IT WAS ROOKIE STAKES DAY IN KOREA LAST SUNDAY AND THE SEOUL VERSION SAW HOPE K record a second success in the race for owner Kang Gyeong-un after his colours were famously carried to success by Lala K three years ago (writes Luke Humphreys).

Hope K (Mitole) landed the prize in much distinct style to Lala K’s viral victory however as he led throughout to land the money by five-lengths for jockey Lee Dong-ha and trainer Moon Byeong-ki. Hope K was recording his second win at start three and beat the 4.4 second favourite, and previously unbeaten, Major Fury into 2nd. The other favourites were South Carnival, 5.0, who had beaten Hope K at the end of May, who finished 6th and the Luigi Riccardi prepared Johan Victoire ridden Kkumui Yeonsok, 2.3, who was the popular pick with punters after his sensational win on debut, but he was slow at the start and was never closer than second last.

Trainer Moon Byeong-ki completed a double when winning the concluding Race 10 (1200M Class 4) with PANGPANG DAERO (Frosted) who as the 4.2 second favourite led throughout from the inside gate to land the spoils by two-lengths at his first attempt at Class 4. Cheongsan Dolpung was 2nd whilst 3.9 favourite Sahara Khan did well to run 3rd after a poor start ahead of Ikkeulim, Ever Glory and Forever Gil in 4th, 5th, and 6th.

Whilst naturally the Rookie Stakes was the feature of the meeting Race 9 would have been the main race on the day on any normal card. It was an 1800M Class 1 and five-year-old mare GLADIUS (Boys At Tosconova) on her first run against the boys since February of last year, when she beat them by eight-lengths, proved way too good by a margin of nine-lengths despite being very wide throughout the contest. The grey mare is one of the most consistent horses in the country and no doubt her win would have been a huge confidence booster leading into the Queen’s Tour races this coming Autumn. Zetta Master, at this stage the only Seoul based horse entered in the Korea Cup, came from last as he always does to be 2nd whilst Musket Day, a Listed winner in May, was 3rd ahead of longtime leader No Problem in 4th. The disappointment of the race was the 2.9 favourite Best Race who had been best of the rest behind Roshe in the Owner’s Cup at his previous start. He had run over 1800M or further just twice in his career when 12th in both last year’s Derby and Minister’s Cup and the trip proved too far for him especially considering he was on pace in the run.

There were multiple trainers and jockeys that had winning doubles on the day, and they included Tony Castanheira who had a race-to-race double at that with HOT FEVER (Old Fashioned) in Race 3 (1300M Class 5) and BEONGAE LEWIS (Uncaptured) in Race 4 (1400M Class 5). Hot Fever was recording her first win at start ten and pinched the prize from the front under Kozzi Asano whilst Beongae Lewis followed up his twelve-length trial win and six-length debut win with a four-length score as the 1.6 favourite sixty-five minutes later and is a three-year-old colt to keep following.

Lee Hyeok was the winning jockey on Beongae Lewis, and he completed a double when YONGBIGYO (Nitrous) was a smart nine-length winner from the front in Race 7 (1600M Class 4) on her Class 4 debut. She comfortably accounted for the 1.8 favourite Raon Finalle who was finishing 2nd for the third consecutive start.

Kang Hwan-min trained a double with SAMJEONG YEOJE (Cowboy Cal) winning by four-lengths in Race 2 (1300M Class 6) before ONE DIA (Independence) won Race 5 (1400M Class 5) as the 2.8 favourite with Furkan Yuksel. The winning rider on Samjeong Yeoje was Kim Yong-geun and he completed a pair of wins on the day when NAMSAN ROCK (Known Agenda) scored by nine-lengths as the 1.9 favourite in Race 6 (1400M Class 4).

WONDER GRACE (Girvin) was the winner of Race 1 (1200M Class 6) for the juveniles at odds of 4.2 under Andre da Silva defeating 3.5 second choice G B Ace and 3.0 favourite Eclipse Golden.

AT BUSAN ON SUNDAY DUBAI HEART (Gemologist) was sent off as the longest shot on the board in the Rookie Stakes@Yeongnam, with her stablemate under trainer Lim Sung-sil Seraph, who had been so impressive on debut, the 1.3 favourite. However, after setting the early pace, Seraph had to settle for 3rd as under Jo In-kwon, Dubai Heart, who had always been handy, emerged wide to win by a length and a half over Eclipse Vision. 

“Last time out (Dubai Heart) was disappointing, she ran very hard chasing a fast pace” Jo In-kwon told KRBC. “But I think that failure was great preparation for success today as she learned a lot. Again, there was pace but this time she was more comfortable.”

“She’s young but I think she is a filly with lots of potential,” jockey Jo added.

The main race for the older horses was Race 5 (2000M Class 2) and DOCTOR CHRIS (Uncaptured) bounced back to winning ways with a strong one-and-three-quarter length on pace victory as the 2.2 favourite under Seo Seung-un. Doctor Chris was recording his fifth win at start twelve and his first in five months after everything went wrong when finishing 14th of fifteen in The Derby before bouncing back with a 4th in the Minister’s Cup. He was only 3rd as a 1.3 favourite at his previous start on July 17 but atoned for that defeat in fine style over the Masa Tanaka ridden Bart Rice trained B.J. Chief. The other horse in the market was four-year-old filly Yeosu Super Star, 3.8, but she was only 5th under Franco da Silva.

Franco da Silva however was on the board in Race 1 (1600M Class 6) scoring from the front by six-lengths on 1.8 favourite SWEET MAN (Musket Man) who was breaking his maiden status at start six after placing at his previous two starts.

Trainer Koo Hyun-wan had his first winner with his third runner in Race 2 (1300M Class 5) when FLYING RACE (Race Day) scored by five-lengths under Nam Jeong-hyeok.

THE NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY MEETING ON MONDAY AT SEOUL SAW A DOMESTIC BRED 2000M CLASS 2 AS THE HIGHEST GRADED RACE OF THE DAY AND LUCKY PARTY dived through late coming from midfield off a decent pace to win by one-and-three-quarter lengths.

Lucky Party (Purge) had been 3rd behind Roshe and My Empire in May and 5th to Zetta Master at his most recent run in June and was recording his fifth win at start thirty-two. He won at odds of 7.5 over Storm Breaker in 2nd with 3.3 favourite Yeonhui Hero looking the winner when taking the lead in the straight before fading quickly for 3rd. Other fancied horses in the race included Taepyeong Hero, 3.4, and last year’s Derby 3rd Eclipse The King, 7.4, who set the pace and were run down in the straight and finished 5th and 6th whilst last start front-running nine-length Class 3 winner Dragon Square, 8.6, got the start wrong and was gone from thereon.

The Luigi Riccardi prepared three-year-old colt CLUTCH MAGIC (Uncaptured) continued his excellent progression in Race 8 (1800M Class 3) with another outstanding all the way win under Johan Victoire scoring by six-lengths at juicy odds in the scheme of things at 1.5. Clutch Magic in the twinkling of an eye put a gap between his rivals when asked for the effort by the French rider when joining the course proper near the top of the home straight and once again coasted over the concluding stages for the softest of successes under topweight of 56.5kg. He will be up to Class 2 grade now and remains a top prospect for the future.

HERE I AM (To Honor And Serve) completed a great couple of days for jockey Lee Hyeok, trainer Tony Castanheira, and owner Heo Hoon when running his rivals off their feet to win Race 7 (1700M Class 4) by three-lengths. He has been a lightly raced horse but should have some confidence up and is worth keeping an eye on. He paid odds of 14.9 and defeated Ninja Tiger, 8.3, into 2nd whilst the odds-on favourite Reflect, 1.6, was slow at the start and was a never nearer 3rd. Light Wing, 7.0, was 4th whilst the others in the market included Cupid Command, 14.3, and Haksan Cairo, 12.9, who were 5th and 6th whilst Triple Palmetto, 15.4, put in a shocker for the second straight start and failed to beat one home.

Here I Am’s trainer Tony Castanheira did not stop there as he prepared STORM CROWN (Kantharos) to win Race 10 (1200M Class 4) by six-lengths under Kozzi Asano. The four-year-old American bred gelding was not the quickest out of the traps but that did not stop him from roaring away up the home straight to land 3.2 favouritism as if he should have been odds-on in what supposedly looked a competitive race on paper.

Asano was completing a double on the day after winning Race 6 (1400M Class 3) which saw literally the closest possible margin to a dead heat go in favour of his mount in the shape of 3.0 favourite GAMSAUI HIM (Independence Hall) who led on the line to score. Gamsaui Him had lost a bit of form after an impressive win in January and a narrow 2nd to Circle A in March but with Asano on for the first time got the chocolates over Cheongung Storm who led for 1399M of the 1400M journey. The 2.7 favourite was Master Kwaigon who just like his previous start carried a huge weight. He was very awkwardly away before having to work hard to find a position and did quite well under the circumstances to only be beaten three-and-a-quarter lengths into 5th.

Cho Hyun-soo had a training double on the card with good front-runner B.K. DEVIL (Gemologist) leading all of the way to win Race 3 (1200M Class 5) before MONEY MOVE (Medici Glory) won Race 5 (1400M Class 5) under a peach of a ride from Furkan Yuksel who was riding his third winner across the three days of racing at headquarters. He beat the Kozzi Asano ridden Tony Castanheira trained 2.6 favourite Race Diva by two-lengths, the latter having dumped Asano when almost arriving at the post before quickly being grabbed by barrier attendants.

Race 4 (1300M Class 5) looked one of the races of the day with a match race between two horses who had both won their debuts incredibly easy in CLUTCH DERBY (Cairo Prince) and Mr. Dor. It was the former however who led throughout as the 1.8 favourite to beat the latter by four-lengths in fine fashion. Clutch Derby copped pressure from Mr. Dor for much of the contest as Mr. Dor just like his debut took a keen hold under Kozzi Asano but Clutch Derby beat him off at the top of the straight and won comfortably under Lee Dong Ha.

In Race 1 (1000M Class 6) for the two-year-old’s GWANAKSAN BIGSTEP (Vics) followed up his thirteen-length front-running trial victory in fast time on July 16 with a five-length on pace win for Johan Victoire and Song Moon-gil as the money back 1.0 favourite on the Korean tote. It will be interesting to see where he heads next as he looks very smart on what he has done so far. Trainer Song Moon-gil had an early double as twenty-five minutes later fellow debutante INFLATION (Medici Glory) scored by a head as the 2.0 favourite in Race 2 (1200M Class 6) despite being clearly headed down the straight by the 2nd placed Geumbit Yeongung.

A 1600M CLASS 2 WAS THE HIGHLIGHT ON SATURDAY EVENING AT SEOUL AND THE PROGRESSIVE LUIGI RICCARDI TRAINED CIRCLE A recorded another strong win under Furkan Yuksel landing 2.4 favouritism by seven-lengths from the front.

Circle A (Higher Power) was a strong winner in March before resuming in June where he did a lot of work in a strong Class 3 and was just run down late. He bounced back in July with a tough victory after working hard and was once again impressive, in what was his first Class 2 attempt, doing some work to lead early before completely controlling the contest. He defeated his stablemate Supreme Socks, 6.1 second favourite, into 2nd, subsequently denying him a hat-trick of 1600M Class 2 successes, whilst Tap Tier was two-lengths away in 3rd. The win of Circle A completed a double for Luigi Riccardi as THE QUEEN ROSE (Shackleford) earlier won Race 2 (1400M Class 6) by three-lengths as the 6.1 second favourite over 1.9 popular pick Clair Freedom in an on pace dominated affair.

Australian bred four-year-old gelding CRAZY STAR (Omaha Beach) bounced back to form in Race 10 (1200M Class 3) getting up in the final fifty metres to score by a half-length at odds of 4.2 over longtime leader and 5.5 third market choice Geumse. Crazy Star had received kickback at his previous two starts but was able to stay out of that this time and subsequently improved markedly. The disappointment was the Kozzi Asano ridden Tony Castanheira trained 1.8 favourite Uasen who never looked likely and was only 5th of the eight runners.

Andre da Silva rode a double on the day scoring on SEVEN KAISER (Cowboy Cal) in Race 5 (1200M Class 5) before winning Race 9 (1400M Class 4) on WONPYEONG GANGJA (Purge). Seven Kaiser was breaking his maiden at the ninth time of asking and as the 3.7 second favourite got up to deny the Kozzi Asano ridden 3.1 favourite and longtime leader Chaos late on whilst Wonpyeong Gangja was rewarded for consistent form and recorded his second career win at start nineteen by two-and-a-half lengths as the 4.3 second favourite. However, the task of Wonpyeong Gangja was made all the more easier when 5.3 third pick Raon Sniper lugged out violently at the end of the back straight subsequently unseating Seo Seung-un and knocking several horses out of the race including one of the top juveniles from last year in 2.7 favourite Mujehan Geup who did quite well to only be beaten ten-and-a-quarter lengths. Thankfully, all horses and jockeys escaped injury however Raon Sniper was stood down by stewards for two months for her antics.

Other participants with multiple success across the card included Kang Sung-o who prepared POINT I (Musket Man) to break her duck by three-lengths in Race 4 (1300M Class 5) before PRIMERO (Indie Band) scored by one-length as the 2.2 favourite in Race 6 (1700M Class 5). Jo Jae-ro was the winning hoop on Primero and he followed up eighty minutes later in Race 7 (1800M Class 4) on the New Zealand bred BYEOLKONG (Tarzino) who denied the 4.0 second favourite East Beach, which attempted to lead throughout, by one-and-a-half lengths. The other favourites were Daehan Power, 4.6, who as per usual raced from the rear but never looked a chance this time and was a never nearer 4th whilst Valid Young, 2.2, was crossed from the inside gate at the start and never looked a chance at any stage.

WHITE THUNDER (Hansen) started 2.1 favourite in Race 1 (1000M Class 6) for the juveniles following a debut 6th and duly got the prize by three-lengths for Kozzi Asano.

FRIDAY AT BUSAN SAW THE MAIN RACE FOR THE GIRLS AT CLASS 3 OVER 1600M AND JULGEOUN DONGHANG upset the two three-year-old fillies in the race in the Group Three Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup winner Sunrise, 2.5, and the popular pick from the punters in Gold Pocket, 2.2.

Julgeoun Donghang (Jigeum I Sungan) was recording her fourth win at start eighteen, her first since January, and scored by four-lengths at odds of 9.9. Sunrise, who was dropping back in trip from her fourth in The Oaks over 1800M and her Group Three success over 2000M was a game 2nd over a shorter trip than ideal whilst the Seo Seung-un ridden Thomas Gillespie prepared favourite Gold Pocket, who had won three straight before a second at her previous run, attempted to lead throughout but could only manage 3rd.

Honours on the day went to Jung Do-yun who rode a treble which began in Race 1 (1000M Class 6) for the juveniles when DOCTOR ATLANTIC (Race Day) improved three places on her debut to storm from last to first and win by an extending one-and-a-half lengths. Jockey Jung followed up in Race 6 (1800M Class 4) on the Kim Hye-sun trained three-year-old colt GYEONGBOK STREGA (Maximum Security), which broke his maiden status at the seventh attempt as the 2.5 favourite, before the treble was completed when the Bart Rice trained CHARMING BOSS (Engage) led throughout to win the concluding Race 8 (1200M Class 4) by six-lengths improving vastly on his previous two starts.

Franco da Silva was on the scoresheet on the card riding MEGA MACHINE (To Honor And Serve) to a three-length success in Race 5 (1400M Class 5) at odds of 17.3.