Race Reviews

Brilliant Bold Kings Reigns Supreme In Grand Prix

Bold Kings maintained his unbeaten record after getting the best of a thrilling stretch duel with Gumpo Sky to win the most prestigious race on the Korean calendar, the Grand Prix Stakes, at Seoul Racecourse this afternoon.

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Bold Kings and Jo Sung Gon in the Grand Prix winner’s circle

Trained by Australian Peter Wolsley and ridden by Jo Sung Gon, Bold Kings was sent off the third choice in the betting market with President’s Cup winner Triple Nine the clear favourite.

Gamdonguibada, winner of this race in 2012, would set the early pace and she was joined up front, as expected, by Gumpo Sky, a 40/1 outsider. Bold Kings was in close attendance throughout as was Triple Nine.

As they turned into the home straight, Gamdonguibada weakened but Gumpo Sky kept on going and going. On the rail, Bold Kings got his nose in front and while Gumpo Sky gave no quarter and Clean Up Joy, Triple Nine and Clean Up Cheonha started to press down the outside, Bold Kings simply would not get beaten.

The distance between the winner and the runner-up would be a neck throughout the final furlong. As good as the ride was by Jo Sung Gon, his horse gave everything to win in what was a proper horse race. Bold Kings was not letting anything best him today.

So it had been all year. Bold Kings was a $14,000 purchase at Fasig Tipton’s Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale in 2013 and arrived in Korea in Spring 2014. He didn’t make his debut until this March and arrived here today with just six starts behind him. He had won them all, including a trial for this race last month stretch run in which a similarly battling performance in the home straight, served as a preview for today.

Gumpo Sky was immense in 2nd place and the rest of them, even Triple Nine in 4th, lost nothing in defeat.

For Jo Sung Gon it was a first Grand Prix winner as it was too for Peter Wolsley. The Australian trainer recently marked eight years in Korea and while he won the Minister’s Cup last year with Never Seen Before, this is his greatest triumph. He goes into 2016 with the hottest property in Korean racing in his stable.

Grand Prix Stakes (KOR G1) – Seoul Racecourse – 2300M – Dec 13, 2015

1. Bold Kings (USA) [Afleet Express – Gilded Time (Bold Arrival)] – Jo Sung Gon – 6.6, 2.8
2. Gumpo Sky (KOR) [Vicar – Perfect Storm (Didyme)] – Ikuyasu Kurakane – 7.7
3. Clean Up Joy (USA) [Purge – Greta’s Joy (Joyeux Danseur)] – Ham Wan Sik – 1.4
Distances: Neck / 0.5 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Triple Nine (KOR) 5. Clean Up Cheonha (USA) 6. Chief Red Can (USA) 7. Heba (USA) 8. Cheonjae Bogo (NZ) 9. Gamdonguibada (USA) 10. Nobody Catch Me (USA) 11. Gandai (KOR) 12. Sotong SIdae (KOR) 13. Cinderella Man (KOR) 14. Damyang Chukje (USA) 15. Goji Jeongbeol (USA) 16. Unbeatable (USA)

Winning Owner/Trainer: Lim Yong Keun/Peter Wolsley

Queen’s Blade Welcomed Home A Winner

After fifteen long months in the Korean racing wilderness, Queen’s Blade, the 2014 Korean Derby and Oaks winning filly, was back in the winner’s circle at Seoul Racecourse this afternoon having triumphed in the Jeju Governor’s Cup.

Queen's Blade in the Jeju Governor's Cup winner's circle

Queen’s Blade in the Jeju Governor’s Cup winner’s circle

Being sent to the USA is generally a career death-knell for a Korean racehorse with connections understandably taking advantage of the inexplicably generous subsidy available for running a Korean Group race winner in the States (you have to do it three times and one of them must be a Stakes race) only when they feel their horse isn’t going to win an equivalent amount at home anymore.

And while Queen’s Blade, unlike another Derby winning filly Speedy First, was at least sound, she wasn’t in race shape in America and duly met with the now familiar humiliation that greets participants in this program. Home, retirement and the breeding shed seemed to await, not the racecourse.

This filly was a little different though and after the three-month spell on the farm that she was long overdue, she returned to work last month, flying through a barrier trial and found herself in the starting gate today.

True, this was not the toughest assignment first up with race-watchers here scratching their heads trying to recall a weaker looking Stakes race which had no upper class or rating limit on its entrants. They put on a decent show though and under a characteristically skilful ride from Japanese jockey Ikuyasu Kurakane, Queen’s Blade battled hard to earn victory by a neck.

Queen’s Blade was always handy and while she and stablemate Bukbeol Sinhwa (a full sister to President’s Cup winner Triple Nine) stayed on, the rest of the early front-runners would fade in the closing stages and it was left to closers Pinot Noir and Meni Money to get the closest to the winner with Pinot Noir, an 18/1 chance, just running out of track in the end.

Queen’s Blade is a half sister to 2008 Korean Oaks winner Jeolho Chance and was recording her first victory since her own Oaks success last August. It was her 8th career win in total from sixteen (Korean) starts. For jockey Ikuyasu Kurakane it was a third Korean Stakes race win while for trainer Kim Young Kwan it was business as usual in the biggest races.

Jeju Governor’s Cup (KOR G3) – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – November 15, 2015

1. Queen’s Blade (KOR) [Menifee – Harboring (Boston Harbor)] – Ikuyasu Kurakane – 2.9, 1.6
2. Pinot Noir (KOR) [Capital Spending – Neungnyeokchungman (Pacificbounty)] – Park Eul Woon – 2.9
3. Meni Money (KOR) [Menifee – Pocketful Of Money (Running Stag)] – Seo Seung Un – 1.7
Distances: Neck/2 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Bukbeol Sinhwa 5. X File 6. Smart Time 7. Winner’s Marine 8. Indian Star 9. Hwanggembitjijung 10. Jokwang 11. Jibong Sarang 12. Appealing Star 13. Space Shuttle 14. Chongal Gongju 15. Blue Guardian 16. Geumbit Hwanhui

Iku and Jo Sung Gon Dominate At Busan

There isn’t a jockey challenge bet in Korea but if there was, yesterday at Busan it would have been a two-man race with Jo Sung Gon and Ikuyasu Kurakane dominating the Friday afternoon card.

Four winners: Ikuyasu Kurakane (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

Four winners: Ikuyasu Kurakane (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

Of course, punters had seen this coming. With the likes of Kim Yong Geun, Choi Si Dae and Masa Tanaka among eight Busan riders in Seoul for the President’s Cup on Sunday (Union rules say a jockey who has the temerity to go and ride in a big race at the other track isn’t allowed to ride at his or her home track on the same weekend) and You Hyun Myung on the long-term injured list, Jo and Kurakane were really the only Big Beasts of the weighing room in action.

Jo Sung Gon managed to get himself beaten on two favourites but like Kurakane, still emerged with four winners from the eleven-race card.

Highlight of Jo’s winners was perhaps a dominant victory for the young US import Doraonpogyeongseon (Kantharos) the third of his four winners which all arrived consecutively in races 5 to 8. Doraonpogyeongseon, named after a Grand Prix winning horse of the 1990’s, was getting his maiden win on his second start.

Kurakane’s winners arrived in pairs. He rode two-year-old debut-maker My Alice (Limitless Bid) to an eye-catching, albeit hard to judge how good it really was, eleven-length  triumph in race 2 but the highlight was in the final race 11 when he guided two-year-old import Gakbyeolhan (Big Brown) to win by three lengths.

Four winners: Jo Sung Gon

Four winners: Jo Sung Gon

The juvenile Gakbyeolhan was beating seven older horses over a mile on what was just his third career start and looks quite a prospect.

Had there been a jockey challenge and had it been run under Hong Kong rules, Kurakane would have come out as the winner due to riding three 2nd place finishers as well – two of them behind Jo’s winners. Contrastingly Jo, aside from his winners, only got one other into the top three.

While the eight Busan riders in the capital will be riding in the big race on Sunday afternoon, both Jo Sung Gon and Ikuyasu Kurakane have a full book of rides on Busan’s short six-race card on Sunday. It would be very surprising if either failed to add to their weekend total.

Cheon Gu 4th As Satono Tiger Wins Ohi Interaction Cup

Urawa-based Satono Tiger was too strong for Cheon Gu and the other Korean raiders as he ensured the honours remained on home soil with a comfortable victory in the Interaction Cup at Ohi last night.

Satono Tiger goes clear (Pic: sanspo.com)

Satono Tiger goes clear (Pic: sanspo.com)

As expected it was Cheon Gu (Old Fashioned) who set the early pace but Satono Tiger (King Kamehameha), a 7-year-old horse who had won seven of his forty-one primarily JRA starts and was top sprinter in the NAR last year, took things up inside the final two furlongs and cruised away for a comfortable victory.

The fast finishing Major Athlete (Daiwa Major) on the outside and Fire Prince (On Fire) on the rail knocked Cheon Gu out of the places in the closing stages with the Seoul trained three-year-old hanging on for 4th. The other two Korea-trained entrants Cowboy Son and Dynamic Jilju finished in 8th and 10th.

See here for race video: https://www.nankankeiba.com/liveon/2015101320120211.do

And a full and comprehensive race report here