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Coming Up In July: Evening Racing / Busan Mayor’s Cup / Triple Crown Finale / KRA Trophy At Kranji

Evening racing begins this weekend and will run throughout July and August on Fridays and Saturdays. A busy July also sees the Busan Mayor’s Cup – the biggest race of summer – as well as Power Blade potentially looking to complete the Triple Crown in the Minister’s Cup and three Korean horses heading to Singapore for the KRA Trophy at Kranji.

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Evening racing begins this weekend

The first “evening” meeting will be at Busan this Friday. On Fridays, the first race at Busan will be at 2.30pm and the last at 9pm. Saturdays at Seoul will get underway at 2pm with the final race at 9pm. Sundays this year will remain at their usual time with the first race at Seoul at 10:50am and the last at 6pm. While the initial evening season runs until the end of August it may well be extended this year into September and October.

On the track, the month starts with the big one, the Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup, generally billed as the “Summer Grand Prix”. This year’s edition is at Busan this coming Sunday, July 3rd and a high quality field look set to take part including some strong candidates from Seoul. We will have the full line-up here this afternoon and a full preview of the race on Saturday. Last year’s winner Gamdonguibada, Triple Nine, Bold Kings, Clean Up Joy, Clean Up Cheonha and Success Story are all currently entered.

On Sunday 17th, attention will turn to Seoul and the final leg of the Triple Crown in the shape of the Minister’s Cup. Power Blade was the facile winner of the KRA Cup Mile and Korean Derby and should he make the starting gate, he will be strong favourite to become the first horse to sweep all three legs of the Crown in its current form. Stablemate and Korean Oaks winner Ottug Ottugi is also among ten entrants at this stage.

The final Group race of the month will be the KNN Cup at Busan on July 24th. It’s the 2nd leg of the Queens’ Tour which decides the champion filly or mare of the year. The first leg, the Ttukseom Cup, was won by Bichui Jeongsang at Seoul at the beginning of June.

In other news, the KRA Trophy will be run at Kranji Racecourse in Singapore on July 24th and for the second year running, Korea-trained horses will be taking part in the 1200M sprint. The three horses looking likely to travel are Parang Juuibo (With Distinction) and Always Winner (Creek Cat) from Seoul and Triple Five (Girolamo) from Busan. The optimistically named Always Winner won the JRA Trophy at Seoul earlier in June while the Bart Rice trained Triple Five is an up and comer who has won three of six outings to date. Baksuchyeo and Jingyeogui Geojang are others entered.

The KRA Trophy is part of the “Korea Festival” that takes place at Kranji that weekend.

Dean Holland Wraps Up Korean Sojourn

Dean Holland’s stint riding in Korea is over for now. The Australian jockey completed his four month license at the weekend and has opted to return home.

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Dean Holland at Seoul (Pic: Ross Holburt)

During his time here, Holland rode 10 winners from 128 rides with a quinella strike-rate of 15% – a creditable figure given that he rode so few favourites. His final ride was a 2nd place on Jangsanjewang in race 11 on Sunday while his last winner was the previous day, when he guided Muhudaese to victory by a nose with a perfectly timed run in race 9.

Both those rides were for Brian Dean and in the latter half of his time here, Holland built up an effective partnership with the first foreign trainer to be licensed at Seoul. Half of all runners that Brian Dean has sent out so far have finished in the first three and Dean Holland has played a significant role in achieving that. Likewise the emergence of the trainer – who this time next year will surely be the top trainer in the capital – ensured Holland successfully completed his four months.

Holland worked hard and gained the respect of most trainers and jockeys in Seoul with a professional attitude and good results, which is exactly what is asked of foreign riders here. He was a fine ambassador for Australian racing. Off the track he developed an unexplained affinity for the Seoul LG Twins baseball team; Holland’s win-rate is probably better than theirs.

Holland’s final winner at Seoul:

Holland’s departure leaves Imran Chisty as the only active foreign jockey currently at Seoul. Djordje Perovic remains licensed.

Prosecution Charges Several In Racing Integrity Probe

Racing was featured on most of the main news outlets in Korea on Thursday morning and not for positive reasons with a number of people, including trainers and jockeys, being indicted by the prosecution in a long-running investigation into corruption and race-fixing.

Most of the charges date back to incidents alleged to have taken place in 2010-2011. The suspects cannot be named for legal reasons but according to JTBC, they include jockeys from Jeju Island as well as three retired jockeys and two trainers from Seoul. Those in question who were still license-holders had been suspended since the allegations first came to light some months ago.

Also indicted were individuals identified as “brokers” and the suspected operator of an illegal betting operation. Most media reports this morning outlined that the prosecution continues to investigate possible links with organised crime. Here is the link to JTBC TV’s report.

JTBC and KBS1 News illustrated their reports with several video examples of horses allegedly being deliberately stopped by jockeys in pony races on Jeju Island in 2010.

Tierce Betting Makes Solid Mobile Debut

The tierce, or trifecta, made its debut in Korean horse racing wagering this past weekend and this new bet type, the seventh to become available on all races in the country, made an immediate impact, despite the pool initially only being accessible through the KRA’s mobile betting application. 

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Tierce odds for one of the very first races to offer it last Friday at Jeju

By Sunday’s final race at Seoul, the Tierce was accounting for 4.3% of the total turnover, higher than Win, Place and Quinella Place pools. The Quinella remains the most popular pool with the Trio (first three in any order) a close second, followed by the Exacta. Overall turnover remained similar to the previous week. The fact that the Tierce will, for the time being, not be available to cash bettors, looks set to provide a major shot in the arm to mobile betting.

Mobile betting has had a predictably shaky start. Despite the name conjuring up images of people having a bet from home on their smartphones, like in a normal jurisdiction, this isn’t the case. Since the regulator ordered the closure of the “KNetz” telephone betting service in 2009 (essentially handing the monopoly in off-course betting to illegal operators), the Authority is only permitted to accept bets on course or at its OTBs. The App therefore can only be used when the device on which it is installed is connected to the”LetsRun Free” Wi-fi connection.

Despite heavy investment in what is a very impressive and user-friendly app (there will be a foreign language version) packed with information, as well as an excellent new lounge at Seoul especially for mobile betting, take-up has not been high and mobile turnover had been declining slightly since its launch. Since April, at least one simulcast race from Jeju Island on Fridays and Saturdays has been designated “mobile only” with no cash bets accepted, however, most punters have looked on those races as opportunities to take lunch or a coffee break.

It’s understandable that punters have resisted. With the regulator wanting all bets to be tracked and to eventually be linked to a bank account with a real name, in a country where gambling – despite being hugely popular – carries a major social stigma, it is seen by many as an unwelcome intrusion into privacy. It also prevents any circumventing of the rules on the maximum betting limit (which can easily be done simply by visiting more than one betting window or terminal before the race), something that is a challenge for both punters and no doubt the Authority alike.

However, the Tierce and its high dividends compared to Stake, is always going to be an attractive bet and it’s a pool that punters will want to play into. Eventually it will be expanded to cash betting too, most likely towards the end of this year. For now though, the signs are that it could be the game-changer that mobile betting has been seeking.

Park Tae Jong: 2000 Not Out

It had been coming for a long time but when it finally did, at 11:43am last Saturday, something happened at Seoul Racecourse that rarely – if ever – occurs. There was applause. After winning race 3, Park Tae Jong turned his mount around and then trotted back past the winning line to the spontaneous acclaim of the grandstand.  

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Punters help Park Tae Jong celebrate 2000 career winners at Seoul Racecourse last Saturday

We’ll get the cynicism out of the way early. Park had just guided Gangho Cheonnyeon, a 1.3 favourite to victory meaning just about every punter present had won their quinella bet; had this happened in race 1 when he was riding a 40/1 chance, the assembled punters may not have been so generous with their praise. It was though, a very warm moment.

In that race; race 3 on Saturday morning, Park Tae Jong became the first Korean jockey to ride 2000 career winners. In worldwide terms that’s a figure that is creditable and noteworthy but not unusual. For a Korean jockey of Park’s generation, it is an achievement that is nothing short of astonishing.

While Korean racing in 2016 still has a long way to go to be internationally competitive, it is worlds away from what it was when Park gained his license aged 22 in April of 1987. Most jockeys in those days would expect to ride for about five years, maybe getting 50-100 winners along the way if they were lucky. In a less than optimal system, many would then become Trainers. Many of them still are.

Additionally, in those days, there was a strict cap on the number of races a jockey could ride in each week. This  was only lifted when some jockeys were permitted to become freelance instead of being retained by a trainer around ten years ago. Even so, there are still only a total of 22-23 races a week that a jockey can ride in and few jockeys ride the full amount.

Park has also managed to make it through 29 years without any integrity run-ins. Famous for going to bed at 9pm every night and eschewing the soju-sloshing ways of some of his former contemporaries, he is one of only four from that era still riding today. However, none of Shin Hyoung Chul, Kim Ok Sung and the still hanging in there, Kim Gui Bae, have come anywhere close to what Park has achieved. Of those SHin has ridden the most winners with 677.

The 2000th winner:

Park Tae Jong’s first Stakes win was on Beoun in the now defunct Mugunghwa Cup in 1992 having already passed 100 career winner the year before. His first Graded race winner, Kev, came in the Ttukseom Cup, also in 1992. Park’s first and so far only Grand Prix Stakes win was in 1995, when he guided Daekyeon to a gate-to-wire eight-length win.

During the 1990s Park would establish himself as the nation’s top jockey, passing 500 winners in 1998 and then in 2000, passing Kim Myung Kuk’s record of 722 winners. Since then he has led the all-time winner’s list without interruption. He’s won three Korean Derby’s, a couple of Owner’s and Minister’s Cups and also the KRA Cup Mile at Busan in 2010.

Park became the first jockey to pass the 1000 winner mark in 2004 – and celebrated by being driven down the home straight in a Porsche – something he would repeat on Saturday only twelve years ago the Porsche was red, this time it was yellow. In common with all Seoul jockeys, Busan’s emergence as the base for the best horses in Korea has limited Park’s opportunities to win the very biggest races as, such as the arrangements the jockeys’ unions have made between themselves, only Busan jockeys may ride Busan horses.

Regardless, on a day to day basis, he remains one of the best in Korea. Park continues to ride winners and currently lies in 4th place in the 2016 Seoul Championship behind only Moon Se Young, Djordje Perovic and Jo Sung Gon.

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Park Tae Jong (Pic: Ross Holburt)

When you tell people in Korea that you are interested in horse racing, reactions are mixed. Many will think you are a degenerate gambler beyond redemption. Perhaps they are right. But most when pushed will also have heard of Park Tae Jong. They probably won’t have heard of Moon Se Young. Not yet, anyway.

His achievements may only be domestic in a country that craves international recognition and where a substantial proportion of the population looks down on its own sports leagues and events, but Park Tae Jong still deserves acknowledgement as one of Korea’s finest sportsmen of the past three decades. For a moment last Saturday, that was celebrated.

Park Tae Jong – as of May 2016:

Rides: 13365
1st: 2001
2nd: 1830
3rd: 1531
4th: 1442
5th: 1264

Win Strike Rate: 15.0%
Quinella Strike Rate: 28.7%
Show Strike Rate: 40.1%

Upcoming In Korean Racing: Triple Crown Finale / Oaks / SBS Korea vs Japan / Ttukseom Cup

It’s two down and one to go for Power Blade in his quest to complete the 2016 Korean Triple Crown. The colt won the Korean Derby in fine style in the rain last Sunday to add to his KRA Cup Mile triumph last month and will be back at Seoul in July in order to try to complete the Crown.

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All being well, Power Blade will run for the Triple Crown on July 17 (Pic: Ross Holburt)

J.S. Hold won the Triple Crown back in 2007. However, in those days Busan horses were yet to be entered in the series (that would begin the following year) and the first leg was the Ttukseom Cup. Power Blade would therefore be the first horse to sweep the Crown in its current format. The final leg is the Minister’s Cup, which will be run over 2000M on Sunday July 17th.

Ottug Ottugi was 2nd in the Cup Mile in March but didn’t run in the Derby. She may well go in the Minister’s Cup but before that, Power Blade’s stablemate has the fillies’ Classic to take care of. The 1800M Korean Oaks will be run at Busan on June 12th. We could see South African trainer Bart Rice with his first Classic runners as Janggunui Huye and Load Cell are among the seventeen fillies still left in. Seoul is set to continue its dismal record in the Classics accounting as it does for only two of the nominations even at this early stage. Hoseungjibyeok looks the main danger to Ottug Ottugi.

A week before the Oaks, on Sunday June 5th, there is a big afternoon of racing at Seoul which sees the first leg of the Queens’ Tour in the shape of the Ttukseom Cup and also the SBS Korea/Japan Cup, which is the year’s first international race.

Three horses are expected from Japan and they are the usual set of very experienced campaigners. Currently, they are the imposingly-named Dreadnought (Meishi Odo), an 8-year-old gelding with 7 wins from 33 starts, Kimon Avalon (South Vigorous), a 7-year-old horse with 9 from 53 and Best Wish (White Muzzle) a 7-year-old horse who has won just 3 from 58 but has finished in the top three a further 21 times.

The home team will fancy their chances of beating them in the race which will be run over 1200M. Gamdonguibada, Perdido Pomeroy, Tongil Sidae and Bit Blade are among a very strong contingent expected to travel up from Busan while Choegang Schiller, Cheongu, Haemaru and OS Hwadap are among the early entries from Seoul.

Last year a Japanese raider, Esmeraldina, won the Ttukseom Cup. Another Japanese filly, Lalabel (Gold Allure) was initially entered but now won’t make the trip. That leaves it an all Korean-trained affair for the 1400M event which is the first leg in the three-race Queens’ Tour series for fillies and mares 5-years-old and under.

Last year’s Oaks winner Jangpung Parang is among the 21 currently entered as is New York Blue, who was 2nd in this race last year. New York Blue was sent off as favourite for the final leg of last year’s tour but fell when clipping heels on the first turn enabling Heba to claim the race and the overall series. Bichui Jeongsang looks to be the biggest name from the capital still in.

Upcoming Graded/Listed/Special races:

May 29: YTN Cup (Listed) – Seoul
June 4: Selangor Turf Club Trophy (Special) – Seoul
June 4: JRA Trophy (Special) – Seoul
June 4: TJK (Turkey) Cup (Special) – Seoul
June 5: Ttukseom Cup (Group II) – Seoul
June 5: SBS Korea/Japan Cup (Group III) – Seoul
June 12: Korean Oaks (Group II) – Busan
June 19: Sports Chosun Cup (Listed) Seoul
July 3: Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup (Group III) – Busan
July 17: Minister’s Cup (Group II) – Seoul

Brian Dean Trains First Korean Winner

Brian Dean has started very well. Having put the local trainers on notice by sweeping all the barrier trials a couple of weeks ago, he sent out Jangsan Jewang to 3rd place last week. After another 3rd yesterday, today My Blade became the Australian handler’s first Seoul winner. Dean Holland rode.

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My Blade hits the front under Dean Holland (Pic: Ross Holburt)

The race took place an hour after the Korean Derby and most attention was focused on whether Park Tae Jong, riding Horuragi, could get his 2,000th winner as a jockey. Horuragi led from the gate and for much of the race but it was not to be as Holland on My Blade and Moon Se Young on Inbeactive came to challenge down the outside with My Blade prevailing by a head on the line.

It was Brian Dean’s third runner in total and the first foreign trainer ever to be granted a full-time license at Seoul  now has a 33.3% win strike rate and 100% to show. As for the other Aussie Dean, it was Holland’s second winner of the weekend.

Jockeys Chisty & Satoshi Land First Wins / Rice Trebles / Dean Debuts

It was a busy week for the expanding foreign contingent in Korean racing at both Seoul and Busan. And there were successes too with jockeys Imran Chisty and Yonekura Satoshi both riding their first winners, Bart Rice training three winners across the weekend and Brian Dean making his long awaited Seoul training debut and scoring a solid 3rd place with Jangsan Jewang.

We’ll start with Imran Chisty. It would be fair to say he impressed all who saw him in work and on the three with no chance that he was given to ride on his debut on May 1st. It was therefore a little disappointing to see the Indian jockey only booked for one single ride across this past weekend. Chisty responded in the best possible manner.

Jeongsang Jeil, in race 1 on Saturday, was Chisty’s first mount with any semblance of a winning chance and win it he did, the 4/1 chance making all over 1300M. Hopefully connections will have taken note and Chisty’s weekends won’t be over by 10:55 on Saturday mornings anymore.

A day earlier at Busan, Japanese jockey Satoshi Yonekura landed his first winner on the peninsula, guiding Gold Blue to victory in race 8. Satoshi, who has been getting plenty of mounts, would follow up with another winner on Sunday with Lady Champ in race 2. Established in Korea already, Ikuyasu Kurakane and Djordje Perovic were also among the winners.

On the training side, it was a very good weekend Bart Rice. The South African saddled three winners across Friday and Sunday. He started with the previously winner-circle dodging filly Load Cell, who finally got things right at the sixth time of asking in race 5 after three runner-up finishes.

Another filly, Daehanuimyeongseong would be next in race 6, landing her second win in eight starts. On Sunday, Rice’s Triple Five would make all to comfortably win the class 3 race 5. That one now has two wins and three 2nd place finishes from five starts.

Thomas Gillespie would also weigh-in with a winner at Busan on Sunday, Jungang Yeoje in race 1, while up at Seoul, Aussie trainer Brian Dean, the first foreign trainer to be licensed in the capital sent out his first runner.

Actually that’s not quite true as Dean brought Valevole to the Asia Challenge Cup last August but on Sunday Jangsan Jewang became the first starter from his newly established Korean stable. Jangsan Jewang was one of three Brian Dean horses to win barrier trial two weeks and under another Australian, Dean Holland he set out to make all in the 1200M class 2 race 11.

It wasn’t quite to be with Jangsan Jewang being caught late on and eventually having to settle for a very solid 3rd place. It was a huge improvement on his two previous starts at class 2. The Brian Dean stable looks one to watch very carefully. There could be some very nervous fellow trainers on the Seoul backstretch right now.

Aragoni Debuts At Busan While Dean Cleans Up At Trials

This article by Michael Lee at the Singapore Turf Club’s website explains in detail about Brian Dean’s sweeping of all three barrier trials at Seoul Racecourse on Friday morning.

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An essential addition to the discerning punter’s wardrobe

Dean has been an amiable presence around the racecourse since arriving in Seoul in January and with eleven horses in his stable, including the class 1 pair of Cinderella Man and Samjeong Jewang, he is now ready to go.

The former Kranji trainer will send out his first runner, Jangsanjewang, next Sunday May 8th, in a race which will, coincidentally,  be beamed back live to Singapore.

The other Aussie Dean, Dean Holland will ride that horse but two other foreign jockeys are set to have their first rides at Seoul this Sunday. India’s Imran Chisty and Australian Patrick Keane will be in limited action with both expected to have larger books next week.

At Busan on Friday, Italian jockey Paolo Aragoni made his riding debut. He impressed too, guiding the unfancied pair of Northern Trace and Ocean Line to 2nd place finishes in races 2 and 4 respectively. In between, he rode American owner Joe Dallao’s Noble Warrior to his 2nd consecutive 3rd place for trainer Bart Rice in race 3.

While Aragoni was beaten on the only favourite he rode, Blue Cat in race 7, it was a very creditable start. He will ride Success Story in the Busan Ilbo Cup on Sunday. A full preview of Sunday’s meeting, including the very competitive Cup race, will be up on the site later today.

Ikuyasu Kurakane was among the winners on Friday, partnering Thomas Gillespie’s Haneolui Jilju to a hard-fought victory in race 4.

Equine performer of the day was Evangeline, who stepped up to class 2 for the first time in the 1200M closing race 10 and came through late to score her sixth win from nine starts.

Saturday April 30
Seoul Racecourse: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 11:55 to 17:20

Sunday May 1
Seoul Racecourse: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Busan Racecourse: 6 races from 13:00 to 17:05

Success Story Headlines Sprint Series 1st Leg

Success Story made his mark at a mile and at 2000M in Dubai earlier this year but he drops all the way down to 1200M for his first start back home in Busan in Sunday’s Busan Ilbo Cup, the first leg of the inaugural Korean Sprint Series.

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Back at Busan: Success Story

And what an opportunity it is for Italian jockey Paolo Aragoni who gets the plum ride on Success Story on his first weekend riding in Korea.

That said, it is a very tough race. Beolmaui Kkum – who along with Success Story is owned by Lee Jong Hun – will be there along with up and comers Indian Star and Perdido Pomeroy.  Gamdonguibada, Oreuse  and the always-game Gumpo Sky are also among those with claims..

The Sprint series is new for this year with Sunday’s Busan Ilbo Cup being followed by two international races; the SBS Korea/Japan Cup on June 5th and then the $700K Korea Sprint on September 11th, both of which will be run at Seoul. All three races are to be contested over 1200M.

Success Story placed 3rd in both his races in Dubai, exceeding expectations back in Korea where it had been hoped he would simply manage to stay with the field. Cheongu, who also went to Dubai, put in a slightly disappointing performance on his own return to domestic racing at Seoul last weekend, coming home 6th in a class 1 handicap.

Speaking of Seoul, the capital’s entry for the Busan Ilbo Cup is disappointing – although not unexpected – so credit to the connections of the three who are having a go.

We will have a full runner by runner preview of the race (along with the rest of Busan’s Sunday card) up on Saturday. In the meantime, here is the full field (Name [Sire] Age Sex (Starts/1st/2nd/3rd) Trainer – Jockey).

Busan Ilbo Cup (Listed) – Busan Racecourse – 1200M – May 1, 2016 (16:15)

1. Success Story (KOR) [Peace Rules] 5 H (20/10/2/4) JK Min – Paolo Aragoni
2. Damyang Chukje (USA) [Good Reward] 7 H (32/5/3/4) HJ Bae – Jo Jae Ro
3. Beolmaui Kkum (USA) [Put It Back] 6 H (25/15/3/3) KY Baik – Seo Seung Un
4. Indian Star (KOR) [Adcat] 4 F (11/8/1/1) JB Mun – Ikuyasu Kurakane
5. Oreuse (USA) [Smoke Glacken] 7 H (33/13/4/4) YG Yoon – Kim Dong Young
6. All Su (KOR) [Perfect Vision II] 8 H (66/9/9/10) HJ Bae – Yoon Tae Hyuk
7. Gamdonguibada (USA) [Werblin] 7 M (34/14/5/7) YK Kim – Choi Si Dae
8. Daepungnyeon (KOR) [Pico Central] 4 G (13/70/1) BH Kim – Song Keong Yun
9. New York Blue (USA) [Candy Ride] 5 M (21/7/8/1) KM Lim – You Hyun Myung
10. Perdido Pomeroy (USA) [Pomeroy] 3 C (5/4/0/1) JB Mun – Kim Yong Geun
11. Gumpo Sky (KOR) [Vicar] 5 H (28/9/8/4) SJ Kwon – Lim Sung Sil

*Starts for Success Story and Gamdonguibada include those in races overseas