Racing from Japan and Vodka the Mare

[MAX-BOB]

Perhaps I have missed it, but I see very little if any discussion on the racing from Japan anywhere in the Community. I mentioned that marvelous mare Vodka in a post on another subject, and I can't recall ever seeing her discussed elsewhere. Does anyone pay attention to the Japan racing?  A few people must, although the Japan pools are usually relatively small.

It seems a shame that there is very little mentioned on here about the big races over there. I think Vodka has been one of the very top mares in the world for about 3 years, perhaps more. Plus they have other excellent horses in Japan and some of them do race in major races outside of Japan.

I found the coverage of the Japan racing on TV on 10/31 or 11/01 (depending on your location) was pretty poor. Los Al was having their big stakes night with the B of A Challenge races, and this coverage seemed to take almost total precedence over the 1st 2 races from Japan. Boom, we see some horses in the gate in Japan, and they're off and running...no preview at all on TV. I realize they can't cover everything, but this seemed particularly poorly done.

I'm far from an expert on racing in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, but I'm trying to improve my knowledge of these areas.  Any comments or suggestions? Am I missing something?

Good Fortune,

Max-Bob/Maxine

[barb]

   I totally agree about last night's coverage, it wasn't nearly as good as it usually is when they show racing from Japan. I really enjoy the Japanese racing. Of course I am a huge Sunday Silence fan and he is in almost all of their top horses' pedigrees. I also LOVE Vodka, she has been in my top 10 for several years...what a terrible trip she had last night! How did Take get her so bottled up? What was he thinking???

[MAX-BOB]

Barb,

     I, too, am a huge Sunday Silence fan, dating back to his racing days. I hated to see him go to Japan, but maybe it was for the best--guess we'll never know for sure?

     Anybody who hasn't been following Vodka has really been missing a special racer. Rates way up there in my book. Her trip was terrible the other night. I've noticed over her career that she has had other terrible trips, but sometimes she has managed to get there anyway--can't recall the exact race I'm thinking of and don't have the pp's in front of me--but one of her trips practically made this one look like a picnic, IMO. This mare can win &/or run in the money in high class company at any distance against open fields. Plus she presents a beautiful and tough appearance and I don't think she knows how to not try hard. I recall getting decent returns on her once or twice, but I haven't bet her lately due to her odds: That's not the main reason I'm still watching her, anyway.

     She is truly a joy, as was Sunday Silence to me. Glad to hear some agreement, and apparently I guess I should be glad to have gotten any response.

     Good Fortune to you, Barb,

     Max-Bob/Maxine

[barb]

Maxine,

  Sunday was my first true love (racehorse, anyway). I always remember that Charlie Whittingham said that his biggest regret was selling half of his half of SS, which left him screwed when the other 2 owners wanted to sell to Japan. Charlie knew Sunday would be a good sire and wanted to keep him in the US but got out-voted. I have really enjoyed his sons and daughters (and grandchildren) and wish more of them would come race in America. I would have loved to see Deep Impact in the BC.

  I was also really hoping they would bring Vodka this year. She could have run, and been competitive, in every race over a mile. I'm trying to think of any Japanese horses to run in the BC. I can't think of one. Heart's Cry ran in Dubai, and Deep Impact in the Arc but other than that I can't recall any of the really good Japanese horses going international. There have probably been a few to run in Australia, but I don't really follow their racing.

  I have gotten a few folks interested in Vodka on the Blood-Horse blogs, but she seems to be pretty under the radar here in America. People are really missing out. Maybe we should start the Vodka Posse, lol.

  Good fortune to you as well,  Barb

[tencentcielo]

Japanese horses often venture to Austrailia, from what i've heard, but it was a shock when they ran 1-2 in the 2007 Melbourne Cup. Pop Rocks qualified as a major upset from what i remember.

They also venture to Hong Kong often, which has a ton of money invested. I really want to go to Sha Tin or Happy Valley once in my life.

[barb]

Is Pop Rocks a Japanese horse? I have seen him race several times and always thought he was an Aussie coming to Japan, lol. Not the other way around. Shows ya what I know.

[Jackal]

What can I say?  I love Vodka! She was my favorite horse until Rachel Alexandra burst onto the scene and stole my heart.  In Vodka's previous race she ran a mile in 1:32.  I think that mile took more than anyone could foresee from her.

[merasmag]

vodka is past her prime but good alcohol never goes totally bad

[biggestal]

I posted my picks in the TVG viewers mailbox section

10-5-6-9.

Allan

[MAX-BOB]

VIVA  VODKA!!!!!

What a great mare in a great performance, IMHO.

I was rooting for Vodka to pull it off, but I honestly had some doubts who to actually pick to win until about 5 minutes or slightly longer when they were on their way to the gate. I finally picked Vodka to win with Conduit #16 second (he looked really good pre-race, imo), followed with Red Desire #6 and Screen Hero #18 in either order. I never posted anything with an actual selection before the race because I had my mind made up much earlier, looked at the PP's for the field and watched them all and wavered, and made my choice last minute. I know this type of thing is generally frowned upon, but I'm not posting this to brag for myself for this race. If anything, I'm simply "bragging" for having picked out Vodka years ago for the exceptional mare that she is, and I'm bragging for her for all that she is, which is a true champion, IMO. She has faced the best of both sexes (running mostly against open gender fields) for years, more-than-holding-her-own, she is versatile as to distance, and she has all the try and attitude of a champion one could want.

Allan, I'm wondering where you got those odds you posted early on race day? I meant to hunt for them myself, but never got to it; just assumed Vodka (and Conduit at maybe 5-1) would drop. Like I commented in that thread, I hoped those odds would stay where they were. I would have loved to see Vodka go off at 6-1. As it was, I had decided I'd probably bet her at 2-1, but when things got down to that I was having my doubts, and didn't actually bet her until she reached 7-2 (just a small across bet). I thought the odds on Red Desire and Screen Hero were really good, but I was only half right, if that. Red Desire ran a terrific race. Have no idea what Screen Hero was doing. Since Vodka was considerably more forwardly placed than usual, I was pretty much glued-in on her, and don't yet know what many in the field did. Oken Bruce Lee #10 was surely quite impressive. Wonder if we'll see him back next year.

And I'd still like to have seen that photo! TVG sure made a mistake when they were replaying the finish and, right on the line, they flipped their big logo ad on top off it. At least they rectified their mistake by almost immediately reshowing the finish. EBMM.....

A race I really would like to see would have been that Japan Cup race with Zenyatta added to the field. Of course, she would have to have been trained up to it appropriately, but I would love to have seen her go 1 1/2 miles over that long, demandingly designed stretch against that field. I think it would have been the toughest field she ever faced. And how about throughing in Rachel Alexandra and Sea the Stars? Too bad we'll never see that race, but what we did get was pretty darn good.

Allan, I hope you made something with those xlnt. picks of yours.

Good Fortune,

M-B/Maxine

ALLAN: Never mind. I found the other thread, and everything I asked you abt in this post has been clarified. Thanks for the updated odds that I obviously missed earlier.