Kealoha V2

Courtesy Rika Watanabe

I was in two minds whether or not to go to Funabashi today, but I'm glad I did - not just because Kealoha won by four lengths, but because I saw so many friendly, familiar faces for the first time in a long while. Okay, this one day isn't going to cure my recent torment, but it will have helped the healing process, as NAR is about people.

Masashige Honda did a wonderful job with Kealoha, taking him around the outside as soon as he became aware that the horse didn't like the sand being kicked up in his face by those that got the jump on him out of the gate, and I would love to be able to say "Derby winner" in one of my reports on him - he really has matured into a fine jockey of late. Chocolat Sucre tomorrow, and then Perfumer and Belle Plage on the 8th, with Larresingle hopefully following on the 15th. In the meantime, we'll have had at least three runners with Mick Channon, so the busy period continues.

PS. Infinity Love has been sent to Miho TC, which is a step in the right direction. My Carrot NAR horses continue to disappoint, however, with Chocolat Sucre totally outclassed, probably due to the extra distance, as she was going well until the closing stages, and then Mori-kun just threw in the towel. Let's hope Trovao and Mar-kun can save the day again and renew my faith, as 'Choco-chan' is basically finished - a trip to Northern Farm is planned for a summer holiday and, if previous experience is anything to go by, we all know she'll be useless when she returns, assuming they can even get her to eat anything...

GW Results

Konno-san got Million Ways out the gate nicely, but there was nothing left in the tank when the extra push was needed. Despite having won at 1500m, 1400m would seem the limit for this one going by today's effort, as the dash down the finishing straight was more like a trot that a gallop. The other six confirmed so far as running this week will have to do a lot better than that!

Thankfully, things improved in Ireland, after A Touch Of Sparkle came a handy sixth (close to fourth) out of 20 runners, while Danielle's Journey put in a brilliant performance to be narrowly beaten into second; thanks to a super ride from Andrew Lynch, we beat Bryan Cooper in third by no less than 11 lengths! DJ might well have one more go before her season ends (let's hope so!), while 'Sparkler' will probably run a bit more whenever suitable events come up, preferably over a bit more distance.

PS. Not worth writing anything more about Phosphorus other than 'very disappointing', and that's being kind to be perfectly frank - Million Ways league again, with two NAR runs to go this week... To be perfectly honest, knowing the way things work now, I wasn't expecting to win with another privileged class Shadai horse in the equation, which is why I didn't bother going to the track, but second should have been easy enough. At least, on the face of it anyway, Kealoha's race is free of conflicts of interest for a change, so who knows, but Chocolat Sucre's one looks way too tough for a decent result. My faith is hardly being restored here, and Shadai has failed miserably if there was any attempt made on getting me to budge on my decision regarding next year's nags.

PPS. If Carrot Club thinks it's got away with it today, the reports on Infinity Love, Massabielle and War Chronicle have managed to get my back up in much the same way as the Phosphorus race did. Notes on retraining that shouldn't be necessary if the horses had been handled by professionals, and War Chronicle being "tired" are not what I want to hear on a day like today. After months of supposed preparation, they still can't get the latter to leave a gate properly (the last minute rush should never have occurred given the length of time between the last NAR run and the first JRA one back), and the blame for any tiredness lies squarely with the trainer, for no Thoroughbred should be that tired after one poxy race that it needs an R&R session hundreds of miles from home. If it's truly tired, it means it wasn't trained properly before the race, period. Still stringing us along with Rush Attack, too, although Perfumer should run at the weekend, assuming the planned races aren't oversubscribed - a big assumption in JRA! The GW conclusion has to be that Japanese racing isn't worth the hassle. Apart from all too rare fleeting moments, it's certainly not worth the expense.

Coming Up

Entries for Danielle's Journey and A Touch Of Sparkle have taken me a bit by surprise in Ireland, as I thought DJ was winding down for the jumps off-season. Anyway, good to see them both out at the Down Royal track, and thanks to the excellent service provided by the At The Races website, I should be able to see both races live before hitting the sack.

Back in Japan, 'Bugatti' has been jumping again, with both Louis and Sophie doing 100cm jumps with him, and Louis even doing a few lower ones with his hands out to the sides (off the reins) to perfect his balance and get the horse to jump freely, so that Louis can feel the perfect shape to be aiming for.

On the racing front, Million Ways is the first of four runners at Funabashi over the Golden Week, and Masterson should round it off in the UK on Friday. JRA prospects look as dismal as ever for the coming weekend, with Perfumer's one race oversubscribed by 60%, and Belle Plage's by a ridiculous 160%. We'll have to wait and see whether alternatives can be found...