7:35 p.m. Well, it was a race with lots of accidents. Opening with Yuga falling off from Admire Terra, letting go of the reins to have the horse run the race with an empty saddle while Seiun Hades took the lead instead of Sunrise Earth nor Ho O Biscuits, Justin Palace who was said to have improved his start with the blinder on suddenly falling behind again. Even after the race, Masquerade Ball bolts off and runs into Danon Decile, throwing both horses' jockies off to the turf, Danon Decile's rider Keita Tozaki hitting his leg hard onto the fence pole in the aftermath, carried off the turf on a stretcher.

I take my hat off to Calandagan and the crew. Their performance was fabulous, breaking Almond Eye's race record after seven years. Praise and respect also goes to Masquerade Ball, since it was a photo finish, which means he performed as well as Calandagan while breaking the record as well.

A slight disappointment against Croix du Nord permiating because he was able to get a good position. It could have been his condition as whispered before the race. Additionally, if the rumor that Croix du Nord was forced to run Japan Cup instead of Arima Kinen to give Regaleira the chance to win Arima Kinen is true, I'd be hugely disappointed. Such selfish, inhuman deeds shall not be allowed.

The End

Caterpillar

8:08 p.m. This week it's Champion's Cup, a dirt G1.

As you might already guess, Narukami is likely to be the most favored. The question is whether he'd be able to win or not.

As a 3-year-old, Narukami should have the advantage of freshness. The results of the past 10 years show that 3-year-olds perform relatively well, as long as they go up front. The only 3-year-old which finished above third place without taking a higher position up front was Nonkono Yume.

Well, I'll have to scrutinize the horse especially when he's a runaway that won Japan Dirt Classics in his previous race. But then, the two-kilograms lighter weight he carries is definitely is appealing.

The End

Caterpillar

8:31 p.m. Let me leave Narukami aside for a moment to think about trailers starting from outer posts.

As you might already know, Chukyo dirt 1800m where Champions' Cup is held is friendly to inner post starters. You can almost say that one only needs to buy horses starting from inner posts. But then, trailers that drew outer posts like Westerlund or Chuwa Wizzard have made me cry in the past so I want to make use of this opportunity to put an end to such tragedies.

I've reflected on the past results and came to recognize that basically, trailers starting from outer posts don't need much attention except for some rare cases. What Westerlund and Chuwa Wizzard shared was that they both had the fastest records of the last three furlongs in their career before Champions' Cup. They also performed well on wet dirt track condition, which is essential for performing highly in a JRA dirt G1, while both horses performed better starting from outer posts.

I shall keep this in mind this year.

The End

Caterpillar

9:00 p.m. The barriers for Champions' Cup have been drawn and announced, so let's take a look.

Luxor Cafe drawing the outmost post will be disadvantaged considering the course features. Narukami, the center of attraction has drawn an outer post while several front runners including Wiiliam Barrows who also wants to run away have drawn inner posts. Narukami probably would get on top as he's done regardless of the posts. W Heart Bond might want to stick along the rail somewhere around the second or third row from the top.

The End

Caterpillar