Paul Townend pulled The Jazz Singer clear of a 25-strong field at Navan in a finely timed jumps race, keeping the horse out of trouble on the outside all the way around (adding to the 3800m distance), and only pushing the pace once the final straight came into view. The trainer did say he was looking good at home, and he was certainly strong at the finish, keeping the lead with ease once he'd nosed in front. Well done to all involved!
Hollie Doyle brought Masterson home in a handy third at Chester soon after, so a win and two thirds from four starts on the day can't be bad. We've lost All Rosie, but he seems to have lost the will to race, so it's better he retires anyway. We'll have to wait and see if Larressingle can adjust to dirt racing in a tougher environment, but judging by Saturday's run, she should provide us with some good sport. Louis thinks she will probably end up at Nagoya, although nothing has been said for sure as yet.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Friday, September 23, 2016
Busy Day
Another disappointing race from All Rosie on Friday, although he is being given another chance today as a swansong run under Lee Attard. Larressingle (0-6-1-2) is also facing the chop at Nakayama, in what looks like a totally unsuitable race on paper - the price we've paid for leaving things too late, and handing races to others. Someone in the know lined up as a buyer, perhaps? Nothing would surprise me nowadays. Well, whatever - I'm past caring to be honest...
On a brighter note, this is probably the first day we've ever had horses running in all four countries we campaign in - I certainly can't remember it happening before, and I tend to recall things like that, even though I can't remember what I had for dinner the day before half the time. Some of the results won't be in until the wee hours due to the time differences, but we'll be able to confirm the Japanese and Aussie ones shortly after lunch.
PS. I have to say, Larressingle did much better than I expected on dirt, although third place means goodbye nonetheless. The horse did well, but the typical blocking - a black mark on Japanese racing that makes a mockery of the sport when the nags finally do escape the money-grabbing grips of NF - screwed things up from halfway round. Uchida-san could have gone wider from the start, I guess, but it's no good going over what could have been now, as that was the final chance for Larressingle, and without a win, it's fate was sealed. The only good JRA horse we've had in ages, and now it's gone. All Rosie, too - it's a shame it couldn't have performed in a manner that reflected Jo's hard work, but another chapter has come to an end, and a lot less painfully than with a lot of the Japanese ponies!
PPS. A fascinating situation has come about with Larressingle. After such a fine dirt debut, it has been decided to run the horse in NAR for a while, with the long-term plan of bringing it back into the JRA fold at a later date. If it goes into NAR, I'd rather it stayed there, as I'm against this swapping and changing business, but at least the only Carrot horse worth keeping is still on our lists, and we'll see how things go as soon as a new stable is found.
On a brighter note, this is probably the first day we've ever had horses running in all four countries we campaign in - I certainly can't remember it happening before, and I tend to recall things like that, even though I can't remember what I had for dinner the day before half the time. Some of the results won't be in until the wee hours due to the time differences, but we'll be able to confirm the Japanese and Aussie ones shortly after lunch.
PS. I have to say, Larressingle did much better than I expected on dirt, although third place means goodbye nonetheless. The horse did well, but the typical blocking - a black mark on Japanese racing that makes a mockery of the sport when the nags finally do escape the money-grabbing grips of NF - screwed things up from halfway round. Uchida-san could have gone wider from the start, I guess, but it's no good going over what could have been now, as that was the final chance for Larressingle, and without a win, it's fate was sealed. The only good JRA horse we've had in ages, and now it's gone. All Rosie, too - it's a shame it couldn't have performed in a manner that reflected Jo's hard work, but another chapter has come to an end, and a lot less painfully than with a lot of the Japanese ponies!
PPS. A fascinating situation has come about with Larressingle. After such a fine dirt debut, it has been decided to run the horse in NAR for a while, with the long-term plan of bringing it back into the JRA fold at a later date. If it goes into NAR, I'd rather it stayed there, as I'm against this swapping and changing business, but at least the only Carrot horse worth keeping is still on our lists, and we'll see how things go as soon as a new stable is found.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Japan Blues
Despite having been on holiday for over four months now, there's still no sign of Belle Plage running any time soon, which is frankly ridiculous, although reports state that War Chronicle is three to five weeks away from getting back out on the track. However, I guess there will be another barrage of excuses to keep it at NF in the meantime - plenty of money for 'the boys' and no effort from the trainers, which is the way they like it in Japan (especially in JRA circles). Larressingle is down to run at the weekend, but the race hasn't been confirmed, nor has a jockey been lined up - I don't rate the chances of a good result anyway, what with a long (doubtless needless) trip up north and a dirt debut over a longer distance than ever attempted before. I think we'll be saying goodbye to the nag, assuming it can even get a race, when I'd much rather be rid of the long-term cripple, Rush Attack, and the overly-fragile War Chronicle.
In NAR, Another Door has moved to a trainer at Monbetsu, but almost certainly too late to make the difference needed to claw back money and make a horse worthy of Nankan levels. I honestly believe this is waste almost akin to J'ai Un Reve - another horse that was never given a proper chance through a lack of training, despite the great expense involved. It has a test on the 26th, and - assuming it passes that - it can then race again. Vertice should be having its first test at the end of October, when most of its contemporaries, except Lotus Blossom of course, have been out numerous times by now, actually learning their art in the heat of battle - the learning curve will be long and hard having left things this late. Meanwhile, Pop Label is at TCK today, although I'm not expecting much (again!) due to the wet track and a thick layer of race-rust, and Kealoha should be running at Funabashi next week.
At least the kids have been doing well, with Sophie picking up sixth place in her A3 debut, and only dropping a few points on the second day - she seemed to put too much pressure on herself after such a good start the day before. Louis got 56.5 in L1, which went to 58.5 with his handicap ('Bugatti' being born in Japan), and that has to be regarded as an excellent performance; he did okay in L2, but he's still learning that particular exercise as yet. After four dressage runs, 'Bugatti' was given a rest - that means he missed two sets of jumping on top of his two days and four lots of dressage, and not because he's tired, but because there wasn't a jumping competition this month, otherwise he'd have done it. It brings the comments against horses like Belle Plage into perspective - to be told that a horse is tired after a few seconds of cantering and/or being on the treadmill implies that it is either seriously out of condition or needs retiring, or maybe we are just being fed bull. Either way, it's not a good situation, and it's certainly a poor return for our huge financial outlay.
PS. Pop Label wasn't last, but too close to being last for comfort. It's bloody annoying, as the jockey gave him the best shot possible (over a distance he likes but was kept away from for far too long), but there was just nothing there coming off the last corner. Now, we know he doesn't like a wet track, and seeing as a heavy typhoon was blowing over, the boggy conditions were thus a long way from ideal, but even so... Summing up: Ridiculous rain, ridiculous result, ridiculous waste of time and money - the latter comment featuring in the summary of this horse's races all too often. Personally, I'd give it one more chance and then retire it if it finishes outside the top three.
PPS. Larressingle has been confirmed for Nakayama on the 24th, in a rather odd 1800m dirt race. At least Uchida-san (the jockey) knows what he's doing on dirt. The question is will Larressingle be able to perform on the new surface over a longer distance than usual? Masterson is due to run at Chester on the same day. I think we'll have more success with the English horse...
In NAR, Another Door has moved to a trainer at Monbetsu, but almost certainly too late to make the difference needed to claw back money and make a horse worthy of Nankan levels. I honestly believe this is waste almost akin to J'ai Un Reve - another horse that was never given a proper chance through a lack of training, despite the great expense involved. It has a test on the 26th, and - assuming it passes that - it can then race again. Vertice should be having its first test at the end of October, when most of its contemporaries, except Lotus Blossom of course, have been out numerous times by now, actually learning their art in the heat of battle - the learning curve will be long and hard having left things this late. Meanwhile, Pop Label is at TCK today, although I'm not expecting much (again!) due to the wet track and a thick layer of race-rust, and Kealoha should be running at Funabashi next week.
At least the kids have been doing well, with Sophie picking up sixth place in her A3 debut, and only dropping a few points on the second day - she seemed to put too much pressure on herself after such a good start the day before. Louis got 56.5 in L1, which went to 58.5 with his handicap ('Bugatti' being born in Japan), and that has to be regarded as an excellent performance; he did okay in L2, but he's still learning that particular exercise as yet. After four dressage runs, 'Bugatti' was given a rest - that means he missed two sets of jumping on top of his two days and four lots of dressage, and not because he's tired, but because there wasn't a jumping competition this month, otherwise he'd have done it. It brings the comments against horses like Belle Plage into perspective - to be told that a horse is tired after a few seconds of cantering and/or being on the treadmill implies that it is either seriously out of condition or needs retiring, or maybe we are just being fed bull. Either way, it's not a good situation, and it's certainly a poor return for our huge financial outlay.
PS. Pop Label wasn't last, but too close to being last for comfort. It's bloody annoying, as the jockey gave him the best shot possible (over a distance he likes but was kept away from for far too long), but there was just nothing there coming off the last corner. Now, we know he doesn't like a wet track, and seeing as a heavy typhoon was blowing over, the boggy conditions were thus a long way from ideal, but even so... Summing up: Ridiculous rain, ridiculous result, ridiculous waste of time and money - the latter comment featuring in the summary of this horse's races all too often. Personally, I'd give it one more chance and then retire it if it finishes outside the top three.
PPS. Larressingle has been confirmed for Nakayama on the 24th, in a rather odd 1800m dirt race. At least Uchida-san (the jockey) knows what he's doing on dirt. The question is will Larressingle be able to perform on the new surface over a longer distance than usual? Masterson is due to run at Chester on the same day. I think we'll have more success with the English horse...
Friday, September 16, 2016
Reality Striking?
Finished work for now until the time difference makes people come alive in England again, so I thought I'd check on the Japanese club horse reports. Well, that didn't take long, for there was nothing new on the Shadai/Sunday front, and although there are only nine Carrot horses left to watch, seven of them are stuck at Northern Farm!
Out of interest, I thought I'd look at how the new crop of NAR nags were selling. None of the four have reached a 'nearly sold' status, which clicks in after two-thirds of the shares have been claimed. This is probably easy to explain, for of last year's lot, only one has raced - once, and that was three months ago, when it duly broke a bone! Of the crop before that, Shine Tiara has already been retired in disgrace, Million Ways should be retired, Chocolat Sucre is fragile and hardly has ran as a result, Trovao did well until it too broke down, and Nine Half (the only one of the five 2013 NAR horses I didn't take a stake in, and the cheapest of the bunch as it happens) has provided a fair bit of sport but seems to have gone off the boil of late.
Significantly, there were six NAR runners offered by Carrot Club in the 2012 crop - now it is down to four, and they are obviously slow to sell. I would say, and this applies to all the clubs out here, that this is not a lack of enthusiasm (NAR followers are a passionate bunch) but a lack of trust in the items being sold at the prices asked - trust that can only be built up when shareholders see their horses running with a bit of effort (even running would be a damned good start in most cases!) and sugar-coated excuses to cover incompetence are thrown to the side in favour of honest reports, stating what has gone wrong and why when a failure occurs...
PS. As well as Larressingle's attempt at survival, we should have some Aussie racing next weekend, with All Rosie hoping for back-to-back wins at Ewan - he's entered for both Friday and Saturday (assuming he comes out of the first race OK), so you never know. All quiet in England while the shuffling goes on in preparation for another season (Sayesse will probably run next week, though), which means Ireland should be kicking off, although I'm not sure what to think regarding that campaign to be perfectly honest. Perhaps when this big project I'm on is finished, I can clear my head and give it all some serious thought.
Out of interest, I thought I'd look at how the new crop of NAR nags were selling. None of the four have reached a 'nearly sold' status, which clicks in after two-thirds of the shares have been claimed. This is probably easy to explain, for of last year's lot, only one has raced - once, and that was three months ago, when it duly broke a bone! Of the crop before that, Shine Tiara has already been retired in disgrace, Million Ways should be retired, Chocolat Sucre is fragile and hardly has ran as a result, Trovao did well until it too broke down, and Nine Half (the only one of the five 2013 NAR horses I didn't take a stake in, and the cheapest of the bunch as it happens) has provided a fair bit of sport but seems to have gone off the boil of late.
Significantly, there were six NAR runners offered by Carrot Club in the 2012 crop - now it is down to four, and they are obviously slow to sell. I would say, and this applies to all the clubs out here, that this is not a lack of enthusiasm (NAR followers are a passionate bunch) but a lack of trust in the items being sold at the prices asked - trust that can only be built up when shareholders see their horses running with a bit of effort (even running would be a damned good start in most cases!) and sugar-coated excuses to cover incompetence are thrown to the side in favour of honest reports, stating what has gone wrong and why when a failure occurs...
PS. As well as Larressingle's attempt at survival, we should have some Aussie racing next weekend, with All Rosie hoping for back-to-back wins at Ewan - he's entered for both Friday and Saturday (assuming he comes out of the first race OK), so you never know. All quiet in England while the shuffling goes on in preparation for another season (Sayesse will probably run next week, though), which means Ireland should be kicking off, although I'm not sure what to think regarding that campaign to be perfectly honest. Perhaps when this big project I'm on is finished, I can clear my head and give it all some serious thought.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Ol' Smelly
At last, months after the obvious conclusion should have been made, Perfumer has been retired. I look forward to the same notice with Massabielle (and others), for you can't keep going forever and ever saying "we're not sure what the problem is, but we need more time." If you can't find the problem, you can't cure it. If you can't cure the problem, you can't race the nag. If you can't race it, it's not a racehorse, and therefore has no meaning in this environment.
PS. News has just come through that Larressingle will have a last chance run at Nakayama on either the 24th or 25th. Now here's the interesting bit - on dirt! Considering the horse has never run on dirt, this signals either a lack of gate berths (highly likely) or an inspired move (less likely). It could be a disaster in reality, and highlights how wasteful those last two outings were, particularly the Miura one, which frankly looked like a set-up to me. Well, if it can't win and has to go, it goes - one of them... Meanwhile, Pop Label is down to run at TCK on the 20th, with Mori-kun taking the reins in the 1600m 12R. Hope the typhoon stays away!
PPS. The usual grey reports from Carrot Club, covering the fact that there is no intention to do anything with any of the horses as long as NF keeps getting paid. Waiting on Massabielle, and hoping it states retirement, because six months out and not one positive comment on what is wrong or how to go about getting the nag back to the track is not good enough. Run it or sell it.
PPPS. The retirement notice came just after I pressed the button to save this post, folks finally coming to the conclusion that to get a good horse again will take too long. Of course, the question of who screwed Massabielle up in the first place won't get answered (indeed, the question won't even have been asked - don't want to rock the boat, as it's only members' money that got wasted), but at least we won't have to keep listening to constant bull.
PS. News has just come through that Larressingle will have a last chance run at Nakayama on either the 24th or 25th. Now here's the interesting bit - on dirt! Considering the horse has never run on dirt, this signals either a lack of gate berths (highly likely) or an inspired move (less likely). It could be a disaster in reality, and highlights how wasteful those last two outings were, particularly the Miura one, which frankly looked like a set-up to me. Well, if it can't win and has to go, it goes - one of them... Meanwhile, Pop Label is down to run at TCK on the 20th, with Mori-kun taking the reins in the 1600m 12R. Hope the typhoon stays away!
PPS. The usual grey reports from Carrot Club, covering the fact that there is no intention to do anything with any of the horses as long as NF keeps getting paid. Waiting on Massabielle, and hoping it states retirement, because six months out and not one positive comment on what is wrong or how to go about getting the nag back to the track is not good enough. Run it or sell it.
PPPS. The retirement notice came just after I pressed the button to save this post, folks finally coming to the conclusion that to get a good horse again will take too long. Of course, the question of who screwed Massabielle up in the first place won't get answered (indeed, the question won't even have been asked - don't want to rock the boat, as it's only members' money that got wasted), but at least we won't have to keep listening to constant bull.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Today's Donkey #2
Of course, Million Ways has now been shipped off to Northern Farm. I guarantee it won't do any good, as I have yet to see any decent results come of a NF stay, although it will make lots of cash for 'the boys', so no-one will question the reasoning behind the move as usual. How many months away? Who knows, but it will be dragged out as long as possible, because members are paying. The bill? That will be big, regardless of being justified or not. Results later? After the race-rust excuses have ran their course, sweet feck all. Another waste of time and money...
PS. Magic Key has re-qualified for race status after its seriously long (and expensive) break. Now if it could win a race a week for the next six months, we might just about get back to where we are supposed to be. Ahhh, Japan - yep, that won't happen! But let's see how things go. At least we might get some entertainment out of it, in a month when the only two runs in Japan have resulted in an injury and a retirement from racing after a series of poor performances. A comeback is scheduled for Kawasaki in the first week of October. Now, where the bloody hell is Phosphorus? And why isn't there a plan to get Belle Plage in action again? Reports say there's nothing wrong with it, yet it has been away four months already. Like Massabielle and War Chronicle, time it get it earning its keep, or retire it!
PS. Magic Key has re-qualified for race status after its seriously long (and expensive) break. Now if it could win a race a week for the next six months, we might just about get back to where we are supposed to be. Ahhh, Japan - yep, that won't happen! But let's see how things go. At least we might get some entertainment out of it, in a month when the only two runs in Japan have resulted in an injury and a retirement from racing after a series of poor performances. A comeback is scheduled for Kawasaki in the first week of October. Now, where the bloody hell is Phosphorus? And why isn't there a plan to get Belle Plage in action again? Reports say there's nothing wrong with it, yet it has been away four months already. Like Massabielle and War Chronicle, time it get it earning its keep, or retire it!
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Vive La Difference
After the constant disappointment of Japanese racing - firstly due to the fact that the horses hardly ever race (often due to avoidable injuries), and then run poorly when they do finally make it to the track - the English racing scene is such a breath of fresh air, especially when you are tied-in with Mick Channon and his lad. The value for money element is completely different, with I would say a hundred times more bang for your buck, as is the excitement, for you know Mick's nags will run at their best every time. If they fail, there's a good reason for it, for the desire to win is obvious, along with an unquestionable loyalty towards shareholders. In Japan, it seems that club officials and their appointed oppos feel they have done their duty just by getting a horse in a gate - providing a decent performance is another subject, and most results are down to pure luck on the day. Their loyalty is to breeders and 'the boys'...
Never has this gap been so obvious as this week. Million Ways ran at joke levels at Funabashi, and then Shine Tiara followed up with something similar at Kawasaki. One was retired on the spot, the other should have been and hopefully will be soon. Yet despite the huge expense associated with Japanese racing, that was all the action I had to show for 17 nags in training. In fact, that's all I've had to show for my cash all month.
So Saturday brings with it the Chester meeting. John Egan is up on Sayesse, starting as seventh favourite of eight starters. By the time the sprint came to end, Sayesse had won by a head, claiming his fourth win in 11 races - those 11 races coming over five months almost to the day, by the way.
A few races later, and John Egan is given Masterson in the two-miler at the same meeting. Remembering that Masterson was running for the third time this month, and was the least fancied of the four runners by far, coming second was a superb result. He's picked up a win and two seconds within eight days, and two wins this summer. And yet, there are still thoughts of selling him to add some fresh blood to the syndicate. In Japan, one lucky win signals keeping something for years, regardless of whether it will ever provide the shareholders with sport ever again - and most don't, for endless, feeble excuses for failure or cut-and-paste reports saying "we need a bit more time to get him ready" is not sport...
Never has this gap been so obvious as this week. Million Ways ran at joke levels at Funabashi, and then Shine Tiara followed up with something similar at Kawasaki. One was retired on the spot, the other should have been and hopefully will be soon. Yet despite the huge expense associated with Japanese racing, that was all the action I had to show for 17 nags in training. In fact, that's all I've had to show for my cash all month.
So Saturday brings with it the Chester meeting. John Egan is up on Sayesse, starting as seventh favourite of eight starters. By the time the sprint came to end, Sayesse had won by a head, claiming his fourth win in 11 races - those 11 races coming over five months almost to the day, by the way.
A few races later, and John Egan is given Masterson in the two-miler at the same meeting. Remembering that Masterson was running for the third time this month, and was the least fancied of the four runners by far, coming second was a superb result. He's picked up a win and two seconds within eight days, and two wins this summer. And yet, there are still thoughts of selling him to add some fresh blood to the syndicate. In Japan, one lucky win signals keeping something for years, regardless of whether it will ever provide the shareholders with sport ever again - and most don't, for endless, feeble excuses for failure or cut-and-paste reports saying "we need a bit more time to get him ready" is not sport...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)