2:37 p.m. Thank god it's Friday and the barrier draw for Yasuda Kinen has been announced.

Suave Richard in post number 1, Satono Ares in 2, Dashing Blaze in 3, Aerolithe in 4, Persian Knight in 5, Reine Minoru in 6, Western Express from Hong Kong in 7, Cambell Junior in 8, Red Falx in 9, Mozu Ascot in 10, Real Steel in 11, He's In Love 12, Black Moon in 13, Lys Gracieux in 14, Sungrazer in 15, and Win Gagnant in 16.

Again, someone wants Suave Richard to win...

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Caterpillar

3:39 p.m. Okay, here's my call for Yasuda Kinen which maybe you shouldn't trust.

The key horse I'm swaying, between Aerolithe and Real Steel but leaning towards Aerolithe since she's drawn a good post and she's got all the advantages she needs except for a soft track condition. Added to this, I caught on a piece of information before Victoria Mile that her crew was in fact aiming for Yasuda Kinen, not Victoria Mile. Just looking at the situation, it resembles the time when she lost in Ohka-sho and then performed a blast in NHK Mile Cup. If I decided her as my key, Real Steel will be put on the wheel. If not, vice versa.

Other horses on my wheel would be, Suave Richard (though I'm on the down side for him), Mozu Ascot (since I can't make heads nor tails of his murderous racing schedule), Black Moon, Lys Gracieux (as third place just in case). Sungrazer will hopefully stay in fourth place.

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Caterpillar

8:45 p.m. So, where the hell was Real Steel?

Choosing Aerolithe as key horse was right. Keeping Mozu Ascot on the wheel was also right. But what was Real Steel doing? Didn't think Suave Richard would do that well, though. If Richard had blown it like I'd expected, Sungrazer would have been in fourth place as I'd predicted.

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Caterpillar

2:59 p.m. As I got to my workplace, Cow has told me that I'd written "Other horses on my wheel would be, Suave Richard (though I'm on the down side for him), " Saturday. I'd completely forgotten about that and have slashed out Suave Richard yesterday, without any hesitation whatsoever... oh, god.

Moreover, I'd also completely forgotten about Win Gagnant in post number 16. That's why I'd thought it would be easy for Aerolithe to take the lead. I realised my mistake on the way to the off-track betting Sunday, and fell in a slight panic. Since Win Gagnant who wanted to take the lead was in the outer post while Aeroithe who also wanted to go up front was in the inner barrier, the lap could get fast, which means the horses from the back would have advantage if they were in outer posts. Instantly, I tried to think what might happen if the lap slackens, but that's when the panic kicked in and my brain stopped functioning. As a result, I never reached the conclusion of "if the lap slackened, it would be easier for the horses starting from inner barriers to come dashing up".

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Caterpillar

2:41 p.m. Anyway, Real Steel has been officially proven now that he is a spoiled kid. Just because he'd won Dubai Turf and that's already more than two years ago, his racing schedule has been too relaxed for the past two years. He's run merely three races in a year.

Look at Mozu Ascot. He's two years younger than Real Steel and has already been in four races this season, with the last of it being Yasuda Kinen which he won without an interval from the previous week. Whereas Real Steel has had plenty of time to rest and prepare after he came back from Dubai at the end of March, and he loses miserably in what? Second from the last place, huh? Amazing, really.

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Caterpillar

1:21 p.m. We've been talking after Yasuda Kinen that Suave Richard probably would not enter Takaraduka Kinen, as he is said to be under the weather during hot season. It's been announced officially today, that Suave Richard is not entering Takaraduka Kinen. As expected. Suave Richard will be trained aiming to win Japan Cup this fall.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Line who was discovered to have been injured after the spring Tennno-sho, was announced to retire because there was little hope in coming back. Incidentally, Real Steel is not either injured or have won a domestic G1 race and he is not entering Takaraduka. As expected.

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Caterpillar

2:27 p.m. The week after Yasuda Kinen is annually the time for Epsom Cup G3. The sky is clear today despite the rainy season beginning in Kanto yesterday, rainshower is expected on Sunday according to the weekly forecast. The track might become soft.

Speaking of Epsom Cup reminds me of Mr. N-jima bickering about Justaway. Once the top ranker in Longines' World Race Horse Ranking, Justaway lost in second place by a nose against Clarent when he was not yet mature, to blow Mr. N-jima's (and mine, too) betting tickets into pieces. Since then, I can't tell you how many times I've been forced to hear that episode, almost every time having to replay the race on y iPad.

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2:32 p.m. Big news has come in.

João Moreira, the leading jockey of Hong Kong three years in a row, has announced to obtain JRA jockey license which qualifying examination will be held this September. If he passes, he will be riding in Japan throughout the year. It is reported that Moreira didn't renew his jockey's license in Hong Kong. Current top jockies in Japan must be aware that they will be put at a disadvantage, while jockies who cannot make up to the top twenty in the leading jockey list might even have to rethink their career.

"Magic Man" Moreira riding throughout the year in Japan is that serious a matter.

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2:54 p.m. There is no G1 race this weekend, but will call Epsom Cup to keep up the feeling.

My key horse is Sable Or. Was undecided between Gruyeres, but thought Sable Or might be better considering the track condition. Rain is expected from around noon tomorrow, which means the track condition can be soft depending on how heavy the rain falls. On the wheel would be Tosen Matakoiya, Gruyeres, Shiny Prince and Meiner Milano. Wonder how that turns out.

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4:25 p.m. I would personally like to ask the crew of Meiner Milano what that race was. It looked as though they had no intention of winning. We deserve an explanation as we are paying the money, humph.

Apart from that, I decided wrong again. It was Gruyeres not Sable Or. Hakusan Rudolph I might have included on my wheel if I had known the track was "yielding" at the time I called the race yesterday. The horse has power and soft or muddy track condition surely advantages him.

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Caterpillar

4:16 p.m. As a matter of fact, I caught a glimpse on the TV screen of Satono Arthur starting to warm up before the race. I realized the horse making movements like pawing the turf before he went into canter, and thought that the horse was feeling uneasy. But then, Saton Arthur wins the race.

I took it for granted that Satono Arthur didn't like soft track because of the horse's action, though actually it was the contrary. Okay, so that was a gesture of "welcome" I guess. No wonder I didn't win.

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Caterpillar

2:26 p.m. Until the last week of this month when the Takaraduka Kinen will be held, grade races will be run on either Hanshin, Tokyo or Hakdate tracks or on all three.

This week it's going to be Unicorn Stakes on Tokyo dirt 1600m and Hakodate Sprint Stakes on Hakodate turf 1200m. I haven't decided which race to call yet, but maybe Unicorn Stakes? It's a G3 for three-year-olds and a mile race on Tokyo tracks. Since my personal goal this year is to learn how to win Tokyo 1600m races.

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Caterpillar

1:23 p.m. It's Wednesday so some horses entering this weekend's race should be having their last training today. Most stables run the last trainings before the race on either Wednesday or Thursday usually, and the entry for the weekend races will be closed by Thursday. Thus, the barrier draw for the races will be announced after that mostly on Fridays, unless it's a special race like the classical races which only three-year-olds can enter.

Not to mention, the competitors for Unicorn Stakes and Hakodate Sprint Stakes this weekend, training news of horses entering Takaraduka Kinen is also coming in. However, I personally do not trust what goes out in the media since they go through filters of unspoken rules and biases. I'm counting on our training squad as my information source to check on each horse's condition.

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Caterpillar

3:59 p.m. Although Takaraduka Kinen is still more than a week ahead, the expected win odds are already announced. According to the odds, the most favored as of now is Satono Diamond despite his loss in Osaka-hai, followed by Danburite and Kiseki. Racing fans seem to know well that younger horses have the advantage in this race.

Considering the number of horses entered, it seems all the horses can run unless something goes wrong. Well, at least I'd like to see the race with barriers full this year, since the barriers are seldom filled lately. Not to mention the Unicorn Stakes and Hakodate Sprint. I want all races run with full barriers.

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Caterpillar

2:27 p.m. All right, so on Friday afternoon, the barrier draw for the weekend races have been announced.

I brief through the Unicorn Stakes and realize that the most favored is Le Vent Se Leve who's won the G1 for 2-year-olds in Kawasaki (Kawasaki is a local track different from JRA) las year-end. No wonder he's favored. Hmm... looks like Mirco's got another good horse on his list. The horse has drawn a good post, run his prep race, and is ready to win.

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Caterpillar

2:49 p.m. Here's my call for Unicorn Stakes. The key is Le Vent Se Leve. He's still the most favored in win odds, but that can't be helped.

On the wheel would be Great Time (think this horse might perform better than Harvest Moon), Hosho Now, Grimm, Koma Bisho, and Ryono Tesoro. The horses that finish in top three in this race might have a bright future ahead, just like Sound True, Nonkono Yume or Gold Dream. Let's see what happens.

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Caterpillar

4:37 p.m. Ah, that was close. Engrosser has a short carrier in dirt races which means his mental is fresh. Besides, his father is that Transcend who'd won February Stakes. There was no reason to think he'd be bad at dirt races. I just wasn't so sure because his previous race had been 1400 meters and his rider was Katsuharu. Usually, horses that extend their distance from 1400 meters to 1600 meters don't perform very well, unless the horse is good at 1600 meters.

Le Vent Se Leve performed even better than I'd imagined. Mirco rode him with big confidence. The horse had a slow start, but Mirco led him sweeping up the outside without giving the horse a break. The lap didn't slack so that might have meade this possible, though he had enough strength left to leave the others behind on the homestretch by 3 and a half lengths. This horse would make it to the G1.

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Caterpillar

3:47 p.m. And before I know it, it's Takaradeka Kinen week.

Takaraduka Kinen is the early summer grand prix race as opposed to the winter Arima Kinen at year-end. As they say all is well that ends well, it's a race I long to win every season as well as Arima Kinen. Must start preparing.

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Caterpillar

2:31 p.m. Horse race news is reporting that Satono Diamond is coming back to its original shape. Satono Diamond who once beat Kitasan Black in Arima Kinen 2016, hasn't won a race after his big loss in the Arc last year. Rumor was out that the horse has already peaked out on its performance. But the arriving news says he is getting back to his prime.

I deduced that this must be on a physical basis, even if the information was true. It means, so far the horse may be physically performing well in his training. There hasn't been any actual proof in the article that points out the horse's condition was back into its prime. That's why I can't trust such information. Didn't these writers learn to include specific facts into their articles? Without observative and specific proof, it's just an essay not an article. What's annoying is that these writers get paid for such essays.

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Caterpillar

5:18 p.m. Feeling very good as our boys have fought well to defeat upper ranker Columbia in FIFA World Cup. Osako has grown into a good player, I'm very proud of him. Hanpa-nai, Osako!

As for Takaraduka Kinen, the last trainings are being held from today to tomorrow. Think more news about each horse's condition will be flooding in by tomorrow afternoon. I've been squeezing my brain but my thoughts seem to wander off in this direction and that, I haven't been able to close my focus on the potential horses. Oh well, I still have time.

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Caterpillar

4:08 p.m. The barrier has already been announced. Guess it's beause Takaraduka is a grand prix race...

Stephanos in post number 1, Noble Mars in 2, Satono Diamond in 3, Mikki Rocket in 4, Strong Titan in 5, Albert in 6, Perform a Promise in 7, Danburite in 8, Satono Crown in 9, Viblos in 10, Saimon Ramesses in 11, Tatsu Gogeki in 12, Werther in 13, Smart Layer in 14, Seewind in 15, and Kiseki in 16.

Kiseki has drawn a difficult post, drrrr.... In this specific race, horses starting from outer posts need to go up front. Otherwise there's no chance to win.

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Caterpillar

2:25 p.m. There are five G1 winners in Takaraduka Kinen this year however, they all have problems and are uncertain whether they caqn perform well. In such circumstance, the 7-year-old challenger from Hong Kong is making me curious.

Werther, once the Queen Elizabeth II winner in 2016 has scratched off the race this year, due to an accident of nosebleed. Though the entry for Takaraduka Kinen seem to have been decided before that. It depends largely whether the horse can perform well on Japanese turf or not, but the track can be softer than we think from the intermittent rain. Plus Hugh Bowman on its back...

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2:59 p.m. Sorry to keep you all waiting, here's my call for Takaraduka Kinen, the last G1 of the spring season.

My key is Perform a Promise. I can see that the crew has aimed this race and think there's a chance for the horse to come in within 3rd place. Our training squad has graded Satono Diamond and Perform a Promise in the top rank condition, so I've decided to key Promise and keep Diamond on the wheel. If Daimond is really back into his original form, then he should earn an easy win against these rivals though I'm pretty skeptical about that. On the wheel would be, Satono Diamond, Danburite, Werther, and Smart Layer. Might include Viblos as I'd probably kill myself if I didn't buy her and she came in third.

As formerly said, it's the last of the spring G1 races and that since all is well that ends well, do keep that promise and perform well.

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Caterpillar

9:23 p.m. Okay, let's get this straight.

I did buy Werther despite its 27kg weight loss. And I did add Noble Mars on third place considering the soft track condition at the last minute. Where the hell was Perform a Promise? Sinking in 9th place cannot be accepted as keeping a promise. That's "breaking" a promise.

The horse should change its name from now on.

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Caterpillar

2:52 p.m. Leaving out Mikki Rocket was a blunder. My whole spring season was a blunder in that sense, as I've only won Victoria Mile Cup in all eleven races. Sigh.

Must work harder in the fall season to come, though I have no confidence after a safe horse like Kitasan Black has retired. I have been given some clues during this season however, I have no confidence in remebering them till three months ahead.

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Caterpillar

2:50 p.m. The JRA G1 races for this spring season is over, but hey, there's still the local tracks. Dirt 2000m G1 race Teioh-sho is held on Ohi tracks tomorrow.

JRA top dirt horses like Gold Dream and Sound True is entering this race, as well as the usual line up of K.T. Brave, T.M. Jinsoku, Awardee and Apollo Kentucky. No rain is expected for this week despite the rainy season, so the race will be likely to run on dry condition.

Sound True is the most favored in win odds as for now however, I don't think it's going to be that easy. Things might start to look interesting if T.M. Jinsoku won this one. The race starts from 8:05 p.m. tomorrow.

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1:33 p.m. I will not call Teioh-sho as I've got work to do and it's not on my turf, but think Gold Dream might be the closest to winning. Some people seem to think that 2,000m is too long for the horse however, he has come in third place in Japan Dirt Derby (also run on Ohi tracks) when he was 3 years old and that was after winning the Unicorn Stakes. Apart from Gold Dream, I'm wondering how Riccardo would perform after four wins in a row although they are all local races.

And then I have the FIFA World Cup to watch. I'm pretty busy at the moment(^^).

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Caterpillar

2:19 p.m. As I've said, I was pretty busy yesterday and couldn't watch the race on real time basis, so I'd checked the results at home and wala! Cold Dream has won Teioh-sho.

Didn't expect K.T. Brave to perform so well but then, the horse is the defending champion from last year. There was no reason to cut him out. Riccardo lost in 4th place so I think it was a good decision that I didn't buy any betting tickets this time. I hope our boys on the national team would also make good decisions tonight. Cross my fingers!

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Caterpillar

3:10 p.m. The shortest rainy season ever. The JMA has announced the end of rainy season for Kanto area. Summer has come bringing us the great news of our boys passing through the group league by performing a "mind-boggling farce" for the last 10 minutes. True it was "mind-boggling" for us too, for we've never experienced such a situation before, to be losing in the game while being ranked 2nd in our group, H. Personally, I think Coach Nishino made the right decision. Our initial goal was to make it through the group league and the team achieved it. I'm sure there isn't a man in the team who is happy with what they'd done in the last ten minutes. Our boys would surely express that in their next game no matter how tough and elegant Belgium may be. Well, that is excluding the goalie who takes pride in his work although he'd lost a goal.

I will follow in the footsteps of these brave samurais and try struggling with the summer local races this year. It's been my weak spot for as long as I can remember, so will try to overcome it. It's going to be a new challenge just like our national team.

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Caterpillar

2:45 p.m. As a starter, I will call tomorrow's CBC-sho at Chukyo.

I've just started looking into the summer local races so I'm not that cofident (yet). Still I will take the risk to go for the shot as there is nothing to gain without challenging. I will cut out the most favored Daimei Fuji and key the other Daimei, Daimei Princess instead. I'm not saying she's going to win, I'm hoping she would come within 3rd place.

On the wheel would be Second Table, Nagara Flower, Snow Dragon, Once in a Moon, and Asakusa Genki. Let's see what happens.

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Caterpillar