Month: March 2014

Weekend Preview

Ghost Whisper probably dislikes the Korean summer even more than I do.

He's Back: Ghost Whisper (KRA)

He’s Back: Ghost Whisper (KRA)

Two years in a row he’s competed in the Busan Mayor’s Cup in July and two years in a row, he’s needed 7 months off after it.

He will not be among those disappointed that winter seems to have returned to the peninsula after a mild two weeks as he makes his 2014 debut on Sunday.

Now 6-years-old, the grey gelding, owned by Pegasus Stables and trained by Peter Wolsley, will carry top weight in Busan’s feature race of the weekend; a class 1 handicap over 7-furlongs on Sunday afternoon.

Ghost Whisper (Gotham City) be giving a minimum of 4.5kg to every other horse in a field that also includes last year’s KRA Cup Mile winner Sting Ray – a horse whose form has been so indifferent since that triumph, that he now joins Ghost Whisper as a gelding – and 2008 Korean Derby winner Ebony Storm, still going strong as a 9-year-old.

Megaton and Myeongun Jewang, who have tangled over this distance recently, are among those more likely to come out on top than theClassic winners though.

At Seoul, it’s a low-key weekend although there is one class 1 race on Sunday. Here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday March 7
Busan Race Park: 11 races from 11:40 to 18:00
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 13:20 to 17:20

Saturday March 8
Seoul Race Park: 12 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 12:30 to 17:30

Sunday March 9
Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Busan Race Park: 6 races from 12:45 to 17:00

Racing Review: My Key Unlocks Busan Feature

Always a horse with a lot of attention on him, My Key delivered the goods at Busan this afternoon, landing his second class 1 victory in the afternoon’s feature race.

As half-brother of US champion Game On Dude, big things were expected of My Key (Macho Uno), now a 4-year-old gelding. He’s no superstar but has developed into a decent campaigner. Entering today’s race with 6 wins from 16 starts behind him, he was sent off as the 2nd favourite in the 13-runner, 2000 metre race.

Jockey Lim Sung Sil saved ground before unleashing My Key in the home straight and they eased away from the field to record victory by just over a length from Cheogo Gangja.

It was the second class 1 race of the weekend at Busan with Friday having seen the previously unbeaten US import Cowboy Son (Cowboy Cal) struggle to 3rd place as Oreuse (Smoke Glacken) took the win in the 7-furlong feature.

Up at Seoul, there was an interesting debutant on Sunday in the shape of another 4-year-old gelding, this one called Yeongsan (Menifee).

It was a Spring-like weekend at Seoul Racecourse

It was a Spring-like weekend at Seoul Racecourse

One of 6 Korean-bred horses exported to Malaysia in 2012, Yeongsan ran there twice on turf before quietly returning home at the end of last year.

Looking an absolute beast in comparison with a woefully overmatched class 6 field, Yeongsan sauntered to a 13-length win. We’ll take a closer look at him and the circumstances of his return over the next few days.

At the business end of Seoul’s card were two class 1 races, one for foreign-bred horses and the other for domestic-bred.

The foreign-bred one saw a very close finish which 8/1 chance Double Shining (Rockport Harbor) just got the best of ahead of Kentucky Galloper (Tiz Wonderful) and KRA Cup Classic winner Mari Daemul (Go For Gin).

Thirty minutes later, odds-on favourite Heukgisa (A.P.Dancer) claimed the domestic race to wrap-up another weekend of racing.