The Busan Owners’ Cup is the highlight of the weekend’s racing. Classic winners Dangdae Bulpae, Gyeongbudaero, Useung Touch and Rising Glory will all be action in a competitive event in the Sunday twilight on the South Coast.
Busan is the place to be this weekend. There will be more present than there were the day this picture was taken.
The same day at Busan also sees the South African Gold Circle Turf Club Trophy race. We’ll have a full preview of both races over the next couple of days.
In the meantime, here’s what’s happening when and where:
Friday September 6 Busan Race Park: 11 races from 13:30 to 18:10 Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 15:10 to 19:40
Saturday September 7 Seoul Race Park: 12 races from 13:00 to 17:50 Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 15:30 to 19:40
Sunday September 8
Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 13:00 to 18:00 Busan Race Park: 6 races from 16:45 to 19:40 including the Owners’ Cup at 17:35
Charming Girl, the 8-year-old mare who reached the somewhat questionable landmark of 100 starts with 0 victories last Sunday, will be retired later this month.
Charming Girl and Yoo Mi Ra return after another defeat (KRA)
Owner Byun Young Nam said that Charming Girl (Pacific Bounty) will make one more start at the end of September before leaving Seoul Racecourse for good, presumably with a record of 0 for 101.
She will be retired to Gungpyeong Farm in Gyeonggi Province for retraining for recreational riding or dressage.
Tosen Archer made history today as the first ever foreign-trained horse to win a race in Korea as his veteran jockey Fumio Matoba produced a perfectly timed ride to win the SBS Korea-Japan Goodwill Cup at Seoul Race Park.
Fumio Matoba and Tosen Archer in the SBS Cup Winner’s Circle
Sent off as the least favoured of the three visiting Japanese horses, Tosen Archer (Barathea), a 9-year-old gelding, was kept at the back of the field by verteran jockey Fumio Matoba in the opening stages of the 7-furlong race.
As the field rounded the top of the home turn, Matoba started to bring his mount forward but still had plenty to do as Pureun Miso (Malibu Moon) and Watts Village (Forestry) led the field into the home straight.
Tosen Archer poses for the cameras after winning the SBS Goodwill Cup
Pre-race favourite Tough Win struggled to get into gear but there were no such problems for Tosen Archer, who flew down the outside to hit the front 20 metres from the line and extend to win by a length.
Watts Village hung on well for 2nd while filly Indian Blue scored a very creditable 3rd. Tough Win, Korea’s best hope pre-race, was relatively disappointing 4th. The remaining two Japanese challengers, Big Gulliver and Final Score finished behind those in 5th and 6th respectively.
A lot of Japanese photographers were on hand to welcome Tosen Archer back
It was a hard-fought race and a great occasion for Korean’s first experiment with true international racing. The winner was a worthy one but the home team was in no way disgraced.
SBS Korea-Japan Goodwill Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1400M – September 1, 2013
1. Tosen Archer (JPN) [Barathea – Interruption (Zafonic)] – Fumio Matoba – 12.8, 3.2 2. Watts Village (USA) [Forestry – Edey’s Village (Silver Deputy)] – Seo Seung Un – 2.9 3. Indian Blue (USA) [Henny Hughes – Gambler’s Passion (Prospector’s Gamble)] – Ikuyasu Kurakane – 3.2
Distances: 1 length/1.5 lengths Also Ran: 4. Tough Win (USA) 5. Big Gulliver (JPN) 6. Final Score (JPN) 7. Nolbu Manse (USA) 8. Mari Daemul (USA) 9. Pureun Miso (USA) 10. Dongbanjaui Gijeok (USA) 11. Sydney Jewelry (AUS) 12. Celebrate Tonight (USA) 13. Gold Big (USA) 14. Remember Bulpae (USA).
The return leg is at Ohi Raceocurse in Tokyo on November 26.
Horse Racing in Korea 