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KRA Cup Mile – Triple Crown 1st Leg Full Preview

The 2023 Korean Triple Crown gets underway on Sunday at Busan as a full field of sixteen head to the gate for the KRA Cup Mile (1600M KOR-G2). Eight have made the trip down from Seoul while eight represent the home track and the stage is set for the next star of local racing to emerge.

Betelgeuse (Pic: KRA)

Betelgeuse was kept off the Juvenile Series last autumn and instead racked up experience – and victories – against older horses at the Derby distance of 1800M as well as a mile. That extra bit of seasoning and toughness stood him in good stead when he did drop back to face his contemporaries in Busan’s Classic Trial, the Gyeongnam Shinmun Trophy (1400M Listed) on March 19th. He ran out an easy winner that day and will be favoured to do so again here. Choi Si-dae, who has ridden two Korean Derby winners but is yet to win the Cup Mile, will be aboard for trainer Baik Kwang-yeol.

The only unbeaten record in the race belongs to Something Lost. The Seoul raider win the capital’s Classic Trial, the Sports Seoul Trophy (1400M Listed) on the same afternoon that Betelgeuse was doing his thing in Busan. He has led all his races so far and was hanging on in the Trial, but he has done everything asked of him so far and will be one of the dangers. Lee Hyeok, who has ridden him in all his races so far, will be partnering him again.

Last year’s top juvenile Speed Young returned to form with a win over a mile at class 3 level in March and he’ll be another contender along with two-time distance winner Nut Play and impressive last start class 3 winner Dokki Bulpae.

The KRA Cup Mile is race 6 on Busan’s Sunday program with a local post time of 15:45.

1. CHOICE RUN – Since finishing down the field in the Breeders’ Cup he has won three on the spin up to class 3 level to take his chance here. They have all been at 1200M and on pace, but he draws well and could have a say.

2. SPEED YOUNG – The Breeders’ Cup winner suffered a surprise defeat on his first start of the year but returned to form with an impressive score over a mile at class 3 level on March 3rd. Proven at the distance and having already beaten plenty of these, he has solid claims.

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Filly Triple Crown Gets Underway with Luna Stakes at Busan on Sunday

The three-year-old Classic season gets underway this weekend and it’s the fillies who get the first crack at it with the Luna Stakes (1600M – Listed) making up the first leg of the Triple Tiara – the filly Triple Crown – over a mile at Busan Racecourse this Sunday.

Raon Giant won the Gwacheon Mayor’s Trophy in November (Pic: KRA)

Twelve fillies, seven from the host track and five who have travelled down from Seoul, will line up for the what is the Korean 1000 Guineas, which leads into June’s Korean Oaks also at Busan, and then the Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup at Seoul in July.

Heading the Seoul contingent is Raon Giant. The Park Jong-kon trained galloper has won five of her seven starts so far, including the Listed Gwacheon Mayor’s Trophy last November. Moon Se-young comes down to Busan to ride and she has every chance.

Disputing favourite status with Raon Giant will be Jeulgeounyeojeong. She has a fast 2nd place over the Mile when a very solid 3rd at class 3 level. She will though need to overturn the form on Listed Gyeongnam DoMin Ilbo Trophy winner Doctor Oscar, who finished 2nd to her 3rd when the pair raced over 1800M. Jeulgeounyeojeong was giving away 3kg that day, but they will be at level weights this time.

Raon Forest and the so far relatively unexposed Gold Cheonsa are among others in the frame for what should be a competitive renewal:

1. JEOMSUNI GO – Only raced four times, winning one over 1200M at maiden level and was most recently 2nd over 1400M at class 5. Her times have been consistently quick, and she may appeal for a place at probable big odds.

2. FURIOSA – Runner-up to Raon Giant in the Gwacheon Mayor’s Trophy, coming from off the pace. Subsequently registered a 4th and 6th at class 4 level up to 1400M. Drawn well but will need to find more here.

3. PEOPLE POWER – One of just four who have tackled the mile before and while she only beat one home, she has since found her form again with a 2nd and then a win over 1400M, both at class 4 level in quick times. On those runs she has minor money claims here.

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Donga Ilbo Trophy Form Comments: Raon First Favourite as Queens’ Tour Kicks Off but Could In-Form Flat Babe Surprise?

This year’s “Queens’ Tour” for fillies and mares is split into two separate three-race series and Raon First headlines the opener leg of the “Spring and Summer” tour in the Donga Ilbo Trophy (Listed – 1800M) at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

Raon First won the President’s Cup last November (Pic: KRA)

One of the most versatile horses in training in Korea, Raon First ran 3rd in the International Korea Sprint over 1200M last September before beating a field including Korea Cup winner Winner’s Man to win the Group 1 President’s Cup over 2000M in November.

Raon First is the defending champion in the Donga Ilbo, having scored by a comfortable four-lengths twelve months ago and she will be favourite, but there is no guarantee she will have things all her own way. The big danger is Flat Babe, who proved a revelation towards the end of her four-year-old season, rising from class 3 to class 1 and crowning the achievement by defeating an elite level field containing Winner’s Man in February over today’s distance. 

Flat Babe (Pic: KRA)

It will be unchartered territory for most with 58kg on their backs for the first time. All that is except for the solitary three-year-old in the race. The up and coming Sure Win has won two of her latest three and the Bernardini filly gets a whopping 6kg allowance on the rest of the field.

Twelve go in total in the Donga Ilbo which is race 8 on the 11-race Sunday card at Seoul:

1. SURE WIN – The only three-year-old in the race, she has won two of her latest three including last time out when on pace over this distance. That was at class 4 level so this is a stiff test, but she draws well and has a 6kg weight advantage over all the others.

2. QUEENS TOUR – A strong 4th in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup last September but well back over 2000M at class 2 level behind Eodigana and Cheonji Yeogeol on her only 2023 outing so far.  Tactically versatile and jockey booking a plus, but while she may be named after the series, others are favoured.

3. FLAT BABE – A revelation recently with 2nd place in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup followed by a class 1 win over Winner’s Man at this distance on February 26th. She was getting 8kg from the Korea Cup winner, but she stopped the clock in a time faster than any of these have achieved for the distance. Can settle back and run on and is the main danger here.

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Raon The Fighter Cruises To Busan Ilbo Glory

Raon The Fighter made a high-class field, including the reigning Korea Sprint champion Eoma Eoma, look very ordinary as he ran out a dominant winner of the first Group race of the season, the Busan Ilbo Sprint (1200M KOR-G3) at Busan on Sunday afternoon.

Raon The Fighter and Lim Gi-won go clear in the Busan Ilbo Sprint: (Pic: KRA)

Widely acknowledged as Korea’s best middle-distance runner, Raon The Fighter had been runner-up to Winner’s Man in both the Korea Cup over 1800M and Grand Prix Stakes at 2300M in 2022.

With a Group 1 win the target for him in 2023, instead of facing Winner’s Man over that horse’s preferred 2000M in the Herald Business Trophy at Seoul later this month, Raon The Fighter was dropped back to the sprinting ranks for the first time since finishing runner-up in the first two legs of last year’s Sprint series.

The move paid off in spectacular fashion. Despite being drawn in the widest gate, Raon The Fighter was sent off as the slight betting favourite – but at odds against – ahead of Eoma Eoma. In the event, it was a race that Eoma Eoma, the defending champion, never got to grips with this time around.

Coming out of gate seven, Eoma Eoma was unable to match the opening speed of Beolmaui Star who under Jung Do-yun, raced into an early lead leaving the Moon Se-young ridden second favourite to dispute 2nd and 3rd up the short back straight with Daehan Jilju, who has so nearly beaten him in last autumn’s Kookje Shinmun. Aboard Raon The Fighter meanwhile, Lim Gi-won had the luxury of sitting wide just off the speed, allowing the rest to get on with it, clearly in the knowledge he had an awful lot of horse underneath him.

Just how much horse Lim had at his disposal became clear once into the home straight. First Raon The Fighter blew past Eoma Eoma as if he wasn’t there and then set off in pursuit of Beolmaui Star, who was still out in front to the tune of two and a half lengths with two furlongs remaining. By the three-hundred-metre mark, the lead was gone and by the furlong pole, the race was over.

As they crossed the finish line, Raon The Fighter was five lengths in front and pulling away. Beolmaui Star held on comfortably for 2nd in what was a breakout performance, while Ssonsal emerged up the rail under Franco Da Silva to snatch 3rd. Eoma Eoma finished back in 6th, eight-lengths behind the winner.

The build-up to the race had been overshadowed by the untimely death of Dolkong, after a trackwork accident on Thursday.  While Raon The Fighter’s performance did little to mitigate the sadness of that event, the manner of his victory was reminiscent of some of Dolkong’s best.

Raon The Fighter is by Bayern and out of Clarinda (by Empire Maker). He is trained at Seoul by Park Jong-kon and is owned by Son Chun-soo. He moves onto fourteen wins from eighteen starts. It was his fourth Group victory and while a Group 1 remains elusive – especially with such limited opportunities to secure one – he is now the early favourite for this September’s international Korea Sprint. Last year he held entries for both the Cup and Sprint before ultimately being sent to the Cup.

The Sprint Series will continue at Seoul on May 14th with the SBS Sports Sprint (1200M KOR-G3).

Next weekend, Son Chun-soo’s Raon machine grinds on. Raon First and her younger sister Raon Pink are both among the entries in the Donga Ilbo Trophy (1800M Listed), the first Queens’ Tour series race of the year for fillies and mares. Raon First will be the hot favourite.

Son Chun-soo then has Raon The Spurt scheduled to take on Winner’s Man in the Herald Business (2000M KOR-G3) at Seoul on April 16th, followed by Raon Giant taking her chance in the Luna Stakes (1600M Listed) at Busan on April 23rd, the first leg of the Triple Tiara for three-year-old fillies.

Raon The Spurt, Speed Young Return To Winning Ways

Raon The Spurt was a beaten favourite in the Listed Segye Ilbo Trophy in January, but the four-year-old filly went some way to making amends with an authoritative performance in Sunday’s Class 1 feature at Seoul, downing Segye victor Wow Wow by three-lengths.

Raon The Spurt won the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup last November (Pic: KRA)

After a successful three-year-old campaign that saw her finish runner-up in the Triple Tiara series before winning the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup at Group 3 level against older fillies and mares, Raon The Spurt was sent off as favourite in the Segye Ilbo. But on a day when the going was brutal for front-runners, she ran out of petrol in the home straight, finishing back in the pack as Wow Wow took the glory.

There were no such issues this time around in Sunday’s class 1 finale over 1400M. Punters kept faith with Raon The Spurt, sending her off as the even-money favourite. Under Lee Hyeok, who replaced the suspended Choi Bum-hyun in the saddle, Raon The Spurt was quickly into the lead and she proceeded to keep the rest of the field at arm’s length throughout, with Wow Wow ultimately getting the closest. Long-shot Preemax was 3rd.

The win was Raon The Spurt’s seventh from fourteen starts and stands her in good stead ahead of this year’s Queens’ Tour series, which begins in April. Raon The Spurt is by Musket Man and is out of Tomiken Spring (by Japanese sire Suzuka Mambo). Her three-year-old “full” sister and stablemate with trainer Park Jong-kon, Raon The Quality, has three wins from six starts and is penciled-in to race in Seoul’s Classic Trial on April 19th.

On Friday at Busan, Speed Young worked his way back into Classic contention with a fine win at class 3 level over a mile.

A Menifee colt, Speed Young, who won the Breeders’ Cup champion juvenile race over 1400M in December, had begun his three-year-old campaign in disappointing fashion, weakening badly in the final furlong over a mile in January.

By contrast over the same trip on Friday, Speed Young struck the front on the home turn and stayed on strongly to down a field that included top-rated three-year-old filly Jeulgeounyeojeong.

Trained by Bang Dong-suk, who saddled Hit Yegam to two legs of the Triple Crown in 2021, Speed Young doesn’t hold an entry into the Listed Gyeongnam Shinmun Trophy, Busan’s official Classic trial on March 19th. However, his rating is already high enough to ensure him a spot in the gate for the first leg of this year’s Triple crown, the KRA Cup Mile, at Busan on Sunday April 30th.  

Meanwhile the saga of Park Tae-jong’s 2,200th career winner will drag on into another weekend. The jockey, who has won more races than any other in Korean racing history, has been on 2,199 since February 5th and drew a blank from seven rides across the weekend, a runner-up finish on Joeun Gwangye  in race 10 on Sunday. His winless streak now stands at thirty-four.

Racing returns to Korea at Busan on Friday.

Mixed Fortunes for Korea Cup and Sprint Winners on 2023 Debuts

The winners of last year’s international Korea Sprint and Korea Cup both made their 2023 debuts on Sunday but while Eoma Eoma ran out a comfortable winner at Seoul, Winner’s Man could manage no better than 4th in the feature event of the afternoon at Busan.

Winner’s Man, who also won the season-ending Grand Prix Stakes to take his Group 1 tally to three, was sent off as the odds-on favourite for the class 1 1800M south coast feature. Always prominent, the five-year-old briefly struck the front under Seo Seung-un in the home straight but unlike in his big race wins, he failed to kick on and with half a furlong to go it was clear it wasn’t going to be his day.

Victory ultimately went to the Franco Da Silva ridden Flat Babe, runner-up in last November’s Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup, with veteran King Of Glory rolling back the years with a fast finishing 2nd and Tuhonui Banseok, 3rd in the Grand Prix edging out Winner’s Man in a photo for 4th.

A five-year-old mare by Flat Out, Flat Babe has been something of a revelation in the last few months, rapidly moving from a solid but unspectacular class 3 campaigner to class 1 winner in the space of four races since being upped to racing around two turns. She looks set to be a serious contender in this year’s Queens’ Tour for fillies and mares.

As for Winner’s Man, connections pointed afterwards to it being the first time he had carried 60kg in a race – he was giving 8kg to the winner – in addition to him racing at his heaviest ever bodyweight of 550kg – up 18kg since the Grand Prix. Winner’s Man’s anticipated next run will be in the Herald Business Trophy (2000M KOR-G3) at Seoul on April 16th. There he will renew his rivalry with Raon The Fighter, so impressive last week in his own seasonal opener.

Perhaps it was because of Winner’s Man’s performance earlier in the afternoon, as well as the disconcerting sight of regular jockey Moon Se-young’s name next to another horse, that led to Eoma Eoma being sent off at better than even money for his first outing as a six-year-old at class 1 over 1200M at Seoul.

With the race under handicap conditions, Eoma Eoma would, like Winner’s Man, have been assigned 60kg but trainer Song Moon-gil opted to use apprentice O Su-cheol and take advantage of his 2kg claim. Moon Se-young accordingly climbed aboard Jangsan Laser who was strongly backed into a close second-favourite.

Those who kept faith with Eoma Eoma were rewarded as Algorithms entire was quick out of the gate to be on the early speed with East Jet, racing very keenly and pulling hard. Apprentice O Su-cheol kept his cool though and once he let Eoma Eoma stride out in the home straight, the US-bred sped away for a three-length win with his rivals always at arm’s length.

The next five home were separated by just a length with Moon and Jangsan Laser in 2nd while the venerable Morfhis ran 3rd with a typical Morfhis late run. The victory, Eoma Eoma’s fourteenth in total, completed a treble on the day for apprentice O Su-cheol, who may not get the call once the star horse returns to Group racing, but enjoyed surely the best day of his career so far.

That next run for Eoma Eoma is likely to be the Busan Ilbo Sprint (1200M KOR-G3) on the south coast on April 2nd.  

Raon The Fighter Begins 2023 Campaign With Easy Seoul Win

Raon The Fighter opened his five-year-old campaign with a statement performance, crushing a hopelessly outclassed Class 1 field over 1800M at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

Sent off as a prohibitive favourite under the lights in what was the final race of the day as dusk fell across the capital, Raon The Fighter was quickly in command of the twelve-strong field and had opened up a big lead even before the home straight, with the rest unable to match his tempo. Asked for a brief effort by Lim Gi-won, who was partnering him for the first time, the Bayern entire was then eased in the final stages, crossing hte line ten-lengths to the good of The Gumpu in 2nd place.

The Gumpu just about gets in shot after Raon The Fighter crossed the line

Runner-up in both the Korea Cup and the Grand Prix Stakes, the goal for Raon The Fighter in 2023 is to win a Group 1 race, and to achieve that, he is going to have to overcome the horse who beat him on both those occasions, Winner’s Man. The 2022 Horse of the Year is slated to make his first start of the year at Busan next Sunday.

Assuming that Raon The Fighter remains targeted at staying races as opposed to dropping back to the sprinting distances (at which he is still probably the best horse in the country, even including Eoma Eoma), the first race in which he and Winner’s Man could conceivably meet is the Herald Business Trophy (2000M KOR-G3) at Seoul on Sunday April 16.

Wow Wow Stuns Raon Pair in Segye Ilbo

Wow Wow came from off the pace to score a 46/1 upset in the Segye Ilbo Trophy at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon, leaving the green colours of the hotly fancied “Raon” pair, Raon First and Raon The Spurt, back down the track behind him.

Wow Wow came from off the pace to win the Listed Segye Ilbo Trophy under Song Jae-chul (Pic: KRA)

After a year where owner Son Chun-soo’s Raon stable had dominated, his progressive four-year-old filly Raon The Spurt, was sent off as favourite for the Segye Ilbo (1200M KOR-Listed), the first Stakes race on the 2023 calendar, with stablemate and President’s Cup winner Raon First second in the market, ahead of Jeju Governor’s Trophy winning mare Wish Me.

While Raon First was slow out of the gate, Raon The Spurt cruised into the lead alongside fellow Group winner East Jet. But on a rare day at Seoul where the track was not kind to front-runners – nine of the eleven winners on the card emerged from the rear – the leaders were in trouble entering the straight and by the furlong pole, both had wilted.

Raon First launched a home straight challenge through traffic but the longshot pair of Wow Wow and Jangsan Laser were quicker, flashing down the outside with Wow Wow, who had settled right back in the pack in the early exchanges, coming home a length-and-a-quarter to the good. Raon First was 3rd.

With the race being restricted to Korean-bred runners, the Nasca organization’s Korea Sprint winning star Eoma Eoma was ineligible but they also own Wow Wow, a four-year-old colt by Cowboy Cal and out of the Forest Camp mare Jjak Kkung, who did her racing in Korea, winning six of twenty-six starts.

Wow Wow was on last year’s Classic trail and overcame gate fifteen to run 5th in the Korean Derby before an indifferent run in the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Minister’s Cup. Before Sunday, the highest level he had won at was class 4. He is trained by Song Moon-gil and was ridden by Song Jae-chul, who was winning just his third Stakes race after successes in the YTN Cup (then not a group race) in 2015 on Areumdaun Donghaeng and then guiding Saenae Town to victory in the Listed NACF Chairman’s Trophy last November.

There are no Listed or Graded races in Korea in February, with the next big events on the calendar the three-year-old Classic trials at Seoul and Busan on March 19.  

2023 Stakes Schedule Underway Sunday as Raons Clash in Segye Ilbo

Horses with the word “Raon” in their names took home eight Korean Listed or Graded races in 2022 and as the 2023 Stakes race season kicks off at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday with the Segye Ilbo Trophy (1200M KOR-Listed), two of those winners in the green silks of owner Son Chun-soo are set to be at the top of the market as the six-year-old mare and defending champion Raon First, clashes with up-and-coming stablemate and potential heir-apparent, four-year-old filly Raon The Spurt.

Choi Bum-hyun rode Raon First to President’s Cup glory but he gets on Raon The Spurt in Sunday’s Segye Ilbo Trophy (Pic: KRA)

Last year’s winner RAON FIRST is the top filly or mare in Korea, with twelve wins from twenty-two starts and a hugely versatile repertoire as shown by her 3rd place in the Korea Sprint (1200M – IG3) last August and then her sensational victory in the President’s Cup (2000M KOR-G1) in November. It was a first ever victory for a filly or a mare in the nation’s most valuable race for older in-country bred runner, with Korea Cup champion Winner’s Man back in 3rd. Raon First finished off what had been a remarkable campaign with an in no way disgraced 6th place in the Grand Prix Stakes (2300M KOR-G1) as Winner’s Man returned to the summit.

In the early half of her three-year-old campaign, RAON THE SPURT was forced to play second fiddle in the Triple Tiara (filly Triple Crown) races, running 3rd in the Luna Stakes and then 2nd to Tiara winner Golden Power in both the Korean Oaks and Gyeonggi Govenor’s Cup. She finished off the season strongly though, winning the Singapore Turf Club Trophy at 1200M, running 2nd to Wish Me in the Jeju Govenor’s Cup (1400M KOR-G3) and then winning the Gyeongnam DoMin Ilbo Cup (2000M KOR-G3) at Busan. Her star is very much in the ascendency.

Jockey Choi Bum-hyun has ridden both of the Park Jong-kon trained pair in recent starts. For their first head-to-head meeting, he rides Raon The Spurt.

It’s not necessarily a two-horse race though. WISH ME has done something she never usually does and drawn a good gate for a front-runner. She had to contend with gate eleven when 2nd to Raon The Spurt in the Singapore Turf Club Trophy over 1200M in September, before reversing the form with a stunning track-record breaking performance in the Jeju Governor’s Cup from gate twelve. She found 2000M was not her go last time out, but back in sprinting territory and from the plum barrier two, she can’t be ruled out.

While it’s the fillies and mares who are most favoured, the race is open to males as well and a strong set have shown up. DAEHAN JILJU was a break-out 4th in the Korea Sprint last September before running 2nd to that day’s winner Eoma Eoma in the Kookje Shinmun Trophy (1400M Listed) at Busan on October. He is capable of running fast times and the wide draw should prove no distraction. Group winner EAST JET as well as the in form JANGSAN LASER, 4th in the President’s Cup, are among others who can provide testing material.

Only one Busan-trained horse has made the trip to the capital. That’s HAPPY FEVER, a six-year-old who, while he doesn’t win out of turn, enters in consistent form and has posted fast times. At his best he can challenge for some minor money. Jockey Kim Hye-sun has come with him to ride at her former track and has picked up five additional rides across the weekend.

The Segye Ilbo Cup is race 8 on an 11-race program at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon with a local post time of 16:35.

Selections: (4) Raon The Spurt (1) Raon First (2) Wish Me (12) Daehan Jilju

Haengbok Wangja & King Of The Match set for Dubai Debuts on Friday

Two Korea-trained horses are set to make their Dubai World Cup Carnival debuts this week with both Haengbok Wangja and King Of The Match among eleven declared for the inaugural Thunder Snow Challenge over 2000M on the dirt at Meydan on Friday.

Now six-years-old, HAENGBOK WANGJA (USA) [Daredevil – First Installment (Broken Vow)] is a winner of eight of twenty-two career starts and won the Grand Prix Stakes (2300M KOR-G1) in 2021. With the emergence of Winner’s Man and Raon The Fighter, he didn’t go on to have the dominant 2022 that some predicted, instead going winless in six starts but managed 5th in the Korea Cup (1800M I-G3) and 4th in the KRA Cup Classic (2000M KOR-G2).

Purchased by the Seoul Racehorse Owners’ Association for $30,000 at the 2019 Ocala Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds, Haengbok Wangja is a half-brother to US-based Group 3 placed Bourbon Cowboy (by Cowboy Cal). He is owned by Lee Bang-hoon, who has been an owner since 2006 and has had 38 winners in that time. Haengbok Wangja’s Grand Prix was his first Group winner.

Haengbok Wangja is trained by Park Youn-gu. Training since 2004 he has sent out 337 winners from 4,280 starters. He won his first Group race with Joy Lucky in the 2013 G3 Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup with the same filly following up in the G3 SROA Chairman’s Trophy a year later. He won the G3 Jeju Governor’s Cup with Lead Money in 2018 before Haengbok Wangja became his first G1 winner.

KING OF THE MATCH (USA) [Cairo Prince – Fought The Fight (War Front)] is a five-year-old who has win five of fifteen races at distances up to 1800M. Although he is yet to win over 2000M, he did run 2nd to Raon The Fighter in the KRA Cup Classic (2000M KOR-G2) in October and also managed 4th in the Korea Cup, both times finishing ahead of Haengbok Wangja.

Owners D R M City have 24 winners from 97 starters. Their first group winner arrived last month when juvenile Speed Young won the Breeders’ Cup (1400M KOR-G2) at Busan.

King Of The Match’s trainer Kim Young-kwan is no stranger to the Dubai Carnival, having brought several to Meydan in the past, including Main Stay, a winner in 2017. Licensed since 2004 Kim has more winners than any other trainer in Korean history with 1406 from 6331 starters. He is a twelve-time Champion Trainer at Busan and hassaddled more Group winners than any other trainer in Korea.

Both Haengbok Wangja and King Of The Match will need to be forgiven their respective latest outings in the Grand Prix Stakes on December 11th when both were well down the field. For King Of The Match the distance was perhaps too far while Haengbok Wangja was out of sorts. Reports on the ground suggest that both have acclimatized to Meydan well. Dane O’Neill will ride Haengbok Wangja while Tadgh O’Shea, the ten-time UAE Champion jockey, is aboard King Of The Match.

The race is race 6 on the 7-race Friday night Carnival program at Meydan with a post time in Korea of 1:55am Saturday morning.