3:35 p.m. The barriers for the JBC races have been announced, but it's too much a task to write all three races so I'll just pick up JBC Classics.

Centurion is in post number 1, Tagano Gold in 2, Stern Glanz in 3, Sunrise Soar in 4, Asukano Roman in 5, Meiner Basara in 6, Sound True in 7, K T Brave in 8, Nonkono Yume in 9, T M Jinsoku in 10, Katsugeki Kitokito in 11, Apollo Kentucky in 12, All Blush in 13, Omega Perfume in 14, T O Energy in 15 and Chrysolite in 16.

Kyoto 1900m dirt is the same setting as Heian Stakes (G3) in which Chrysolite has earned 2nd and 3rd places, but this outer post together with his long break will not give advantage to an 8-year-old I guess.

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Caterpillar

2:42 p.m. By the way, Ojuchousan is appearing in tomorrow's Tokyo race 9, Nanbu Tokubetsu as a prep for Arima Kinen.

There was a slight possibility in Oju not being to run the race if the entries were full, though luckily such situation was avoided and Oju is running the 2400m race with Yutaka on his back again. As expected, he is the most favored of all 7 horses in the expected win odds.

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Caterpillar

4:59 p.m. Although I've decided to focus on JBC Classics, I'd still have to take a look see through the other 2 races as well since I'm going down to the off-track betting. So I'm quite busy despite it's a holiday.

My key horse for JBC Classics is Omega Perfume. No reason to avoid a fresh 3-year-old. On the wheel would be Sunrise Soar, Centurion, Nonkono Yume and T M Jinsoku. Will think about K T Brave and other possibilities maybe, tomorrow.

Oju has won Nanbu Tokubetsu, by the way. He'll be favored in Arima Kinen with this win especially, if Rey De Oro scratches off.

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Caterpillar

8:30 p.m. I decided K T Brave has gained too much weight so didn't buy him and he wins...

That's why I didn't want to go.

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Caterpillar

2:40 p.m. My losses are piling up again and as usual, I'm beginning to lose faith.

I think I'm on the right track with my method, but something just doesn't seem to fit and consequently it's been leading me to losses instead of wins. Guess I'll just have to stick to it and see it through to the end of this season, at least to figure out what's not slightly fitting.

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Caterpillar

3:47 p.m. Disappointing news has been announced that Ojuchousan is entering Japan Cup before Arima Kinen.

What happens if Oju loses Japan Cup which is very likely to happen? No one would be excited to see him in Arima Kinen. What kind of stupid joke could that be? Besides, Yutaka will not be riding Oju in Japan Cup because he's riding Makahiki. Not that it makes much difference I guess. Would someone please persuade the owner to re-think this ridiculous plan?

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Caterpillar

2:38 p.m. The Ojuchousan crew has turned over yesterday's announcement and decided to enter the horse in Arima Kinen instead of Japan Cup, as it was planned at the beggining.

The trainer has mentioned about fatigue in the horse after winning the last race, and possibly might have suggested the owner to change his plan. Oju seems to be tired but x-ray checks hasn't revealed any fractures or injuries, so it was decided to give the horse some rest to prepare for Arima Kinen. Glad that at least the trainer was sensible. Or they must have heard me (and many other fans) complaining.

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Caterpillar

4:50 p.m. Ojuchousan has been safely re-scheduled to enter Arima Kinen, but now Cheval Grand who is entered in Japan Cup has been hit by accident.

The rider of Cheval Grand was going to be Hugh Bowman however, news has been reported that he won't be able to ride due to multiple penalties in Melbourne Cup. Uh-oh. Wonder what the owner would do, switch to Fukunaga or request someone else?

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Caterpillar

2:37 p.m. Okay folks, it's time for the Queen Elizabeth Cup barrier draw.

Happy Unibansu is in post number 1, Frontier Queen in 2, Reiho Romance in 3, Primera Azul in 4, Red Genova in 5, Admire Lead in 6, Mozu Katchan in 7, Cantabile in 8, Crocosmia in 9, Vafuram in 10, Smart Layer in 11, Lys Gracieux in 12, Norm Core in 13, One Breath Away in 14, Eterna Minoru in 15, Corcovadoin 16 and Miss Panthere in 17.

My Red Genova drew post number 5 against my will but well, the more considering thing about her performance is rather the rider than the post.

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Caterpillar

3:30 p.m. As you can see from the spread win odds, this year's Queen Elizabeth Cup will be a difficult race to call...

My key horse is Red Genova. I'm secretly hoping she would become post-Maria Light. On the wheel would be Norm Core, Mozu Katchan, Lys Gracieux, Miss Panthere and Admire Lead.

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Caterpillar

9:44 p.m. You couldn't hang in, Red Genova. And then, Crocosmia....

I thought Genova could fight for just one more race but I was wrong. She had more damage from Kyoto Daishoten than I'd imagined. As for Crocosmia, I didn't think she would take the lead. Rather, I thought Miss Panthere would go, though the outer post turned out to be a huge disadvantage for her that the rider gave up to stay in second from the top. Perhaps I'd put too much expectation on her.

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Caterpillar

3:13 p.m. As you might already know, I haven't won a race since this summer. I've been getting used to losing and my feelings had become numb to losing. But yesterday's loss was a blow in a while. Crocosmia... forgive my persistence.

Thus I decided to look back on the losses of this season up until now. I've still got another half to go and there's no reason I can't take my losses back. Humph.

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Caterpillar

3:59 p.m. I haven't finished up my review for the first half of this season yet, but the members entered in this week's Mile Championship are pretty impressive.

This year's Yasuda Kinen winner Mozu Ascot is entered, probably going to be the top favored not to mention, the runner-up in the same Yasuda Kinen Aerolithe, is also entered together with Persian Knight, the defending champion of last year's Mile Champioinship. Stelvio, Air Spinel, Logi Cry, K I Nautique, Gendarme follow on the entry list. Impressive indeed, though not really welcoming as it would be harder to win.

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Caterpillar

5:08 p.m. Not to say the riders for Mile Championship are also impressive.

Christophe on Mozu Ascot, Ryan Moore on Aerolithe, Mirco on Persian Knight, William Buick on Stelvio, Yutaka on Gendarme, Yuichi filling in on Air Spinel and Cristian (De Muro) on Logi Cry. It makes me wonder if this is the real Japan Cup instead of the one next week.

We are on our way to recovering our position in the ranking by the way, that has once dropped way down while we have been switching over to SSL. Sorry for the inconveniencies!

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Caterpillar

2:02 p.m. The last training before Mile Championship must have been run early this morning, most horses have had their rider's names on the entry list, preparations seem to be well on its way.

Barriers will be drawn and announced by tomorrow afternoon but when I look at the entry form, I realize two horses with lighter weight; Jour Polaire and Aerolithe. 2 kg lighter weight is surely an advantage in short distance races I reckon, especially when the lap slackens...

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Caterpillar

2:21 p.m. Aaaand here's the barrier for Mile Chapmpionship.

Stelvio in post number 1, Persian Knight in 2, Al Ain in 3, Black Moon in 4, He's In Love in 5, Jour Polaire in 6, Logi Cry in 7, Mozu Ascot in 8, Win Bright in 9, Mikki Glory in 10, Gendarme in 11, Reine Minoru in 12, Red Avancer in 13, Air Spinel in 14, Aerolithe in 15, Katsuji in 16, Lord Quest in 17 and woah, K I Nautique in 18.

I'm not so sure but perhaps it wasn't a very good draw for Persian Knight or Logi Cry as they wouldn't want to be squashed in the pack. Also, Aelorithe might have a hard time controlling on the outside. Don't know whether it'll turn out good or bad for K I Nautique though it could be better than drawing inner posts since Deep Impact descendants don't perform well when you hit the brake while they're accelerating.

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Caterpillar

3:02 p.m. The ranking has finally started to count correctly which is good news, but I'm way in over my head with Mile Championship. I just can't narrow down my options.

I've decided Mozu Ascot would be my key horse for now. However, I can't decide which horse to put on the wheel. Aerolithe would probabaly be on the wheel since she's not trustworthy, K I Nautique would be on the wheel too, but I don't know what to make of Gendarme, Al Ain, Air Spinel, Jour Polaire, Mikki Glory or Red Avancer... Persian Knight, I'm leaning towards cutting off from my list.

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Caterpillar

9:52 p.m. I'm not sure which it was either Yokoyama (the rider of Lord Quest) or Matsuyama ( the rider of Katsuji), but one of them had bumped into Christophe (Mozu Ascot, my key horse) at the last corner to take him off balance. When Mozu barely recovered, Tozaki (the rider of Miiki Glory) bumped into Mozu from the outside in the last stretch, to screw it up.

After Makahiki bumped into Suave Richard to screw up Tenno-sho, now this. And JRA doesn't even release the patrol video on their website. I can't believe this is happening.

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Caterpillar

2:24 p.m. When things don't seem to be working out, there's only one thing to do to get out of the negative spiral. Here's how to get out of slumps, the caterpillar way.

The only thing to do is get back to your routine. In my case, follow the procedures mechanically and systematically, because I tend to get intuitive when things get rough. First, I make a list of things I need to do to achieve the goal I want to. Then, I go through each step one by one systematically and mechanically. This is crucail, to not let any intuitions get in.

By going through such steps and shutting out anxieties, sooner or later you'll get back on the right track to regain your confidence.

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Caterpillar

4:54 p.m. The rider of Satono Crown has finally been decided and announced as William Buick. Not surprising after he's won his first G1 in Japan last week with Stelvio. Satono Crown has been on a long break though who knows, the break might have done him good.

On the other hand, Makahiki has been announced to scratch off from Japan Cup due to fatigue. Fatigue, eh? I was about to go on a search on Tosen Jordan who had performed well in Japan Cup running the same step races as Makahiki, but I guess that's not necessary.

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Caterpillar

1:50 p.m. I'm not quite sure what happened and what did the magic but we've come back to earn number one on the ranking. Thanks to you for all the clicking, folks!

Meanwhile, Japan Cup is beginning to look more and more uninteresting. With Makahiki scratching off it's become a 14 horse race which is making things easier for Almond Eye to win, though I haven't doubted even for a second after she'd won Shuka-sho. The center of attention is now shich horse would come in 2nd and 3rd, and how much the payout would be.

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Caterpillar

2:40 p.m. The barriers for Japan Cup has been announced. It's been announced a day earlier than the other G1 races since it's Japan Cup, although it's only Japan CUp.

Almond Eye in post number 1, Happy Grin in 2, Satono Diamond in 3, Satono Crown in 4, Mikki Swallow in 5, Thundering Blue in 6, Sounds Of Earth in 7, Kiseki in 8, Cheval Grand in 9, Ganko in 10, Suave Richard in 11, Capri in 12, Noble Mars in 13 and Win Tenderness in 14.

JRA has done it again. They've given away the lucky barrier to Almond Eye and now there's no way she could lose except for an unexpected injury during the race.

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Caterpillar

4:56 p.m. Almond Eye's win odds is currently 1.3... That means you buy her win ticket for 100 yen and get 130 yen back. Of course, the other tickets with Almond Eye also have low payouts.

I'm quickly losing interest in this race as I figured it would be basically a five-horse race. Satono Diamond's performance is especially dubious seen from my point of view although some people seem to think he's made a come back in his previous race, Kyoto Dai-shoten. Hey, he barely beat Red Genova by half-a-length, and look what happened to that Red Genova in Elizabeth Queen Cup. Even though Diamond had an extra week to prepare, I don't think he'd live up to his expectations. That is, INCLUDING the rider.

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Caterpillar

2:12 p.m. I have thought well during the holiday, but there's nothing more I can do about this. You either accept the low payout or not buy betting tickets for the race.

My key is Almond Eye. There's no way she can lose with the lucky barrier and all. Kiseki and Suave Richard are on the 2nd line od my trifecta formation. Rather leaning on Kiseki, though. On the 3rd line of my formation is Kiseki, Suave, plus Win Tenderness and Noble Mars just in case. This is the furthest I can stretch. Satono Diamond? Nah.

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Caterpillar

7:07 p.m. YOSHAAAAAAA!! I got it! A triplet in a while!!!

We didn't go down to the off-track betting today because Mr. N-jima couldn't make it, so I'd bought tickets via the Internet. I knew the payout would be low so I'd bought enough to pay back my loss for this season. Have been out for a run this evening in a fairly good mood. Man, it feels good to win a triplet! Hey, I need a toast. To Almond Eye!

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Caterpillar

3:28 p.m. Following the outstanding record win, the plan for Almond Eye to enter the Arc next year might become true. If so, we will be able to witness a historical match of Almond Eye versus Enable. You wait there Enable! Our girl ain't just a girl!

I'm positive that Almond Eye's potential is world class unlike the lame Deep Impact descendants entered in the Arc for the past decade, though there are some things to boost her chance of winning the prestigeous race. If there is a way to convey my message to the trainer, Mr. Kunieda and the rider, most possibly Christophe, without their rivals not knowing it, I'd give anything to take that chance. This horse could win and I can make it more stable if I get the chance. Hmm...frustrating.

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Caterpillar

3:52 p.m. Let's keep up the good mood and go for two wins in a row.

Ah, but then comes K T Brave. I've been deceived by this horse for as long as I can remember. When I don't buy his ticket he either wins or comes within 3rd place. And when I buy his ticket, he loses without an inch of hesitation or struggle... I'd better come up with something to do with this horse otehrewise, I'm pretty sure there won't be a "two wins in a row".

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Caterpillar

4:30 p.m. News broke out today that Gold Dream is scratching off from Champions' Cup. He freaked out, humph.

My concern is that Le Vent Se Leve might now become more favored and the win odds dropping down to as low as last week's Almond Eye. I hope such situation would be avoided, though I'm afraid I can't count much on K T Brave or Omega Perfume, let alone the "Sunrise" series.

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Caterpillar

3:13 p.m. The barriers for Champions' Cup has been announced. Because it's an international race, I reckon. In fact, Pavel is from the U.S.

Ange Desir in post number 1, Le Vent Se Leve in 2, Pavel in 3, Apollo Kentucky in 4, Nonkono Yume in 5, Asukano Roman in 6, Sunrise Nova in 7, K T Brave in 8, Sunrize Soar in 9, Centurion in 10, Omega Perfume in 11, Westerlund in 12, Mitsuba in 13, Hiraboku la Tache in 14, and Incantation in 15.

I've dug out my memory from last year that horses in outer posts don't perform well unless thay go up front, but then all the potential high-performers seem to have drawn inner posts...

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Caterpillar

2:43 p.m. Have been busy drawing up a strategy for Champions' Cup especially, after I'd remembered I had a tough blow last year. I bought both of the longshots Gold Dream and Kopano Rickey and forgot to buy T M Jinsoku, the most favored...

I swore to myself never to make the same mistake again. MUST BUY horses that go up front no matter how favored they could be.

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Caterpillar