttons, especially given my pre-race prediction after Larressingle's run, this question needs answering first, so that the culprits are not allowed to ruin yet another horse with potential. Leaving it in the same hands, the same thing will happen, and once more members will be expected to pay out for months and months of nothing except hollow words followed by more hollow words trying to explain the inevitable failure that comes next, just like we did with Tenshinramman, not to mention those that did nothing at all. Someone once said to me that some of the clubs are more like supporter groups. Yes, that's right - financially supporting JRA trainers that don't deserve support! We pay for a service, and therefore expect something in return, shown by sincere effort. If we wanted to adopt a pet, that's a totally different subject to racing.

PPPS. Shine Tiara runs in the 3R at Kawasaki tomorrow, with Phosphorus in the 8R. Well, we can't do any worse than today, whatever happens (they are both tough races, not like today's fiasco, which should have given us a top three regardless of race-rust). Unlike 'Massa', at least Phosphorus had an excuse for being away from the track, having had two operations, and he is welcome to use the same excuse for not coming back as good as he was straight out of the box - as long as he doesn't keep using it for too long, of course! There is no excuse, however, for Massabielle...

PPPPS. Even the Carrot NAR horses are letting me down now, although I have a lot more confidence in Yuya-san fixing the problem than the NAR bunch. Looked to me as if Shine-chan didn't like the sand being kicked up in her face after she fluffed the start. Phosphorus (pictured, courtesy Shadai TC) was fifth, but at least looked a lot brighter again, so let's leave it at that until we see what happens next time, as that was a longer race than usual for him in strong company.

Food For Thought

California Chrome cost $30,000 (3,500,000 yen) and won the $10m main race in Dubai, while Japan is jumping up and down with joy at the fact that Real Steel, costing 80,000,000 yen (or 2,000,000 yen for a 1/40th share), won the earlier $6m race with "the best jockey in the world" on his back. Interesting, isn't it? Of course, it will be used as another Deep Impact coup, keeping his stud fees sky-high, when in reality, everything is carefully crafted to keep things that way anyway - we always hear about the victories, but there are a lot of folks out there who have been burnt. A lot of it - especially in Japan's JRA scene - is down to luck, regardless of trainer names and bloodlines. Generally speaking, if they get that good horse and things go well, they do well, otherwise they fail miserably...

While I'm in moaning mode, in readiness for Massabielle's run later today, I am also saddened by the way the Japanese media has gone wild over Japan's "first lady jockey in 16 years." She now has a nice little contract with a promotion company that will make sure she stays on the front pages, in much the same way as Ryo Ishikawa did in golf (and look how useless he went), and still has yet to win a race. I say that in the knowledge that she has won two NAR races, for they obviously don't count. I mean, Mai Beppu has nearly 600 NAR wins under her belt and is still going strong - strong enough to beat the girl in question by a long way when they met last week - and yet her fantastic achievements don't seem to be recognized. Or those of Rui, Mayu, Aoi, Chiaki, Akane (now retired), or even Maki, who is now a damned good trainer; there were others, too, in days gone by - two of whom being personal friends of mine. It's a sad reflection on JRA when the girl gets promoted to the hilt, simply so that they can say "yes, we have lady riders, too," when the NAR girls have been there for years, fighting hard in a lot tougher conditions, and places like England and Australia are full of top-flight lady jockeys. To make such a big thing of it in 2016 just shows how far behind Japan is as a society. Who knows, maybe in another 16 years, we'll have a foreign trainer over here? Somehow, I doubt it!

No Cigar & A Big Problem

Larressingle was second by a length - some nice team play from Carrot Club, although we were the ones on the unlucky side of the equation. Notwithstanding, no complaints on the horse, which was obviously well-prepared (that's by far the best JRA result we've had in over three months, and you have to go back to October to better it, and both came courtesy of Ogata-sensei). To be honest, today was the result I was banking on - I have a feeling 'Massa' will disappoint, as there is bound to be race-rust and the results of having spent too way much time at Northern Farm to take into account, and so I think Shine Tiara will therefore be the one to give us a better chance at win #45 at Kawasaki on Monday...

Just got some news in on Rush Attack, and now, after weeks of speculation, it has been decided that it's not a skin complaint after all, but a hoof complaint - another example of Northern Farm expertise! Now I know a horse that had this - a horse owned by a friend who is not only a damned good horsewoman but also had it looked after by the best vet in the business (all the top racing stables call on him) - and it took a year to get it sorted to the point where light training could start again. That, to me, means the end of Rush Attack's racing career, surely? A horse that won its first race on its seventh attempt in August 2015 and has done nothing since is not like Nijinsky, where the chances of great things are still high even after a long lay-off. To me, there is no option - it's time for retirement, a gentle recuperation and then a life as a riding horse once the hoof is fixed.