Month: March 2015

Success Story Keeps Winning At Busan

Sucess Story made it three wins in a row with an assured performance in Sunday’s feature race at Busan.

The 4-year-old was a late-comer onto the Triple Crown trail in 2014, running only in the final leg, the Minister’s Cup at Seoul in October. He finished 4th that day behind Never Seen Before and returned to the capital a month later for the President’s Cup, when he could only manage 10th behind Gyeongbudaero.

Since then Success Story (Peace Rules) is unbeaten. Sent off as favourite for Sunday’s class 1 handicap, he led from gate-to-wire, with jockey Jo Sung Gon only needing to point and steer as Success Story eased to a three-length win. Fellow Korean-bred four-year-old Gumpo Sky was 2nd with perennial trier Ghost Whisper getting up for 3rd.

The win was the 6th of the weekend for Jo Sung Gon. Earlier the jockey had added to his four Friday winners by guiding Cheonji Park (Ecton Park) to a similarly easy win, The three-year-old from the Peter Wolsley stable maintained his unbeaten record with victory by just under two lengths over 1400M in race 4.

There is depth in the ranks at Busan now in contrast to Seoul where the weekend’s class 1 was a rather lackluster race won by second favourite Unbeatable (Eddington), a solid enough campaigner but not one to get the pulse racing.

Nevertheless it is to Seoul where attention will turn this coming weekend with the running of the first major Stakes race of the year in the shape of the Seoul Owners’ Association Trophy. Gwanggyo Bisang, winner of last month’s Segye Ilbo Cup is set to be among those involved.

Rafale Downed As Goliath Marine Wins Again At Busan

Highly rated 3-year-old Rafale slumped to defeat as trainer Peter Wolsley and jockey Jo Sung Gon cleaned-up at Busan on Friday.

While he was always going to be favourite, Rafale (Colors Flying) was sent off at impossibly short-odds for the 1900M class 2 handicap and while he looked well-placed entering the home straight, it was second-favourite Goliath Marine (Volponi) who sprinted away from the field to claim his 3rd win from his last 4 starts. Rafale, who was 2nd in last year’s Seoul Breeders’ Cup and was an easy winner when tried around two-turns for the first time in January, came home 4th.

Goliath Marine was the 4th winner of the day for Australian trainer Peter Wolsley, who returns to the tope of the trainer’s championship as a result. Earlier, he’d sent out Happy Hana (Biwa Shinseiki) to win race 5 and Choedae Gangja (Didyme) to win race 6 before his up and coming import Different Dimension (Into Mischief) landed a 3rd win in 3 career starts in race 10.

Lee Hee Cheon rode Choedae Gangja but the other three were all ridden by Jo Sung Gon and Jo would also get four winners on the day with a perfectly timed ride on Morning Hwiparam (Everydayissaturday) in race 8. Jo showed his quality in the saddle by bringing the gelding from last to first through a crowd of horses in the home straight, stealing victory on the line by the narrowest of noses.

Wolsley wasn’t the only foreign connection at Busan among the winners yesterday. Nozomu Tomizawa rode favourite Daejiui Jilju (Admire Don) to victory in race 3 while his fellow Japanese rider Masa Tanaka scored in race 7 on Triple Nine (Ecton Park). From the Kim Young Kwan stable, Triple Nine has now won three of his four starts to date.

Racing returns to Busan on Sunday when Success Story, Ghost Whisper, Cheonji Bulpae and Gumpo Sky all feature in the main handicap.

TV News Trains Sights On Racing

It wasn’t the best of weeks publicity wise for Korean Racing. The highest profile instance was last Sunday evening when one of the country’s most-watched TV news magazine programs, MBC TV’s “Sisa Magazine 2580”, produced a 15-minute segment on the KRA’s new race plan and specifically the objections to it from breeders, owners and trainers.

Those objections centre around the removal, with the exception of some Graded and Listed events, of separate races for domestic-bred horses at class 1 and class 2 level coupled with the raising of the limit that can spend on importing racehorses (now up to $50,000 for colts and geldings and no limit at all for fillies) and the potential impact of this on the domestic breeding industry.

A lack of consultation and the perceived high-handed way in which it was introduced came in for strong criticism during the program.

Additionally, the program alleged that messages left on the KRA’s “voice of customer” section in support of the new system were posted from computers with IP addresses belonging to the Authority itself, (internet commenters pretending to be somewhere or something they are not has become a somewhat hot issue in Korea over the past couple of years following some high profile political cases). While it is not 100% impossible that these were punters in the Seoul Racecourse Internet Cafe expressing their admiration of the Authority, viewers will have drawn their own conclusions.

The MBC program came one day after cable channel JTBC, was among media outlets reporting that a jockey, described as being a “20-year veteran” was under investigation for allegedly accepting money in exchange for providing information to illegal gambling interests. As a criminal investigation is underway, the jockey in question can’t be named in Korea for legal reasons.

There was some good coverage too; a video went viral in Korea of a horse used to pull tourist carriages being beaten by its owner (caution, link shows distressing scenes). The KRA tracked down the horse and rescued it. All good, however, the goodwill generated by that episode will likely have been lost over the week.

All in all, is is good to get back to racing this weekend.

Weekend Race Times

No time for a full preview this week but as usual, there’s plenty going on over the weekend.

Shyould be a little warmer this week

Shyould be a little warmer this week

Ghost Whisper, Cheonji Bulpae and Gumpo Sky will all be in action at Busan on Sunday while up-and-coming 3-year-old Rafale is in Friday’s feature.

Sunday sees a class 1 at Seoul with Big Curlin among the entries. Full racecards and Raceday Info here, while here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday March 6
Busan Racecourse: 10 races from 11:40 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 13:25 to 17 :20

Saturday March 7
Seoul Racecourse: 12 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 12:20 to 17:00

Sunday March 8
Seoul Racecourse: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Busan Racecourse: 6 races from 12:45 to 17:00

Meni Money On The Money In Sports Seoul

Jibong Sarang Takes MJC / Beolmaui Kkum Too Good At Busan

It was billed as an Oaks trial but that was always going to be stretching things a bit. A 1400M race at Seoul on the first day of March isn’t much prep for an 1800M one at Busan in late June. Nevertheless, Meni Money showed that she could be a filly to be reckoned with later in the year as she ran off with the Sports Seoul Trophy at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday.

Meni Money and Seo Seung Un in a rather crowded Sports Seoul Winner's Circle

Meni Money and Seo Seung Un in a rather crowded Sports Seoul Winner’s Circle

Meni Money was sent off as the favourite for the trial, coming in off the back of four 2nd places and two wins in her career to date. She didn’t disappoint. Under Seo Seung Un, she overhauled Smart Time in the closing stages to secure a half-length win.

Meni Money is the first foal out of Pocketful Of Money, winner of the KRA Cup Classic in 2007 and who to this day still holds the Seoul Racecourse track record for 1800, a mark she set in 2008. Both her foals born in 2013 and 2014 died.

Sports Seoul Trophy – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – March 1, 2015

1. Meni Money (KOR) [Menifee – Pocketful Of Money (Running Stag)] – Seo Seung Un – 3.1, 1.4
2. Smart Time (KOR) [Ft.Stockton – Charon (Jade Robbery)] – Park Eul Woon – 1.5
3. Lucky Music (KOR) [Creek Cat – Dangdae Jeil (Lucky Ruler)] – Choi Bum Hyun – 3.1
Distances: 0.5 lengths/2 lengths – 11 ran


The first Classic of the season, the KRA Cup Mile at Busan, is just a month away. Meni Money may not even go but down on the south coast yesterday, a couple of three-year-olds were also improving their reputations.

Mac And Cheese (Menifee) ran out a three-length winner in a class 2 race over the mile course and must come into consideration for the Triple Crown races. One race later it was the turn of a filly, Jibong Sarang (Officer) to impress as she claimed victory by a full five-lengths in the Macau Jockey Club Trophy.

In Busan’s feature handicap Beolmaui Kkum (Put It Back) once again showed his class. Carrying 60kg he was a comfortable five-length winner over 1900M. Old-stager Viva Ace was a very good second while Gandai put in a solid performance in third ahead of the better-known pair of Magic Dancer and Gamdonguibada.

As impressive as Gyeongbudaero was two weeks ago, up to 2000M, Beolmaui Kkum remains the one to beat.

* On Friday, 2014 Minister’s Cup winner Never Seen Before (Ecton Park) made his first appearance since winning that Classic at Seoul in October. He put in a decent performance but could only manage third place behind rising star import Damyangui Jilju (Two Punch), who’s now won six of his nine starts.

What’s the surest sign the Spring is on the way? Punters not having to sprint from the gates to the grandstand to avoid the cold? Horses beginning to lose their winter coats? Perhaps, but K-Pop back at the racecourse is the clincher.

"G-Friend" braving the cold and wind at Seoul Racecourse yesterday

“G-Friend” braving the cold and wind at Seoul Racecourse yesterday

It was back yesterday. That didn’t stop it from being very cold.