Sunday’s racing is at Seoul with 15 races from 10:45 to 18:00. Seoul Racecourse and all off-track betting centres in the Greater Seoul area remain closed to customers, however, Busan Racecourse and Jeju Racecourse may admit customers along with off-course betting locations in Busan, Changwon, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon and Cheonan. Attendance at these locations is capped at 20% of indoor seated capacity and must be booked in advance using the “MyCard” app. Here are the Seoul previews
Race 1: Class 6 (1200M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million
A maiden for fillies only to kick off with and it’s a competitive one. We going to focus on the ones with least experience, kicking off with (2) WONDERFUL MUSKET. She was a trial winner in November and then came from off the pace on debut to finish a good 5th over 1200M. She should have come on for that run and from gate 2m Johan Victoire may be able to get her closer to the action early on here and she has good claims. So too does (5) LEGEND STAR. She ran on strong for 3rd over 1000M on her debut on January 15th and the additional furlong today should help her a lot. Finishing 4th in that same race was (7) GOLDEN CHANCE. She was on pace throughout that day and should be again. There are three first-time starters among them. (1) DOUBLE TAKE looked very competent when 2nd in a well-run trial a month ago and the Take Charge Indy filly goes straight into contention here. Jockey Moon Se Young getting on a debut-maker is always going to attract attention and (12) GREEN FEELSTAR also showed promise in her trial and could go well first-up.
| Selections | (2) Wonderful Musket (5) Legend Star (1) Double Take (12) Green Feelstar |
| Next Best | 7, 13 |
| Fast Start | 1, 7, 10, 13 |
Race 2: Class 6 (1200M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million
A weak maiden here. Going purely on times at the distance (2) DASI DUSON comes out on top. There are other things to like about her too – she is a front-runner and having drawn gate 2, she should get a lead and the trainer/jockey combination gives plenty of confidence too. She will be there or thereabouts. (10) CHEONGSU RIDER offered nothing in four starts last year. However, she won a trial only last week in fine style and so long as she didn’t leave her race on the track there, can go well. (11) GEUMA MAJESTY has hinted at ability across ten starts so far and he too looked well when trialing last week and should be challenging for at least a place. For the win though, we are going to side with a newcomer. That’s (9) DONGJIN CHOEGANG. She ran very competently for 3rd and a good time in a trial a month ago and could have come on just right to debut here under Park Tae-jong.
| Selections | (9) Dongjin Choegang (2) Dasi Duson (10) Cheongsu Rider (11) Geuma Majesty |
| Next Best | 4, 6 |
| Fast Start | 2, 7, 9 |
Race 3: Class 6 (1300M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million
Maiden fillies here. (12) COMPLETE STAR has finished as runner-up on both her starts so far at 1200M and 1300M respectively. She showed a nice turn of foot in her latest and while the distance and the draw may both pose questions, she could well overcome them. (7) GEOLJAK WOMAN shouldn’t have a problem with either draw or distance. She has a good finish on her and will be involved at the business end of the race. She will dispute favourite status with Complete Star. (8) A ONE QUEEN has a 4th and a 3rd from two outings so far, both of them over the 1200M. She should be on or close to the pace early and has claims too. (14) THE QUEEN JUSTICE parted company with her jockey early on what was to be her third start in January before completing the course herself. She came away unscathed and while the barrier does her no favours, she looks to be in the hunt as well.
| Selections | (7) Geoljak Woman (8) A One Queen (12) Complete Star (14) The Queen Justice |
| Next Best | 9, 2 |
| Fast Start | 4, 8, 12, 14 |
Race 4: Class 6 (1300M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million
A little bit more clear cut this one as (14) K N LIGHT will start a strong favourite. He ran out a good winner over the distance on January 15th and carrying the same weight today should really win again. The gate is not ideal but he is not a front-runner anyway and it shouldn’t matter. (7) EOSEOWA has shown improvement across three starts so far culminating in a 3rd place at the distance last time out. He can build on that a be a threat today. So too can (1) ASTRO. It’s been a full fifteen months since he last raced – poorly – but he has trialed up sporadically over the last year or so and on the basis of the latest of them in January, seems to be getting the hang of things. He’s been gelded and a much better performance from him this time around is possible. (6) CHEONGSAN GASE and (11) WONDERFUL MAMBO are others in the placing hunt.
| Selections | (14) K N Light (1) Astro (7) Eoseowa (6) Cheongsan Gase |
| Next Best | 11, 5 |
| Fast Start | 2, 7, 8, 11 |
Race 5: Class 6 (1400M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million
It’s hard to look too far beyond (4) CHOEGANG GAME here. Having won a trial, the Purge colt emerged from a handy positon to comfortably score over 1300M on debut on January 15th with a couple of his rivals here behind him. He steps up slightly in trip but should have too much and he will accordingly be a hot favourite. He is the only previous winner in the field but both (12) ROAD ROSE and (14) GLOBAL YEONGUNG have been knocking on the door. Both come in following last start runner-up finishes. Both can overcome the wide draws and aim for placing finishes here. (7) VYING BLADE comes in having run 3rd behind Choegang Game last time out. He should be close to the pace and can be competitive again (8) HAPPY MONTH is another in the hunt.
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Horse Racing in Korea 