6:57 p.m. Have finished my review for Tenno-sho and my mind is already flying to Japan Cup, although we have Elizabeth Jo-oh-hai and Mile Championship in between. My guess is that Stars on Earth would enter Japan Cup while Equinox heads for Arim Kinen. It would definitely be fun to watch Equinox vs Titleholder.

In the meantime we're having a short break this weekend with Argentina Republic Cup at Tokyo and Miyako Stakes at Hanshin. The horses of my interest are Killer Ability and William Barows. Am also wondering how Omega Perfume would do. The horse is already 7 years old and I wouldn't be surprised if his performance slowed.

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Caterpillar

5:49 p.m. I've been reading Dokugaku Taizen little by little in my spare time and it's given me the chance to think over what I've been doing not just about how I call races but the way I revies my call. A good read that brings you a lot of insight and help you learn to go a step further.

Omega Perfume seems to be carying 59 kg in Miyako Stakes, by the way. It can't be helped for a Tokyo Dai-shoten winer for the past four years though I think I caught a glimpse that the horse is over its peak. Nevertheless, I believe his potential could beat many of the younger horses.

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Caterpillar

6:28 p.m. The entry for this weekend's Argentina Republic Cup has been closed while JBC races are run in Morioka. It's going to be a full-field race.

There are several horses that go up front. That means the pace could become average or even tight, depending on the barreirs they draw. Lowering the guard to set the pace as slow just because the distance is long I know, is not a good decision since I've been screwed when Authority won in 2020. Must keep in mind the possibility of the pace getting tight.

In such a case, horses shortening the distance from say, Tenno-sho (spring) would have an advantage. Yes, horses like Silver Sonic. Silver Sonic? Where has he gone?

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Caterpillar

7:10 p.m. The barrier draw for the weekend races have been released.

Front runner African Gold has drawn an outer post so it wouldn't be easy for him to take the lead unless the rider intentionally urges the horse. I'd say the pace would be average. If it settles at average, instantaneous speed will be essential.

However, I also have to keep in mind the chance of a tight pace in which case horses experiencing tougher races in higher levels would have the advantage. Well, since it transpired that Silver Sonic lost the sortition, I would have to find another horse that suits such conditions. I can only think of Killer Ability so far...

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Caterpillar

9:12 p.m. Sorry for getting so late. I've been struggling all the way since I started calling Argentina Republic Cup after work today, but this is one hard race to call as there seems to be no horse that seem to have the chance to win. At least to my eyes it seems that way.

I thought there might be a better chance for Killer Ability at first, but then he doesn't have the fast clock he definitely needs on present Tokyo turf. Not that others do either. Still, I had to make up my mind so I decided I'd give the chance to a Rulership descendant that must have high aptitude to fast, firm turf.

Considering the pace and the race level, will key Reincarnatio on a wheel of King of Dragon, Precious Blue, Killer Ability, Dandyism, and Last Draft. I'd be surprised myself if I win.

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Caterpillar

7:07 p.m. Well, to be honest I didn't think I could win but that was a terrible race. I especially deserve a comment from Ryusei Sakai. Horse bolting is unavoidable, they're living creatures however, bumping into the fence and having the horse's leg nearly caught by the fence is a different story. Riders need to be able to avoid such accidents which sometimes could lead to tragedies and Ryusei must have had the skill to do so, or didn't he?

Apart from that there's not much I could be happy about concerning Argentina Republic Cup. The pace was slow which was the contrary of what I'd expected and, therefore horses that performed in their previous races performed well except for Heat on Beat. I guessed that neither Killer Ability nor T O Royal would win, though that was about all I got right.

Will check on the results of Miyako Stakes, then switch off and move on to the next.

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Caterpillar

7:16 p.m. Have reviewed Argentina Republic Cup thouroughly. I've had a chance to learn some new ideas on predicting the pace, and it helped me notice a couple of things that I'd passed by without noticing while calling the race. Calling races goes way deep.

Will try to make use of the things I've newly learnt to take a step further. That's how we humans lived, passing down a vast gift of knowledge from generation to generation as the author of Dokugaku Taizen says. I agree from the bottom of my heart that without learning, we can't move from where we are now. We need to keep learning if we want to be better at something.

So cheers to improving, my fellow friends! I'll keep learning to keep moving on and on.

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Caterpillar

7:04 p.m. Starting my preparation for Queen Elizabeth Cup although my blood pressure has hit 148 for the first time in my life (usually I have a low pressure in the 120s).

Have reviewed and analyzed why it became such a tight pace last year because there are several horses entered that also ran this race last year. Actually, I counted 8 of them currently entered.

I'm not sure if they'll all be able to run again this year, but if they do, there's a chance of the race becoming a tight lap again. Why so persistant on tight laps? 'Cause the chance opens for bigger payouts, of course.

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Caterpillar

7:03 p.m. While preparing for Queen Elizabeth Cup, there's another race I'm interested in. Musashino Stakes.

When we had a visitor coming the other day, I learned about Lemon Pop. He was running Perseus Stakes earnig himself an easy win. I thought he'd be a good dirt G1 candidate and made a mental note on the spot and now he's entered in Musashino Stakes, one of the races known as the success gate to dirt G1.

I'm sure Lemon Pop would be favored, but am looking forward to see how the horse would perform. Maybe I'll even buy betting tickets. Just maybe.

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Caterpillar

5:25 p.m. So the entry has been closed for Queen Elizabeth Cup. Looks like Shamrock Hill couldn't make it which definitely affects the pace.

For the moment, the most favored in expected win odds is... Daring Tact which seems doubtful to me, followed by Stunning Rose, Namur, Geraldina, Win Marylin. Though rain is expected in Hanshin Sunday morning till noon, and it might be a blessing for Daring Tact.

It might also benefit Magical Lagoon as I see Northern Dancer in her background that suggests a powerful runner rather than a speedstar. She's also carrying lighter weight than Daring Tact or the other older horses. That should be an advantage although the same goes for Stunning Rose, Namur, Pin High, and Lilac.

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3:13 p.m. The barrier draw for Queen Elizabeth Cup has been released. The news of Alpinista retiring without coming to Japan Cup due to an injury has also been released, BTW.

Looks like Rosa Noir could take the lead. And if she does, I'm assuming the lap to be a tight-ish average. Rosa Noir usually runs the first 3 furlongs in somewhere near the end of 34 seconds to a little faster than 37 seconds, though the most favored Stunning Rose would probably be right behind her, so she might go a bit faster than usual especially, on good to soft or soft turf condition which she's good at handling.

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Caterpillar

8:11 p.m. Come to think of the pace, I realized that Rosa Noir has never run this distance before. That means Katsuharu Tanaka might drop the pace to a slow in order to win. Though I think he's smart enough not to take the race into an instantaneous speed contest which would not benefit Rosa Noir, so I've reset the pace as average to slow.

On the premise that the pace could be somewhere between slow and average, the group of horses that performed well in their previous races will be advantaged. And it will be difficult for horses that stay in the back especially taking in account the track condition, which could be good to soft or even soft.

All things considered, I'm keying Namur on a wheel of Rosa Noir, Pin High, Daring Tact, Izu Jo no Kiseki, and Win Marylin.

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Caterpillar

5:16 p.m. Siiighhhh. I feel so inexcusable having you read my calls while I've been losing race after race... You can even call me "Mi(for minus)-Oku Kun".

Well, what the result show is that I'm a terrible better and that Daring Tact is finished as well as Akai Ito. And that maybe Namur should change her plans to focus on mile races.

My only tiny wish was for Stars on Earth to run Japan Cup but now that won't come true either (she's been announced to go into recess due to desmitis inflammation). Doomed really, doomed.

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Caterpillar

6:39 p.m. Have managed to go through the now usual process of reviewing thouroughly. It's given me an insight that I lacked meta-cognition. I knew that, it's nothing new. But have been struggling to pull myself back to a wider point of view when I'm getting too close to something, which goes not only for calling races but also for many things in daily life.

Fortunately, stupid Cow has given me a very, very informative, specific advice to "drastically change something" in order to make things better, so I'll try working on that. I think I've read some clues in Dokugaku Taizen. Let me check that out for a start.

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Caterpillar

6:32 p.m. So I've flipped through Dokugaku Taizen to find that what I thought might help me with meta-cognition was time scale matrix. I could arrange and use this concept to tear myself away from the target of my concern that usually, mainly comes from unnamed anxiety or frustration. Hopefully, it'll get me back on the right track.

One thing done, though another thing pops up. Google gave me a what-for for having too many dead links on this website. I think they mostly come from ads I've pasted years ago which maintenance I've long forgot. Well, I'm not just running websites, you know. There are other things to do.

Have just assigned stupid Cow to check the link so I could go on with my own stuff, te-hee!

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Caterpillar

6:48 p.m. Perehaps many of you might have noticed, but I haven't been writing about Mile Championships yet this week. Have checked out the past race results on some of the horses entered, though that's about all I did up until now. Thought I might stay away from races a bit so I could look at them from a different perspective.

In the meantime, Jack d'Or has been announced to go to Hong Kong. The horse is entering Hong Kong Cup and there's been a rider change from Yuske Fujioka to Yutaka Take. About time. Had the change been earlier maybe Tenno-sho (fall) finished in a different way. Not that I'd have won, I didn't have Panthalassa on my wheel. Still it could have brought happy endings to many other fans.

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Caterpillar

3:07 p.m. So finally, I'm checkiing the entry form for Mile Championship as the entry must have been closed. And it looks like we're having 17 competitors this year.

5:59 p.m. Darn. I was going to finish writing before my meeting but then someone rang the door while I was right in the middle of brushing my teeth after my late lunch! Had to answer the intercom with my mouth full of toothpaste and I probably sounded quite inarticulate... I barely made it to my meeting with a client which ahd been rescheduled from Saturday. Somehow things seem to happen when I least expect it or least want them to.

And now I'm sitting at the computer tapping away so I could finish before another zoom meeting with a friend oversea, having no time to check on the racing form. All I know is that the race is going to be run with 17 horses.

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Caterpillar

6:48 p.m. The barrier draw for Mile Championship has been announced while I've done no preparation whatsoever.

Assuming from how the horses are lined up, either Win Carnelian or Ho O Amazon is likely to take the lead unless Besten Dank takes initiative. The pace wouldn't be tight at any rate. So again, it's expected to be an instantaneous speed contest and the group of horses that performed well in their previous races get the advantage.

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Caterpillar

8:15 p.m. As suggested, I followed the advice of "drastically changing something" and didn't do any preparation this week.

As a result, I focused on choosing horses that were still fresh, and have performed well in their previous races. Though I've deleted some of the high-performers assuming they'd hit their peaks in their previous races.

Wonder if this would work out but I've keyed Sodashi as she semmed to have the most advantage, even her high performance in Fuchu Hinba Stakes which could have had a boost from Sapporo Kinen. On the wheel would be Win Carnelian, Schnell Meister, Justin Cafe, Danon Scorpion, and Falconia.

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Caterpillar

6:21 p.m. Disappointed, very disappointed. Even though I'd guessed the pace right, it was slow, way too slower than I'd thought that Serifos, the winner of Fuji Stakes has won.

I left Serifos out for a reason, you know? Usually, Fuji Stakes winners don't perform well in Mile Championship since G1 races tend to get tougher. But then, this year's Mile Championship wasn't as tough so Serifos' stress didn't surface. Same thing goes for Fuji Stakes runner-up, Soul Rush.

Then why didn't I buy Salios? Salios performs better in a smaller-field race not shortening the distance but rather extending. As for Danon the Kid, I've done a blunder. Should have included him. After all, he was the one that brought my Mainichi Ohkan win. I deceived him and look how things have turned out. Sodashi could have done a bit better if it weren't for the disharmony at the beginning, though will go check the patrol video to see what cruelty Soul Rush might have done to her.

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Caterpillar

8:21 p.m. Got up late today and everything had to be squeezed in what time I left of today. The review of G1 races which now have become a weekly (painful) issue couldn't be left out and it took up my late afternoon.

However, I've been somewhat encouraged by a Niigata- born scientist who figured out what protein caused ALS, that his work has been a succession of failures taking decades though piling up tiny steps is a necessary process in order to move forward. And success can never be reached without moving forward.

My losses are nothing compared to this man's great work.

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Caterpillar

8:24 p.m. While stupid Cow is struggling with checking dead links for 16 years worth, have finished most of my tasks for today. Though there are still many to follow, I'm thinking I'd have some time to spare since rain is expected tomorrow and I won't be going out.

Am also thinking of trying out a new system to call races. That is to start with hypothesis, then go over each step to reveal inconsistency because that's where I usually do blunders, carried away by unnamed anxieties. In order to carry this out, I shall start moving earlier than usual which is actually in good timing, since the barrier draw for Japan Cup will be announced a day earlier on Thursday.

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Caterpillar

5:46 p.m. Remaining tasks were to be done today however, unexpected things happen, unexpected visitors pop up and I'm bound to put everything off. Frustrating.

Since we're having our first match in FIFA Woeld Cup tonight, will have to cut this short, too. So just one thing about Japan Cup.

About the horses entering from overseas, I think they won't do that well on Tokyo turf. I mean, the turf condition is so different from that of Europe that horses that performed well in say France, Germany, the U.K. or Ireland might have different aptitude against races. They might be powerful horses with great stamina, but that's not what Tokyo turf requires. Though of course, there are some rare exceptions like Snow Fairy. One indication of high Tokyo turf aptitude may be high performances in either Hong Kong or Dubai.

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Caterpillar

6:53 p.m. Had to walk 20 minutes to the station and back to see the visitor off. I also had to take it all in after our win against Germany. That's why I'm finally sitting at the desk to look at the released barrier draw for Japan Cup. Or shall I add "All" at the top?

From the line-up, assuming that Unicorn Lion will take the lead at a pace of possibly, a little over 35 seconds for the first 3 furlongs. That would be considered a tight lap, though I doubt if all the other horse would follow. An outer post for Shahryar might not be an advantage, but for a horse that has experienced the tight lap of Tenno-sho in his previous race, it wouldn't feel so tough, I reckon.

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Caterpillar

7:55 p.m. As mentioned earlier, everything has been pushed off later so I haven't finished the necessary preparations to run my new system.

And yet stupid Cow keeps bothering me with trivial things like he can't find what's wrong with the link here or that he found detailed description on the dead links at the dead links checker site (weren't you using that all along? and you're saying that now?). Hey, don't even try to catch my attention.

What's even more frustrating is that I don't have enough information to make any kind of assumption whatsoever on foreign horses. Not that I think they'd perform well, but I need some information to set the pace. And then they tell me that Weltreisende was suffering bowed tendon. Now that's two horses struggling to come back from bowed tendon including Uberleben, ore even more, who knows?

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Caterpillar

9:05 p.m. Perhaps I should have expect the unexpected but well, as you know I've run out of time to call Japan Cup in full strength. So I've done the bet I could with what time I had left.

As a matter of fact, it came down to only 4 horses. I'm keying Danon Beluga on a wheel of Vela Azul, Daring Tact, and Shahryar. Though I'm rather reluctant on buying Vela Azul, so it's actually 3 horses, Danon Beluga, Daring Tact and Shahryar, period.

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Caterpillar

7:22 p.m. Sorry again for skipping yesterday. I get tied up when cow invites our friend almost every other week. I'm forced to entertain our friend when the stupid host falls asleep in the middle of our little pity party.

Licking our wounds wasn't all that bad after all, though as this friend has given me a good advice to why not try quinellas? Well, why not? If things aren't working well, why don't I get back to the start and start all over from box one? That's the proper procedure when you get lost, isn't it?

Meanwhile, something just seems to have struck Cow. If Spain wins the next match against Japan, they'd have to face Brasil some time early in the knock-out round. If they clear the group league 2nd from the top, they could avoid Brasil until the final. Costa Rica vs. Germany starts at the same time as Spain vs. Japan. Okay, so Spain might suddenly stop running, or even try to pull down our boys in the penalty area to give us a PK, is that what's gonna happen?

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Caterpillar

7:46 p.m. Had a terrible start right from the beginning. I was awoken by our neighbor and had to take care of trouble while stupid Cow was nowhere to be seen. Then, just when I took s first bite of my cheese toast, the same neighbor comes back again. It took up all morning and late into afternoon to take care of the trouble.

And just as I sat at the desk, Cow sends me a message that he was helping someone while he called the paramedics. Oh, God. What's going on?

I was going to check out the entrees for Champions' Cup but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Though I just remebered I had to visit the clinic tomorrow. When somthing happens, they all seem to happen at once.

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Caterpillar

7:29 p.m. Have they closed the entry for Champions' Cup? Yeah, maybe. It's already Wednesday, though I haven't done anything yet.

Following my friend's advice, I'm going to bet on a wheel of quinellas his week. Well, the key horse is already half decided on T O Keynes. I don't think I should go against T O Keynes, whether he's favored or not. This horse is probably on a different level.

The rest of my preparation hpefully would be done after tomorrow. Gotta go now, I have an incoming call.

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Caterpillar