It was billed as the Big New Year’s Match Race. In the absence of Stakes action this weekend, another showdown between Double Grand Prix Champion Dongbanui Gangja and Busan Metropolitan and KRA Cup Classic winner Tough Win was set up to send racing fans into the Lunar New Year holiday feeling satisfied. However, Baekjeonmupae didn’t accept that he was there to simply make up the numbers and soundly defeated the pair of them in the feature event at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.

There were clues that the two stars may not necessarily have it all their own way. Dongbanui Gangja had run wide in his last few outings and, despite being equipped with a set of pacifiers for the first time, it was a brave punter who expected him to give Choi Bum Hyun an easy ride. As for Tough Win, while he could be forgiven for not staying the distance in the Grand Prix last December, his laboured win in the Busan Metropolitan suggested that he wouldn’t have it all his own way over ten furlongs.

So it proved to be. Cho Kyoung Ho gunned Tough Win out of the stalls and into an early lead. He stretched away from the field to the tune of five lengths in the back straight and looked in fine shape as they turned for home.

On the contrary, Choi Bum Hyun on Dongbanui Gangja looked to have given himself far too much to do having not made his customary charge round the field as they exited the back straight. All the while, Park Tae Jong was sitting poised on Baekjeonmupae in second place.

As the sprint got going, Tough Win had the rail while Baekeonmupae came down the centre. For a long while it looked as though Tough Win was going to hold on but, thirty metres from the line Baekjeonmupae drew level and a tired Tough Win succumbed to the second defeat of his career. Dongbanui Gangja, labouring under 61 kilos of weight, rallied well to finish fourth – a good sign for those who feared that his talent, along with his discipline, had gone.

As for New Zealand bred Baekjeonmupae [Traditionally – Star Sixty Seven (Phone Trick)], he started as the 7/1 favourite and recorded his eleventh win from thirty-eight starts.

In other races, 2010’s champion two-year old Sun Hero made his second appearance of the season. And, having disappointed in his first outing earlier in the month, he made no mistake in race 8 over the Derby distance of nine furlongs. Just like Tough Win, however, he was struggling towards the end and will have to improve if he is to feature in the Classic hunt later this year.

Down at Busan, there was a six race card, the highlight of which saw young Aussie colt Wanggol (Jet Spur) look for his seventh win in ten starts. It wasn’t to be. Four year old Hudson River Line (Not For Love), who won four of his first five starts but had only one twice in ten subsequent starts, dominated proceedings as he took a two length win from old-stager Admiral Reigart.

So that’s it for two weeks as next weekend racing takes a break for the Lunar New Year holiday. Very welcome the break is too as we leave a January in which not a single day has recorded a temperature above 0C. Hopefully by the time we reconvene in a fortnight’s time, horses, jockeys and punters alike, will find a much more agreeable climate.

Today, however, we saw our champion – our reigning Horse of the Year – humbled. He’ll be back and all Tough Win’s defeat really does is open up the question of just who it is who is going to take that crown this year. In our wonderful sport, there is always something to look forward to.

Triple Seven returned to form while Special Volpony found hers at last as the pair took home the big prizes in co-feature races at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.

Thinking up various ways of saying “it was very cold” has become tedious but, suffice to say, it was once again extremely cold on a day which saw thirteen races run with last Sunday’s abandoned feature race added to the card. That was Triple Seven’s race and the current Ttukseom Cup holder was back to his best to see off a field containing Oaks runner-up Cheonun and pre-race favourite Blue Pin. Blue Pin managed second but Cheonun was a disappointing sixth.

One race earlier, 12/1 shot Special Volpony scored her first win at class 1 at her first attempt, in the process landing apprentice jockey Park Sang Woo his own first triumph at the elite level. Fourth to Love Cat in the Nonghyup last year, she made the most of a light weight to win by just over a length from outsider Jeokdaejeok. Love Cat and pre-race favourite Lucky Mountain were both well-beaten.

In other races there was a New Zealand exacta in race 10 as Baekjeonjeonseong (Traditionally) – a horse who appears to have at least one too many syllables in his name – got the better of fellow Kiwi born Super Yongwang (Ekraar). Meanwhile much earlier in the day, while it may have taken apprentice jockey Park Jong Hyun seven months to ride her first winner, it hasn’t taken her so long to grab her second. Park guided 16/1 shot Paxgo to victory in race 3.

Also breaking their maidens today were US bred A Wanted Affair (Ten Most Wanted) and Strodes Creek colt Sen Wang. Three year old Sen Wang is one of the last foals to have been sired by Strodes Creek, who died in a paddock accident in January 2008.

Racing returns to the capital on Sunday when it is the big match; Dongbanui Gangja vs Tough Win. Tough Win has just officially been named Horse of the Year for 2010 and he’ll be odds-on to start 2011 on a high. There are eleven races at Seoul from 11:20 to 18:00 and six at Busan from 12:40 to 16:30.

Racing Abandoned in the Capital / Yeonseung Daero Wins at Busan

A full-on blizzard mid-way through the card caused racing at Seoul to be abandoned this afternoon. Six races had been completed by the time the decision was made that conditions were no longer safe.

While there had been a few flakes drifting in the air when racing got underway at 11:20 this morning, there was little indication of what was to follow. By race 4, snow was falling steadily and then settling on the track. With the driving blizzard limiting visibility, the floodlights were switched on after race 5, however, with the horses at the post for race 6, jockeys dismounted while as much snow was cleared from the track as possible.

They got back on and Park Tae Jong guided favourite Yeongung Icheon to a victory that could be barely made out on the TV cameras, let alone by the punters sheltering in the grandstand. While efforts were made to continue, it quickly became apparent that such was the volume of snow, horses were finding it difficult to walk in the paddock, let alone on the track.

Shortly after 3pm, it was announced that racing was abandoned for the day. Unlike the last time this happened, there were no near-riots from punters – the time of day and the obviously dreadful conditions contrasting with the day in 2009 when in bright sunshine and with punters having just paid their entry fee, the track was deemed to be frozen.

Seoul’s abandonment meant that all eyes were shifted south to Busan for the southern track’s co-feature races. In the first of them, favourite Areumdaun Jilju put in a disappointing run as Deep Desire took the honours. The four-year old led home rank outsider Boulogne by just over half a length to record the sixth win of his twelve race career.

That race was restricted to Korean breds but the finale was open to all. Yeonseung Daero, despite being eligible for the domestic races, was sent out against foreign opposition. And as he usually does, he beat them. Now five-years old, Yeonseung Daero was well-placed throughout and pounced with just over a furlong to go to win by a length and a half from Heukjanggun and Haengbok Dream.

Korean racing needs more horses to be campaigned the way Yeonseung Daero has been. His career record reads just twelve wins from twenty eight starts. However, since turning four, he has only competed in races restricted to Korean bred horses twice – both Major Stakes races. Instead of harvesting comparatively easier handicaps, he’s taken on the best of the imports, culminating in his third place finish in the Grand Prix at Seoul last month.

So that’s racing over with for another week. We never got to see Cheonun take on Triple Seven in Seoul’s feature but all those abandoned races will be rescheduled as additions to forthcoming cards.

On another cold day of racing in the Korean capital, it was five-year old Necromancer who ran out winner of the feature Handicap. The Japanese bred gelding beat out a competitive field of fourteen to win by three lengths under jockey Park Tae Jong.

Bally Brae’s little brother Jumong was sent off as favourite for the ten furlong main event but he struggled to make any impression as Necromancer [Air Eminem – I Am The Filly (Symboli Rudolf)] took the lead two furlongs out and cruised home ahead of Dr. Twobillion (Eddington) and Victory Town (Delaware Township). It was only the fifth win of Necromancer’s twenty-five race career and his second at class 1.

While it was another sub-zero day, the lack of any wind made conditions far more pleasant than they had been a week ago and a healthier Saturday crowd was on hand for a day of relatively low-key racing. There was little action on the three-year old front as although Mustang King (Menifee) put in a good performance in race 5 to record his second win from five starts but neither his time nor opposition suggested that he’ll be among the favourites on the Derby trail.

Meanwhile, champion jockey Cho Kyoung Ho was the pick of the riders, landing a treble while Yang Hee Jin scored a rare double. Meanwhile Kim Hae Sun continued her solid start to 2011 by winning on Blue Charming in race 3, her only mount of day.

Racing returns to Seoul on Sunday with an eleven race card from 11:20 to 18:00. Down at Busan there are six races from 12:40 to 16:30. Last year’s Ttukseom Cup winner Triple Seven faces Oaks runner-up Cheonun in Seoul’s feature while Areumdaun Jilju and Yeonseung Daero headline co-features at Busan.

Park Jong Hyun Lands First Winner / Kim Hae Sun Wins Again

Today was the coldest day in Seoul for ten years but for Park Jong Hyun, it will be memorable for a different reason. At her fifty-third attempt and as temperatures plummeted to a painful -16C, the young jockey rode her first ever winner.

And how ever long she rides for, her first winner will be one of her easiest. Three year old filly Cheonnyeonmama had won her first race easily at the tail-end of last season and is one of this year’s most exciting prospects. Although Park had ridden her in her race trials, Jung Ki Yong rode her on her racecourse debut.

This time, Park was given the nod to partner the US import and they were sent off long odds-on favourites for the five furlong race 4. Park immediately sent Cheonnyeonmama [Toccet – Lady Lust (Lord Carson)] into the lead and there was never any danger of them relinquishing it as they strode away from the field for a professional seven length win.

Park Jong Hyun (also known as “Park Jong Mi”) gained her license in July last year along with Kim Jung Jun, Jang Chu Yeol and Lee Gang Seo. Until today, Park was the only one of them to have failed to have recorded at least one win. Today, she nailed her first real opportunity to get it. All new graduates of the KRA’s Jockey Academy are of a high standard and Park has every chance of making a successful career.

One year ahead of her is fellow female rider Kim Hae Sun. Today, Kim scored the thirteenth winner of her own career with a typically smart ride of favourite Don’t Worry in race 1. While Lee Shin Young and Lee Ae Li have both made decent careers, Kim looks likely to eclipse both of them and although it is early days, she could very well go on to be the first woman to compete in the highest echelons of racing in Korea.

There were no class 1 races on the peninsula today but a couple of useful three-year olds were in winning form. Colt Gwangya Jeil won race 7 at Seoul to make it two wins from three starts while down at Busan, filly Useung Touch, third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup, got her three-year old campaign off to a winning start in race 2.

The most valuable race of the day was at Seoul as four year old Cheonhajangsa (Tactical Cat) saw off the rest of a fourteen-strong field by half a length to seal victory in a class 2, 1800 metre handicap. In Busan’s feature, five year old mare Real Winner (Red Sky’s) came through late to score her second consecutive class 2 victory. She’ll be mixing it with the elite next time out.

So ends a weekend which wasn’t really fit for racing. The track staff did a great job in ensuring that there wasn’t even the slightest chance of racing having to be called off. The horses, as they always do, took everything in their stride and gave their all. A word too for punters as although the queues at the betting windows were slightly shorter than on a normal Sunday, 35,000 still turned out.

As for the jockeys, who even on the best of days need to have an ambulance following them around such is the routine danger of their profession, all deserve the highest praise. And for Park Jong Hyun, who returned to the winner’s circle as nonchalantly as one would expect of someone having just won on a 1/5 shot, on this coldest of days, the warmest of congratulations.

Holy Dreamer Beats Top Point, Ophelia, Double Light Win

If, as is highly probable, over the coming months I write an article bemoaning proposals to give racing at Seoul a winter break once the new racecourse at Yeongcheon opens in 2015, I would be very grateful if somebody could remind me of today. With temperatures far below zero and a wicked wind whipping down the home straight, today was no day for racing. But race they did and as ever, put on a good show for the 30,000 punters in attendance.

The feature race ended in a commanding win for third-favourite Holy Dreamer. The five-year old made the most of a four kilo weight advantage to run-down and overtake the favourite, the venerable seven year old mare Top Point, in the final furlong. It makes it two in a row for Holy Dreamer and a total of ten wins from eighteen career starts.

Earlier in the card, we saw the third big payout in as many racing days as 150/1 shot Hamseong Jilju led home 20/1 New Edition to land a 3800/1 exacta for some lucky punters. Hamseong Jilju was the second of three winners for jockey Lee Gi Hweoi who, in the last, partnered the highly thought of US import Mass Media’s Tea (Mass Media) to his third win in four starts. It was easy for Mass Media’s Tea, who was eased to a four length victory. Behind him, rank outsiders Cheolgamyeon and Jangson filled out a 5000/1 trio.

As an imported horse, Mass Media’s Tea won’t be eligible for this season’s three year old Classics. However, two horses who will be, put in solid performances. Double Light (Menifee) cruised to victory in race 8 over 1700 metres – only 100 metres short of the Derby distance. A little but behind Double Light in terms of development but still impressive is the grey Ophelia who won race 7. Despite the name, Ophelia (Commendable) is a colt and now has two wins and two seconds from four starts.

Many congratulations must go to the track-staff who ensured that despite the conditions – where the highest temperature all day was -10C, there was never any question of the meeting being called off. At the same time, massive admiration must go to those jockeys and horses who were out on the track.

We’re back racing at Seoul tomorrow when it’s going to be a little – but not much – warmer. There are 11 races from 11:20 to 18:00 while down at Busan there are 6 races from 12:40 to 16:30.