Day: July 27, 2026

GANGPUNGMA TASTES GROUP GLORY AT LAST IN KRA CUP CLASSIC

He’s an enigma no longer. Gangpungma, the horse who always has an excuse, finally needed none as he roared clear of Global Hit, Success Baekpa and Speed Young, to win the KRA Cup Classic (2000M KOR-G2) at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

Gangpungma (Pic: KRA)

As the eleven-strong field entered the home straight, the four big guns of Korean racing – in the absence anyway of the clearly better but scarcely raced Clean One – fanned across the track having seen off the seven lesser lights. Defending champion Success Baekpa led, but it seemed set up for Global Hit, ominously showing signs of his best form, to take advantage, Speed Young meanwhile was close and dangerous.

Instead, the day finally belonged to Gangpungma. Back with trainer Kim Dong-chul, his trainer license restored, back with the pounds piled on and weighing in at 572kg, this time starting well and being much closer to the speed and avoiding traffic, Gangpungma broke his Group race duck at last.

“I’ve been riding him for three years now and for the last two I have thought he surely has a big race win in him, but something always seems to happen” winning jockey Jo Jae-ro, who has partnered him in all but one of his races, told KRBC. “Be it the race pace or bad luck, nothing seems to go right, but it has never been about ability with this horse.”

“Well done to the stable, they got him physically at his best, with the weight back on but in very good condition with it. The start was good this time, and we were able to get all the way to the third corner without using too much energy.”

“I thought just stay close to those three Busan horses (Success Baekpa, Global Hit and Speed Young) and then see what happens. 90% of the race went how we planned (and) Gangpungma did the rest at the end.”

Looking forward to the future, and September’s Korea Cup, the jockey was under no illusions that it would be as straightforward: “The Korea Cup will absolutely not unfold in the same way as today’s race.” said Jo. “The pace will be much stronger, and it will be all about choosing when to try to catch up to that pace. But I trust the stable to prepare well and we will give it a good go.”

After five months on the sidelines, Kim Dong-chul is training again and has Gangpuungma back as his stable star: “I always felt just a few percent had been lacking with him” Kim Dong-chul told KRBC. “2nd, 3rd, always just missing out. I think that today, he was where he should have been in the previous races, on the outside and close instead of stuck inside, and the jockey was quite firm about what he wanted to do this time.”

Gangpungma and Jo Jae-ro (Pic: KRA)

As for what’s next. “We’ll check how he is and then go for the Korea Cup or if not, the President’s Cup.”

A six-year-old, Gangpungma is by Peace Rules and out of Wonder Dreamer (by Hawk Wing). The victory moved him on to ten wins from twenty-eight starts.

Racing now takes a short summer break with all three tracks dark next weekend. Racing returns to Korea at Busan on Friday August 7th.

KOREA RACING REPORT – JULY 24-26: KOZZI TREBLES, DERBY WINNER BEATEN, SUPER AERO MAKES WINNING RETURN

ON SUNDAY AT SEOUL GANGPUNGMA FINALLY BROKE HIS BLACK TYPE DUCK WITH A BRILLIANT VICTORY IN THE PRINCIPAL LOCAL PREPARATION RACE FOR THE KOREA CUP.  ON THE UNDERCARD JAPANESE JOCKEY KOZZI ASANO rode A TREBLE WITH THE PROGRESSIVE HERO CHEETAH his main winner in the concluding 1200M Class 3 (writes Luke Humphreys).

Gangpungma beat Global Hit in the KRA Cup Classic (Pic: KRA)

The Tony Castanheira trained Hero Cheetah (Yaupon) MADE it three wins from five starts and that one loss aside. he has looked very smart. He was the 4.6 second favourite and scored by one-and-a-quarter lengths over the 2.8 favourite Korean Dream who attempted to lead throughout and lost no admirers in 2nd.

The other two victories for Asano came with CHAOS (To Honor And Serve) who won Race 2 (1200M Class 6) before MUNHAK CHUKJE (Blame) made it back-to-back course, distance, and grade victories in Race 7 (1600M Class 4). After finishing 3rd at his previous two attempts Chaos broke through at the fourth time of asking, leading throughout to score by three-quarters of a length as the 3.6 second choice over the 1.9 favourite Pieonari whilst Munhak Chukje scored by one-and-a-quarter lengths over the resuming 2.4 favourite JD Gangja.  Other favourites included KRA Cup Mile 3rd placegetter Chocolate, who was a never nearer 7th.

The other jockey with multiple success on the day was apprentice Woo In-cheol who led for most of the way to score by four-lengths on 3.7 favourite ISIMNYEON SEWOL (Mischieviously) in Race 5 (1400M Class 5) before landing Race 8 (1800M Class 4) on GLOBAL COMPUTING (Cloud Computing) who was recording his first win at start nine. That was the upset of the day with Global Computing returning 24.4. He defeated the hat-trick seeking 5.4 second favourite Pasa Spark by a half-length with 7.5 third favourite Shining Road in 3rd. The two pacesetters in the race were the 2.0 favourite Gwanaksan Sky, who was previously unbeaten bar his 9th place in the Derby, and 7.6 fourth market choice Parisui Bulkkot and they burned their petrol too early and were beaten a long way from home ending up in 7th and 10th places in the full field of eleven.

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