2:31 p.m. I really don't have much idea about a 1800m dirt race run on Chukyo course. And because JRA changes the race tracks, the distance, the name almost every year, I've written Challenge Cup instead of Champion's Cup yesterday. Will apologize and correct my error, it's Champion's Cup.

As a matter of fact, this race has only started since last year, sliding the Hanshin 1800m dirt race to Chukyo 1800m dirt, replacing the former name Japan Cup Dirt. But when it comes to Chukyo dirt 1800m races, there are only 2 graderaces at the moment, Tokai Stakes and this Champion's Cup, both of which started in the past couple of years. This means I have very little data to analyze the race properly.

I'll have to start from learning about this condition. Well, there is a first time for everything, as they say.

The End

Caterpillar

3:03 p.m. Before I knew it, we've entered December and Christmas is only 3 weeks away! Not that I have any special events, though.

I would be most grateful if I'd been met with a happy surprise such as this: EDEKA - Kassensymphonie

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Caterpillar

2:12 p.m. I have been feeling a bit uneasy about Champion's Cup since I'm not good at calling dirt races, and checking the entry form several times a day.

But I realized there's not much I can do before they announce the barrier draw, especially because there's only one year of data from the past. I'll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, JoOusama has put up a fuss again to ruin my morning. Humph, good grief.

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Caterpillar

2:55 p.m. All right, now I have the barrier draw.

3-year-old Nonko No Yume is in post number1, Kopano Rickey is in 7, Danon Liberty is in 8, Roman Legend is in 9, Grape Brandy is in 10, the defending Champion, Hokko Tarumae is in 13, Gun Pit is in 14.

Tarumae has drawn a good barrier. If nothing goes wrong, I have a feeling he won't lose big.

The End

Caterpillar

2:08 p.m. As I was looking at the Champion's Cup racing form online yesterday evening, I noticed an abnormal drop in the odds. Nonko no Yume's win odds had dropped drastically to 1.8 to 1! According to the BBS, the odds have even been lower earlier, at 1.3 to 1! Unthinkable!! True the horse has only lost once below 4th place, but this odds is obviously unnatural.

Cow and I have discussed about it this morning, though we couldn't make anything out of it. In the end, we had to agree that perhaps we should keep Nonko on the wheel, just to be on the safe side. We've seen something like this happen a number of times in recent years, in which many cases the horses have come in within 3rd place. It was the Mile Championship in 2012 when we first noticed this phenomenon, with Sadam Patek's win odds dropping from the 20s to the 10s, still winning the race.

Personally, I am being quite skeptical about Nonko's case, but you never know until the race is actually over. So I think I'll just keep him in both my exacta and trifecta wheel. Others on the wheel would be Sound True, Kopano Rickey, Hokko Tarumae, with possibly, Namura Victor and Danon Liberty. As for the key, I'm torn between Tarumae and Rickey.

The End

Caterpillar

11:05 p.m. I've been blown by unmarked horses again. That's 2 weeks in a row, including Last Impact who came in 2nd in Japan Cup. Sun Vista was totally unmarked.

I've changed my key horse, though. Was going to key either Hokko Tarumae or Kopano Rickey until half an hour before the race, but seeing that both horses had gained weight where they should have lost, I decided that these two horses were too risky to buy as key horses. So I'd switched to plan B, keying Sound True. At least, I made a right turn there.

The End

Caterpillar

2:13 p.m. I don't know why but am tired. So tired that I don't want to move another inch if I didn't have to.

Despite my fatigue, Champions Cup has taught me a lot of things. That's "Champions Cup," not "Champion's Cup." I've been typing the race name with the apostrophe without much thinking, but I discovered yesterday that the correct name didn't have an apostrophe. Though I still can't understand why JRA wants to make so many champions in one race instead of one every year.

Sorry I side-tracked. Anyway, I've learned that Chukyo dirt 1800m races are mostly run in a tight lap, and that horses that perform well in such a race need to have lots of energy, with good physical strength and stamina. On the other hand, horses that have damage from winning the previous race tend to drop out, especially if the previous race is a G1. Very interesting. Enough to learn in exchange for this fatigue.

The End

Caterpillar

1:49 p.m. Although we're still having G1 races, I am losing interest in the coming up Juvenile Fillies lately.

Since the Hanshin race tracks has renewed in 2003 (I think it was 2003), the course that once played a big role in making the races tough has changed completely. With a widened course and spiral coners the laps have slackened, the races run on this course have become less interesting, allowing more horses with instantaneous speed to win.

This trend is especially clear in 1600m races, which has made the Juvenile Fillies and Oukasho less interesting.

The End

Caterpillar

2:51 p.m. I've been wanting to buy myself a new backpack for months now. But the problem is, I can't find my perfect match.

My priority is the durability, though I'm surely asking for a good value for money. I want a 20 to 25L durable backpack, with mesh on the back and shoulder straps to avoid it sticking to my back when sweating, waterproof preferrable, for less than 10,000 Yen. Color? Well, I don't mind much about it, but am thinking black or gray.

Wonder if that's asking too much?

The End

Caterpillar

2:10 p.m. Seems I've finally caught cold.

The night before yesterday, I've accidentally fell asleep on the heating carpet after I got out of bath. The most likely situation to catch cold! Well, I must have been exhausted, way over my capacity.

That is why I'm sucking on Ricola Lemon Mint herb candy currently, to make my swollen throat feel at least a little better. Not that anyone cares, though.

The End

Caterpillar

2:35 p.m. Trains and subways have been delayed due to the eerily warm and windy weather, and it took me more than twice the time I needed to get to my office. Humph.

Meantime, news about horses are coming in. Duramente is coming back from injury, with his next race scheduled for Nakayama Kinen in February. Gold Actor who has been worried about whether or not he could make it to Arima Kinen because of lack of prize money, apparently can make it to the big race, while Gold Ship has earned an honorable number one two years in a row, in the Arima Kinen fans' popularity poll. And due to the fact that his rider will go back to Uchida for Gold Ship's last run, the former rider Yokoyama is riding Kitasan Black, the Kikka-sho winner that Kitamura had been riding.

As for Juvenile Fillies, the barrier draw has been announced with Major Emblem, the horse to beat drawing an ideal post number 2. Guess I shouldn't go against her this time.

The End

Caterpillar

1:32 p.m. My morning meeting had been cancelled so I was looking for a nice backpack on Amazon. Luckily, I've dug out a reasonable 25L backpack so I decided on the spot and click-bought it. That will be a Christmas present for myself. I mean, how lonesome could I be to have to buy a Christmas present for myself?

As I've mentioned earlier, I still can't brew up much interest in Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, although it's only a day away. Well, since there seems to be no good going against Major Emblem this time, I would probably key this horse hoping that the lap would become tough. Medjerda on the outside probably also wants to take the lead, so I'm thinking there's a high possibility that it's going to be a high-lapped race. If so, the chance of winning increases for Major Emblem. For the wheel, Ma Cherie Girl, Personallite, Win Fabulous, Peptide Supple, Blanc Bonheur would be my candidates if the lap becomes tough, while there may be chances for Queue du Lapin, At The Seaside, Denko Ange if the lap slackens.

The End

Caterpillar

9:20 p.m. Impossible. I thought I'd decided that if the lap becomes tough, it would be better for Major Emblem, Ma Cherie Girl, Personallite, Win Fabulous, Peptide Supple, Blanc Bonheur! Then WHY HAVEN'T I BOUGHT BLANC NONHEUR!!!!??

Stupid me, stupid me, stupid me, stupid, me, STUPID MEEEE!!! The payout for trifecta has been 39,480 Yen! And I haven't bought any? What's with me, I really must be stupid!

The End

Caterpillar

3:07 p.m. Looking back this autumn season, I've realized that there were 4 races I could have won if I hadn't been too thoughtless; Kikka-sho, Tennno-sho, Mile Championship and yesterday's Juvenile Fillies. This is bad. Really bad. Because if I'd been more careful and had won these 4 races, I would have won 5 races this season adding Elizabeth Queen Cup. Sigh. Must think of what I can do to adjust this.

Meanwhile, my early Christmas present backpack has arrived.

The End

Caterpillar

1:46 p.m. While I've been bickering about the failure of the autumn season, Morris won Hong Kong Mile (International G1), and Eishin Hikari, Hong Kong Cup (also an International G1).

It seems Morris has become like Lord Kanaloah, and I'm afraid there aren't horses that can beat him in Japan for the moment. As for Eishin Hikari, I'm simply happy that he's won a G1 race, which also must have been a nice gift for his rider, too. Yutaka deserves the credit though, as he's been having a hard time controling this rascal. Anyway, it's always good to see one of your favorite horses take the lead to hit the wire first, especially when it's a G1. Besides, Hong Kong Cup ended in a one-two finish of Japanese horses, Eishin Hikari and Nuovo Record. I wonder what's with Nuovo always a bit too late to win, but reckon it's her "usual" spot.

The End

Caterpillar

2:51 p.m. My cold has been lingering since last week and my voice started to get hoarse from the day before yesterday. Still, I had to go through 3 meetings yesterday while my voice got raspier and huskier as the day neared to the end. By the time I got home, I was having a hard time even coughing up, because no voice came out. I never thought I would have troubel coughing without my voice. And today, I've lost my voice almost completely. I'm barely able to speak in a low whisper.

Last Sunday, I'd gone through all the trouble to download music and make a Christmas Song playlist on my iPod, and although I can listen to it on my way to and from work, I can't sing along with my voice gone. It's totally frustrating!!

The End

Caterpillar

4:44 p.m. Since it was still Thursday today and I had work as usual as well as a couple of meetings, having no voice meant trouble. So I put my best in to recover and regain my voice. And here's what I did.

Last night before going to sleep. I took over-the-counter cold medicine, applied mouthwash for goggling directly onto my throat using cotton earbuds, stuck a plaster (for reducing muscle aches) on my neck, wrapped my neck with a towel and wore a mace mask with a wet piece of gauze between my mouth and the mask, to keep the moisture. With the help of these quick homemade remedies, thank God, my voice has returned a bit and I can speak today, although merely in a soft, low voice. I could even sing as long as the tune is in a lower key!

For those who might be suffering hoarse voices due to cold, perhaps this can be some good news?

The End

Caterpillar

3:47 p.m. The barrier draw for Asahi-hai Futurity Stakes has been announced, and it seems Air Spinel the horse to beat, has drawn post nunmber 11. Think he drew a nice post.

I hate to have to admit it, but I've just realized that this race was going to be run on Hanshin tracks, not Nakayama. My long years of buying betting tickets have inprinted that Asahi-hai was run on Nakayama however, JRA had changed the course to Hanshin from last year. I'd totally forgot about that up until now. So confusing!

The End

Caterpillar

1:28 p.m. Currently my head is filled with Christmas songs and I haven't given Asahi-hai a proper thought. Since I have only a year worth of data, it is difficult for me to be sure about anything, which is why I'm lacking motivation. It's going to be run on the same course as last week though, so I think it's all right to call the race from the same standpoint as the Juvenile Fillies.

Air Spinel seems one step ahead judging from his previous race, but can't quite trust him to win yet given the utterly poor performance last week of the same King Kamehameha descendent, At The Seaside. I will key him probably, but will also buy exactas with Spinel on the 2nd. As for others, when I turn my eyes to the inward barriers there is a Daiwa Major descendent in post number 2 called, Shonan Rise however, I am not so sure if he will perform as good as Major Emblem. Might keep him on the wheel though, as he's drawn an inner post which helps to control the horse, and has had a short recess after his previous race that might also help.

So far, my candidates for the wheel are Saimon Seele, Shonan Rise, Admire Morale, Yu Change, Immortal, Taisei Summit, Shadow Approach, Leontes.

The End

Caterpillar

6:00 p.m. I won. My exacta with Air Spinel on 2nd and Leontes on 1st was a clean hit. Additionally, I bought a win for Leontes although it was just a bit, because I'd thought if Air Spinel were to lose, Leontes was the only horse that could beat him. So I actually have won an exacta and a win. But then, why am I not so happy?

I'd checked out Leontes's previous race which was also his first race in his career last night, and decided that this horse was gifted. If he doesn't meet any injuries, I thought he might even win a triple crown. So I'd told that to Cow while I was asking him to buy my betting tickets through the Internet, and stupid Cow has bought a win, exacta and a trio with Leontes, Air Spinel and Shadow Approach! The annoying fact is that the payout of trio has been 8,160 Yen, while my exacta and win put together merely amounted to 1,930 Yen. Grrrr!

The End

Caterpillar

1:14 p.m. This time. This time I am determined!

It takes me days to figure out which horses might actually perform better than their previous races to win a G1 every time, and it annoys me when someone like Cow comes to draw out information at the last minute to win a better payout than me. It makes me feel like my hard work has been snatched away. Besides, I've been crediting Cow for a couple of times already this season; Kikka-sho, Mile Championship, and Asahi-hai. It seems I've been too gentle on him.

So I am determined not to leak any information concerning my calls for Arima-kinen to Cow. No, not even a trickle. Let the stupid Cow earn his own wins at least.

The End

Caterpillar

2:39 p.m. I've just caught news that Tosen Reve is going to be in Arima-kinen after winning December Stakes last week. That puts him in a tight spot of running 2 races in a row. At this moment, it seems very unlikely for this horse to perform well. let alone win Arima-kinen. But what about 2nd or 3rd place?

Tosen Reve is one of the few remaining active horses from the same generation as Orfevre and Win Variation. He'd lost in 3rd place against Win Variation in Aoba-sho, the prep race for Japanese D'erby but the gap was only by a length. The horse hasn't run long distances over 2400m since the D'erby, though his broodmare sire seems to provide enough physical capacity.

Besides, Tosen Reve has probably never raced against the members entering Arima-kinen this year, perhaps he can stage a dramatical ending?

The End

Caterpillar

10:51 p.m. Cow has urged me to get a move on with the design for the New Year greeting cards, so although it was a public holiday today, had to do my homework assignment grrrr... I've finally finished up with two designs, design A and design B, just like the designs for our new olympic stadium. Will send it immediately to Cow via e-mail, humph.

While I've been working off my holiday, it seems that Shonan Pandra has scratched off from Arima-kinen. Oh, darn! She was sure to be favored as she's won Japan Cup. Well, if Shonan Pandra's out, there must be some other horse in, which one would that be?

Ah, so it's Shonan Pandra out, and Derby Fizz in.

The End

Caterpillar

2:19 p.m. And so, the barrier draw for Arima-kinen has been announced on today of all days, Christmas eve.

Last Impact is in post number 3, Lovely Day in 4, the Argentina Republic Cup winner Gold Actor is in 7, One And Only is in 8, Sounds of Earth in 9, Tosen Reve in 10, Kitasan Black in 11, Lear Fail in 12, Rouge Buck in 13, Gold Ship in 15 and Maria Light in 16. Gold Ship is practically gone.

After all, JRA must have valued Lovely Day more than Gold Ship for some reason. Otherwise, they sould have done something to give an inner barrier to the horse for his last run. Man, how could they be so evil? It's Christmas, you know?

The End

Caterpillar

5:29 p.m. As I didn't have any meetings scheduled today, I was planning on finishing up several things. But when I reached the office, Mr. N-jima welcomed me at the table. Apparently, he's been there for some time.

It's still Friday and I hadn't quite made up my mind on anything concerning Arima-kinen, though Mr. N-jima had brought his Nikkan Sports as usual, and so the topic focused on Arima-kinen. It seems the old guy has already decided what to buy, so might as well announce it here just for fun. Mr. N-jima is planning to buy : Gold Actor and Lia Fail for the 1st place on his trifecta, Admire Deus and Rouge Buck on 2nd place, with Hit The Target, Sounds Of Earth and Gold Ship in the 3rd place.

He might drastically change his mind at the last minute, however. He's that kind of person.

The End

Caterpillar

2:29 p.m. It's my last day at work this year. We've finished the year-end cleaning and now are onto the task of printing out greeting cards. After that we need to write messages on the cards, while I still have another meeting to go through.

So don't think I'll have much time to ponder my choices for Arima-kinen this afternoon. The horses left so far are : Hit The Target, Gold Actor, Kitasan Black, Rouge Buck and Gold Ship. I'm thinking, Lovely Day and Lia Fail might have a chance if the lap slackens. Haven't decided which horse to key though. Will need a good deal of thinking tonight. Happy Arima-kinen, everyone!

The End

Caterpillar

11:11 p.m. There was no way for Gold Ship to win with such a slackened lap.

Given that the first 500m passed in a drooping 30.9 seconds, which happened to be the second slowest lap since 19 years ago when Sakura Laurel had won, it was only natural for the horses that carried out the race up front to perform well. So there is no surprise in Rouge Buck or Hit The Target sinking way below. Though I don't know what exactly happened to Lia Fail. Must check out the video, but it probabaly has something to do with the position he kept in the race. Obviously, it was better for Lia Fail to take the lead, instead of stalking Kitasan Black.

Still, the off-track betting was packed, thanks to Gold Ship's last run. And there were roars of cheering from the spectators, when Gold Ship jumped out from the barrier without incident, charged up to 3rd from the top in the back stretch, and swung around the last corner keeping his position. The horse has entertained us well, regardless of his results. He will stay as one of my favorite horses, as long as I live.

The End

Caterpillar

10:06 p.m. Ahhh, finally the start of my year-end-New-Year holidays.

And I've just sent out all the greeting cards I can for now. I'll just have to reply to the ones that come in later. That's one load off my shoulder, phew. Now I can spend what's remaining of today reviewing Arima-kinen and watching anime or movies, hah!

The End

Caterpillar

3:09 p.m. Tokyo Dai-shoten is going to be run at Ohi today, it's literally the last G1 race of this season though it's on local tracks, not JRA. I'm glad I didn't have to go down there this year, as I was screwed last year.

But just in case people want to know, I've checked out the racing form. If I were to bet, I'd probably key Kopano Rickey on the first place of trifecta, and buy a wheel of Happy Sprint (2nd), Namura Victor(3rd) and Hokko Tarumae(3rd) as insurance.

The race runs at 4:30, so let's see what it'd be like. Ahh, feel much relaxed this year watching the race on TV!

The End

Caterpillar

6:17 p.m. It's good I didn't buy Tokyo Dai-shoten.

As you might already know, the race finished with Sound True taking over Hokko Tarumae, that kept picking on Kopano Rickey (I guess Take must have been pretty annoyed with that, even thugh he'd probably predicted something like this would happen), with good old Wonder Accute stalking in 3rd position to finish 3rd.

Mr. N-jima had boasted after Arima Kinen that he'd definitely buy from Wonder Accute, so he must be in chagrin by now. I can't imagine him sticking Hokko Tarumae on 2nd place and he surely wouldn't put Sound True on the 1st place of his trifecta. Besides, even if he'd won, the payout was ridiculous.

The End

Caterpillar

6:41 p.m. Since the garbage collection for this year has already finished, I decided to give up on the year-end cleaning altogether. JoOusama would merely complain even if I cleaned the oil-covered kitchen fan anyway. So I was just going to visit the family grave, wash the windows and vacuum the carpet, period.

And just when I've given up, JoOusama assigns me to a scrubbing job... I was given a deck brush to scrub off the crushed persimons off the road, which had fallen from the persimon tree in our yard. While I've been scrubbing for nearly an hour, m'lady was reading the paper in her confy air-conditioned room. When I finally finished and was washing my hands, she greeted me with a "How much longer are you going to keep on that?" What a compensation for an hour of pure physical labor!

Anyway, I've finished up the visiting and the wahing and the vacuuming, so am going to call it a day. Have a nice year-end, everyone!

The End

Caterpillar