Japan trip an education
As you probably know, I went to ride Blackstairmountain for Willie Mullins at a racecourse called Nakayama, which is about a 45 minute drive from Tokyo.
I flew Dublin-Heathrow-Tokyo and it was some experience. The race was on Saturday and I arrived at the track to exercise Blackstairmountain at 6.00 on Friday morning.
Now that was about 10.00 at night here at home, so I hadn’t overly adjusted to the new time zone.
Anyway, the race was a real education, with Blackstairmountain only managing to finish ninth of the 12 finishers.
It was so different to what we are used to that I’d say Sprinter Sacre would definitely get beaten at the first time of asking at Nakayama.
We started from stalls and I had a bad draw in 12. We went like the hammers of hell throughout, on ground I would describe as green tarmac.
The fences were soft and jumping through them, rather than over, was the right way to do things.
But Blackstairmountain wasn’t used to that and lost ground at the second and third obstacles.
It was sheer speed from start to finish and was a bit like riding over seven furlongs at Laytown.
The facilities at the track were spectacular. I’ve been to Sha Tin and they were certainly up to that standard.
As I told you here two weeks ago, we were removed from public view from the night before the races, in a jockeys’ lock down. This was all to do with integrity.
Basically, that was a hotel and, while I didn’t count the number of jockeys involved, I’d say there were 60 of us. I’d hate to have been paying for it.
Blackstairmountain is still in Japan, supervised by Emmet Mullins, and runs in a £600,000 to the winner race there in a couple of weeks.
If I survive the Aintree Grand National next Saturday, then I’ll be returning to Tokyo a few days later to ride the horse again.
I am looking forward to it big-time. He will be stepping up in trip and, on this occasion, we’ll know what to expect.
Today, I head to the rather less exotic Newton Abbot for two rides for Paul Nicholls, starting with the ex-French horse, Virak, in a novice hurdle.
I had a choice of going here, or to Haydock, and Paul indicated Newton Abbot was my best option, on the basis that Virak would win.
He’s had two outings at Pau, finishing second and then bolting in by 12 lengths in January. Paul really likes this horse, so let’s hope he’s right.
Ulck Du Lin is my other ride, off top weight of 11-12, in a handicap chase. You can draw a line through his last run in the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham festival.
He made a bad blunder at the third fence and you just cannot do that at Cheltenham. Essentially, we were immediately beaten and he was tailed off when I pulled him up before the tenth.
Prior to Cheltentham, Ulck Du Lin won well at Ascot and Newbury and, wherever he finishes now, will surely leave the Cheltenham effort behind.
Tomorrow, I head to Fairyhouse and a date with the exciting Annie Power in a Grade 1 novice hurdle for mares.
Her record speaks for itself, six from six, and she was most impressive for me at Naas last time when beating Defy Logic.
She travelled beautifully, jumped well and quickened, but that doesn’t tell the full story. What I particularly loved was that she had loads left after the finishing line and wanted to go round again. I just think she is a bit special.
I’m on Pride Ofthe Parish in a Grade 2 hurdle and he has to have a chance, on his close second to Our Vinnie at Limerick.
But this looks very competitive, with the likes of Defy Logic, Bright New Dawn and some other smart sorts also involved.
I think The Paparrazi Kid has a decent each-way shout in a wide-open three-mile handicap hurdle.
I thought he was too keen, and then banged into the last for good measure, when down the field at Naas. This trip should suit.
I’m on Smart Money for Jim Culloty in another tough race, a two-mile handicap hurdle. This horse has a nice weight, 10-7, and Jim’s horses are in good form.
I finish on Mikael D’Haguenet in the Powers’ Gold Cup. There may be a small field, but this is a good renewal.
I have not lost faith in Mikael and continue to believe he is a genuine Grade 1 horse. His jumping has found him out on a number of occasions and that was again the case on his latest appearance when third at Naas.
We were cruising heading to three out, but he knuckled on landing, sat down, stood up and strode on again. I’m sure punters are nicely fed up of him, but I’m not.
