| I believe the 2005 Showa from Maruyama had enough notoriety/popularity that it was kind of the "people's choice" award. She had made her mark in many shows previous to the AJKS 2005. I doubt anything was going to deter the judges from voting the way they did.
I too was at the 2006 AJKS. There were rumors on Saturday morning that the maruten didn't come because it had some problems. I since have found out that, in fact, it did come. It was left on the truck. It came down to the last second decision as to which fish would be shown by SFF under the name of Martin and Mark. I think Sakai had the final say. Everything else aside, this pattern does not do it for me. However, in person, it was one of the most imposingly beautiful fish I've ever seen. As Ray states, her beni was unparalleled at this show. Actually one of my favorites was the Momotaro Sanke in the 85Bu(?) category. She got Kokugyo but I felt it should have been RGC. Just my HO.
Mike |