SUNDAY AT SEOUL SAW A 1200M CLASS 1 AS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEKEND AND THE POSSIBLE LAST RUN FOR SOME OF SEOUL’S BEST SPRINTERS BEFORE SEPTEMBER’S INTERNATIONAL KOREA SPRINT AND IT SAW KOREA’S BEST SPRINTER BOMB OUT WHILST THE ENIGMATIC NICE FORCE showed that on his day, he can really match it with the best of them as he produced a win from the top under Ruan Maia (writes Luke Humphreys).

Nice Force (Mor Spirit), 9.6 fourth favourite, had gone into the inaugural running of the KRA Sprint on Grand Prix Day last year as an odds-on favourite but bombed out and had been inconsistent in five runs since. On Sunday he showed his best form and it was good enough to run the legs off his rivals and score by three-quarters of a length. Haksan Speed, who had run very well in the Busan Ilbo and SBS Sports Sprints, put his poor SROA Chairman’s Sprint run behind him with a 2nd place finish as the 4.3 second choice with Something Lost in 3rd. The 4.9 third favourite Crown Hamseong has been up and down in form this year and was only 6th after receiving every chance in the run.

However, the talking point out of the race is the performance of Korea’s best sprinter Vincero Cavallo who was never closer than midfield and ultimately finished 9^th of ten. He got himself out of a tricky rearward position on the rail in the run to finish a never nearer 3rd in the SROA Sprint and was in a similar position in this race, but there appeared to be fewer excuses this time. Vets found no abnormalities.

SU BU TAI (Concord Point) came from off the pace to score in Race 6 (1400M Class 5). The 7.4 chance provided the first Korean winner for former Selangor Turf Club champion jockey Andre Luis Da Silva, the pair overturning the favourite and long-time leader Pasa Queen in the last half-furlong. The Brazilian rider landed 72 winners in Malaysia in 2025, a full twenty-seven clear of his nearest rival. It had been a lengthy visa and insurance process for Da Silva who has now hit the ground running in a license that initially runs to the end of this year.

Eye-catcher of the day was CONCORD BLUE (Concord Point) who landed Race 7 (1400M Class 4) by ten-lengths with Ruan Maia on board, in what was the first of his two victories on the card. Concord Blue had run a game 8th in the Derby before doing way too much work at his next run but was perfectly ridden by Maia. The winner made some other smart ones look second-rate with filly Raon Finalle finishing 2^nd, whilst one of the top juveniles from last year Mujehan Geup, was having his first run since the winter but could never get into the hunt and was 6th of the nine runners.

Concord Blue is prepared by Lee Shin-woo and his victory completed an excellent day for her as earlier MEGA WIND (Shackleford) broke through at the sixth time of asking under Furkan Yuksel in Race 3 (1400M Class 6) with a comfortable five-length victory as the 1.5 favourite. He had put the writing on the wall with a 2nd place finish at his previous effort and prior to that had been consistent enough with results just behind the placegetters and he should be able to win a few more. Jockey Yuksel had another on the card as he later rode DRAGON SQUARE (Purge) to a front-running eight-length win in Race 9 (1800M Class 3). Dragon Square and Yuksel went straight to the front and were not for catching as he overturned the form on 2^nd placed Chrysol Stone, 1.5 favourite, from when they had previously met on May 23.

Race 5 (1300M Class 5) saw MAJOR FURY (Revolutionary) make it two starts for two wins with a good victory by three-quarters of a length as the 1.9 favourite. Major Fury won the first juvenile race of the year held at Seoul at the end of May and did well to get the required momentum up and get on top late after coming from better than a midfield position on the rail.

CHUKBAEREUL DEULEORA (Sidestep) recorded a deserved second career victory in Race 8 (1700M Class 4) with the Australian bred half-brother to the great Aussie mare (in Korea, anyway) Silver Wolf getting through late on to deny 2.3 favourite Daehan Power four consecutive victories. Daehan Power raced a lot more prominently than usual and did not have much left at the finish but was far from disgraced.

AT BUSAN ON SUNDAY TWO CLASS 4 RACES WERE THE HIGHEST ASSESSED EVENTS ON THE CARD WITH THE CONCLUDING ONE OF THE PAIR BEING WON BY BROWN ROOKIE under Busan’s only female based jockey Choi Eun-gyeong.

Brown Rookie (Cowboy Cal) in an incredibly competitive race was the 5.6 third market choice and scored by two-lengths over 6.4 fourth favourite World Blue Pin Cat. Oasis Young, 9.1, was the fifth market pick that was only 5th whilst second favourite Vegas Jeontu, 5.4, was 8th. The last of the eleven runners was 4.8 favourite Boryeong Ultra Man who missed the start and only got further behind finishing forty-three and three-quarter lengths behind the winner and was subsequently stood down from racing for two months by stewards.

The consistent MUJEOKYI (Hightail) was the winner of the other Class 4 over 1200M fighting on strongly from the front to score by a neck at the end of the 1200M. He was the 4.4 second choice whilst 4.6 third favourite Queen Spicy was 2nd. Beolmaui Land was the 3.2 favourite but was always out the back and wide from his outside draw and was a never nearer 6th.

OASIS HWANHUI (Concord Point) was an impressive winner of Race 5 (1600M Class 5) under Seo Seung-un, who was riding the colt for the first time, leading throughout to score by three-lengths as the 1.9 favourite at his fourth race start. He had finished out the back in the Rookie Stakes on debut last year before rounding out his juvenile campaign with a 2nd before resuming as a three-year-old with a 2nd in June.

The Daegil group had a double on the day beginning with a nose success for 32.4 chance DAEHIL HWANHO (Vics) in Race 1 (1200M Class 6) before DAEGILUI KKUM (With Distinction) visually looked like Pegasus with a ridiculously easy nine-length score in Race 3 (1300M Class 5) under a hold.

Masa Tanaka was the winning jockey on Daegilui Kkum and he followed up in the following Race 4 (1600M Class 5) on HEUIMANG GUNJU (Thunder Moccasin).

AT SEOUL ON SATURDAY A 1400M CLASS 2 WAS THE MAIN RACE OF THE DAY AND MARU JANGGUN claimed victory in the final stride under Kozzi Asano to make it back-to-back scores over the Seoul 1400M.

Maru Janggun (Shackleford) was making his first attempt at the grade after breaking almost a one-year winning drought a month earlier at Class 3 company and scored by a neck. Raon Silence was having her second run at the class after using too much petrol over 1600M in May in a race won by Roshe. She once again did some work up front by attempting to lead throughout and her last furlong was her worst and after looking the winner she was run down on the line. King Honor continued his very consistent form this preparation with a 3rd place finish whilst 2.8 favourite Flying Day was a tad disappointing compared to her last couple of runs but was far from disgraced in 4th.

HWASAN POKPAL (Smokem) has a looked like a decent type since recording his maiden victory at the end of March and after two subsequent runner-up finishes since his first win he got back into winning ways in Race 9 (1400M Class 4) getting up late on to score by a neck as the 2.9 favourite over co-favourites Smart Take, 3.4, and Namsan Rock, 4.4.

The best performance of the day came from the Furkan Yuksel ridden Luigi Riccardi trained CIRCLE A (Higher Power) who scored by two-lengths in Race 8 (1600M Class 3) as the 1.7 favourite. He had shown good ability when winning up to two-in-a-row before having to do plenty of work when resuming in the middle of June in a stronger Class 3. He once again did a lot of work in the run and whilst he got very tired late the damage was done and considering the other four horses that raced in the first half of the field with Circle A finished 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th in the ten-runner field it shows you what a good effort it was by the American bred winner.

There were two international owned winners on the card with the Katsumi Yoshida owned CHRYSOL DONGHAE (Chrysolite) coming from last, as per his style, to win Race 7 (1800M Class 4) by two-lengths at odds of 3.5 over the 2.5 favourite Valid Young whilst the Eric Koh  raced STORM TROOPER (Cowboy Cal) landed Race 5 (1300M Class 5) by a head.

There were some decent winners on the day that have been lightly raced, including K N BIGBANG (Kantharos) who after chasing home a decent type at each of his previous two starts when attempting to lead throughout was not for catching this time with a two-length score in Race 6 (1200M Class 4). BARAMGAEBI (Medici Glory) made it consecutive wins with a four-length victory as the 2.5 favourite in Race 4 (1200M Class 5) over 3.0 second choice Pangpang Daero whilst new trainer Lee Kang-seo got off the mark with his very first runner as POWER MAGIC (Power Blade) denied favourite Saenae Rania in a two-way final furlong duel between the two popular picks in Race 3 (1300M Class 6).

The most impressive winner though of the lightly raced commodities was the Tony Castanheira prepared BEONGAE LEWIS (Uncaptured) who started a 1.1 favourite in Race 2 (1200M Class 6) after winning a trial by twelve-lengths. He did not let punters down as he won in comfortabel fashion with the winning margin being half of what his trial victory was.

AT BUSAN ON FRIDAY THE CONCLUDING EVENT WAS THE MAIN RACE OF THE DAY IN THE SHAPE OF A 1400M CLASS 3 AND 57.7 RANK OUTSIDER MAX THE DRAGON led home 42.0 second longest shot Daeho Nara in a massive surprise.

Max The Dragon (Musket Man) was improving markedly on recent form and scored by three-quarters of a length. The 1.9 favourite was Baram Daero for Franco da Silva and Bart Rice, but he could only manage 5th.

Max The Dragon was not the biggest shock of the day. That came in Race 6 (1800M Class 6) where 80/1 chance STAR FORCE (Cowboy Cal), who since his last win in June last year, had finished no closer than 5th in eleven tries, prevailed by a nose over Oasis Adele. Favourite Barbell Trofeo was unplaced. The victory of Star Force was completing a double for trainer Kwon Sung-ju as SWORD WING (Afleet Express) had earlier come from well back to land Race 4 (1800M Class 4).

GWANGBOKUI BANSEOK (Mendelssohn) was an extremely easy winner of Race 7 (1600M Class 4) scoring by six-lengths at odds of 16.9 after racing on pace. He was the beginning of the race-to-race double for jockey Seo Gang-ju and trainer Kim Do-hyun as they followed up fifty-five minutes later with Max The Dragon.

FLASH COCO (Flashback) was a 3.3 favourite to land Race 3 (1300M Class 6) at her third start and improved on her previous two 6th places with a neck victory under Franco da Silva.

V-LINE (Gemologist) was sent off at long odds-on debut in the opening debutantes juvenile maiden (1000M Class 6) and under Choi Eun-gyeong, the colt duly obliged, leading all the way to score by three-lengths.

Bart Rice’s NOBLE WIND (Musket Man) was a similarly short-price as he captured his maiden win by one-and-a-half lengths at the fourth attempt with Seo Seung-un at the controls in Race 2 (1300M Class 6).

The main race in Korea next week is a 2000M Class 2 which will see the exciting Luigi Riccardi prepared three-year-old G B Vault looking to continue his excellent recent record and remain unbeaten over longer trips.