2:19 p.m. Am going out for another Sukiyaki-and-karaoke party. Give me some break folks, as I don�ft get to have fun usually.

Preparations for NHK Mile Cup will follow tomorrow. Sorry, but I don�ft think I�fll be in the state to think properly after the party since we drink. A lot. It should be convenient enough, the barrier draw would probably come out tomorrow afternoon.

The End

Caterpillar

9:30 p.m. O-kay, it's not the classics so they didn't announce the barriers today. And okay, Gran Alegria is most favored under the odds of 1.7, she has no apparent rivals. Okay, okay.

Tokyo mile seems to be the best stage for Gran Alegria so far, I don't see a reason she should lose. There seems to be an invisible wall between the top horses and the others, I don't think it's going to be a wild race.

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Caterpillar

9:14 p.m. The barrier draw for NHK Mile Cup has been announced.

Kurino Gaudi in post number 1, Pourville in 2, Danon Chaser in 3, Iberis in 4, Meiner Flap in 5, Groove It in 6, Gran Alegria in 7, Val d'Isere in 8, Mikki Black in 9, Catedral in 10, Lord Gladio in 11, Wide Pharaoh in 12, Fantasist in 13, Happy Hour in 14, Wittelsbach in 15, Toya Rito Seito in 16, Admire Mars in 17 and Cadence Call in 18.

Admire Mars is currently the 3rd favored, but might drop considering the barrier. Must be on the alert which horse comes up instead.

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Caterpillar

5:59 p.m. As I've mentioned before, I'm already losing confidence in my calls that I don't feel like winning at all. So I will leave it up to you to believe me or not.

The key horse for my trio will be Gran Alegria. Tokyo mile would be a perfect stage for this horse, but there is quite a risk keying a horse with the win odds of 1.5. Thus, trio. On the wheel would be Kurino Gaudi, Groove It, Happy Hour and Admire Mars. I'd also by some trifectas keying either Groove It or Happy Hour on 1st. If victory should slip out from Alegrias hooves, it should go to either of the two. Otherwise I'm completely off the mark and probably won't be able to recover.

The End

Caterpillar

10:40 p.m. I'm done. Gran Alegria has tried to fight her rider as I'd feared, and it didn't end with just that. Because she bumped into Danon Chaser in the home stretch, she's been dropped down to 5th place as penalty. This is the risk of the 1.5 odds.

Even though I knew the risk beforehand, I wasn't even close to winning. This could be serious...

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Caterpillar

6:37 p.m. The last day of my Golden Week holidays which flew past in a flash. It was great to see my friends again, though they'd probably come back again in summer. However, my horse race results have been terrible just as last year. Not much progress here.

To make the best out of my last holiday, have done an intensive review on NHK Mile Cup. I've checked where I went wrong, so I wouldn't make the same mistake again. Next year.

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Caterpillar

4:40 p.m. My mind is already on Victoria Mile Cup. I will start my preprations today, so as not to fall into the same rut. It looks like it's going to be a hard couple of weeks for Christophe, though. Having to give up Saturnalia must have been a blow.

Meanwhile, Cheval Gran has been announced to challenge King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Ascot turf (July 27th). That means he won't be in Takaraduka this year. Too bad.

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Caterpillar

2:10 p.m. As expected, Aerolithe is pushed up to the most favored on the entry form of Victoria Mile, as of this afternoon. But you have to be careful with this horse since she has her ups and downs.

Victoria Mile is not a classic race so we'll have to wait until Friday for the barriers to be announced. Wonder what the draw will be like?

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Caterpillar

2:48 p.m. The entry has been closed. It looks like we're having 18 competitors this year. That's the way. I would be very much discouraged if it was another lame G1 with only 12 horses.

I'm working on my preparation without incident so far, hoping to get my first win this spring.

The End

Caterpillar

2:28 p.m. And now, the awaited barriers.

Amalfi Coast in post number 1, Red Olga in 2, Crocosmia in 3, Normcore in 4, Meisho Owara in 5, Lucky Lilac in 6, Mikki Charm in 7, Denko Ange in 8, Primo Scene in 9, Mieno Succeed in 10, Aerolithe in 11, One to One in 12, Satono Walkure in 13, Let's Go Donki in 14, Cantabile in 15, Soul Stirring in 16, Sound Chiara in 17, and Frontier Queen in 18.

Considering the long break and the barrier, Yutaka might have a hard time controling Soul Stirring. Aerolithe on the other hand, drew a good post for her whether she takes the lead or not.

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Caterpillar

2:46 p.m. The weather forecast says that the atmosphere condition is unstable and there might be rainshowers for a couple of days. I've been checking on-time forecast, but so far I won't have to worry about soft track tomorrow.

My key is going to be Aerolithe. She has her moods, yes, though I'm thinking it's going to be her "ON" time tomorrow. Besides, she's a Tokyo-mile specialist. On the wheel would be Crocosmia, Lucky Lilac, Mieno Succeed and Cantabile. I'm still undecided about Primo Scene. She's become this week's odds-alert horse.

The End

Caterpillar

11:13 p.m. Awwww, it's terrible. I have forgotten how to win completely...

And what's with that abnormally fast track!? I have a bad feeling that a few of the horses that ran today will make the headline tomorrow, that injuries have been discovered.

The End

Caterpillar

3:14 p.m. As usual, I will have to do my review, no matter how reluctant and confusing it may be. Otherwise, I'll never know what I'm doing wrong, which means I'll never be able to get myself on the right track.

I wish I had a little more time so I could take things at my own pace, but then that's only an excuse.

The End

Caterpillar

5:06 p.m. A piece of news about Win Bright has come in. That the horse and rider are aiming for Tenno-sho (autumn), using All Comer as a step race, and Hong Kong Cup to wrap it up. Gee, I'm so proud of this horse, I wish him the best!

Meanwhile, Contra Check and her rider Damian Lane as a pinch hitter for Chritophe, is attracting the attention. I'll have to start on my preparations for the Japanese Oaks, to figure out whether this young genius will win another G1 or not.

The End

Caterpillar

2:04 p.m. The entry for Japanese Oaks should be closed by now as the press conference has already finished and the barriers will be announced tomorrow. It must be the media side's problem, then. The closed entry form shall be out by evening, hopefully.

The weekly forecast which had threatened rain suddenly changed its view to sunny with partial clouds. If so, there might be another track record this weekend.

The End

Caterpillar

3:01 p.m. All right. Time for the barriers.

Jodie is in post number 1, Chrono Genesis in 2, Contra Check in 3, Schon Glanz in 4, Aile Voix in 5, Aqua Mirabilis in 6, Shadow Diva in 7, Danon Fantasy in 8, Win Zenobia in 9, Shigeru Pink Dia in 11, Victoria in 12, Loves Only You in 13, Fairy Polka in 14, No One in 15, Beach Samba in 16, Meisho Shobu in 17, and Figlia Pura in 18.

Looks like Loves Only You has drawn a good post as well as Chrono Genesis. Risks will rise for Contra Check if she doesn't take the lead, since there's a high posibility being bumped into by others on the last home stretch of Tokyo 2400m. Especially, when it's the first time for all the horses to run this distance.

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Caterpillar

2:39 p.m. I'm following the step-by-step guide that I'd made last year to get myself back on the right track.

I once heard our baseball legend Katsuya Nomura say, you need to keep a precise record of when you were in good state, so as to redirect yourself when you're in a slump. I was very much convinced and started taking record of my wins and losses.

So far I've been doing okay and have come down to the point with a few more steps to go. If this can't lead me to winning the Oaks, I will have to do it all over from the start.

The End

Caterpillar

2:21 p.m. To be fair, I confess that I have no confidence. Please remember that this is mentioned by a loser who hasn't won a single race this season.

That being said, I will key Loves Only You. Honestly speaking, I don't know how well the horse will perform as she still seems like a baby. Though she drew a good post where Mirco wouldn't have to hit the brakes, if all goes well. I'm betting on her freshness especially, when the Ohka-sho champion is not entered.

On the wheel, I chose Chrono Genesis (although she might not do well in extending the distance), Shadow Diva ( on the possibility that this extension becomes an advantage), Shigeru Pink Dia (just purely terrified), and No One (Heart's Cry descendant, just like Shadow Diva). I'm still undecided whether to buy Contra Check or not. The thought of her not taking the lead freaks me out.

The End

Caterpillar

11:27 p.m. Awwwww. It's a brilliant succession of 8 G1 losses in a row...

Would someone please tell me what is it that I did so wrong to have to suffer so much? Now I know how Hanshin Tigers' fans feel.

The End

Caterpillar

2:13 p.m. I only bought tickets for the Oaks, though I'd called 3 more races yesterday. Not to mention I lost all.

I had the key horses right for 3 races including the main race, but even screwed that in the last race. If there's a way to get out of this wretched state, I'd love to know.

The End

Caterpillar

3:26 p.m. Sunday, 26th is not just for D'erby. G2 Meguro Kinen, annually run as the last race to wrap up the D'erby day, is another attraction that comes around once a year. This year Meguro Kinen has also become special with the entry of last year's Arima Kinen champion, Blast One Piece.

I've taken a look at the entry form of Meguro Kinen, in hope of a yet unknown dark horse. My hope crumbled in dismay. Blast One Piece has to carry the weight of 59 kg which is 5 kg heavier than the lightest horse. Additionally, he sometimes screws up his win by sparting way too far behind. Taking all that in account, I still couldn't find a horse that might be able to beat him...

The End

Caterpillar

4:35 p.m. The point of D'erby this year is whether Saturnalia will win the race or not.

It goes without words that Saturnalia is a fine horse but will he be able to win after the head to head against Velox? That IS the question my friends, and I will have to come up with an answer by the end of the week.

The End

Caterpillar

3:09 p.m. The barriers for Japanese D'erby has been announced.

Roger Barows is in post number1, Wind in 2, Emeral Fight in 3, Satono Lux in 4, Meiner Surpass in 5, Saturnalia in 6, Danon Kingly in 7, Meisho Tengen in 8, Nishino Daisy in 9, Courageux Guerrier in 10, Red Genial in 11, Admire Justa in 12, Velox in13, Run for the Roses in 14, Lion Lion in 15, Tagano Diamante in 16, Naimama in 17, and Schwarz Riese in 18.

I have no idea if this draw was good or bad for Saturnalia. It's just that he could be gifted that it doesn't really matter which post he draws. Apart from that Roger Barows has drawn the lucky post, while Admire Justa, Velox and Run for the Roses have also drawn good posts. It's a question whether Lion Lion could take the lead from this post.

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Caterpillar

2:25 p.m. Personally, I don't think Saturnalia is such a safe choice as he's accepted to be. Satsuki-sho was not an easy win and who knows what damage it has left on the horse?

The horse is not used to being squashed in the pack, which is exactly what might happen when the front runners drop the pace. Plus, he has the damage of winning Satsuki-sho more or less. Still, he would probably sweep all the others if the lap doesn't slacken into a slow. Given all that, Saturnalia seems risky to me.

The End

Caterpillar

2:51 p.m. Still torn between Saturnalia, Danon Kingly and Admire Justa. As mentioned, I know too well that Saturnalia has outstanding potential but I just can't be sure because I'm a loser. I'd probably key him on my trio in the end.

My candidates have been narrowed down to Emeral Fight, Saturnalia, Danon Kingly, Admire Justa and Run for the Roses at this point. Might cut one out to add Roger Barows instead since he drew the lucky post, if any of my candidates turned up with poor condition. Confidence? Zero, thanks.

The End

Caterpillar

10:25 p.m. Oh god, this is terrible. Despite Admire Justa had lost 16kg in the past five weeks, I have cut out Roger Barows in the lucky post... And the worst part is that I'd eventually chosen Danon Kingly for my key horse.

How could this have happened? Didn't I make it a rule to buy whatever horse that drew the lucky post?

The End

Caterpillar

3:25 p.m. Feeling too regretful, I couldn't help but check out the entry form of Yasuda Kinen on the train home from WINS, and have already chosen my key horse which is neither Almond Eye nor Danon Premium. I got carried away and even picked my key horse for Takaraduka Kinen, too.

When the review for D'erby hasn't started yet... and I shan't forget to scruitnize Meguro Kinen. I will never forgive that Blast One Piece.

The End

Caterpillar

5:29 p.m. I've finished my D'erby review. Now I can focus on Yasuda Kinen.

As I always say, Tokyo mile is a distinctive race, regardless of the prize or category. There are certain horses that perform well on Tokyo mile and that is what I'll be aiming for. Of course it's preferrable if the horse will not be so favored.

The End

Caterpillar

4:52 p.m. Despite my wonderful earphones with the brilliant noise-cancelling system, sleep comes in short fits. Prhaps it's habitual since I hadn't been able to have a good sleep for the past decade, being pestered by 24-7 radio noise from next door. My performance has dropped considerably and I'm almost always, tired.

I wonder if things like that might be happening to Mozu Ascot? He seems to be having a hard time now, but he is the defending champion from last year.

The End

Caterpillar

3:12 p.m. The entry for Yasuda Kinen has been closed. It seems the race will be run with 16 horses this year.

The barrier draw will be announced Friday afternoon since it's not a classic race. News of the last training are coming in all appealing with favorable headlines and comments. In the meantime, I am preparing and waiting vigilantly for my chance to win.

The End

Caterpillar

2:01 p.m. All right, the barrier has been announced!

Keiai Nautique in post number 1, Aerolithe in 2, Sakura Empereur in 3, Sungrazer in 4, Indy Champ in 5, Guanciale in 6, Mozu Ascot in 7, Stelvio in 8, Smart Odin in 9, Fiano Romano in 10, Entscheiden in 11, Lord Quest in 12, Persian Knight in 13, Almond Eye in 14, Danon Premium in 15, and Logi Cry in 16.

Almond Eye, she sures has some luck on her side. She's never drawn inner posts except for when she needs it; Shinzan Kinen and Japan Cup. Or, was it another gimmick?

The End

Caterpillar