2:24 p.m. I've also dug out my notes on Chapmions' Cup from last year, to confirm that my memory was correct. I'd written that horses that drew post numbers outer than 11 are not worth betting on.

That consequently leaves out T M Jinsoku (currently the most favored) and Sound True (currently the 2nd favored), even Awardee. Though I've had a breakthrough to discover which type of horses perform well and which ones don't. Thanks to the victory of Japan Cup, my eyes have been opened.

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Caterpillar

5:09 p.m. True I've said my eyes have been opened, but am now struggling as there are no particular horse that fits my requirements...

Will key Gold Dream for Champions' Cup for now, on a wheel of Kopano Rickey, Nonkono Yume, Molto Bene, Glanzend, King's Guard and Awardee. Will narrow it down a bit by tomorrow.

As for Cow who boasts that he's not good at dirt races, he has finally managed to pick his key horse, K T Brave.

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11:34 p.m. I admit I was partly wrong about leaving out horses that drew outer barriers. So I would like to make use of this opportunity to correct my errors. Horses that drew outer barriers should be cut out EXCEPT horses that go up front!

Aaaaargh, T M Jinsoku!!! What did you just do!!!!??

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4:53 p.m. Autumn races went by in a flash and now I'm left with only two more G1 races to go before Arima Kinen.

This week it's Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. Two of Orfevre's daughters are entering this race. Since it's the first big race for fillies, it's the time for sire line geeks like myself to show my best.

I've already checked yesterday, that the track condition of Hanhin is quite fast. Meaning, that I should pick up the fillies that can adjust to such speed.

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4:17 p.m. Just because their father was a great horse, it doesn't necessarily mean such horses would become great too.

Rock This Town has already won a G3 in Sapporo in September with her racing career standing undefeated. Lucky Lilac hasn't lost a race either, winning Artemis Stakes another G3 although this one is in mile distance. What I can tell from their career is that they haven't lost a race YET.

They are both merely fillies, which means they can win or lose in the future.

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2:44 p.m. After Champions' Cup we went for our usual drink and the topic about Apollo Kentcuky came up. Last year's Tokyo Dai-shoten winner had scratched off from Champions' Cup on the morning of the race, and we were talking that Asukano Roman who could have run the race if the cancelling had been earlier, must have been pissed.

At the time, Mr. N-jima mentioned that although Apollo Kentucky has scratched off in the last minute, he might be running Tokyo Dai-shoten as nothing happened, to which I agreed.

And today, news broke out he's entering Tokyo Dai-shoten. Ha! What was that scratch off then? It's hard to believe a horse could improve its condition in merely three days. Was it malingering?

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2:17 p.m. Meanwhile, Awardee who came in 5th place in Champions' Cup seems to have chosen Kawasaki Kinen at the beginning of 2018 for his next race.

Since the horse is already 7 years old and getting nearer to the end of his career, I think it's good to choose which race to run. But then, one slot for JRA horses to enter Tokyo Dai-shoten has been emptied by this act. Wonder which horse is going to win that slot to run in the literally last G1 race of this season?

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2:44 p.m. The barrier draw for Hanshin Juvenile Fillies has been announced.

Sayakachan in post number 1, Latgyros in 2, Gulielma in 3, Mau Lea in 4, Las Emociones in 5, Mademoiselle in 6, Lily Noble in 7, Tosen Bless in 8, Regle d'Or in 9, High Heel in 10, Lucky Lilac in 11, Social Club in 12, Tosen Amber in 13, Noble Earth in 14, Nadia in 15, Molto Allegro in 16, Cordierite in 17 and Rock This Town in 18.

Oooooh, the most favored Rock This Town drew the outermost barrier! Wonder what the outcome would be?

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3:13 p.m. Have been pondering whether to make my key horse Lily Noble or Lucky Lilac. Mmmmaybe, Lucky Lilac, as Lily Noble's racing schedule seems to be a bit tight. On the wheel would be Mau Lea, Tosen Bless, Social Club, Cordierite and Rock This Town.

Incidentally, Cow's key horse is Rock This Town on a wheel of Mau Lea, Lily Noble, Lucky Lilac and Social Club. You, copycat!

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4:57 p.m. It could be called a win. I allow myself to call it a victory.

Since we were not going out to the off-track betting today, I had Cow to buy my betting tickets via the Internet. However, he wasted too much time fumbling with his Skype update while running his usual online game, by the time I was able to tell him my call it was only minutes before the race. As I waited patiently for the dork to stand by, I tried to check out my call that I announced yesterday and discovered, that stupid Cow hadn't uploaded yesterday's Murmur.

In a mad rush, I got confused and cut out Mau Lea instead of Tosen Bless. I blame Cow for the incovenience and the confusion, he ought to buy me some good food.

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2:52 p.m. As I checked the uploaded Murmur carefully though, I realized I had left out Lily Noble on my wheel while I was pondering between Lucky Lilac. My bad.

Okay, I would settle for gyouza (pan-fried dumplings) and rice instead of sushi.

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Caterpillar

2:03 p.m. Fortunately or unfortunately enough, there are no Orfevre descendants entered for this week's Asahi-hai Futurity Stakes. Instead there are two sons of Lord Kanaloa, one son of Novelist and two Deep Impact sons as usual.

Haven't checked the sirelines closely yet, but it's another Hanshin 1600m race which is the same stage as last weeks'. Considering I won last week (at least for my call), I merely have to go over the same process and another victory should fall into my hands. Well, hopefully.

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2:00 p.m. When I call races, I susually check out the most favored first to see if that horse can perform well or not. In former cases, I simply key tho horse on my wheel while in the latter, I cut out the horse completely.

Scanning the entry form for Asahi-hai Futurity Stakes, I think that Danon Premium (currently the most favored) doesn't have any minus points so far. He could be my key horse this week, depending on the barrier he draws and his condition.

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2:13 p.m. Perhaps some of you might have been able to see the Geminids meteor shower early this morning. I was lucky enough to catch a shooting star in the short while I was out on the veranda to have a smoke. I feel like something good is going to happen.

It has been announced that Satono Crown is going to race in Arima Kinen with Ryan Moore on its back. We are going to see the last battle between Satono and Kitasan, which might go down in horse race history. Exciting! That's what I wanted for Arima Kinen!

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2:34 p.m. The barrier draw for Asahi-hai Futurity Stakes has been announced, so let's take a look.

Danon Premium in post number 1, Frontier in 2, Towe Of London in 3, Right On Cue in 4, Keiai Nautique in 5, Asakusa Genki in 6, Hishi Cosmah in 7, Fast Approach in 8, Muscoloso in 9, Stelvio in 10, Cassius in 11, Danon Smash in 12, Iron Claw in 13, Double Sharp in 14, K T Clever in 15, and Ishimatsu in 16.

Hmm... The most favored Danon Premium drew the innermost post.

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1:26 p.m. I've said Danon Premium doesn't seem to have any minus points earlier this week, but since he drew the innermost barrier I'm going to put him on the wheel. My key horse will be the other Danon, Danon Smash, on a wheel of Danon Premium, Frontier, Tower Of London, Fast Approach, and Stelvio.

As for Cow, his key horse is Tower Of London, on a wheel of Danon Premium, Keiai Nautique, Stelvio and Danon Smash.

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7:01 p.m. I've been out to buy some screen tones and got back too late to miss the race.

According to Cow, Danon Premium has secured an easy win leaving others behind by 3 or more lengths. Cow's key horse, Tower Of London has come in 3rd so that means he won, though the payout turned out to be as low as 700 Yen. Poor Cow.

Meantime, I should check the video and see how Yuichi Fukunaga has sunk in 5th place (the usual spot) to disappoint me yet again.

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4:05 p.m. Now that Asahi-hai has finished with Danon Premium's easy win, it's time to think about JRA's last G1 race of this season, Arima Kinen.

Not to mention it's going to be the last run for Kitasan Black, there are other characteristic horses entered such as, Satono Crown, Curren Mirotic, Suave Richard, Mikki Queen or Rouge Buck. It's going to be an interesting race.

Personally though, I wish Yamakatsu Ace didn't enter since if he didn't, then Ikezoe would be free and be able to ride Curren Mirotic.

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2:53 p.m. Behind Kitasan Black's spectacular last run with Arima Kinen, 2014 Satsuki-sho winner Isla Bonita is also leaving the turf.

He is a memorable horse and I remember keying him a lot especially during his first year. But then, he was turned into villain when he'd flunked at the start in Mile Championships 2015, and came in 3rd place when I had his exacta. Still the horse has run well and entertained us so much. I hope he has a bright future ahead. Isla Bonita's last race will be Hanshin Cup, the main race at Hanshin on the day of Arima Kinen.

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3:17 p.m. It's Arima Kinen week and things are getting to heat up. There is going to be a "public" barrier drawing tomorrow afternoon which will be broadcasted live on BS Fuji.

Not that it matters since I don't have cable channels. My concerns are, what barrier Kitasan Black would draw and whether there had been any hokes behind the scenes. Remember Gentildonna. The broadcasting starts from 5:00 p.m.

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4:32 p.m. It seems Queen's Ring is also retiring with Arima Kinen as her last race. Perhaps this may add some more tension to the year-end race, but you'll have to wait till after 5:00 to find out the outcome of the barrier draw, so hold on for a bit longer.

6:42 p.m. Okay, sorry to keep you waiting, here's the draw. Yamakatsu Ace is in post number 1, Kitasan Black in 2, Queen's Ring in 3, Bless Journey in 4, Tosen Victory in 5, Satono Chronicle in 6, Sciacchetra in 7, Rainbow Line in 8, Sakura Empereur in 9, Cheval Grand in 10, Rouge Buck in 11, Satono Crown in 12, Mikki queen in 13, Suave Richard in 14, curren Mirotic in 15 and Sounds Of Earth in 16.

I told you it's a fix.

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Caterpillar

2:32 p.m. It seems there has been bittersweet feelings at the barrier draw since every horse crew wanted inner post numbers. However, since the barriers are already drawn, there's nothing you could do except for pondering and coming up with with a good strategy.

Fortunately, Isla Bonita has also drawn post number 2 just as Kitasan Black. Think that was lucky for the horse to have a chance to win in his last race.

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6:22 p.m. It's great that Isla Bonita ended his career in victory with an additional course or race record. Tomorrow, it's goint to be Kitasan's turn.

My key horse is Kitasan Black not to mention, I've decided that when he came in 3rd in Japan Cup and my mind hasn't changed a bit. On the wheel would be, Yamakatsu Ace, Satono Chronicle, Sakura Empereur, Rouge Buck and Suave Richard. I might add a few more since it's Arima Kinen, but that's going to be my basis.

And here's Cow's call for your information, Kitasan Black as the key on the wheel of Yamakatsu Ace, Rainbow Line, Cheval Grand, Rouge Buck and Suave Richard. Okay folks, happy Christmas and happy Arima Kinen!

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Caterpillar

10:45 p.m. I owe you folks an apology. I spent the whole evening yesterday pondering whether my call was all right and realized, that the track condition of Nakayama was firm but not fast. This meant that it would advantage powerful horses such as Kitasan Black, King Kamehameha and Manhattan Cafe descendants. Plus, there was also information brough from my source that Mikki Queen has done a perfect training and her codition was the best ever, which made me even more confused. And then, there was the high performance of Stay Gold descendants on Nakayama turf yesterday...

Eventually, I settled for a trio keying Kitasan and putting Yamakatsu Ace, Satono Chronicle, Rouge Buck, Satono Crown and Mikki Queen on the wheel (you can see how confused I was). And just to be on the safe side, I bought exactas keying Kitasan on the first place, Queen's Ring, Satono Chronicle, Rouge Buck, Satono Crown, Mikki Queen on the second place for insurance... Sorry again, folks. I didn't mean to deceive you.

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4:05 p.m. Cow has also won the trio of Arima Kinen just for your information, though he didn't seem to realize Cheval Grand was the one in between Queen's Ring and Suave Richard.

Although Arima Kinen has finished, JRA has elevated ex-open class Hopeful Stakes for two-year-olds to G1, so this is going to be the literally last JRA G1 race for 2017. Hopeful Stakes will be held on the 28th, while Kanto local annual year-end Tokyo Daishoten will be held on the 29th. They have already announced the barrier draw for Tokyo Daishoten including that malingering Apollo Kentucky, so let's take a look.

Mitsuba in post number 1, Turbulence in 2, Sound True in 3, Sabuno Kurohyo in 4, Apollo Kentucky in 5, Cosmo Cut in 6, Baldassare in 7, Higashi Will Win in 8, Sand Platinum in 9, Incantation in 10, Shadow Party in 11, K T Brave in 12, Kopano Rickey in 13, Hercules in 14, London Town in 15 and Sei Falcon in 16.

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2:30 p.m. And oh, yes. The barriers for Hopeful Stakes that's suppposed to run a day before Tokyo Daishoten has been announced, so let's take a look in case there are some people who might be interested.

Lune Rouge drew post number 1, Tosen Krieger in 2, Water Parfait in 3, Lord Axis in 4, Trine in 5, My Heartbeat in 6, Time Flyer in 7, Charlemagne in 8, Sans Rival in 9, Lucas in 10, Flatley in 11, Jun Valerot in 12, Stay Foolish in 13, Work and Love in 14, Gendarme in 15, Shaft Of Light in 16, and Nasuno Symphony in 17.

It seems Gendarme has been pushed up into the most favored. It's a race for two-year-olds around this time, I can't say anything for sure. But I have a hunch 2000 meters night be too long for Believe's son.

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1:33 p.m. I'm not going to buy betting tickets for tomorrow's Hopeful Stakes, since I'd barely won Arima Kinen and would like to keep that good feeling until next year's Kinpai. I admit though, Tokyo Daishoten is a temptation.

My focus is on Lucas who seems to have a lot of problems to clear, but possibly have high potential. The horse might not do well in the pack from his sireline, so that would be left up to his rider, Mirco. I cannot read the pace because it's a two-year-olds' race and you simply can't guess what might happen with these babies however, Trine, Charlemagne, Flatley or Stay Foolish interests me. Wonder how they would perform?

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9:37 p.m. Have left my New Year greeting cards which I worked so hard for at my work place. A critical mistake. Had to waste three hours of my precious holiday just to pick them up.

Went through the racing form of tomorrow's Tokyo Daishoten on the way and decided Higashi Will Win would be my key. I'll buy a trifecta multi on a wheel of Mitsuba, Sound True, and K T Brave.

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Caterpillar

5:16 p.m. There was some trouble with my mailer and the whole message in which I'd dutifully listed up which horse to buy have somehow been deleted, to reach Cow as a blank message. As a result, I couldn't buy betting tickets for Tokyo Daishoten, literally this year's last big race. Well, it was good as I didn't win after all.

Kopano Rickey has finished his last run in a victory, breaking Hokko Tarumae's record of G1 wins. Congrats, as this would surely leave his name in horse race history.

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Caterpillar

9:25 p.m. As a Japanese, I've been kept busy for the past couple of days cleaning, washing, getting rid of unwanted stuff that have been dug out in the cleaning process, and preparing for the coming year. Washing is going quite as scheduled while cleaning is lagging, but I need to make room for a new bike, so gumption!

Since the year-end races have been mostly over except for the local races at Ohi, it's time to start thinking about the New Year Kinpai. Win Bright is running in Nakayam Kinpai, for the first time after his Fukushima Kinen victory. According to Cow, it may snow on the 5th. If Nakayama track gets soft, it would definitely advantage Win Bright. If he draws an inner barrier additionally, I might even key him.

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6:51 p.m. It's been a cold day today. Cold means that grass on the turf course doesn't grow. What happens if the grass doesn't grow? It would be dug out by the horses' hooves and the course surface would become rough and bumpy, resulting in the form of race time.

This year's Arima Kinen finished in 2 minutes 33.6 seconds. In 2004, Zenno Rob Roy won Arima Kinen in 2 minutes 29.5 seconds. The weather was fair and dry on the day of both races, so you can see how much more time it took this year although, I have to mention that the track was exceptionally firm and fast in 2004. Anyway, in such condition when the track is rough and bumpy, horses with more power or good at soft tracks tend to perform better. I should keep that in mind when calling Nakayama Kinpai.

Well, it's the last day of 2017. Make sure to stay warm so you don't catch cold, and have a happy New Year, everyone!

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Caterpillar