10:52 p.m. Eventually, I bought a trio wheel keying One and Only with Shounan Lagoon, Hagino Hybrid, Isla Bonita and Tosen Stardum. I didn't by exacta because I wasn't quite sure One and Only would actually win.

As you might already know, despite my uncertainty, One and Only has become the 81st Japanese D'erby horse, followed by Isla Bonita in 2nd place and Meiner Frost in 3rd.

Why, oh why, didn't I buy exactas? Guess things are back to normal, close but not exactly a win.

The End

Caterpillar

2:40 p.m. I was going to cry sour grapes about the D'erby, but then, I glimpsed a tabloid banner on my way to work that golfer Hideki Matsuyama has won in America.

Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, has earned his first win in the Memorial golf tournament held in Muirfield Village Dublin, Ohio. The 22-year-old has forced a 10-foot par putt on the first extra in the playoff.

Congrats! I knew he'd do it sooner or later. His ability to concentrate on the course is remarkable which makes him so special, not to mention his accurate putting. Sorry for Ryo Ishikawa, but I think he needs to learn to control himself, as he tends to fall apart when in tight situations.

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Caterpillar

3:14 p.m. Japan has won the test match before FIFA World Cup against Costa Rica by 3-1. It was broadcasted this morning from 9:45, but I've got it covered on my HDD so am going to watch it later.

Several hours before that match started, I happened to see a program about Keisuke Honda on NHK. From the way he talked, I learned that this guy is serious, very serious. Well, most top class athletes are serious. A couple of days ago, I was also blessed to catch a glimpse of Usaine Bolt answering some questions from the hopeful young Japanese runner, Yoshihide Kiryu, where he was very serious.

Although Honda or Kagawa has not been able to lift up the mood for their ailing club teams, I think they are both striving in difficult conditions. To improve their performances, they both need to build up trusting relationship with their team mates which takes time. Both club team supporters surely must be anxious to see their teams come back at the top, but I wish they'd be a bit more patient, since I can tell Honda and Kagawa would both grow into great athletes if they only are given the time and space.

I even have a hunch that they'd shine bright being in their element in the World Cup games. I'm pretty sure they'd find it much easier to play in their familiar team mates.

The End

Caterpillar

2:48 p.m. I've bought myself an awesome device which you can plug into a wired LAN socket in the room of any hotel, and turn it into a wifi accessible environment. The device works as a hot spot when connected to wired network.

I was very excited to get this, but was too surprised and also daunteed to hear the news that Justaway, who is going to run in this week's Yasuda Kinen, has had a major change with its jockey. Fukunaga who had lead Justaway to the champion of Dubai Duty Free, is not able to ride him due to penalty. And the one to replace him is Shibata.

Of all jockies. Why did they pick the guy who blew the start, swung around the outside to miss the NHK Mile champion by three quarters of a length? Weren't there anybody else?

The End

Caterpillar

2:10 p.m. I've seen a touching video about an old man with Altzheimer's who went missing just before Mother's Day. Man With Alzheimer's Proves That Even If The Mind Forgets, ‘The Heart Remembers.’ It made me tear up. Additionally, I found another link to an incredible video. My Dad With Our Dog

It's looking like a crying festival today. I'll have news on the barrier draw of Yasuda Kinen, later.

5:16 p.m. I've totally forgot that they didn't announce the barrier draw for Yasuda Kinen until tomorrow. Sorry folks, wait till tomorrow.

The End

Caterpillar

3:26 p.m. I got the barrier draw, sorry to keep you waiting so long.

Curren Black Hill is in 3rd post, Real Impact in 4th, Glorious Day from Hong Kong in 6th, Whale Capture in 7th, this year's NHK Mile Cup winner Mickey Isle in 8th, the world's top ranker Just Away in 10th post, Tosen Ra with Take on its back is in 16th and the come-back hero, World Ace in 17.

There you have it. And for your infromation, the condition would probably be soft, considering the rain. Hmmm..., interesting.

The End

Caterpillar

2:56 p.m. It either never rains or pours these days.

With so much rain, I'm pretty sure the track condition will be soft. Though of course, I will check it again before the race tomorrow, just to be on the safe side. Have been busy all day so haven't decided anything to buy yet except for my key horse. My key horse this week for the Yasuda Kinen is Whale Capture. Her performance in mile distances in Tokyo is remarkable. The soft track condition? It'll only give her more advantage.

The End

Caterpillar

10:27 p.m. Aw. Just Away proved to be world's number one horse. He won the Yasuda Kinen by a nose against who? Grand Prix Boss! Shonan Mighty and Just Away I had on my wheel, but not Grand Prix Boss. My key horse Whale Capture have sunk in 15th place, just a bit before Mickey Isle.

After the race, we tried to cheer us up by watching videos of old races on my iPad. Mr. N-jima seemed to enjoy it a lot. Guess it brings back old memories. Maybe I'll burn him a DVD.

The End

Caterpillar

2:57 p.m. Yasuda Kinen was a really tough race. The lap time of ten furlongs was 59.1 seconds which is quite fast considering the track condition, so the horses that came within third place must have considerable exhaustion.

Justaway's crew have announced that the horse is registered for Takaraduka Kinen, but they will make the decision whether or not to compete in the race, depending on the horse's condition. If they want to win the l'Arc de Triomphe, I suggest they'd pass Takaraduka to rest the horse, then have him run in either a 1800m or 2000m race in France, at least 4 weeks before l'Arc. The ideal would be for Justaway to lose in this race, somewhere between third to fifth position.

But if Justaway scratches off from Takaraduka, it will become a rather uninteresting race. So in that case, I'd wish the entry of tough front runners. For example, Play And Real, Band Wagon, Win Fullbloom. I wonder if Tokei Halo can make it?

The End

Caterpillar

3:16 p.m. About a week ago, there was a boy with some friends passing by our entrance door on his way home from school, but shortly after he'd passed, I heard a loud yelp, followed by a burst of crying. It seems he was running and obviously, he has fallen hard on the asphalt. I was alarmed, though an old woman who happened to pass by went to his rescue, so I stayed in my seat.

Some time ago, a bunch of school kids passed by and I heard a girl's voice calling out to a boy who has rushed off saying, "Slow down and walk! Otherwise, you're gonna fall again!" As I listened to this nodding to myself, more words were thrown at him in the same girl's voice, "Run, run!"

What does she want him to do? Very confusing.

The End

Caterpillar

2:42 p.m. It has been announced that Just Away had scratched off from Takaraduka Kinen, due to severe exhaustion.

See, I told you he must be tired. I respect the decision, though. Especially, if they're planning to win the l'Arc de Triomphe. But I must say that the members expected to be in Takaraduka Kinen have been degraded, now that Just Away is not going to be in it.

I was meaning to make a list of horses that might be in the race, so that I'll have enough time to consider which ones to buy and which ones not to. I haven't done that yet, but must get it done by, say, the end of next week. After all, I've got my second Takraduka win in a row at stake.

The End

Caterpillar

5:30 p.m. Okay, folks. This is it. FIFA World Cup is starting from tomorrow (Japan time)!

The Japanese media have been critical about the performance of our national team, which is often the case with Japanese, to only look at the bad side of things as to not raise too much hope.

I believe our team has prepared well to face this World Cup, and I have faith in them. Major players have all recovered from their injuries in time, and our key players, Honda, Kagawa, Nagatomo all seem to my eyes, to be improving their conditions. I even think they might be in top condition by the time we finish the group league matches. I can't say at this point if we'll win or not, as no one can foretell what's going to happen in the future, but I have a hunch that we might do pretty well.

I am also very grateful about the support of the local Japanese Brazilians. It means a lot to our team, really.

The End

Caterpillar

4:23 p.m. Cow is searching for ways to revive his USB Flash memory stick.

It is possible that the file he kept in it, mostly online game data, has been fractured and anyway, he can't open the folder. The computer keeps returning error logs and asking if he wants to format the memory device or not.

Meanwhile, Japanese referee for the World Cup match Brazil against Croatia has been dissed because he called a PK. I was half sleeping at the time it occurred, so must check my recorded game after I get back today.

The End

Caterpillar

11:53 a.m. It's sensational. Spain has lost their first match against the Netherlands by 5-1. I'd never even imagined such a thing would happen, but it did. What happened to Iniesta? Xabi Alonso? Did Casillas eat something bad for lunch? Well, they're not going down just like that. Surely, they will fight back?

We're having no grade one races tomorrow, so I could take a little break. I am going to look into the members of Takaraduka Kinen, though, even if they're going to look quite lame.

The End

Caterpillar

9:38 p.m. Japan has lost the first game in FIFA World Cup. Oh, it's been a let down. The loss of course, hit me hard as I've had my hope raised, but what made me feel more regretful is that our boys couldn't play like they should. They didn't have pressure against the Ivory Coast's defenders and mid-fielders. There was no aggressiveness to be seen.

It is said to be extremely difficult to break through the group league when the first game is lost. Though I expect our team to do what they have been working so hard to win in this championship. Be brave, and just run, run, and run. As Amelia Sachs's father says, "When you move, they can't get you." This team doesn't function if the players don't move. I expect them to fight hard and win the next two games. It doesn't matter which team we're up against, they're all tough teams anyway. If I may, I'd like to say a word to the members of this team. Please, please believe in yourselves. Don't worry about the results, get us excited. We can get through this.

The End

Caterpillar

2:31 p.m. There was an article on Yahoo! JAPAN news that our national team has had a pep talk from Zaccheroni at the beginning of today's training. According to the news, our coach seems to have enocouraged his players to have confidence.

I hear the phrase often, in fact so often that I feel like I've been hearing it all my life, to "have confidence." And every time I hear it, I wanted to shoot right back, "But how?" I've been thinking all my life about the answer to this tough question.

So how exactly can I have confidence? Well, my opinion is that you think about what you can do, for your organization. And do it as best as you can. Just focus on what you can do now. Confidence, in my experience, is something that comes later. So don't expect yourself to "have confidence," right now, it's something that follows. Rather, concentrate on what you can do. A little life hack from Caterpillar.

The End

Caterpillar

2:05 p.m. Japanese supporters picking up trash after the game between Ivory Coast are gaining attraction as respectable sports fans, and I'm happy and proud to be one of them. Yes, we like to keep places clean, especially places we share.

In the neighborhood where I live, Tuesdays are collection days for burnable waste and I saw small mounds of garbage along the road this morning, as I exchanged greetings with a man mopping the entrance of his apartment building and walked to the station. Among one of these mounds, I spotted a cardboard box with "May, Killy bag" printed in Japanese characters, handwritten with black marker on the side.

I hate to have to point this out, but it's "Kelly bag," you moron! Besides, cardboards are collected on Saturdays! So much for the polite Japanese.

The End

Caterpillar

5:06 p.m. I transferred some money this morning, from a city bank ATM, to an account of the same bank's branch. I knew I'd be charged of commission charges from my former experience, which infuriated not just me but Cow, too. But I'd forgotten that the consumption tax has been raised since then. The excruciating fact was that I had to pay 108 yen for a money transfer to a branch of the same bank.

108 yen might sound to you like a very small amount of money. But what I'm saying is that this bank is making me pay comission fees, when I'm actually a customer already paying for their services. I deposit my precious money in the bank account, so they can invest it on various things to make THEIR profit. And they make me pay the comission fees when I'm transferring money! What kind of business is that? Isn't that what you call unscrupulous?

The End

Caterpillar

2:09 p.m. Tomorrow, we're having the game against Greece. It will be an important game not to mention, as we will be given a chance to fight another game, and hopefully, proceed to the next stage.

The game will be broadcasted from 7:00 a.m. (Japan time) on NTV (channel 4 on your remote) and their key stations. There isn't much I can do or say at this point. I'll just have to keep my faith in our team. Why they have showed so many great performances in the past four years, there's no reason they might not do it again. I'm just hoping that it'd be tomorrow and next Wednesday.

But I'll have to be careful not to oversleep and miss the game. I'll set the recorder, too, just in case. Oh dear, I'm getting tensed up already.

The End

Caterpillar

2:32 p.m. I am sad, very sad about the game against Greece held this morning. Needless to say, the fact that it ended in a scoreless draw is shocking, yes, but what's more devastating is that I couldn't see almost any agressiveness, despite the players repeating the word like a mantra.

Oh, I am disappointed. The game of Ivory Coast against Columbia was much, much better. Although they've lost, Ivory Coast have fought well against Columbia. They were challenging, brave, creative and decent. They never gave up and kept running until the last second. I believe their performance deserve admiration. And if Ivory Coast goes to the final stage instead of Japan, I shall be very much convinced and will pray for their good luck.

The End

Caterpillar

3:11 p.m. Extremely sleepy. Well, I should be. After all I've been sleeping in the small hours of morning and then, getting up at 6 or 7 every morning throughout the week, thanks to the World Cup.

Since Japan has one more game left in the group league, I have to keep this up until next Wednesday. The broadcasting of the game is going to start from... 5 a.m. Oh God, I have to stay up all night.

The End

Caterpillar

7:10 p.m. I was expecting to see an easy win. Asia Express was going to run in today's Unicorn Stakes, a dirt grade race known as a gateway to success for dirt horses. The crew had boasted beforehand that this race is going to serve as a stepping stone to success considering the horse's talent for dirt races, and that they are not going to enter the horse in another turf race. The win odds seemed to reflect this, which was a mere 1.3 to 1. So I was expecting Asia Express to sweep the race.

He didn't move in the homestretch, no matter how much the jockey tugged or shoved and sank in a miserable 12th place. Unlike his name, the horse didn't look like an express as he did in Asahi-hai last year, but rather a local. So much for the boasting. The horse needs some time off, apparently.

The End

Caterpillar

4:57 p.m. It started raining a little while after noon. I was alarmed and ready to let Cow know, because he'd told me earlier that he had some clothes drying outside.

As I cried out to inform the rain that started falling, Cow went running upstairs to take in the clothes before they got wet. But what surprised me was that mama Cow who usually can't move very fast, went running up the stairs after Cow and was already gone by the time I peered inside the back room to assure her it was okay since Cow has taken care of the clothes. The instinct of a housewife. It's more powerful than I'd even imagined.

The End

Caterpillar

3:16 p.m. Time is coming near for Japan to play against Columbia. It could be our last game in this tournament, because we are going to be knocked out from the final league if we lose.

I've thought a lot about the past two games and how I want our national team to face this game. Of course I want them to win, but now I feel this is the only thing I should say. Please play the best you can right now. If we lose although we've put 100 percent in the game, then that's that. It only means that we weren't good enough yet. We'll accept the results and move on to make a better future.

The End

Caterpillar

2:34 p.m. Our national team has played the best they could. Well, at least for the first half. But we lost by 1-4, a complete defeat.

True, I'm discouraged and sleepy and my eyes are half the usual size with dark lines under them, and I don't feel like doing anything. Still, I have to admit that our team was not good enough nor tough enough to fight in the final tournament. It was obvious, especially after Columbia had sent in Rodriguez. That is why we need to learn from this experience, work harder and keep trying, to change the future.

The End

Caterpillar

2:15 p.m. While we are sinking in sorrow, World Cup is moving on. The group league matches are through about two thirds of the way. The final tournament will follow shortly after.

It's a great chance to see the world's top teams play against each other, and I believe there's always something to learn from great players' great performances.

By the way, I send my belated congrats to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for earning their first winning points in a long while by transcending their ethnic barriers. It must mean a lot to them.

The End

Caterpillar

3:03 p.m. Too bad Zaccheroni is leaving the national team. I don't know him personally, of course not, but he always seemed to respect our culture and style. I admire his efforts to try to understand how we think and behave. It must have been very difficult to work in a foreign country with so much expectations and pressure.

Grazzie di cuore, Alberto Zaccheroni. You have always encouraged our team to be brave and move forward, presenting many exciting games through which we were also encouraged to be brave and face our own challenges. We will remember that. If you feel like working with us again in the future, you are always welcome even if it was not work-related and just for a personal visit.

The End

Caterpillar

3:42 p.m. As soon as I sat in front of the computer, it seems I've dozed off. Lack of sleep is taking a toll on me, thanks to the World Cup and Wimbledon.

I haven't decided which horse to buy yet for the Takaraduka Kinen, though my key jorse would probably be Gold Ship again just like last year, since he's always improved his performance when he runs an uphill course after he screwed up on a flat course. I can't be so sure if he's going to win, but he's got a chance if the race speeds up, especially because his competitors are rather lame.

Nominees for my wheel for now are Hokko Brave, Curren Mirotic, Tosen Jordan, and possibly, Meisho Mambo. Gentil Donna and Win Variation, I might buy to be on the safe side, though I won't be surprised if they sink in fourth or fifth place.

The End

Caterpillar

9:36 p.m. Nooooo. I've keyed Gold Ship and an additional Meisho Mambo in the first place of my trifecta, with Curren Mirotic, Gold Ship, Meisho Mambo in second place, Hokko Brave, Curren Mirotic and Win Variation in third place and look what happened. Gold Ship won, with Curren Mirotic in second and Virxina in third... Virxina?! Virxina???!!! Of all horses, Virxina!

The payout for trifecta turned out to be 251,440 Yen to 100 Yen. Oh, God...

The End

Caterpillar

3:45 p.m. It's gonna take a while to recover from this shock of losing Takaraduka Kinen. It hurts especially after seeing Japan's miserable loss in World Cup.

In the meantime, here's a piece of my proud advice on how a jockey should ride Gold Ship in order to win, just to cheer myself up a bit.

I must say that Nori Yokoyama rode Gold Ship pretty well, judging from the horse's performance and result, which I think provides a clear goal for all jockies to perform well on this horse. First of all, Gold Ship is a horse that runs in a correlation with other horses. He sharpens his concentration among other horses. That's why he tends to give up the race when he's left alone in the back. Added to this, this horse is slow to reach top speed, which is the reason for his almost always lagging behind at the start.

So here's what to do at the beginning of a race to lead the horse's start into success. Rule number one. Jockies must stay calm. Even if Gold Ship drops behind at the start. Don't push and rush him up against his will because he will eventually catch up if you practice the next step correctly.

The End

Caterpillar