Two-year-olds took centre-stage as both Busan and Seoul held their respective legs of the Juvenile Series. The south-coast kicked things off on Friday as VICTORY CHAMP won the Gimhae Mayor’s Trophy (1200M KOR-Listed) at Busan while two days later in a rainstorm in the capital, CLUTCH DERBY took the honours in the NACF Chairman’s Trophy (1200M KOR-Listed).
Victory Champ (by Old Fashioned) was sent off as the 3.1 favourite for Busan’s Friday leg on the strength of his ten-length win on debut. He justified that and then some as he dominated the rest of the fourteen-strong field to win by two-and-a-half lengths. Gangseo-gu Mayor’s Trophy runner-up Eclipse Vision was 2nd – for the fourth time – while another maiden, Doctor Atlantic was 3rd. Jin Kyum was aboard the winner for trainer Min Jang-gi in the colours of Korea’s most prolific owner Lee Jong-hun. Gangseo-gu winner Lavender Crown never got going and was a well-beaten 8th.
At Seoul the NACF Chairman’s Trophy was run in a torrential downpour on Sunday afternoon, and Clutch Derby (by Cairo Prince) began as a 2.1 favourite to overturn his defeat at the hands of Major Fury in the Gwacheon Mayor’s Trophy a month ago. Overturn it he did, setting the early pace along with A.K Sun and the pair of them would go on to run 1st and 2nd, with Major Fury three lengths back in 3rd. Lee Dong-ha was aboard the winner for trainer Choi Yong-geon and owners Joa Contrutction.
Separate up until now, the Seoul and “Yeongnam” (Busan and Yeongcheon) branches of the Juvenile Series, will come together for the final leg, and Victory Champ and Clutch Derby will both be expected to be among those who face off in the Breeders’ Cup Rookie (1400M KOR-G2) at Seoul on December 6 to determine the champion juvenile of 2026.
Busan on Friday saw the other main story of the weekend as Seo Seung-un became just the fifth Korean jockey to pass 1000 career winners. The milestone occurred in the concluding race 9 (1200M Class 2) as Seo guided GEUMA ADPEPT (Complexity) to an all the way victory. Seo debuted as a jockey in 2011, winning aboard his first race ride, and the “Little Giant” has scarcely looked back since with twenty-eight of those thousand victories coming at Group level.
Seo’s 1000 had been expected to be brought up in race 2 (1200M Class 6) with Seo aboard the 1.4 favourite Special First. However, they could only manage 3rd as B.K. RICH (Nitrous) took the win at odds of 18.8 under Jo In-kwon. Debut-maker Perfect Seogwi, a 66.4 outsider also beat the odds-on favourite with a smart 2nd place and may be worth a follow going forward.
Jin Kyum had a productive Friday as not only did he win on Victory Champ, he partnered BRAVO YOUNG (Race Day) to a six-length maiden win in race 3 (1300M Class 6) – also for trainer Min Jang-gi – and after winning the feature he wasn’t done, as he then rode 1.7 favourite GLOBAL PRINCE (Shackleford) to an all the way score in race 8 (1800M Class 3). Global Prince was the first of a late double for trainer Lee Sang-young, who also trains Geuma Adept.
Earlier on the Busan card WILD MAY (Bayern) was an impressive debut winner in race 1 (1000M Class 6), leading all the way under Jung Do-yun. MISS FALCON (Old Fashioned) claimed race 4 (1400M Class 6) for jockey Choi Eun-gyeong and trainer Gu Min-sung, while apprentice Nam Jong-hyeok came one closer to riding out the final kilo of his claim as FLYING THE LUCKY (Boys At Toscanova) ran out a seven-length winner of race 5 (1800M Class 5).
Performance of the day arguably belonged to TOHAMSAN NINJA (Mischievous Alex) in race 7 (1800M Class 4). The Japanese bred colt was the only juvenile in the race, and he broke his maiden at the fourth time of asking by a neck under Jung Do-yun beating an array of older and more experienced horses. The win makes him one of the highest rated two-year-olds in the country and boasting an intriguing pedigree with Into Mischief his grandsire and Sunday Silence on his dam-side, he may be one to watch going forward.
Saturday at Seoul saw the final race 10 (1400M Class 2) as the highest-rated of the day and Andre Da Silva guided 10.8 chance SMILING PRINCE (Smiling Tiger) to victory over Chan Famous and Eldorado Nolbu. 1.6 favourite Concord Blue showed at the front early but was among the first beaten. Smiling Prince, a four-year-old US import, was winning for just the third time on his nineteenth start.
Among the foreign jockeys, Furkan Yuksel and Kozzi Asano were also on the board. Yuksel partnered 19.4 chance CHALLANHANHAMSEONG (Shackleford) to a maiden win at start seven in race 2 (1400M Class 6) while Asano guided the progressive looking NINJA TIGER (Race Day) to an emphatic six-length gate-to-wire win in race 8 (1800M Class 4). Three-year-old Ninja Tiger stepped up to 1800M for the first time and notched his second win in nine starts with the manner of it suggesting more to come.
Challanhanhamseong is trained by Lee Gwan-ho and the veteran handler secured a race-to-race double as GETTYSBURG (Global Campaign) struck as the 3.7 favourite in the juvenile maiden race 3 (1000M Class 6) under the trainer’s son Lee Hyeok.
Jockey Song Jae-chul also landed a race to race double as he rode WHIZ CROWN (Shackleford) to a front-running victory in the all filly and mare race 6 (1400M Class 5) and then followed up with BEST SECRET (Concord Point), who obliged as favourite in race 7 (1400M Class 4).
GWANAKSAN WINDY (Gemologist) was one of three juveniles across the weekend who went around in the opening legs of the Juvenile Series but steered clear of the second legs in favour of dropping back into shallower waters and ending up being rewarded. The filly justified prohibitive odds of 1.5 to win race 5 (1200M Class 5), leading all the way around. Fellow juvenile Tun Teja was 3rd.
Other winners on Saturday’s Seoul card included PARKA RACER (Race Day) who took the opening race 1 (1200M Class 6) on what was his second career start, while Luigi Riccardi’s DYAMIC FORCE (Dynamic Star) came from well off the pace to defy odds of 23.3 and win race 4 (1700M Class 6) with Jeong Jeong-hee steering.
Another upset occurred in the penultimate race 10 (1200M Class 3). Favourite Namsan Belt was a well-beaten 6th while one of last year’s hottest juveniles Chief Star led but ultimately weakened and finished 4th in her first start in the care of trainer Moon Se-young. Instead, it was US import MUCHO MACHO RAPIDO (Tacitus) who took the victory under Kim Yong-geun, streaking clear of Raon The Affirmed and Eldorado Haenam to win by five-lengths.
AT SEOUL ON SUNDAY The highest rated race was the concluding race 11 (1400M Class 1) and it produced a dramatic denouement. Super Finish, 3rd in the international Korea Sprint in 2025 and a class 1 winner at the end of August, looked set fair with a furlong to run. But that was to reckon without ONE PUNCH DRAGON (Power Blade) who, having been a long last in the early stages, flew home over the quick ground in the saturated centre of the track to take a memorable victory under Kim Yong-geun. Similarly fast finishing Yeonhui Hero was 2nd while the luckless Super Finish in the blink of an eye found himself out of the placings altogether. The times showed it wasn’t quite “Lala K-esque” but it was an eye-catching win nonetheless and one which took the four-year-old One Punch Dragon to nine victories from sixteen starts.
Race 9 (1700M Class 4) saw a clash of two up and coming three-year-olds. Entering with a perfect three wins from three starts, Tony Castanheira’s colt Beongae Lewis was sent off as the slight favourite, but it was the Hong Yun-whoa trained filly THE SUN STORY (Shackleford) who kept her reputation intact, leading all the way to score comfortable under Kim Hyo-jung. After not doing a whole lot in her first two starts, she has now won a remarkable five on the spin. Beongae Lewis meanwhile finished well back in the pack. Thirty minutes later in race 10 (1800M Class 3) Andre Da Silva guided 5.2 chance JEONGSANG HERO (Beau Liam) to an all the way win.
By that time the rain had been falling continuously for hours, ever since FLYING PARTY (Race Day) kicked things off by winning the opening race 1 (1000M Class 6) juvenile filly maiden, a race which was a poor start for favourite backers as 1.8 favourite Save Queen was well-beaten. They gained some solace though in race 2 (1200M Class 6) as LUNA SOCKS (Musket Man) saluted – albeit only by a neck – as the 1.7 market elect. Kim Yong-geun and Seo Seung-un partnered the opening two winners.
Even-money chance DAEREURI YEOWANG (To Honor And Serve) kept the momentum going for the favourites in race 3 (1400M Class 3) with Lim Da-bin aboard before ROYAL HOPE K (Gaon Champ) franked the juvenile form with a one-and-a-half length triumph in race 4 (1400M Class 5).
Royal Hope K was the first of a race-to-race double for jockey Jang Chu-youl, who followed up with POINT I (Musket Man) in race 5 (1300M Class 5), the colt registering his second win with a front-running effort.
Breakthrough of the day was made by BLACK RUSSIAN (Cowboy Cal) who at the twenty-sixth time of asking, secured his maiden win in race 6 (1700M Class 5). Under Kozzi Asano, the four-year-old came from off the pace to engage leader Tour King and Ruan Maia in a back-and-forth final furling duel, ultimately coming out a neck to the good.
Race 7 (1200M Class 4) was a case of look away now for form students of a nervous disposition as hot favourite Breedo Aqua ran 6th while a trifecta paying 7230.5 landed. It’s not often that punters allow any horse ridden by Seo Seung-un to start at odds of 36.5, but they did with RAON THE KEISHA (Musket Man) and naturally she won, beating fellow long-shots Final Go and Geosen Big Man.
THERE WERE NO SUCH WEATHER PROBLEMS AT YEONGCHEON WITH THE SIX-RACE SUNDAY CARD BEING RUN UNDER CLOUDY BUT DRY SKIES.
SERAPH (Mystic Guide) made global headlines when winning on debut over 1000M in June as the first winner anywhere for her Dubai World Cup winning sire, but she had failed to stay on in both the Rookie Stakes and Gangseo-gu Mayor’s Cup. A switch to the short straights of Yeongcheon did the trick as she led from gate-to-wire in race 1 (1200M Class 5). Lee Sung-jae did the pointing and the steering. She joined Gwanaksan Windy and Royal Hope K in being also rans from the first legs of the Juvenile Series to skip this weekend’s second legs and win easier races.
TIPPING POINT (Gemologist) was the half-length winner of race 2 (1300M Class 5) with Jin Kyum aboard while GREAT POWER (Gemologist) held off a desperate late dive by odds-on favourite Bamtori Bambam to score in race 3 (1400M Class 5), a feat that even surprised the local TV director. With Song Kyeong-yun aboard, Great Power slipped away from the field early and built up a lead that the favourite failed to bridge by a nose
SHACKLE LAUD (Shackleford) led home Shackle Sun in a 324.5 Shackle Exacta in race 4 (1400M Class 4) while QUEEN AND SERVE (To Honor And Serve) led all the way to win race 5 (1200M Class 4) at odds of 30.0. Road To Cleo and Daegil Hero rounded out an in-excess of 5000/1 trifecta. Park Jae-I and Chae Sang-hyun were the winning jockeys with punters left licking their wounds.
Yeongcheon concluded with the team of owner Yang Jeong-du, trainer Choi Ki-hong, and jockey Song Kyeong-yun successfully combining for the second time on the day as GREAT TOP (Musket Man) led all the way to win race 6 (1200M Class 3), another big price winner at 18.6.
Next week the Queens’ Tour resumes with the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup (2000M KOR-G3) at Busan on Friday kicking off the weekend’s action.
