Myeongmun Gamun / Dongbanui Gangja head tables
Standings for the first quarter of 2009 have been released aand there are no surprises as Myeongmun Gamun tops the domestic table while Dongbanui Gangja heads the list of overseas bred horses currently running at Seoul.

The tables, produced four times a year, distinguish only between locally bred and overseas bred with points worked out by race performances. In the domestic list, Myeongmun Gamun remains on top although his poor performance in this month’s Ttukseom Cup may see him slip down in future, likewise Mighty Runner’s win in that race should see him rise from his current spot in tenth. With Baekpa currently in the United States – and still looking for her first race – Top Point is top filly or mare on the list, in fourth place overall.

In the overseas ranks, Dongbanui Gangja takes top spot ahead of Bally Brae. Gangho, with four wins from four currently lies in twentieth place and is expected to line up against similarly highly thought of young import Bulpae Gisang in next month’s JRA Cup. Poignantly, Playing Politics rises into the top ten for the first time. The four year old was retired injured last month and although there have been rumours that if the long injured Baekgwang’s anticipated comeback next month goes ahead successfully, Playing Politics may receive the same stem-cell treatment, few expect to see him on the track again.

Here are the top tens with points earned:

Quarter 1 2009 Standings – Overseas Bred

1. Dongbanui Gangja (USA) 135
2. Bally Brae (USA) 133
3. Baekjeonmupae (NZ) 131
4. Angus Empire (USA) 127
5= Vicar Love (USA) 125
5= Seoul Teukgeup (USA) 125
5= Subsidy (USA) 125
8. Playing Politics (USA) 123
9. Saerounbisul (NZ) 122
10. Yodongseong (USA) 119

Quarter 1 2009 Standings – Korean Bred

1. Myeongmun Gamun 129
2. Secret Weapon 128
3. Good Day 126
4. Top Point 124
5. Hongji 121
6. Namchonuijijon 118
7. Saebyeok Dongja 116
8= Balhae Janggun 114
8= Machine Gun 114
10= Mighty Runner 112
10= Natural Nine 112
10= Nujindo 112

The Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance produces standings for US based horses. Click here for the latest table.

Record career earnings / First domestic Grand Prix winner
The KRA has announced that Saegangja, winner of 33 races including a Grand Prix and three consecutive Chairman’s Trophies in the late nineties and the early part of this decade, died on March 28 at the age of thirteen. The gelding had been suffering from colic and was euthanized after failing to respond to treatment.

Foaled in 1996, Saegangja was by the sire Fiercely [Danzig – Whirl Series (Roberto)] and out the New Zealand bred mare Exotic Goddess [Nuage d’Or – Rhine Goddess (Rheingold)]. He made his racecourse debut in September 1998, running third of seven in a maiden race over six furlongs. From this relatively inauspicious start he returned the following month to beat an odds-on favourite over five furlongs and was then undefeated in his next fourteen races taking him up until the middle of 2000.

These included victories in the 1999 Chairman’s Trophy, the Munhwa Ilbo Cup and the end of season Grand Prix becoming the first Korean bred winner of arguably the year’s most prestigious race. In the Grand Prix, he was the first of a group of horses to overhaul the tiring Sinsedae, himself winner of 43 races, in the final furlong.

His winning streak was broken in the Owner’s Association Trophy in April 2000 by the unfancied Pisan. He quickly recovered his form, however, retaining the Chairman’s Trophy and Munhwa Ilbo Cup over the following months but with only six runs under his belt for the year, skipped the Grand Prix. In seven races, he made it a hat-trick of Chairman’s Trophies by a neck but, in the first signs he may have reached his peak, suffered losses in the Minister’s Cup and SBS Cup before running third in the Grand Prix.

In 2002, he lost his Chairman’s Trophy title but managed second placings in the Ttukseom Cup and in the Grand Prix while continuing to win top class handicaps. As his careeer wound down, so did his speed failing to win from seven races in 2004. However, in his first race of 2005, he bounced right back to the winner’s encosure in his season debut and added one more before being retired at the age of nine. Saegangja (1996-2009) retired after 58 races, 33 wins, 8 seconds and 5 thirds with career earnings of KRW 1.5 Billion, still a Korean record.

Shaka has a full obituary (in Korean) complete with video. The “And justice for all” blog carries pictures from his retirement.

Sad news out of Jeju earlier this month as Lost Mountain, who had been standing at stud on the island for the past fifteen years, passed away on March 5 at the age of twenty one. He had been suffering from worsening arthritis for some time.

On the track, Lost Mountain [Cox’s Ridge – Space Angel (To The Quick)] was a winner of the 1991 Haskell Invitational, Peter Pan Stakes and Dwyer Stakes. Imported to Korea in 1994, he sired a number of strong performing runners, the best known of whom was Bicheonbong [Turn To You (Like You And Yours)] who won the President’s Cup in 2004.

Lost Mountain’s legacy could well be further enhanced this year with his son Nice Choice [Betty’s Rhapsody (Don’t Hesitate)] winning the 2008 Herald Business, the nation’s top two year old race and looking a strong contender for Triple Crown honours beginning next month with the KRA Cup Mile.

Stallions in Korea update / KRA Studbook

KNetz to go but Trifecta comes to Korea / 2009 the year of the Filly & Mare
Last September, this site wrote about the National Gaming Control Commission (NGCC) and its attempts to essentially outlaw gambling in Korea. At the time, racing was seemingly very much under threat with the KRA collecting signatures in support of its fight against the commission and the Gangwon Land casino – the only casino open to Korean citizens – admitting it feared the worst as its share price plummeted. The apocalyptic scenario that some were discussing back then seems to have been averted for the time being, but it is with regulation very much in mind that a number of changes have been made to the 2009 racing season.

The NGCC is sticking by its main goal. That is, it wants to see the total amount wagered on all forms of gambling limited. The figure it has set is KRW 14 Trillion per year (around US$13 Billion). This applies to racing, casinos, the lottery, track cycling and motor boat racing. As the economic situation has worsened, however, the commission seems to have accepted that these legal forms of gambling are not necessarily the problem. Instead it is illegal gambling which, while always common in a country where the maximum legal amount you can bet on a horse is $80, according to anecdotal evidence is rapidly on the increase and the NGCC’s focus would be appear to be shifting towards this area rather than to legal betting on racing.

So far, the NGCC’s only tangible impact upon racing has been to order the KRA to shut down its internet and mobile “KNetz” betting service. Additionally, in response to the regulatory threat, the KRA has chosen to run four fewer days of racing in 2009, a total of 33 less races than last year. While the KRA’s own aim to get the KRW 100,000 single bet limit increased may be very much on hold, these seem small prices to pay compared with what was envisaged back in the autumn.

At the same time, the KRA is aiming to get as much of that KRW 14 Trillion spent at the track instead of on the lottery as possible. From April, a sixth type of bet is going to be available as the Trifecta finally arrives in Korea. It is expected that there will be a marketing campaign aimed at current lottery players advising them of the far better odds – not to mention fun – that the trifecta will offer, will be launched.

On the racing side of things 2009 sees some changes too. Primarily there is going to be a much greater focus on fillies and mares. In 2008, just 2% of races were designated for female horses. This is to rise to 10% this year – essentially one race per card. Perhaps even more significantly, the amount that owners are permitted to spend on imported horses has doubled to $40,000 – but only for female horses. This threshold, in place to protect the local breeding industry, has been a major impediment to getting quality horses onto the Korean track and encouraging trainers to raise their game and produce better horses. The final racing change for 2009 is that the minimum number of starters for Stakes races has been reduced from seven to five.

Overall, there is still a threat. It is entirely possible that for political reasons, the deeply unpopular government may decide to suddenly introduce legislation to ban all gambling. For now, however, it seems as though the KRA will reluctantly take its medicine, in the form of the KNetz ban, and get on with things. Indeed, track turnover is predicted to rise by 13% this year. Even though the Korea Times chose to portray this as a sign of a “Depression trauma” society, it seems we can look forward to the 2009 season with optimism that we can concentrate on what’s happening on the track, rather than off it.

In late October, the KRA approved the use of pacifiers for the first time. Pacifiers, a closely knit mesh placed over the eyes, have a number of purposes. Firstly, they are intended to do what their name suggests and pacify an otherwise excitable horse as it needs to concentrate much harder to see where it is going. The other main reason for their use is that they can reduce the effect of kickback on dirt with horses who resent it as well as reducing the number of eye injuries suffered. They have opponents, however, who claim that impeding vision is dangerous and indeed although the vast majority of racing jurisdictions permit pacifiers, they are often banned in wet weather as mud can accumulate.

The first to take advantage of the rule change was Peter Wolsley, the only foreign trainer currently training in Korea. Wolsley fitted Gyeongcheonsa with pacifiers in the feature handicap at Busan on November 14 and the five year old mare went on to record her first win since 2006. Thirty minutes later in the next race, another of Wolsley’s horses, Khaosan, came from last to second in the stretch, missing out on victory by a head, also wearing pacifiers. The following week, Cherokee Morn, another five year old mare who had been in dismal form in 2008 since moving up to category 1 races, was fitted with pacifiers, and duly ran into second place at odds of 163.1. It remains to be seen if their use will catch on but right now, it is certainly worth checking the race card closely to see if there will be any first-time pacifier wearers.