DJ To Jump

Danielle's Journey will indeed be running at Sligo on Wednesday, teaming up with Andrew E. Lynch in the opener, which is a Maiden Hurdle race over two miles. It should be a super bit of experience, preparing her for the next season over the jumps...

In other news, Trovao is due to take his race proficiency test on the 9th June, so could be in NAR action at Monbetsu in the very near future. All the current JRA reports relate to treadmill work, which is hardly something new!

Ummm...

Harmony Fair was a disappointing tenth at Tokyo-Fuchu today - never really looking as if  she was ever going to trouble even the midfielders. As usual, excuses abound, with the only part of the post-race report that rang true being that Harmony is better suited to turf than dirt. Well, that's always been a known fact. I honestly don't know why on Earth this horse is still being kept on the Carrot Club books, as it's simply a waste of time and money.

At least Belle Plage put in a good solid performance, coming fifth in another Black Type race. I don't think we could have asked for more on the day, and look forward to the next outing. The third entrant today - Danielle's Journey - was declared a non-runner due to concerns over the going. She might still run at Sligo on Wednesday, though.

The kids did well enough, especially considering that 'Bugatti' was not particularly co-operative today, picking up a very close second and a third. Sophie's blue ribbon yesterday means three podium finishes and a couple of nice trophies for the weekend's work.

Thank God For Oz

Kalliopeia made a useless start, looked promising for ten seconds, then mysteriously dropped back only to jog in at the finish to cross the line in a distant tenth, a full 1.3 seconds down on the winner. Given that the horse still wasn't prepared after two months away from the track, do JRA trainers really have the balls to call this serious racing? With me not being in the best of moods in the first place, yet another JRA calamity is hardly a perfect recipe to blow the blues away. Whether tomorrow's pair can do any better is yet to be seen...

Courtesy Jenny Felix

At least the Aussies know how to put on a show, and Raining Dollars (pictured) has come good (a lack of maturity was his only real vice after all) to give us a handy third place. This is actually a very pleasing result for the JLH team, as the short distance would not have suited him all that well. Pretty Gully is back on track, too, coming second in her race - she'll be back in the winner's circle in no time.

Meanwhile, the auctions at Funabashi were wild, with record prices set one after another. Of course, someone will be happy that prices are escalating out of control, but it isn't healthy for the long-term future of the sport, especially NAR owners and supporters. Hardly any of the horses sold will ever come anywhere near to recouping their investment, even before monthly bills are added on top, and that's assuming returns are based on JRA winnings - very few of the NAR folks put their hands up once, as there is no hope of ever getting even a fraction of the money back. Huge prices do not guarantee a good runner, only a higher risk - a risk that few smaller outfits and individual owners will be willing to take, regardless of their JRA or NAR affiliation. I see no reason to celebrate the big prices whatsoever.

Weekend Dates Plus

Poor ol' Gandvik wasn't able to perform anywhere near his potential in Bath yesterday, but it's early days - there's time on our side, given that he has a proper trainer and an enthusiastic team behind him, as well as plenty of opportunities to run being based in England, and this first run will definitely serve him well in the future. I have every confidence that he will come good in the very near future...

We have three JRA turf runners at Tokyo-Fuchu over the weekend, with Kalliopeia out with Yutaka Yoshida on Saturday in the 1800m 5R, and two dates for Sunday - Harmony Fair in the 1600m 8R with Yuchi Tanabe, and Belle Plage looking for revenge with Yutaka Yoshida in the 2000m 9R, which is the longest distance so far for this attractive beast. In other JRA news, as things stand at the moment, Irish Harp and J'ai Un Reve are being booked to run on the 23rd.

Further afield, Raining Dollars and Pretty Gully do the business in Australia on Saturday, and Danielle's Journey should be in action on Sunday. With Louis and Sophie in dressage competition, too, it's going to be a busy weekend.

Gandvik Debut

Gandvik kicks off our UK flat season tomorrow, teaming up with Charlie Bishop in the 5:15 at Bath. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Gandvik does, but it doesn't matter that much to be honest - simply being part of the West Ilsley gang and the pleasure that delivers is worth the investment, and you know for a fact that everyone has done their very best.

It's much the same at JLH. As it happens, both of the Australian horses are in action on Saturday: Bradyn Swaffer on Pretty Gully in an 1180m Open race at Home Hill, and Graham Watson on Raining Dollars in the same meeting in a Maiden 900m race.

In Japan, Trovao has started proper race training now, with the first session of gate practice going well and prompting a second one for next week. He will be based at the Hiromori Stable at Monbetsu initially, which is where Pop Label and Aqua De Vida started their NAR careers.

Pop Second

Pop Label (pictured) ran a super race with Taito Mori at Funabashi today, coming a very close second to the firm favourite in the main event. Thinking about it, it was the first time Pop Label had ran at Funabashi without the track being waterlogged, and the difference was plain to see. Definitely some real potential still left in this big lad...

If you want to see the video, click on this link. Pop Label is on the outside, which is ultimately what creased us this time: nankankeiba20150508. Another few metres (or yards to folks like me), or a better start, and that race was ours. At least the Pop Label of old is back, and that's nice to see.

Next up we have Gandvik making his debut in England, then Raining Dollars making a proper race debut in Australia, and now Danielle's Journey - after having done so well in long-distance flat racing - is looking to make her jumping debut in the Maiden Hurdle race at Limerick (Ireland) on the 17th May. There may also be Tokyo JRA races for Kalliopeia on the 16th and Harmony Fair on the following day. The calendar certainly has an international flavour to it this month.

Good Try

Phosphorus (seen here on the inside with Shun Ishizaki at the controls) ran a good race today, coming third in a tough mile run. At the end of the day, the winner was a worthy one - stronger on the occasion - and I can't argue with the second-placed one either. 'Phos' was third today, full-stop. However, there was still a great deal of go left in him at the finish, and hardly any sweat or panting. As such, once again, he didn't really give it his all, which makes the future all the more interesting.

Next up is Pop Label on Friday, and then we have Gandvik making his debut on Saturday. This is the first outing from the batch of English newcomers, and should be a lot of fun. He runs in the 1:50 at Lingfield, which is a Class 4 Maiden Stakes race over five furlongs.

PS. The Gandvik debut has been moved to the 13th (a few days before the Raining Dollars race), to the 5:15 at Bath, which is the Class 6 Median Auction Maiden Stakes over a fraction over five furlongs.