It was June of 2015 when an overseas horse last tried their luck in a Korean Open race. Now, almost ten years later, Yumeno Honoo will try to emulate Esmeraldina, who prevailed in her trip to Seoul and the Ttukseom Cup, when he lines up in the YTN Cup (1800M KOR-G3) at Seoul Racecourse next Sunday.

After Esmeraldina, piloted by Joe Fujii, demolished that Ttukseom Cup field, the feeling – or maybe fear would be a better word – was that Japanese horses would regularly plunder those Korean races that are open to overseas runners. Instead, it has been almost exactly a decade before another has even tried.

The YTN Cup is one of eight Korean races that carry Listed status in the international “Blue Book” and therefore open to eligible runners from overseas. Unlike the invitational Korea Cup and Sprint though, connections are responsible for their own expenses.

While it was rumoured around the turn of the year that some from Japan were considering the Grand Prix Stakes which at a Billion Won in prize money offers some margin for error and a 2300M distance that Japanese stayers will have a huge advantage over, Yumeno Honoo will need to finish in the top two of the 500 Million Won race if he is to even break even for his owner.

So it isn’t about money and the owner has been quite open both on social media and in an interview with Choi Hyeon-seong of Horse Biz, as to why he is here despite having not even travelled to other NAR tracks to take part in bigger local dirt races – essentially he wants to run overseas because the horse, a sensitive type, can spend a week or more at the racecourse to acclimatize first. He was among the preliminary nominations for the Korea Cup last year but had no hope of getting in over high rated JRA horses.

Yumeno Honoo’s record is formidable with eighteen wins from twenty-three starts, including being the first horse in fourteen years to win the Kochi Triple Crown in 2023. His times measure up. He apparently had problems with the gate when younger and has also had manners issues. Whether they will resurface in a new environment is anybody’s guess but he has been participating in gate schooling in his morning work since arriving in Seoul.

Kochi Racecourse is on the local council NAR circuit. Located on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s five main islands, Kochi prefecture has the third smallest population among Japan’s forty-seven prefectures. Racing is on Saturday and Sunday late afternoon and evenings and is punching above its weight both in terms of wagering and in terms of performance of its horses.

Scheduling on weekends after the main JRA programs have finished surely plays a big part, but Kochi posted record wagering turnover in 2024 and was behind only the Tokyo region tracks of Oi, Kawasaki, Funabashi and Urawa in betting revenues last year.

More significantly from a sporting point of view, Kochi horses have measured up very well when traveling to more competitive races within Japan. Garbo Mambo, who has both beaten and been beaten by Yumeno Honoo, and Shimme Daisy being recent examples.

Japanese racing observers attribute that competitiveness to Kochi horses training and racing on very deep sand and, given that surface, the fast pace of the races. This all sounds very similar to Korea. While the Kochi track is clockwise and tighter than Seoul, there is no reason why Seoul can’t suit Yumeno Honoo more than his home track does.  

Trainer Tanaka Mamoru was the leading NAR trainer in 2023 while jockey Yoshihara Hiroto is one of the NAR’s best. Crucially he has Korean experience, having partnered Light Warrior to 4^th place in last year’s Korea Cup. He will know all about Global Hit, who finished one place ahead of him and will also be very aware of how the Seoul track races.

Even if connections didn’t have any previous Seoul experience themselves, they have plenty of sources to turn to. Ikuyasu Kurakane, who rode 347 winners in Korea, was based at Kochi in his riding days and is now a trainer there. Ueda Masashi, currently riding at Busan, is also a Kochi jockey and is one of very few riders who has beaten Yumeno Honoo in a race (on Hachikin Musume back in October 2022 when Yumeno Honoo was a juvenile).

In Seoul, Yumeno Honoo looks very well. As a physical specimen his appearance is superior to Sunday’s rivals and in the mornings, he has had his ears pricked and seemingly very much enjoying his work. Those present observed that he is being prepared with exactly the same professionalism and attention to detail as the JRA horses at the Korea Cup and Sprint. He moves over the sand very well and while he has tended to hang out a little on the turns, if this translates to race day – and an actual race – it could be very ominous for the locals.

* Thanks to Joe Fujii and to journalist Yoko Oe, as well as LongBallToNoOne for background information on Kochi and the NAR.