2:32 p.m. Who said it would rain? The weekly weather forecast has suudenly turned to sunny marks.

So I wouldn't have to worry about track condition any more. Humph. Well my key horse hasn't changed so far. Haven't made up my mind about others yet, but Cow has been searching hte favored odds from the past Tennno-sho. According to his dutiful research, you are likely to win if you buy the top five favored horses.

The End

Caterpillar

10:07 p.m. I was going to stick to Isla Bonita from last week, so have keyed Isla Bonita and bought Gentil Donna, Denim And Ruby, Epiphaneia, Decypher on my trio wheel.

Deep Impact's children, Spielberg and Gentil Donna have made a one-two finish, while Isla Bonita hanged on 3rd place. The first three furlongs' lap time was 36.4 seconds so the pace wasn't that fast. No wonder it became an instantaneous force contest. Considering that, think Isla Bonita did pretty well. But Fenomeno's loss seems quite serious. I'm afraid this might affect his already scheduled races, Japan Cup and Arima Kinen.

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Caterpillar

11:00 p.m. Have reviewed the process of race calling because I've found a glitch in it. On my notes for Tenno-sho, I'd put down the ideal gains and losses of each horse and, according to that note, I was supposed to buy Spielberg instead of Decypher but I've missed it, probably because I was in a hurry to mark the bubble cards. It's no use crying over spilt milk, but if I checked my notes and did exactly what I'd planned to, I could have won the race.

To avoid such tragedy to happen again, I'm thinking of revising the process, possibly and hopefullly cutting out a few steps as to make the whole thing more simple.

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Caterpillar

2:50 p.m. Admire Rakti, who has won last year's Diamond Stakes (G3) and has been traveling to Australia to run in the Melbourne Cup, has been hit with a fatal accident.

He had a late start but pushed up to the 2nd as he swung around the corners of the 3,200 meter course, but dropped all the way to the back as he entered the homestretch. He came in last and it was obvious that something had happened to the horse. According to Yahoo! Japan News, Admire Rakti collapsed to the ground in his stall after the race and in spite of the efforts of his crew and veterinarian, they couldn't save him.

Admire Rakti had just won his first G1 in Caulfield Cup so his fans must have been raising their hopes. His owner and crews must have had Arima Kinen after this in their minds. I'm so sorry that he had to leave so soon. I hate to have to put it in such a common expression, but hope he rests in peace.

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Caterpillar

5:23 p.m. Tennno-sho winner, Spielberg has been announced to enter Japan Cup as his next race, while One And Only who disappointed the fans by losing in 9th place in Kikka-sho has also been announced to run Japan Cup.

Forthe past several years, horses coming from overseas to run Japan Cup has been getting less and less. Although the race was first established as an international race to offer horse race fans an exciting battle between domestic horses and great champion horses from abroad, foreign horses now choose to enter in G1 races held in Hong Kong for more prize, while some of them run Japan Cup as a prep race.

Mr. N-jima, Cow and I have been joking about it just last Sunday, but it really is starting to look like a Japan "Only" Cup.

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Caterpillar

4:09 p.m. As I was on a subway today, I've seen a baby rat inside the subway car.

There weren't so many passengers on board and most of them were either sleeping or busy fiddling with their smartphones, and fortunately or unfortunately enough, I seemed to be the first to spot it. It was panic stricken, running up and down the car under the seats. Stupid little rascal, probably didn't listen to his mom and strayed off. Now there's no chance he's going to get home to his mother and siblings as he is not on the Yamanote line that loops around and around. Too bad, little one.

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Caterpillar

1:19 p.m. There won't be any G1 races held this weekend as there is Argentina Republic Cup (G2), so the next G1, Queen Elizabeth Cup is another week away. After that, there's the Mile Championships, and then Japan Cup.

But Japan Cup is rapidly gaining attention with big names announcing their entries. Here are some of those names as of today: Gentil Donna, Harp Star, Just A Way, Isla Bonita, One And Only, Spielberg, Epiphaneia, Fenomeno, Denim And Ruby. Already seven G1 winners.

By the way, my key horse at this moment is Just A Way. You should never underestimate a horse that won a Tokyo mile G1. Well, that's what I learned from El Condor Pasa and Vodka.

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Caterpillar

3:25 p.m. My afternoon meetings has been cancelled, but I've squeezed out what I can in the morning and my brain is fried. I'm tired, cold, sleep-deprived, and as usual, Cow is not helping at all.

3:34 p.m. Stupid Cow, just came out to check the name of a jockey on the Internet. He's leaving me in the cold office and staying in the back room watching horse race on TV, keeping himself warm in the Kotatsu (traditional heating table, with heating equipment attached to the back of the table top, so that it keeps your legs warm while you're at the table). Evil.

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Caterpillar

4:02 p.m. Not a very nice weather, but had to do my washing. It was getting cool, so decided to put my straw sheet away and pull out my heating carpet. The season is changing. Good thing I'd washed the pull-over cover clean.

Just turned the carpet on to check it works. Mmm... how nice to feel warmth under my bottom when I'm sitting on the carpet! Very encouraging when I'm facing a ton of tasks including collecting data for this weekend's Queen Elizabeth Cup. Must huryy, though. Haven't got all day.

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Caterpillar

5:05 p.m. Have been busy today and almost forgot that it started with the breaking news of Kei "Nikkori" Nishikori beating Andy Murray (!!) in the World Tour Finals.

And why isn't NHK broadcasting the tournament? Don't they ever learn from mistakes? And they're charging you 1,260 yen per month? What kind of TV station is that?

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Caterpillar

3:11 p.m. The temperature is repeating its ups and downs and today seems to be the down day.

On a day like this, I can't stop myself from longing for an item like this: A Kotatsu that can spoil you This is supposed to be a "kotatsu hooded parka" which appeared in a life-style brand trade show called KORI-SHOW. The kotatsu quilt is a combination of four parkas made from water-shedding stretchy material, and each parka can be detached to be worn separately.

If this isn't creative, what is?

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Caterpillar

2:49 p.m. I came by this video clip and couldn't help bursting out laughing. Someone has apparently dubbed a yodel song onto a street dancer's video clip, only to find out that it proved an amazing synchronicity. Getting down to yodeling song

Hope this would be viewed by many people. It surely made me forget my worries.

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Caterpillar

3:36 p.m. Around one in the morning as I finished preparing my lunch and was going up to my room, I heard a noise outside the door. At first, I thought it was a cat because there's been a couple of strays messing around our property.

But as I listened holding my breath, I heard footsteps. No cat would walk on two feet nor where shoes on them. Then, the creaking sound of the gates opened and closed. This definitely must be human. As an emergency alert started flashing in my head, I heard the sound of a motor bike running away. Oh, god. It must be a burgler. Why did he come to us? We don't have money or valuables that he thinks we have. What if he comes back to break in? My parents were fast asleep. I can't count on them for help. What am I going to do?

I was scared, but it felt me more uneasy to go to sleep having the thought of burglers lurking around, so I plucked up some courage and undid the locks to take a peek outside. There was a brand new cold box beaming by the door. Milkman. I didn't know milkmen came around to replace cold boxes way past midnight.

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Caterpillar

2:54 p.m. Amazing. Kei Nishikori has beat David Ferrer in the World Tour Finals and has made it to the semi-finals. That means he is going to play against Djokovic.

It must not have been easy for Kei when his would-be opponent Raonic had been replaced with Ferrer due to an injury, but he still played well and here he is! There's more. According to Mr. Shuzo Matsuoka, former tennis player and now an enthusiastic sports fan who also supported Nishikori from his youth, Kei is very much motivated by the match he'd had with Federer. He is probably longing to play against Federer once again, and that must be raising his motivation.

Good news goes on. TV Asahi has decided to broadcast the semi-final game! Yes! The broadcasting schedule is expected to be either from November 15th, 11:06 p.m., or November 16th, 4:50 a.m. and will be announced officially after confirming the results of Group A round-robin tomorrow morning. Just can't wait to see the rematch of the U.S. Open.

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Caterpillar

2:04 p.m. Laxis is in post number 1, Nuovo Record is in 5, Meisho Mambo is in 6, Whale Capture in 9, Virxina in 10, Red Reveur in 11, Shonan Pandra in 12, Smart Layer is in 16 and Aroma Tico is in 18 for the Elizabeth Queen Cup barrier draw.

Meisho Mambo seems to be the second favored after Nuovo Record, but cannot imagine her performing well. Meisho Mambo doesn't like to squashed, nor hold herself down when the pace is slow. True, the race might possibly go on at a slightly higher pace than her previous one, which took 36.3 seconds for the first 3 furlongs, still the situation is unstable and you never know what's it gonna be until they actually start running. Additionally, she's not even in the outer post, that means there's a high risk for her to get squashed, unless she drops all the way to the back and sweep up the outside, though that would make it harder for her to win.

Another thing that's puzzling me is that Whale Capture is also entered in next week's Mile Championship. Would she really run G1 races two in a row? If so, chances are that she's aimed for next week, and not this week. Hmmm, mysterious.

By the way, TV Asahi has announced to broadcast the semi-final of ATP World Tour Finals from 11:06 tonight. Yess!

The End

Caterpillar

9:55 p.m. As there were no obvious reasons that Meisho Mambo would pereform well, I cut her out. And I cut Smart Layer out because she had gained 12kg, which was apparently the price she paid for her nice performance in the previous two grade races, and I also cut Dia de la Madre out just because I didn't want her to come within third place. So my exacta was a wheel of Lachesys (sorry I got the spelling wrong yesterday), Hula Bride, Quatre Feuilles, Grace Flower, Whale Capture and Aromatico keying Nuovo Record in the first place. My trio was also a wheel keying Nuovo Record, with Lachesys, Hula Bride, Quatre Feuilles and Aromatico.

Dia de la Madre comes flying from behind slipping into third place and Lachesys beats my key horse. Oh, please.

The End

Caterpillar

3:42 p.m. I have just seen a shocking photo on the news about ATP World Tour Finals. It's a photo of Djokovic holding the champion cup in his hands. How? What happened? I'm sure I haven't seen the final match of Djokovic versus Federer yet.

Gee, Federer has scratched off the match due to his back pain. No wonder Novak is plastering a sour smile on his face. He probably wasn't 100% happy when he beat Kei in the semi-final match. Novak must know better than anyone that Kei is getting better every match. He must be hearing the steps of Kei creeping up right behind him.

Kei's defeat was a let down, especially because he had a big chance to win right after the second set, but he broke down under pressure. Still, the match was a good experience, I'm sure.

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Caterpillar

2:39 p.m. Cow has tried turning on the oil fan heater yesterday, only to find out that it didn't work.

The power switch button had already been broken for several years, so Cow had taken off the switch cover revealing the bare circuit board, and we've been turning on and off the heater by completing the circuit using the tips of a pair of scissors.

This time, he'd figured, that a different line was cut off from the circuit board. He's currently trying to solder the line to see if that could help revive the heater.

So we're not buying a new one yet? Aye-aye, sir.

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Caterpillar

3:44 p.m. Despite Cow's diligent attempt to save the oil fan heater, it didn't work and eventually, he had to go and get a new heater.

The new one is not a fan heater, but a simple oil heater so you can put a kettle on the top or bake sweet potatoes or toast mochi. It only uses electricity for the power switch, so as long you provide batteries, you can use it even when there is a blackout. And if the power switch cicuit goes out, you can probably turn the heater on by simply lighting it with a lighter or match.

Though this new heater is going to be replaced with the heater in the back room and we're going to use the old one in the office. Well, old heater is better than no heater at all.

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Caterpillar

5:19 p.m. Gee, haven't had time to do anything. Was too busy preparing for my meetings. I haven't even taken a peek at the members for Mile Championships.

The new heater, which is the old heater because it was actually used in the back room for some time, is very nice. It's a pity I can't show you how nice it is to turn it on with a slight touch to the button, not by connecting a wire to the circuit board with a pair of scissors. Especially on a chilly day like today, I am gratified by the warm air blowing out from the front panel.

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Caterpillar

4:01 p.m. The barrier draw for Mile Championships has been announced. Tosen Ra, last year's defending champion is in post number 13, Sadam Patek is in 4, Red Arion is in 5, World Ace is in 9, Logo Type is in 10, Clarente is in 11, Danon Shark is in 12, Grand Prix Boss is in 14, and Mickey Isle is in 15.

Haven't analyzed the list of horses yet since I've been pretty busy, but personally, am interested in Tagano Grandpa in number 16. Think I've never seen a 3-year-old run in Mile Championships, after running Kikkasho. Wonder how he weill perform? Considering that Tosen Ra has already beaten some of the members last year and, that others don't seem very attractive, perhaps chances might be open for fresh 3-year-olds.

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Caterpillar

4:38 p.m. Haven't been able to write as Cow keeps bothering me with his aimless questions about Mile Championships, "Why is Fiero so favored?" or "Tosen Ra musn't be in such a good condition, don't you think?" Everything I said seemed to fail to convince him so far.

Cow is now calling Mr. N-jima for opinions. He seems to be sticking to the idea of buying horses in inner posts. Hmm... they don't seem very attractive to me. I'm tempted to make Tosen Ra my key horse for now. I wouldn't say he'd win, but he's already proven he could perform well in Kyoto mile.

I can't say anything concrete about others. Mickey Isle seems risky, as this is his first time running a mile after winning 1400 meters. He might collapse under pressure, but he might hang on. After all, he was fresh out of break when he won the prep race. And since I'm not sure about the horse, might as well buy him.

The End

Caterpillar

9:42 p.m. My call was completely off the mark.

Actually, I've been torn between keying Tosen Ra and Danon Shark, but at the last minute, made my final decision to make it Tosen Ra. I hadn't been able to finish all the anaysis, so have taken almost a blind guess that the pace would be either medium or slow, without much reason. It would become harder for Tosen Ra to win if the pace went slow, but he'll probably be able to slip in 3rd place. Otherwise, why would Yutaka have come in 3rd place in the last race yesterday?

Sadly, Tosen Ra didn't make it to 3rd place by 3 quarters of a length. Instead, it was Grandezza who made it to third place, and Fiero, to second place. And the winner, Danon Shark.

The End

Caterpillar

6:40 p.m. I've just finished watching the film, Mamma Mia! Someone I know had lent me the DVD and spending my holiday watching a DVD seemed like such a nice idea to spend my holiday afternoon, even though I had a lot of other things waiting, so just popped it in my lap-top and watched it (unfortunately, I don't have a DVD player for myself, only an HDD recorder to keep TV shows on).

Meryl Streep was great. I've always thought she was a talented, no, gifted actress, but she was marvelous in the film. Didn't know she was such a good singer as well!

And now, the fun time is over. Back to the tons of tasks. Awwww.

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Caterpillar

3:08 p.m. I've just checked the video of yesterday's Race 12 at Kyoto. Christophe Lemaire who was riding Ferguson has been thrown off the horse, as the horse bolted off toward the inside and crashed into the rail. It seems that the horse has been too surprised when Lemaire had struck him on the left shoulder in the last stretch.

Lemaire has been diagnosed with fractures of right shinbone, little finger of his right hand, and some cuts and scrapes. Due to this injury, he will not be able to ride Fenomeno, and Iwata has been announced to be replace him.

I feel sorry for Lemaire, but well, let's look at the bright side. Now he can use a large chunk of time to prepare for the secondary stage of the Japanese jockey license examination, which includes a Japanese oral test.

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Caterpillar

3:06 p.m. Brrrr. Chilly. And it's still raining, ugh.

Well, it must be much colder in the north-eastern part of the U.S. I think I've read it somewhere lately, probably in Yahoo! news or something, that they're being hit by a cold wave somehwhere around Buffalo.

I've been planning to contact my old friend in New York for some time, also wanting to send something to help my friend keep warm from the severe coldness that seem to have been settling in New York for the past several winters. And I've finally decided, to send my friend disposable pocket warmers! A good idea, if I may say so myself. I'm sure it's going to make a unique Christmas present.

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Caterpillar

4:30 p.m. But of course, there are strict regulations about sending disposable pocket warmers to the U.S. via postal service. And I was going to write about it, but have accidentally clicked on the barrier draw of Japan Cup, so decided to report that first.

Okay, here goes. Just A Way is in post number 1, Ivan Howe is in 2, Gentil Donna is in 3, Epiphaneia is in 4, Hit The Target is in 5, Harp Star in 6, Up With the Birds in 7, Denim And Ruby in 8, Isla Bonita in 9, One And Only in 10, Tosen Jordan in 11, Tmamo Best Play in 12, Decipher in 13, Satono Shuren in 14, Spielberg in 15, Fenomeno in 16, Uncoiled in 17, Trading Leather in 18. There. All 18 horses.

Humph. Gentil Donna. That horse has got luck on her side. On the other hand, it wasn't so good for Isla Bonita. Luck seems to be wearing out on Fenomeno, Uncoiled and Trading Leather.

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Caterpillar

4:34 p.m. Japanese postal service, JP Post offers a list of diposable pocket warmer manufacturers with permits to send abroad via international postal service. For those who are thinking of sending disposable pocket warmers overseas, might as well take a look and make sure you buy the ones manufactured by these companies.

I was about a quarter through writing out all the names of the permitted manufacturers because I thougt there were no English page of this llist, but I've accidentally dug it out while searching English versions of the company names so here's the list. List of Manufacturers of Disposable Body Warmers that Can Be Sent by International Mail I wonder why they don't put a link from the Japanese page...

Gosh, I wish I'd found this page earlier so I could have spent more time on pouring over the past racing results of Just A Way and Epiphaneia.

The End

Caterpillar

4:32 p.m. Another busy week has gone by. Business was slow, but I had to pay attention to so many different things that I am exhausted.

So exhausted that I almost forgot to take a look at the model of Vodka displayed in Shibuya station. Yes, Vodka, again. But this time, she was, I mean her model, was somehow much larger than the one I'd seen before the Japanese D'erby. Well, huge.

Not to mention, I haven't considered my key horse yet, but I'm thinking that there might be a chance for Epiphaneia if the track condition stays soft. At first, I thought Hit The Target can be interesting as he drew an inner post, but as time wore on I came to think he is on the border of 3rd place and 4th. To me, Harpstar seems too risky. As a matter of fact, I'm still in the middle of analyzing Just A Way and One And Only. Perhaps One And only might have a better shot as he is more fresh. As for Isla Bonita, hmmm...

The End

Caterpillar

9:36 p.m. Since I've checked yesterday's races and today's race 10, I knew that the track condition was not as firm as it seemed. So I figured Epiphaneia would win if he took the lead. Now the problem was which to buy, One And Only or Just A Way. I was afraid that Just A Way might stay too far behind, or get locked inside in the stretch, so I decided to buy One And Only.

And he loses. Oh, man. That was my last 1,000 yen bill.

The End

Caterpillar