J.S. Hold [Ft. Stockton – Hwansangjiljoo (Passetreul)], considered by many to be Korea’s greatest ever domestically bred thoroughbred, has been officially retired nearly a year since his last outing on the track. In 2007, the chestnut colt won Korea’s Triple Crown in commanding style.

Debuting in race 1 at 11am on Minister’s Cup day in October 2006, J.S. Hold finished fourth of twelve in a category 6 race. It was the last time any horse would finish in front of him and one year later, he would be completing the Triple Crown in the main event. Following that first race, J.S. Hold ran once a month winning each time as he stepped up in class and distance until he arrived at the Ttukseom Cup in April 2007. By this time, word was out that a special horse had arrived and, sent off the 1.4 favourite, under Moon Jung Kyun the horse powered to a seven length win.

Next up was the Korean Derby in May. In an astonishing display, J.S. Hold hit the front on the backstretch and cruised to an eleven length win. The following month, the three year old was sent up against older horses and, in a big handicap, cantered past the likes of Secret Weapon and Myeongmun Gamun to win by five lengths. It was after this, however, that a leg injury started to affect the horse and it was touch and go as to whether he’d be ready for the final race of the Triple Crown, the Minister’s Cup on October 14. He made it, however. The pace was set throughout by Ganghomyeongjang who was still in front as they entered the final furlong, Moon Jung Kyun shifted J.S. Hold out from the rail and gradually ran down his opponent hitting the front just metres from the line for the historic win in Korea’s first Triple Crown series.

Whether the race aggravated his injury is unclear but trainer Kim Dae Geun has been quoted as saying that regardless of the historic achievement, he regrets running J.S. Hold that day. When it came to the season ending Grand Prix in December the trainer won the argument with his owner and he didn’t run. Indeed, he never ran again. In June this year, he appeared among the entries for a handicap race after showing promise in track-work. Come declaration day, however, his name was gone and never appeared again. For a Triple Crown winner, J.S. Hold faces an uncertain future. With little interest among breeders for any Korean bred horse, even one as talented as him, his owners have had a hard time finding a place for him with even the farm where he was born turning him down. Eventually it was agreed he will retire to Taemyoung Farm on Jeju Island but it is doubtful that there will be sons or daughters of J.S. Hold on the track in future. What this says for the fate of less high-profile horses in Korea is troubling.

This coming Saturday, there will be a ceremony to honour the achievements of J.S. Hold after the fourth race at Seoul Race Park. The videos of his Triple Crown win can be seen below:
Ttukseom Cup – 1200M, April 15, 2007
Korean Derby – 1800M, May 27, 2007
Minster of Agriculture’s Cup – 2000M 14 October, 2007

Black and Thompson lead ROTW team / Five exchange races announced
The KRA is gearing up for its annual International Weekend which gets underway Friday at Busan Race Park and continues on Saturday and Sunday at Seoul Race Park. Highlight of the event is the International Jockey Challenge which takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Seoul. Five invited overseas jockeys will be in Seoul to represent the Rest of the World team against five local jockeys over four races, one on Saturday and three on Sunday. Making up the International team are:

Anthony Black (USA) – The winner of over 5000 races in a career that has spanned nearly thirty years. His biggest win came in the Pennsylvania Derby on Devil’s Honor in 1997.

Greg Cheyne (South Africa) – Eastern Cape Champion Cheyne has racked up nearly 1000 winners and won the Canon Gold Cup on Desert Links at Greyville in August.

Eddie Lai (Hong Kong) – The 32 year old won the Hong Kong Classic Mile in 2003 and the HSBC Premier Bowl in 2006.

Issei Murata (Japan) – Murata won the Negisi Stakes and Argentina Trophy last year.

Robert Thompson (Australia) – Thompson holds the record for the most wins ever by an Australian jockey and is only the fourth Australian in history to ride over 3000 winners.

Korea fields five jockeys who are at the top of the jockey’s championship this year. Veteran Park Tae Jong heads the team as usual and is joined by the only two jockeys ahead of him in the standings, Moon Se Young and Cho Kyoung Ho. Rounding out the team are Moon Jung Kyun and the in-form Choi Beom Hyun.

A first prize of $20,000 will go to the jockey who scores the most points over the weekend. Twenty points will be awarded for a win, 15 for a second place and then down in increments of three to sixth place. Last year, South African Gerrit Schlecter took the honours.

In addition to the Jockey’s Challenge, five International Exchange Races will also take place. Each with a first prize of KRW 53Million, the first will be the Macau Jockey Club race at Busan Race Park on Friday. Saturday sees races for the STC, the Australian Jockey Club and Horse Racing Ireland, while on Sunday, the JRA Trophy race takes centre stage. Two Malaysia based jockeys will also be over for the STC race, Ronald Woodworth and Harmeet Singh Gill. We’ll have a further preview of the big races once final cards are published later in the week.

Australia and Hong Kong have named their representatives for the International Jockey’s Challenge which will be held at Seoul Race Park on October 4 and October 5.

Robert Thompson will be flying the flag for Australia. The fifty year old has recorded well over 3000 wins in his career. Meanwhile, 34 year old Eddie Lai will be the Hong Kong representative.

They will join Greg Cheyne from South Africa as well as jockeys from the US and Japan in the four race event.

This coming Sunday sees the G3 (local) KRA Cup Classic at Seoul Race Park. The 2000 metre race is a handicap for foreign bred horses and among the more prominent entries are the six year old mare Galsaem and the four year old Pocketful Of Money. The final list of runners and riders, along with weights, will be available on Thursday.

Looking further ahead, the season’s fourth classic, the Minister of Agriculture’s Cup will take place at Seoul Race Park on Sunday October 12. Horses based at Busan Race Park have won all three of the Classics contested so far this year and this week it’s been confirmed that at least two of those – Derby winner Ebony Storm and Oaks winner Jeolho Chance – will make the journey up to Seoul next month.

* Video of the JBBA race from Busan Race Park last Sunday is now available at Youtube. Please Click Here.

Minsokchum (3.7) landed one of the biggest pony races of the year at Jeju Race Park on Sunday in winning the KRA Jeju Cup. The four year old scored a half length win from Medaljeonseon (11.1) after coming through with a late run. The race was worth KRW 27Million and is one of the most valuable races to be held at the track on Jeju Island where racing is exclusively for the locally bred Jeju pony. A filly, Minsokchum has a race record of eight wins from twenty two outings.