Japan Cup  Sun 26 Nov 6.20 am

[Zorro]

Thanks very much for the suggestions, wit. I shall certainly ask some of the questions. Hope I can find a good interpreter though, so that not too much will be, um, lost in translation.

[indocine]

Does the JRA or LRC concur with the press reporting that ipratropium is not banned domestically?

[wit]

hi indo

i’m not aware that either of them has yet addressed that point head-on, and it would be good to get that out of them.

<br>certainly, the drug is not specifically named in the 52 listed in Table 2 towards the bottom of the following JRA link:

http://japanracing.jp/japan/rules.html

and the european and US press reporting has used the formulation that in Japan it is "not listed as prohibited".

<br>the tokyo press (asahi shimbun) seemed to go slightly further though, saying "….the horse had tested positive for a drug banned in Europe…..Ipratropium is not banned in Japan":

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asa … 60108.html

<br>on the other hand, it seems that iprotropium is similar in structure to atropine  (and atropine is first in the JRA list of 52):

http://www.mongabay.com/health/medicati … opium.html

so that raises the possibility, on strict interpretation, of there being a possible loophole:  "if you wanted to prohibit iprotropium, why not list it like you did atropine ?" could be the cry.

<br>it would be an odd loophole though, since the IFHA report on doping control in 2005 lists iprotropium and atropine as separate drugs (Table 4, items 22 and 130:  Table 5, items 9 and 59):

http://www.horseracingintfed.com/resour … report.pdf

<br>loophole though it may be:  one wonders what else the JRA chief exec might have had in mind when talking obliquely, at the end of last week’s communique,  about needing to keep in mind differences between domestic and foreign rules when engaged in international racing?

http://www.jra.go.jp/news/200611/111610.html

<br>best regards

wit<br>

[indocine]

Article 79 para 2. effectively widens the scope of the prohibited list to infinity…

"2. A substance, even if it was other than the prohibited drugs, or, medication, must not be administered to any horse nominated to start for the purpose of temporarily stimulating, or, depressing race performance. "

For me, that’s why what the press reported was key.<br>

[wit]

surely the prohibited list remains the prohibited list, and the mere presence of an item on it is grounds for action – ie strict liability?

<br>then 79.2 creates a separate offence where the list is irrelevant and one looks only to the purpose for which any substance (down to plain water) is administered – ie intent is all.

so whether its iprotropium or whether its switching to high protein feed (or extral rations of the same feed):

– not acceptable if purpose behind it is to stimulate or depress ability to race,

– acceptable if done solely for a theraputic purpose in the mind of the person administering ?

(and in any event no 79.2 worries if the stimulation is achieved by ceasing to, rather than starting to, administer).    

<br>best regards

wit

[wit]

interesting piece in today’s Australian:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A MELBOURNE Cup quinella in early November and a Japan Cup quinella at the end of November?

That is a dream-like achievement facing premier Japanese breeder Katsumi Yoshida…..

….chances are high that if Yoshida does not feature as the breeder of the winner, he could be denied by runners bred by his brothers, Teruya and Hareya.

The Yoshida brothers are sons of Japan’s legendary owner-breeder Zenya Yoshida, who founded the Shadai Farm on the northern island of Hokkaido.

He introduced to Japan the US-bred stallions Northern Taste and Sunday Silence, which have been Japan’s leading sires in an unbroken sequence from the early 1980s to the present season.

…..In the smallest field yet to line up for the prestigious international event, the Japan Cup field of 12 has no fewer than six starters bred on farms run by the Yoshida brothers.

… Deep Impact, Dia De La Novia, Fusaichi Pandora… Heart’s Cry…. Swift Current …..Dream Passport

…..Rated by many top judges, and unanimously by his army of fans, as Japan’s best horse ever, Deep Impact is coming off a bold mission to win the Group I Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) in France early last month.

He was a close-up third at the finish, a brave performance at his first run since late June. Even that effort is now off his record, as he returned a positive to ipratropium, approved for use in Japan under controlled circumstances but a banned substance in France….

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st … 22,00.html

best regards

wit

[wit]

hi indo

re your earlier question, chanced across this early cached reported comment from the JRA:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ipratropium is used to treat respiratory ailments such as asthma.

The substance is not banned in Japan, although there is no record of thoroughbreds ever using the drug, according to the JRA.

The JRA is unaware how the substance was administered into Deep Impact during his two-month stay in France.

While in Japan, the horse had used an inhaler to treat a respiratory condition. <br><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache:WR … =clnk&cd=7

best regards

wit

[indocine]

crikey wit, I think that paragraph from Yomiuri actually throws up more questions than it does answers.  :biggrin:

[pengamon]

The good news is that the excellent American turf writer Vic Zast is making his 1st visit to the Japan Cup-so there will be some high standard amusing articles appearing either on the Blood Horse or MSNBC.

[wit]

thanks for that.

not a writer i’d come across but sounds interesting:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><br>Chicago-based perfumer Vic Zast has been a participant in the sport of the Thoroughbred — as an owner, breeder, innovator, observer, and fan — for more than 45 years.

As an owner-breeder, Vic campaigned champion Illinois 3-year-old filly Comforts of Home, stakes winner Dash of Salt, and multiple race winners Comforts Abound and Prognosticator.

His many contributions to the game of racing include pioneering the field of television syndication of racing programs, creating the Jim Beam Stakes, and initiating the concept of bonus purse money with the advent of the Bluegrass Triple Crown in 1981.

Vic’s adventures in racing also include publishing the first official Breeders’ Cup Souvenir Magazine among a variety of related periodicals devoted to racing events around the nation, presiding over a network of pari-mutuel facilities, and serving as president and board member of several racing facilities.  

Zast began freelance turf writing in 1998…<br><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://www.bloodhorse.com/talkinhorses/VZ082306.asp

<br>succinct advice to an aspirant freelancer:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If there is a good course being offered near you called "Introduction to Freelance Writing," I’d take it.

You must first teach yourself how to write articles that publishers want and that fit their publications.

Most courses that help you get to this point, also teach you how to write letters of inquiry and place pieces in the right publications.

Freelance writing on a full-time basis is a very difficult job. The pay is paltry and rejection comes with many inquiries.

But, if you write in a style that others don’t have, and you have something relevant to say, you can make it.

My advice is to develop a tough skin. Write only what you think you should. Write it without compromise to your beliefs.

And be different. The reporters who give you the picks and the results are a dime a dozen.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><br>Redwood City, CA <br>Are you always as happy as you look in your photos?

Zast <br>I smile when someone with a camera orders me to "Say Cheese.â€ÂÂ

[pengamon]

Quote: from wit on 9:54 am on Nov. 23, 2006[br]thanks for that.

not a writer i’d come across but sounds interesting:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><br>Chicago-based perfumer Vic Zast has been a participant in the sport of the Thoroughbred — as an owner, breeder, innovator, observer, and fan — for more than 45 years.

As an owner-breeder, Vic campaigned champion Illinois 3-year-old filly Comforts of Home, stakes winner Dash of Salt, and multiple race winners Comforts Abound and Prognosticator.

His many contributions to the game of racing include pioneering the field of television syndication of racing programs, creating the Jim Beam Stakes, and initiating the concept of bonus purse money with the advent of the Bluegrass Triple Crown in 1981.

Vic’s adventures in racing also include publishing the first official Breeders’ Cup Souvenir Magazine among a variety of related periodicals devoted to racing events around the nation, presiding over a network of pari-mutuel facilities, and serving as president and board member of several racing facilities.  

Zast began freelance turf writing in 1998…<br><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://www.bloodhorse.com/talkinhorses/VZ082306.asp

<br>succinct advice to an aspirant freelancer:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If there is a good course being offered near you called "Introduction to Freelance Writing," I’d take it.

You must first teach yourself how to write articles that publishers want and that fit their publications.

Most courses that help you get to this point, also teach you how to write letters of inquiry and place pieces in the right publications.

Freelance writing on a full-time basis is a very difficult job. The pay is paltry and rejection comes with many inquiries.

But, if you write in a style that others don’t have, and you have something relevant to say, you can make it.

My advice is to develop a tough skin. Write only what you think you should. Write it without compromise to your beliefs.

And be different. The reporters who give you the picks and the results are a dime a dozen.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><br>Redwood City, CA <br>Are you always as happy as you look in your photos?

Zast <br>I smile when someone with a camera orders me to "Say Cheese.â€ÂÂ

[Zorro]

I agree about the good bloke bit. I have drawn Vic’s attention to these encomia and will do so again tomorrow (now there are more of them).

[wit]

Draw now out ( Tokyo Race 10 ):

http://japanracing.jp/card/index.html

<br>Bloodhorse preview:

http://racing.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=36496

<br>best regards

wit  

[wit]

Murray Bell in SCMP:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Arc ….unfortunate third when jockey Yutaka Take took the inexplicable option of tipping the champion’s racing pattern upside down.

Deep Impact normally balances near the rear before descending on his rivals like a peregrine falcon – swift, ruthless and deadly.

Exactly why you would change the racing pattern of the fastest-finishing horse in the world may never be explained, but Take took the option to go forward, and in this role reversal, Deep Impact began pulling against his rider instead of relaxing……

You don’t need a one-on-one interview with Take, in any language, to know that won’t be happening again. Against just 11 rivals in the Japan Cup (2,400m), Deep Impact will take his time and then be asked to do what he does best.

The Yoshida family’s monolithic Shadai Farm organisation, who sold Deep Impact as a foal, have bought him back – at a price understood to be more than HK$300 million [GBP 20m] – to become the replacement stallion for his great, late sire, Sunday Silence.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news … 061124.asp

<br>zorro,  any luck re clarifying nature and extent of DI’s reported use of inhaler at home?

best regards

wit

[Zorro]

Wit, I wrote a piece about it a couple of days ago, basically giving the JRA line which is that he only needed it at Chantilly, but pointing out that similar products do exist – although no-one’s suggesting he regularly uses one of them instead. <br>Did it get in the paper? Or did it hit the spike?

[wit]

hi zorro

many thanks and apologies.  i missed the print edition on Friday, but the article is now showing up in the cuttings file on the site.  clear refutation then of the Yomiuri report that  DI was on an inhaler in Japan pre-Arc.

<br>there’s an interesting piece on Blood-Horse regarding the SITA promotion of Japan to Part I:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The promotion of Japan to Part I came after a tortoise-paced opening of JRA racing to foreign-based horses, beginning with the Japan Cup and one other race in 1981. Twenty-five years later, 70 of the JRA’s graded and 11 non-graded stakes are open to foreign-based horses; next year, half of the JRA’s black-type races will be open to international competition.

It might be argued that Japan’s reluctance to open its rich stakes program to foreign horses was unfounded. This year’s Japan Cup (Jpn-I) and Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-I), offering a combined $7 million in prize money over the weekend of Nov. 25-26, attracted just two international horses, Ouija Board and Freedonia, both from Europe.

It’s not just horses that the JRA has kept out of its racing program. With rare exceptions, only Japanese citizens have been licensed to own horses that race at the JRA tracks.

Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed has made an effort to change that, but his initial attempts have been shot down by the JRA…..

Dr. Riki Takahashi, Sheikh Mohammed’s key representative in Japan, applied for an owner’s license earlier this year in the name of Darley Japan Farms, but that application was denied by the JRA, whose president, Masayuki Takahashi, said it "did not meet the qualifications for ownership registration as defined by JRA rules."

That may be why the committees that define catalog standards stepped in with a stick, after dangling a carrot in front of the JRA and moving them into Part I of the International Cataloguing Standards.

A terse press release from SITA said: "A condition of the promotion is that no new races will be upgraded as long as the ownership criteria in Japan have not been radically changed." <br><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

http://opinions.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=36466

<br>any chance of getting the JRA to make an expansive statement in that direction ?

for the race itself, i guess there’s too much riding on DI for him to lose, but nonetheless i’m tempted to stay with Fuchu Frankie – who i see warmed-up by scoring in both his turf rides today:

http://japanracing.jp/_news2006/pdf/061125-02.pdf

<br>best regards

wit <br>

(Edited by wit at 5:57 pm on Nov. 25, 2006)

[wit]

1st    Deep Impact<br>2nd   Dream Passport<br>3rd    Ouija Board

DI and OB both started at back and worked through.  Frankie sitting a length and half behind him towards end to see if could get a sprint attack, but no go

race started slowly but last 3 furlongs in 34.3.

heart’s cry a disappointment, finished second last.

full result, and eventually video, will be here:

http://japanracing.jp/jc/index.html

best regards

wit

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