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Gaeseon Janggun, Areumdaun Jilju Meet At Last

Oaks Winner Pangpang Joins Governor’s Cup Showdown
While the International Jockey Invitational tops the bill at Seoul this coming weekend, Busan plays host to one of its biggest races of the season on Sunday in the form of the Group 3 Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup.

Unusually for Korea – and especially for a big race – only five horses will go to post at 3:45 on Sunday afternoon. Indeed, while the minimum allowable field size was reduced to five earlier this year, this is the first race to draw such a small number.

The five that will go, however, are well worth having the stage to themselves as Gaeseon Janggun and Areumdaun Jilju, rated the top two Korean bred horses at Busan meet for the very first time. It’s a long awaited contest between the lightly raced duo as injury to one of the other has kept them apart so far. Gaeseon Janggun won the Minister’s Cup last season while Areumdaun Jilju became the top horse at the track last season, routinely beating both Korean and Overseas bred runners. Both are unbeaten in their few appearances this season.

They will be joined by Oaks winner Pangpang, who stunned KRA Cup Mile and Derby winner Sangseung Ilro in the filllies’ Classic last month. Three year old improver Conqueror and prolific four year old Yeongung Manse flesh out the field.

Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup (G.III) – Busan Race Park – 1800M – Sep 13, 2009: 15:45

1. Gaeseon Janggun (KOR) [Duality – Diamond Star (Dixieland Band)] – C 4 – (15/8/3/1) – Jo Sung Gon
Second in the first two legs of the 2008 Triple Crown before winning the final jewel, the Minister’s Cup at Seoul. On his return to Busan he suffered his only setback, finishing out of the money in the Owner’s Trophy. Lightly raced since then, he’s won all four of his 2009 outings.
2. Conqueror (KOR) [Revere – Model Actress (Stage Colony)] – C 3 – (12/4/3/0) – Park Geum Man
A slow starter, the three year old took five races to break his maiden and missed out on this year’s classics. Recently graduated to class 1, but yet to be tested at this level.
3. Pangpang (KOR) [Revere – Awishnotalark (Rio’s Lark)] – F 3 – (16/4/1/1) – Han Sang Gyu
Fourth in the Derby marked her down as the only credible challenger to Sangseung Ilro in the Oaks. She duly obliged, chasing down and overtaking the hot favourite to pull off a major upset and establish herself as one of the top stars of Korean racing. Was it a one-off? We’ll find out on Sunday.
4. Yeongung Manse (KOR) [Sharp Appeal – Saratogasplash (Wild Again) – C 4 – (16/8/3/2) – Jo Chang Wook
Has never been out of the money in his sixteen starts. He’s quick and has three top class wins to his name.
5. Areumdaun Jilju (KOR) [Didyme – Chills Of Nepal (Nepal)] – (20/14/3/0) – H 5 – Lim Sung Sil
The five year old made his debut over three years ago but has only raced twenty times. SInce turning three, he’s won ten of his tweve races including both of his outings this year.

Korea Vs Rest Of The World in 5th Challenge

The 5th KRA International Jockey Invitational takes place at Seoul Race Park this coming weekend and six overseas jocks will be in town as Korea takes on the Rest Of The World. Ireland’s Pat Shanahan and Australia’s Jim Byrne head up the Rest Of The World team with Park Tae Jong captaining the Koreans.

The Rest Of The World

Jim Byrne (Australia) – Gold Coast based Byrne has been champion jockey at Brisbane four times and is well on his way to 1500 winners.
Richard Fourie (South Africa) – Thought of as one of the most promising young South African jockeys, the 24 year old Fourie last month decided to move from his KwaZulu-Natal base to Singapore where he will join trainer Basil Marcus later this year.
Luis Garcia (USA) – Maryland based and most frequently working the circuit of Laurel, Pimlico, Colonial Downs and Delaware Park, Garcia turned 25 last week and has over 1000 career victories to his name.
Tetsuya Kobayashi (Japan) – The only Japanese rider this year, Kobayashi debuted in 1993 and, while not a prolific winner with the JRA, has secured some prestigious wins throughout his career.
Pat Shanahan (Ireland) – One of Ireland’s most experienced jockeys, Pat Shanahan came to prominence winning the 1984 Irish Oaks on Princess Pati. In 1996 he won the Irish Derby in 1996 on Dermot Weld’s Zagreb. He continues to ride for Weld, guiding Rare ransom to fourth place in this year’s Irish 1000 Guineas.
Gokhan Yildiz (Turkey) – An up and coming riding from Turkey, Yildiz is the youngest member of the ROTW team. In his six year career to date, he has amassed 326 winners.

The Koreans

Korea puts out an experienced team. Although champion jockey Moon Se Young is out for the rest of the season, the home side will still fancy their chances. Last year’s winner Park Tae Jong again captains.

Park Tae Jong – The only person in Korean racing to enjoy name recognition outside the sport, Park has won everything there is to win and has won twice as many races as any other Korean rider in history. Mention horse racing to a Korean and they will tell you two things. First they will tell you gambling is bad. Secondly they will tell you Park Tae Jong always wins.
Bang Choon Sik – Another veteran, Bang rides sparingly these days but in his time has won most of Korea’s biggest races.
Yang Hee Jin – Debuting in 1996, Yang hasn’t quite made it to the top echelon of Korean racing although if he was to go freelance, he may get an opportunity to show what he can do. A safe pair of hands who is held in high regard by punters.
Cho Kyoung Ho – A late starter, not riding in his first race until age 25, Cho Kyoung Ho is currently the man in form. Taking over leadership of the 2009 Championship last weekend, Cho has a remarkable quinella strike rate of 37% this year.
Choi Beom Hyun – Over the past year, Choi has become known as the big race jockey His partnership with Dongbanui Gangja is fast becoming one of the most enduring and successful in Korean racing history.
Ham Wan Sik – Going freelance earlier this year, Ham Wan Sik is recognised as one of Seoul’s most capable riders.

The Contest

Four races make up the contest, two on Saturday and two on Sunday:

Saturday: Race 8 – Class 3 Foreign bred, 1400M, post time 15:40
Saturday: Race 11 – Class 2 Foreign bred, 1900M Handicap, post time 17:10
Sunday: Race 7 – Class 4 Korean bred, 1400M, post time 15:10
Sunday: Race 9 – Class 3 Korean bred, 1400M Handicap, post time 17:10

Each jockey will have a ride in each race so the mininmum field size for each event will be twelve. Points are awarded in the following manner:

1st: 20, 2nd: 10, 3rd: 6, 4th: 4, 5th: 3, 6th: 2, 7th: 1

The jockey with the most points at the end of the two days will take home a bonus of $20,000, second will secure $10,000 and third will receive $5,000. In addition, each member of the winning team will be awarded a $1,000 bonus.

The rides for each race will be drawn later this week and after the draw, we’ll take a closer look at who’s likely to be leaving Korea a little richer.

Champion Moon Se Young’s Season Is Over

The KRA has confirmed that Moon Se Young, 2008 Champion jockey and current leading rider this year, will miss the rest of the season following his horror fall at Seoul Race Park last Saturday. Moon, 29, was thrown into the rails by two year old Raipai as she veered wildly coming out of the stalls on her racing debut. The jockey escaped what initially looked a very serious situation with severely ruptured knee ligaments which, following surgery, will require six months of recuperation.

Moon Se Young (leading) will be out for 6 months

Moon Se Young (leading) will be out for 6 months

Last year, Moon Se Young became only the second Korean rider to land over one hundred winners in a calender year as he stormed to a record breaking 128 winners. This year, despite a number of suspensions – as well as a wedding to track announcer Kim Ryeo Jin and subsequent honeymoon – keeping him off the track on more occasions than he would have liked, Moon remains at the top of the Jockey standings with 72 winners.

Unlike last year, however, his closest rivals are much closer. Park Tae Jong, the rider with the most wins in Korean racing history lies in second just three behind and, following a remarkable eight wins over the weekend, Cho Kyoung Ho has joined the veteran on 69. Just one behind those two is Choi Beom Hyun on 68. It will now be a straight three way fight for the title.

Photo: letsbook

One Month After The Ban: Where are the Punters?

It’s now been over a month since the KRA’s online “KNetz” betting platform was closed down at the insistence of the National Gaming Contol Commission (NGCC). KNetz had 40,000 customers and accounted for approximately 4% of total handle on any given weekend. So where have these punters gone? Have they seen the error of their ways and decided to spend their weekends doing more socially productive activities? Probably not.

Average handle in August was down on July – but it is every year due to the holiday season. It was up on last year. Track attendance was also up on last year, but only slightly and again this is part of a wider trend. In Korea at least, the number of people going racing is growing.

What’s also growing is the number of illegal bookmakers. Last weekend the Korea Racing Journal cited anecdotal evidence of a rising number of private gaming houses offering betting on the races. They’ve always been there. With betting tax a wallet-busting 27% on the most popular bets and an upper stake limit of 100,000 won, the attraction of betting on something other than the pari-mutuel isn’t a new one and with the online ban, it was always going to get stronger.

Even the NGCC recognized this and they tried to stifle it. Televised racing was banned at the same time as Knetz and the KRA has been restricted in the amount of information it could provide prior to races. Naturally, as the Journal notes again citing anecdotal evidence, the criminal fraternity has proved far more effective in disseminating information than the authority ever was.

While it appears to be easy to bet on a horse illegally, for those punters who don’t fancy either it or indoor fishing, there are now mobile slot machines to help them get their illicit fix. These rather ridiculous contraptions are apparently touring the country offering punters the opportunity to put their unwanted money into a box – and that’s presumably that. A more miserable way of losing is hard to imagine.

Of course, with internet gambling on horse racing banned, anyone who wants a legal punt can’t do it anymore unless they live near the track or one of the few KRA Plaza off-track betting sites. Now that the NGCC has cleared the market for the criminals to move into, mobile slots will probably be the tacky tip of a very depressing iceberg.

On a semi-related subject, the English language version of the Korean daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo recently ran a reasonably interesting article on the Korean casino indiustry. It looks at the history of the Paradise Casino group as well as the more recent Seven Luck chain.

The article highlights the contradictory policy of barring Korean citizens from entering casinos while encouraging foreign visitors to do so – to the extent that the operator of Seven Luck is an offshoot of the Korea National Tourist Organization. Sadly it doesn’t manage to answer the question as to whether it is the case that Korean lawmakers don’t trust their own people – or don’t respect foreigners. Or both.

Sunday Racing Off

The KRA has confirmed that all racing on the peninsula this coming Sunday, August 23, has been cancelled. The cards at Seoul, Busan and Jeju are all off so as not to clash with the funeral of former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, who died on Tuesday.

Friday’s card at Busan and the Saturday cards at Seoul and Jeju will go ahead as planned.

Eleven Contest International Lady Jockey Race

Eight overseas visitors will join three local riders for the 2009 International Lady Jockey Invitiation Race which will be run on the undercard of the Korean Oaks this coming Sunday at Busan Race Park.

With Lee Ae Li, Park Jin Hee and Yoo Mi Ra representing Korea, riders from Japan, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa will also be in town to contest the reasonably tasty looking class 1 race. Additionally, most of the jockeys will also take one ride in a race on Busan’s Friday evening card.

The International riders are:

Jennifer Stisted (USA) – Maryland based and often riding for trainer husband Scott Lake, Stisted has landed over 250 winners in her career.
Rides: Friday R8: Shingwang Cheonji; Sunday R3: Florida Native

Catherine Gannon (Ireland) – Rides mainly in the UK and is having her best season ever with 26 winners so far in 2009.
Rides: Sunday R3: Gangcheol Nabi

Laura Cheshire (New Zealand) – Currently based on Australia’s Gold Coast, she’s ridden 22 winners over the past year.
Rides: Friday R3: Fresh Dancer; Sunday R3: Miss Ecton

Nadine Rapson (South Africa) – The Eastern Cape rider has over 150 wins to date.
Rides: Friday R5: Queen Of Moonstone; Sunday R3: Yongwonhanhaengbok

Linda Meech (Australia) – Anther having her best ever season, Meech has already reached a century of winners in 2009 riding mainly in Victoria.
Rides: Friday R9: Gold Love; Sunday R3: Max Is Cruisin

Mai Beppu (Japan) – Kochi based Beppu shared the NAR Grand Prix Best Female jockey award of 2008
Rides: Friday R2: Seondu Jeongsang, Sunday R3: Dongbang Geona

Hitomi Miyashita (Japan) – Riding out of Aichi, Miyashita shared the NAR award with Beppu.
Rides: Friday R7: Tamna Kwaegeol; Sunday R3: Ima Firecracker

Chiaki Iwanaga (Japan) – Winner of over one 100 races in Japan.
Rides: Friday R9: Raon Champion; Sunday R3: Oreumak

And the Koreans…

Lee Ae Li – Based at Seoul. Riding in pink silks and boots has earned her the nickname “Ae Li Gongju” (Princess Ae Li). Former winner of Seoul Race Park’s “MVP” award, while not a prolific winner, Ae Li is one of the track’s reliable performers.

Yoo Mi Ra – Only debuted in 2008 and only recently scored her first win. Mi Ra has been steadily improving.

Park Jin Hee – On current form the most successful female thoroughbred jockey in Korea.

Sunday’s Invitation race is race 3 on the card and is off at 18:10. The plumb ride of Namdo Jeap, currently rated Korea’s top three year old colt, went the way of Park Jin Hee. Stablemate and top danger Miss Ecton will be ridden by Laura Cheshire. Here’s a run down of the runners and riders, with pedigree, race records, sex and age:

Class 1 (Foreign bred) Invitation Race – Busan Race Park – 1600M – Aug 9, 2009

1. Namdo Jeap (KOR) [Ft. Stockton – Wandering Katie (Tejano)] C3 (9/4/3/1) – Park Jin Hee
Runner up in the KRA Cup Mile and the Derby he took on and beat foreign bred horses last month and there’s no reason why he can’t do so again.

2. Florida Native (USA) [Kissin Kris – Bindiana (Jose Binn)] H5 (29/7/5/3) – Jennifer Stisted
Struggled of late but may appreciate dropping back to a mile.

3. Miss Ecton (USA) [Ecton Park – Miss Lion King (Lion Cavern)] F4 (16/5/2/6) – Laura Cheshire
A consistent performer. A mile is her best distance and last year’s Busan Ilbo winner should be in contention. She’ll carry top weight.

4. Yeongwonhanhangbok (USA) [El Corredor – Media Power (Red Ransom)] F4 (19/3/3/3) – Nadine Rapson
Some good performances over the winter put her into the top tier of Korean racing. Struggled last time out at the same distance.

5. Dongbang Geona (JPN) [Paradise Creek – Hanashinju (Leo Castelli)] G5 (29/9/4/3) – Mai Beppu
A prolific winner as a two year old, and has consistently been in the money since. Won three consecutive class 1 races last autumn.

6. Oreumak (AUS) [Favorite Trick – Vigne Vierge (Diesis)] H7 (55/6/5/10) – Chiaki Iwanaga
The oldest horse in the race, Oreumak hasn’t monied for five races, but every now and then springs a surprise.

7. Gangcheol Labi (AUS) [Fusaichi Pegasus – Beffy (Danehill)] F4 (14/5/1/0) – Catherine Gannon
Made a promising step up to class 1 last month finishing fourth behind Namdo Jeap. Still improving.

8. Winter Invitation (USA) [Take Me Out – Winter Crown (Cox’s Ridge)] H6 (39/3/7/8) – Lee Ae Li
A consistant placer who scored a very good third in the Busan Mayor’s Trophy last October. Wins are few and far between and there’s no reason for that to change on Sunday

9. D M Merch (USA) [Langfuhr – Personally Yours (Personal Flag)] G7 (49/5/7/9) – Yoo Mi Ra
Win in June for the first time in two years, the seven year old has had a good 2009 placing in all but one of his five other outings.

10. Max Is Cruisin (USA) [Max’s Pal – Starlite Cruisin (Star De Naskra)] C4 (23/4/2/1) – Linda Meech
A sprint victory took him up to class 1 in June. Well beaten by Miss Ecton and Dongbang Geona last time out

11. Ima Firecracker (USA) [Hold That Tiger – It’s Destiny (Red Ransom)] F4 (20/4/4/2) – Hitomi Miyashita
Third place last time behind Namdo Jeap was an improvement. Will need to improve again to trouble the placings.

The Korean Oaks

This year was to be the “Year of the Filly”. It has been so far. While in the US they have their filly, in Korea, it is Sangseung Ilro who has been the year’s stand-out achiever so far. On Sunday, she will look to become the second filly to complete the Derby/Oaks double when she lines up for the tenth running of the Korean Oaks at Busan Race Park.

At the start of the year, the KRA decided to put more emphasis on the filly and mare division. The limit owners could spend on buying overseas bred fillies for racing was doubled and 10% of races were designated as being for fillies and mares only. The long-term aim of these policy initiatives would seem to be to lessen the amount that needs to be spent on importing broodmares by having more capable fillies running, then retiring to the farms.

Like most races on the calendar, the Korean Oaks is a relatively new event. With the advent of private ownership of racehorses – and therefore prize money – in the 1990s, Korea began the long process of bringing its racing in line with international standards. It’s very much an ongoing process but one part of that has been organising the season. The Derby began in 1998 and the Oaks two years later.

With the Derby taking place in May and the Oaks in August, it is possible for a filly to win both. Haeam Janggun managed that feat in 2002 and went on to land the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Minister’s Cup. She didn’t compete in the first leg (which was then the Ttukseom Cup) so missed out on the opportunity to win all four. Sangseung Ilro did take part, however, and won the KRA Cup Mile. In Classic terms she is two down with two to go. While there is still much running to do, if she can go on to win the lot, the “Year of the Filly” will be the year of Sangseung Ilro.

The first eight editions of the Oaks were run at Seoul Race Park before being moved to Busan last year. Here is a run down of the winners of each race so far:

2008: Jeolho Chance [Didyme – Harboring (Boston Harbor)] Previously finished third in the KRA Cup Mile but after failing to make an impact in the Derby, won the Oaks in impressive fashion before going on to run a close second in the Minister’s Cup back at Seoul. Has been off the track injured all year and it is looking increasingly unlikely we will see her again.

2007: Baekpa [Revere – Grey Crest (Gold Crest)] – Chun Chang Ki – Chun landed his third Oaks on the grey Baekpa. She remains, along with big brother Baekgwang, one of the country’s most popular horses although of late she has been running in the US in the KRA’s Internationalization program.

2006: Seohae Beontcheok [Revere – Linear Mark (Miner’s Mark)] – Kim Hyo Seob – She wired the field and won by ten lengths but the filly didn’t step up after and only won once more. Sent for broodmare duties, she recently gave birth to her first colt, by Concept Win.

2005: Gamun Nyeonggwang [Concept Win – Pebble Beach (Metfield)] – Lim Dae Gyu – Her win was a minor suprise but she went on to land the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Minister’s Cup in October that year. Late jockey Lim Dae Gyu scored his last big race win on her.

2004: Singgeureoun [Mr. Adorable – Rambollina (Rambo Dancer)] – Chun Chang Ki – She came through with a late run to win by a commanding five lengths and went on to run for a further two seasons. Her only future success came in the 2006 Sports Seoul. Began broodmare duties in 2008.

2003: Amaranth [Future Quest – Shernadeed (Shernazar)] – Chun Chang Ki – The first of jockey Chun’s three Oaks wins came on the 8/1 shot who edged out a small field by a length. Ran on for a further two seasons but couldn’t repeat her Oaks form.

2002: Haeam Janggun [Didyme – Ronde (Toast The Champ)] – Bang Choon Sik – The one that Sangseung Ilro will be looking to emulate. Earlier in the year she won the Korean Derby and, after the taking the Oaks, she went on to win the Minister’s Cup. Two out of her three foals to hit the track so far have been winners.

2001: Espass [Psychobabble – Moment In May (L’Enjoleur)] – Kim Hey Sung – A four length winner, she went on to win the Ttkukseom Cup the following year.

2000: Seonbong Taegam [Road Of War – Jae-Saek-Keom-Bi (Elusive Quest)] – Kim Hyo Seob – The first Oaks winner won by a narrow margin ahead of an odds-on favourite. The race was run over seven furlongs. From the following year, it would be run over its current distance of nine furlongs.

Sangseung Ilro Heads Oaks Entries

There are twelve remaining entrants with a week to go before the Korean Oaks at Busan Race Park. The remarkable Sangseung Ilro, winner of the KRA Cup Mile and Korean Derby already this season, heads the field and it will be a brave punter who bets against her come next Sunday.

Rose Cat is the only entrant from Seoul – the capital track seemingly accepting that it is going to be a sixth straight Classic win for a Busan horse.

Oaks day is set to be one of the biggest days of racing held at Busan since the track’s opening in 2005. Also on the card is the International Lady Jockey’s Invitation Race and we’ll have a full preview of both that and the Oaks this coming Wednesday. In the meantime here is the current Oaks line up with pedigree and race records:

Korean Oaks (G.II) – Busan Race Park – 1800M – August 9, 2009

Lady In Gala [Didyme – Phlox (Just Like Jo)] – (10/2/1/)
Naechingu [Creek Cat – Roberto’s Flame (Green Dancer)] – (7/1/1/4)
Rose Cat [Creek Cat – Rose Bouton (Somethingdifferent)] – (9/2/2/1)
Leading Velocity [Fiercely – Barefoot Runaway (Strike Gold)] – (11/3/2/1)
Suryeohan [Commendable – Diamond Star (Dixieland Band)] – (9/2/2/2)
Hanmoe [Tahamkke – Wolmunsabang (Didyme)] – (12/1/2/3)
Solar City [Ft. Stockton – Taeyangsan (Mujaazif)] – (9/0/1/4)
Haneul Gisang [Duality – Birrali (Rutland)] – (7/2/3/0)
Sangseung Ilro [Concept Win – Ms. Whiskey (Whiskey Wisdom)] – (7/5/1/1)
Hero Age [Buster’s Daydream – No Dle Seum (Brave Regent)] – (10/0/2/0)
Pangpang [Revere – Awishnotalark (Rio’s Lark)] – (15/3/1/1)
Hwangjeui Seonmul [Social Charter – She’s A Bridesmaid (Chromite)] – (13/2/2/0)

Whatever happens next Sunday, Sangseung Ilro will remain on course to follow J.S. Hold in completing the Triple Crown when, all being well, she returns to Seoul in October for the Minister’s Cup. Here is her win in the KRA Cup Mile:

And the Korean Derby:

Second in both those race, Namdo Jeap, will be the plumb ride in the International Lady Jockey’s Challenge race on the Oaks undercard.

Nozi Bows Out

Nozomu Tomizawa has left Korea. The Japanese jockey recently brought to an end his two year stint at Seoul Race Park and is returning to Australia where his family lives and where he rode previously.

Initially arriving for six months in August 2007, Tomizawa started a month after fellow Japanese rider Ikuyasu Kurakane. While Ikuyasu was quick to become reasonably well established, it took Nozomu a little while to build up rides and eventually, winners. Once he did, however, his obvious talent came through as he notched up a decent winning record despite not generally getting the better horses.

Six months became a year and then one year became two. Slowly overcoming the traditional huge disadvantages faced by foreign riders in Korea, not least by learning a little Korean, Tomizawa finshed with figures of 730 rides with 48 winners, 56 seconds and 71 thirds. Top rides always remained hard to come by – being the regular jockey on Gamadongja, a top sprinter, the notable exception.

There was talk of Nozomu following in the footsteps of Ikuyasu and going to Busan for a final few months in Korea but it was not to be. Instead he leaves as a jockey who has advanced the reputation of foreign riders at Seoul no end and the track – and punters – will miss him.

www.horseman.co.kr followed Tomizawa during his last weeks in Korea and produced a short video about him. This, as well as a couple of his race videos can be seen at the Enjoy Racing blog.

Get Katoh: Nozi’s departure leaves Toshiyuki Katoh as the only overseas jockey at Seoul and he must have felt the horses were out to get him on Sunday. In race 6, Dublin Gypsy bolted wildly from the gate and tried for a full furlong to throw him off. Katoh eventually managed to bring the filly under control and get her home only for Money Pokpung to promptly dump him over the outside rail on the home turn in the very next race. Fortunately he escaped injury and was able to ride the rest of the card.

* In other jockey news, it’s been confirmed that Kim Ok Sung’s season is over. The veteran rider suffered a broken ankle during track work last Wednesday and will be sidelined for at least six months.

Nice Choice Leads Munhwa Hopefuls

It’s been another disappointing year for three year olds at Seoul but one of them may have the chance to step up on Sunday as four of the best of the crop are among the entries for the Munhwa Ilbo Cup.

The Munhwa brings together a group of three year olds and also older horses who haven’t quite made it into the big time yet. However, with winners in recent years including Myeongmun Gamun and Baekgwang, who went on to become two of the track’s biggest stars, there is the potential for a champion to emerge.

Nice Choice is the one many will be looking to. He’s won five of his eight races to date and was last year’s champion two year old. The one race he’s dissappointed in was the Derby. Ahead of him that day, Baengnyeonbong slipped into third place and following a smart win last month, he’s also back. Khanui Jeguk also disappointed in the Derby, but he too won last time out. The final three year old is Event. Kept off the classic trail, the colt has quietly amassed six wins from his ten starts.

Among the older horses, Lhotse Shar has been in good form this year and won at this level last time out. All the others have wins in their history but only Super Jet and Hallasinbi have been in winning form recently.

The race will be run under the lights on Sunday evening with post time at 7:35pm. Click here for past performance information (Korean) and see below for a full list of runners, records and riders:

Munhwa Ilbo Cup – Seoul Race Park – 2000M – July 26, 2009

1. Nanjeongseo [Psychobabble – Caroful (Sportful)] – (22/4/1/3) – Ham Wan Sik
2. Lhotse Shar [Revere – Leave It To Mama (Pappa Riccio)] – (16/5/1/1) – Shim Seung Tae
3. Baengnyeonbong [Al Naba – Sansovino Art (Mister C.)] – (11/5/1/2) – Shin Hyoung Cheol
4. Taegeuk Musa [Walkslikeaduck – Bae Gil Gi Do (Salmon Leap)] – (47/3/2/5) – Yang Hee Jin
5. Super Jet [Archer City Slew – Tae-Eulbong (Road Of War)] – (12/5/0/1) – Kim Young Jin
6. Khanui Jeguk [Sunday Well – Lucky Dip (Didyme)] – (9/4/1/1) – Choi Beom Hyun
7. Hallasinbi [Duality – Gamble On Jill (Spare Card)] – (21/4/4/1) – Lee Gi Hwoi
8. Challanhanbit [Psychobabble – Naha (Silver Buck)] – (21/5/1/1) – Moon Jung Kyun
9. Event [Creek Cat – Forget Me Dot (Citidancer)] – (10/6/0/0) – Moon Se Young
10. Nice Choice [Lost Mountain – Betty’s Rhapsody (Don’t Hesitate)] – (8/5/2/0) – Cho Kyoung Ho
11. Grandzif [Mujaazif – Knight Blues (Knight’s Choice)] – (18/3/5/3) – Park Tae Jong