Month: March 2008

Cho the nearly man as Moon pulls clear

Seoul Jockey’s Championship
Cho Kyoung Ho rode five seconds but only one winner on a weekend where Moon Se Young went 11 clear at the top of the jockey’s championship. Cho won Race 1 on Saturday but then suffered a series of near misses, notably on hot favourite Wind Rush in race 6. Moon Se Young picked up three winners on Saturday, including Bally Brae – after which he voiced his concern that Bally Brae was carrying too much weight in handicaps and was in danger of injuring himself – and a further two in the quagmire conditions on Sunday. Woo Chang Gu moved into double figures for the year and Ikuyasu Kurakane ended his recent lean spell with two winners on both days, doubling his year’s total to 8.

1. Moon Se Young 37

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 26

3. Park Tae Jong 17

4. Woo Chang Gu; Oh Kyoung Hoan 11

5. Chun Chang Ki 10

Racing Review – Miss Ecton takes Busan Ilbo Cup

Daejiui Yeosin beaten at Busan – Gayasanseong wins at Seoul
Miss Ecton (Yoo Hyun Myoung) won the KRW68Million Busan Ilbo Cup at Busan Race Park this afternoon. The three year old filly timed her run to perfection to overtake 1.8 favourite Daejiui Yeosin (Kim Tae Kyung) in the final 100 metres to win by a length on the line. 17.1 shot Dongjjogui Bit (Kim Eo Su) finished a further length back in third. Miss Ecton started the 3.6 second favourite and Yoo was happy to keep her in the middle of the bunch until making his move as they entered the straight. Daejiui Yeosin hit the front with two furlongs remaining but Miss Ecton’s finish was too strong. Also at Busan, Admiral Reigart (4.0) continued his fine run of form for 2008 with a half length victory in a KRW42Million handicap. Admiral and Seonbaljein (17.4) both came from the back of the field to the front in the final two furlongs and it was the former that got the better of the latter on the line for a half length victory.

There was a tight finish to the feature race at a soaked Seoul Race Park but eventually 2.7 favourite Gayasanseong (Woo Chang Gu) took the honours with a half length victory over Baekpa (Park Tae Jong) and Haengunui Bit (Lee Dong Kuk). Strongly fancied Gi Ra Seong (Choi Beom Hyun) was backed into second favourite at 3.3 but despite leading for most of the race, faded in the straight to finish fourth in the 1900 metre race. Earlier in the day there was a 128.0 winner in the shape of Baramgatchi in race 2, one of the longest priced winners recently.

The much hyped Shaving Points made his racing debut in race 3 and didn’t disappoint those who had backed him into 1.3, cantering to a 6 length victory under Ikuyasu Kurakane. For the second day running Ikuyasu recorded a double, with a later victory on Somangi (8.4) in race 8 with hot favourite First Flower in second. Lee Shin Young continued her recent run of good form with victory in race 1 on Kkumcheoreom (8.6). Lee Ae Li also scored a rare place finish, coming in third on outsider Unak Tiger (78.2) in race 7, a race dominated by the impressive Vicar Love (2.4) which recorded a nine length victory under Woo Chang Gu.

Racing at both Busan and Seoul was blighted by persistant rain and there was standing water on the track making for dirty and dangerous conditions, which kept the crowds low. After winning on Gayasanseong, jockey Woo Chang Gu remarked that jockeys were racing blind most of the day and indeed the first two races on Jeju Island were scrapped altogether.

FULL RESULTS FROM SEOUL

FULL RESULTS FROM BUSAN

Seoul Racing Review – Bally Brae defeats Subsidy

Bally Brae comfortably defeated Subsidy in the feature race at Seoul Race Park this afternoon. Although Cho Kyoung Ho rode his usual aggressive race on Subsidy, taking the 8 year old into the lead on the back straight, Moon Se Young waited patiently before asking Bally Brae to quicken up in the home straight and winning far more comfortably than the one and a quarter length distance would suggest. Obaek Yechan (Jun Duck Young), which had been fancied to cause an upset by one or two of the morning tipsheets, finished in third with the three year olds Gamadongja and Baekjeonmupae, running in this kind of company for the first time, in fourth and fifth respectively. It’s now five straight wins for Bally Brae and thirteen out of twenty in total.

There was a win for Korean Derby hopeful Suseong TX, also ridden by Moon Se Young. Starting 1.5 favourite, he just managed to hold off Dunamjae for a half length victory in race 8. There was defeat, however, for the highly rated two year old Wind Rush, who was expected to pick up his maiden win in race 5, starting at 1.6. Under Cho Kyoung Ho, he was unable to catch second favourite Munsusa (Choi Beom Hyun) who started quickly in the 1000 metre dash and stayed away until the line.

Moon Se Young scored a treble, with victories on Suseong TX and Bally Brae added to by a three length win on Happy Call in race 9. It was good day too for the Japanese contingent with a double for Ikuyasu Kurakane, ending his recent winless streak on Daehwangbong (16.1) in race 3 and Juseon Jeonha in race 12. Nozomu Tomizawa also picked up a win, coming through with a late run on Win For Go (9.1) to take race 6.

It was an overcast but mild day and perfect for racing. The rain that was threatened didn’t arrive until after the racing. Tomorrow, however, the forecast is for rain. The first of eleven races is at 11:20.

FULL RESULTS

Busan Racing Review – Perfect Champ dominates

Perfect Champ returned to form in the feature race at Busan Race Park this afternoon, leading from start to finish to claim a four length victory from All That Rush (5.6) with outsider Gwihon Seonmul (85.2) finishing a surprising third a further five lengths back, With Jung Si Won on board, Perfect Champ went off 3.5 second favourite and never looked like being beaten, the four year old moving on to a career record of 6 wins from 12 starts. Widaehan Bonneung went off the 3.0 favourite but, carrying nine kilos more than Perfect Champ, never threatened to challenge the leaders and finished well back in eighth place.

FULL RESULTS

Seoul Racing – Subsidy and Bally Brae to battle it out again

Weekend Preview
Saturday’s highlight at Seoul Race Park sees rivals Subsidy and Bally Brae go head to head for the first time since the latter’s easy Grand Prix victory in September. The race, a 1900 metre handicap, is off at 17:20. Bally Brae will carry half a kilo more and both will be partnered by their usual jockeys, with Moon Se Young on Bally Brae (12 wins from 19 races) and Cho Kyoung Ho on Subsidy (16 from 25) . There are 12 races on Saturday with the first under orders at 11:20.

They get underway at the same time on Sunday too when the most valuable race out of the 11 being run is a handicap featuring last year’s Korean Oaks winner Baekpa and top money earner Gayasanseong, as well as old stagers Flying Cat and Haengunui Bit.

As previewed below, there’s racing at Busan on Friday and Sunday and down on Jeju there are nine races on both Saturday and Sunday with the first under orders at 12:20 on both days.

Busan Racing preview

Cards have been published for this weekend’s horse racing at Busan Race Park. As usual there are nine races on Friday with the first getting underway at 13:00. Feature race is an 1800 metre handicap off at 17:10. Among the favourites will be Widaehan Bonneung who unexpectedly beat most of its rivals over the same distance in February by an impressive 7 lengths. However, an extra two kilos from the  handicapper may let in others including the horse that finished second that day, All That Rush, Judo Ryeok (3rd) and Haengbuk Teukgeup (4th). Perfect Champ was also in that field but ran a bad race, however, he still maintains a record of 5 wins from 11 starts.

Sunday sees just five races with the first under orders at 12:40, however, the highlight is the 68Million won Busan Ilbo Cup. Eleven are declared for the 1600 metre contest which is the richest race of the year so far and are headed by Miss Ecton (2 wins from 6) and Daejui Yeosin(3/4). The race is at 15:40.

Most of the field of Friday’s big race competed against each other on February 15. Also winning that day was Miss Ecton. Click here to watch all the races from that day.

Quiet weekend at the top – Moon increases lead by one

Jockey’s Championship 2008
Moon Se Young returned from his weekend off with a winner on each day – Cho Kyoung Ho’s only success was on Jeokdaejeok on Saturday. Moon missed two chances on odds-on horses to increase his lead on Sunday afternoon. Park Tae Jong’s double on Sunday keeps him within 10 of Cho and Chun Chang Ki became the sixth jockey to make it into double figures for the year so far:

1. Moon Se Young 32

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 25

3. Park Tae Jong 16

4. Oh Kyoung Hoan 11

Natural Nine, Esteban win

Racing Review – 16 March
Natural Nine, ridden by Kim Hey Sung, took the feature race at Seoul this afternoon. Starting 4.0 second favourite, the four year old scored a three length victory over Magic Runner (Ji Ha Ju) with odds-on favourite Samdabong back in fifth. There was an impressive win for Esteban (Yoo Sang Wan), the 4.2 shot dominating the 1700 meters race 9 to win by three lengths from favourite Geumsuni (Moon Se Young). To complete a hat-trick of second-favourite victories, Seoul Teukgeup trotted up by seven lengths under Moon Jung Kyun in race 11 with odds-on favourite Cash Parade (Danny Craven) back in third.

In contrast to yesterday where almost every favourite came home, today started with a shock – the 22.1 chance Sweet Picket coming home in race 1 with the 1.6 favourite Jayudari languishing in eighth and continued throughout the day. Indeed only one odds-on chance came home all afternoon – the Moon Se Young ridden Jaemidubae in race 6. It was Moon’s only win of the afternoon, the well fancied Mild Go in race 7 going the same way as Geumsuni later on and finishing second. There were two wins for Yoo Sang Wan and another win for the in-form Lee Shin Young.

Full Results

Seoul Review – favourites dominate

Seoul Racing Review – March 15
There were no surprises today as favourites lived up to their billing on a mild spring day this afternoon. The most valuable race of the day only attracted 7 runners and it proved to be a a mismatch as Namchonuijon (Oh Kyung Hoan), starting the 1.1 favourite, hit the front at the final turn and accelerated to win by a remarkable 18 lengths from Bisul (Park Tae Jong). In the previous race the 1.3 favourite Jeokdaejeok (Cho Kyoung Ho), found things a little tougher but produced a fast finish to take he line 2 lengths ahead of Baekdujeonseol (Chun Chang Ki). There were also odds-on wins for Gangcheolgwon (Chun Chang Ki), starting at 1.7 and finishing 6 lengths in front of Devilish Speed, and also for Aragorn (Woo Chang Gu). Aragorn went off at at 1.5 but faced a tough battle with Huimang Energy (Ham Wan Sik) in the closing stages with the favourite getting the better of it by just over a length.

Finish of the day was in race 7, which punters also found the most competitive of the day. In the end, joint second favourites Rulluralla (An Byung Ki) and Happy Hero (Moon Se Young) both starting at 4.1 came home with just a nose between them as An Byung Ki picked up his second win of the afternoon, with outsider Crown Birdie (Lee Jeong Sup) just half a length back in third. With the exception of Royal Taichi (Moon Jung Kyun) picking up race 5 at 18.1, the favourites had it all their own way – Sinnui Norae (Yoon Dae Keun) coming home at 1.6 in race 2 and Hanbatanguseum (An Byung Ki) at 1.5 in race 6. With his double, An Byung Ki was the only jockey to win more than one race with the returning Moon Se Young picking up a win on Hammer Punch (2.2) in race 8. Danny Craven had five rides, the highlight being placing third on Yeonseung Melody (14.0) in race 8.

Racing is back tomorrow at Seoul Race Park with the first of eleven races starting at 11:20. There are also six races at Busan, the first at 13:00 and nine on Jeju Island with the first off at 12:20.

Full Results

Florida Native edges out Golding

Punters couldn’t decide between them and in the end there was only a nose in it as the four year old Jung Si Won ridden Florida Native held off Golding to take the feature race at Busan. With the two starting co-favourites at 2.2, Florida Native led from start to finish of the 2000 metre handicap, Golding making a late run but just failing to catch his rival, who had an 8.5 kilo weight advantage, on the line. Wonder Love finished third at 7.4.

Full Results