9:53 p.m. Sorry to keep you on hold, my friends.

The rain had stopped before the turn of the day and though today's turf races at Tokyo started with good to firm, it dried and was later changed to firm from race 9. They didn't provide me much information as all the turf races today were run in small fields at slow pace. But one thing I noticed was that the turf was fast.

After the condition improved to firm, race 10 was run in an average 1min. 32.8 seconds for a mile however, the final race of 1800m finished with a dazzling 1min. 44.1 seconds. It makes me think that we might have another record finish tomorrow.

I had to think things over from the start in my reluctant state thanks to Lord del Rey and now I'm left with seven horses. Yes, my candidates are increasing, again thanks to Lord Del Rey. Currently on the list are Justin Palace, Tastierra, Masquerade Ball, Ho O biscuits, Museum Mile, Meisho Tabaru, and Queen's Walk.

Come to think of it, though I don't think Tastierra or Meisho Tabaru can perform well on such a speed track. Might have to think things over again. Will skip tomorrow BTW since Mr. N-jima is coming in a while.

The End

Caterpillar

8:31 p.m. Can't tell you how many times I've cursed myself for my stupidity and I'm cursing again as I've switched Justin Palace on my trio wheel with Sol Oriens Sunday morning. Just because the Saddler's Wells line were performing well in the morning. I've done this before. Moreover, the races I referred to were both limited to 2-year-olds. To top it up, I keyed Masquerade Ball.

It's bad my friends, it's BAAAAD!

The least blessing is that Forever Young has achieved our long-cherished dream while the L.A. Dodgers (and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of course) won the World Series. It was a great race as well as a great baseball game that will go down in history. Also, I'd like to use this opportunity to humbly mention that the Blue Jays fought well and tough. They were skilled players backed up with tough spirit and good tactics. I wouldn't have been surprised if they won. I'd like to appreciate both teams for keeping me excited for the whole week! Thank you guys, rest well!

The End

Caterpillar

8:20 p.m. Work went well today so let me start thinking about Argentina Republic Cup while I'm in good spirit. Yes, it's that time of year already.

Speaking of Argentina Republic Cup, what comes to mind is the Roberto line. Roberto line descendants have been constantly performing well in this race. Out of the past 10 years, there were only 2 years when Roberto line descendants failed to finish above third place, year 2022 and 2024. In 2022, T O Royal who had Roberto in his broodmare's side lost in 6th place while Admire Halley who had Roberto in his sireline lost in a close 4th place in 2024, within 2 lengths from the winning horse, Hayayakko.

Oh, now I remember. Yes, yes, Hayayakko. And the finishing time was fast, following Tenno-sho the week before. I was hit by surprise then with 8-year-old Hayayakko's victory followed by 7-year-old Chrominance, though it stirred up my memory to remember that older horses (sometimes) perform surprisingly well on firm, fast track.

Perhaps we might see a similar situation again this year, considering the result of Tenno-sho.

The End

Caterpillar

8:18 p.m. Whether super-fast turf condition gives some kind of advantage to older horses I don't know, but I've seen horses over 8 years old suddenly perform well on speed tracks despite their favority. I've always wondered why, though I haven't found any plausible answer to my question so I've decided to accept things as they are until some day I'm awakened to the cause of this mystery.

Incidentally, as I pulled up the entry form on the screen to see if there were ay horses entered over the age of seven this year, I found two. Mystery Way and Wide Emperor, both 7 years old.

The End

Caterpillar

8:26 p.m. The entry has been closed for the weekend races and Argentina Republic Cup is running with 18 horses, yay! It's not just the big field that makes me happy. An umbrella mark has newly appeared on Sunday's forecast!

As mentioned here over and over, the combination of a full-field race with soft track condition often results in a big payout. If a full-field race on relatively time- consuming track runs at a tight pace, the chance of it finishing with a big payout grows even more.�@It's also a handicapped race!

Considering the distance of Argntina Republic Cup, it's unlikely for the race to get into a tight lap this year, especially where there aren't many front runners. So if the track stays as firm, front runners starting from outer posts as well as trailers starting from the inner posts will be advantaged. What kind of horse would be advantaged if the track becomes soft, then?

Basically, the forementioned type of horses stay advantaged. Perhaps trailers starting from inner posts will be slightly more advantaged if the track gets soft because horses swinging around the outside have to face the course and stamina loss.

The End

Caterpillar

8:50 p.m. So the barriers for argentina Republic Cup have been drawn.

As mentioned earlier, there aren't many front runners and it looks like Mystery Way, the 7-year-old might take the lead. The pace is likely to drop to slow, then. If the pace is slow, front runners starting from outer posts and trailers starting from inner posts will have the advantage. The remaining consideration is the track condition. Forecasts have shifted from cloudy to predicting rain for Sunday, but the question is how much it rains.

Unfortunately, forecasts still seem to be divided on when the rain will start falling as well as how much. Well then, I'll have to wait until Sunday to make my final decision. But in the meantime, I shall proceed on my call on the premise that the turf would be announced firm.

Taking another look at the entry form, my, there are only a few horses that performed well in their previous races!

The End

Caterpillar