Racing Previews

Sunday Seoul & Busan: Always Winner, Haeya Among Those In Action

Always Winner headlines a big Sunday of racing in Seoul (11 races from 10:45 to 18:00) while down at Busan (6 races from 12:40 to 17:05), the hitherto unbeaten Haeya returns to action for the first time since January.

Always Winner

Always Winner winning the Owners’ Cup in March (Pic: KRA)

Always Winner was a a solid if unspectacular sprint handicapper as he entered his 5th year in January. However, 2017 has found him find top form with gate to wire victories in both the Segye Ilbo Cup in January and the Group 3 Owners’ Association Trophy in March. Both times he’s been allowed off at big prices but he’s bound to get more respect from punters this time.

That’s not to say it will be easy as Choegang Schiller, El Padrino’s conqueror in the 2015 Asia Challenge Cup looks ready to hit form once more while the likes of Parang Juuibo, Dynamic Jilju and Brian Dean’s Jangsanjewang can’t be ruled out.

At Busan, the feature sees unbeaten US import Haeya (Flatter) race at class 1 for the first time having won all four of her races to date. She was last seen in January but breezed through a barrier trial last week looking in very good shape. She may not be favourite though for the 1400M feature with Doraon Pogyeongseon, a winner at class and distance, beating no fewer than seven of those who return again for this race, last month.

English race cards are here. Notes on the three Seoul races to be simulcast overseas are below:

Race 9: Class 3 (1700M) Handicap / KRW 75 Million

1. VALLEY STAR – Unimpressed in latest two but is carrying significantly less weight today.

2. MR. MOUNTAIN – Three 2nd place finishes at this level and while he disappointed when well backed last start, he’s worth another go today. (more…)

Busan Friday: Race-By-Race Preview (April 21)

The weekend’s racing gets underway at Busan on Friday where there are 10 races from 11:30 to 18:00. English race cards – now complete with silk colours – are here.

Race 4: Class 6 (1300M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million 

1. MEISTER – Two starts so far, one last September and one a month ago. Offered little.

2. BOUND KOREA – Not beaten many in three outings but improvement possible.

3. MISWICK MYEONGUN – First start since last October. Finished last in recent trial. (more…)

Clean Up Joy Heads Herald Business Cup (Seoul Sunday Preview)

Grand Prix Stakes winner Clean Up Joy makes his second appearance of 2017 with the five-year-old set to be hot favourite to win the Herald Business Cup at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

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Clean Up Joy won last year’s Grand Prix (Pic: Alex Cairns/The Winning Post)

Clean Up Joy (Purge) was a dominant winner on his seasonal reappearance in February and with Djordje Perovic on board, will be expected to make short work of nine rivals over 2000M. The Herald Business is the highlight of an 11-race card at Seoul which runs from 10:45 to 18:00 while at Busan there are 6 races from 12:40 to 17:35.

English race cards are here, notes on the Herald Business and two other races which will be simulcast overseas (Australia) are below:

Race 9: Class Open “The Herald Business Cup” (2000M) Allowance / KRW 250 Million

1. SEONBONG – Well back behind Shamrocker and Strong Road at this distance in January and offered little over 1200M last month. On early pace but outsider here.

2. STRONG ROAD – Narrowly beaten by Shamrocker in January and 4th, a long way behind Clean Up Joy when enjoying a substantial weight advantage. Placing chances only. (more…)

Seoul Saturday: Race-By-Race Preview (April 15)

So cherry blossom season has been and gone and Seoul Racecourse returns to the man business of racing! Saturday sees 11 races from 10:45 to 18:00. English racecards can be found here. Notes on races to be simulcast overseas can be found after this rather fetching picture:

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They are nice, aren’t they?

Race 5: Class 4 (1000M) Handicap / KRW 60 Million

1. SEONGBULOREUM – Holds a class and distance win but just dropped off of late. 9th behind Aema Bisang latest start.

2. TODAY WINNER – Class and distance winner in February. Sent up to 1300M for his reappearance but it didn’t work. Much better chance today.

3. V KHAN – Started very greenly but has figured out what to do in his latest two. Looks not far from a maiden win. It could come here. (more…)

Busan Friday: Race-By-Race Preview (April 14)

There are 10 Good Friday races at Busan from 11:30 to 18:00. English race cards can be found here. Notes on every runner in the simulcast races below:

Race 1: Class 6 (1000M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million

1. ARAGAYA SINGSING – 4th in all three outings last year. First start since November. Trialled up ok and from a top stable.

2. SWAG – Hasn’t earned much swag since a 4th on debut last year. Only beat one home latest but may improve stepped back to 1000M today.

3. STAR GOLD – Top jockey booking but seems to have gone backwards since debut.

4. HAROLD – Never likely to be a star with a name like that and he’s beaten few in three goes so far. Top jockey on and stablemate of Swag.

5. DALKOMHAN INSAENG – Has come close a few times with a best of 3rd. 4th of 9 last start and should be a factor here.

6. THE WONDERFUL – 3rd on debut last month, beating Haedong Yeogeol. Big chance today.

7. HANEULUI TTEUT – Raced once last autumn, impressing few. Trialled up indifferently in March and hard to back first-up.

8. JANGHAN JILJU – A pair of 5ths and a 4th in three races so far. Can go better today.

9. URIDEULUI YEONGUNG – Drops back in distance following a 2nd and 3rd place in his last two and this looks very winnable.

10. HAEDONG YEOGEOL – Much improved 4th on her most recent start, beaten by The Wonderful, and can match that today.

11. MANSUN – Been sent off at three-figure odds for all outings to date and probably should be here as well.

Verdict: 3rd on debut six weeks ago, (6) THE WONDERFUL is set to be sent off the strong favourite here. He quickened well and was only a head shy of 2nd. (9) URIDEULUI YEONGUNG has shown signs of figuring things out with a 2nd and 3rd from his latest two. With Darryll Holland on board, he’ll be well backed. Also figuring things out is (8) JANGHAN JILJU, who ran a solid 4th last start at 1200M and with a good start, can go well here. The returning 4th place specialist (1) ARAGAYA SINGSING looks a good bet for 4th while improvement from (2) SWAG is not impossible.

Selections (6) The Wonderful (9) Urideului Yeongung (8) Janghan Jilju (1) Aragaya Singsing
Next Best 2, 3
Fast Start 1, 5, 8, 9

Race 2: Class 6 (1000M) Allowance / KRW 22 Million

1. NAMYANG YEOGEOL – Showed significant improvement last start to run 5th of 12 over this distance. Still more to find.

2. JUMARUI MYEONGHWA – Not beaten many in recent starts. (more…)

Good Friday At Busan: A Basic Introduction

It’s that time of year again. All 10 races at Busan will be beamed to Australia on Good Friday. We’ll have a runner-by-runner guide to every race on Thursday but in the meantime, just as last year, here are some general things to be aware of about racing at Busan.

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For part of the day, Busan will be the only thoroughbred meeting

The Track: The track surface is sand. There is often a lot of kickback and as a result, horses tend to wear plenty of headgear, usually pacifiers and jockeys give one another plenty of room. Due to the nature of the surface, when it is wet, it usually runs faster. There is an inner and outer track as well as chutes for races over five furlongs and a mile. 1800M races start on the inner track and move to the outer track for the finish.

BusanTrack

Races: There are six race classes at Busan. Class 6 is for maidens and uses set weights. Classes 1-5 are separated by rating and are handicaps. Classes 5 & 6 are exclusively for Korean-bred horses, imports must start at class 4.

Tab number and barrier number are the same and jockeys wear a cap that corresponds with their number (number 1 always wears a white cap, number 2 yellow, number 3 red etc.)

Again, due to the track surface, a lot of horses like to run on or very close to the pace so starts can be quick with a lot of jockeys trying to get a prominent early position. They are not allowed to shift inwards until 100M after the start which can sometimes (but not always) be a hindrance for wide draws at sprint distances.

Jockeys and Trainers: The top 10 in the 2017 Jockey and Trainer Premierships (starting on January 1st) currently look like this:

BusanJockTrainApril

As in many jurisdictions, there can be a big gap in ability between jockeys. Foreign jockeys at tend to do well. There are currently five foreign jockeys at Busan and four of them are in the top 10 in the Premiership. Former Cypriot Champion Marios Mina is currently among the most in-form at the track. Among the top ten jockeys, Francisco Da Silva and Ham Wan Sik are suspended on Friday.

Australian Peter Wolsley leads the Trainers’ Premiership. The Bendigo native is in his 10th year in Korea and is currently two winners ahead of perennial champion trainer Kim Young Kwan. South African Bart Rice and Ireland’s Thomas Gillespie also maintain strong strike rates and are in the top ten. A fourth foreign trainer, Kiwi David Miller, is just becoming established at Busan and has started to get results in the past couple of months.

Favourites: Although there have been upsets of late, favourites do oblige on a regular basis. When looking at the Korean odds, it is important to remember that in Korea, punters overwhelmingly favour exotic bets with the quinella and the trio being the most popular. The regular win and place pools are comparatively small so while those pools will generally be accurate in terms of who is favourite or 2nd favourite, they may not tell the whole story the further down the board you go.

General: In Korea, the betting pools close 30 seconds prior to the advertised start time and the loading process begins then. As a result, races usually jump exactly on time.

Full preview of all 10 Friday races to follow in the next 24 hours. 

Sunday Seoul & Busan: Race-By-Race Preview (April 9)

The blossoms are finally out! More importantly there are big cards of racing at both Seoul and Busan. In the capital there are 11 races from 10:45 to 18:00 while down south, it’s 6 from 12:40 to 17:05.

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Cherry Blossom festival got underway at Seoul Racecourse on Saturday night (Pic: Let’s Run Park Seoul Instagram)

English race cards are here, notes on all overseas simulcast races are below:

Seoul Race 5: Class 4 (1300M) Handicap / KRW 60 Million 

1. SOKBO GANGJA – First start of 2017. Ended last year indifferently but did win a trial in February.

2. SMART JOE – 5ht behind Jangbi Haengun and Choego Money last start and capable of similar today.

3. EOUL DEOUL – Not beaten many in two starts so far. (more…)

Seoul Saturday: Race-By-Race Preview (April 8)

There are 11 races at Seoul on Saturday with the first at 10:45 and the last at 18:00. English race cards can be found here. Notes on races 5-11 are below:

Race 5: Class 5 (1300M) Handicap / KRW 40 Million 

1. SEOUL BOLT – Up in class following her maiden win at this distance at the end of February. Every chance of a repeat.

2. EVA ROAD – Her solitary win came at this distance last summer and she comes in following a creditable 5th of 12 last time out.

3. SHINE QUEEN – Struggled a little last time on a sloppy track but is competitive at this level and can look for the places. (more…)

Busan Friday: Race-By-Race Preview (April 7)

Busan was the scene of Indian King’s surprise win in the KRA Cup Mile, the first leg of the 2017 Korean Triple Crown, last Sunday and it’s Busan where this week’s action gets underway on Friday with a card of 10 races from 11:30 to 18:00.

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Indian King & Darryll Holland win the KRA Cup Mile (Pic: KRA)

English race cards can be found here. Notes on races to be simulcast overseas are below

Race 4: Class 6 (1300M) Allowance / KRW 40 Million 

1. MADOBIYEON – 8th in each of his last four and that sounds about right again.

2. URI GIPPEUM – Back to back 3rd place finishes in his latest two outings. Gets the top jockey on and has a chance.

3. SEUNGNIHARI – Sent back to trial for being uncompetitive last time. Seems little prospect of improvement. (more…)

Sunday Seoul Simulcast Comments (April 2)

Sunday is KRA Cup Mile Day at Busan. There are 6 races on the south coast from 12:40 to 17:10. Meanwhile at Seoul there are 11 from 10:45 to 18:00. See here for a full preview of the Cup Mile, the opening leg of the 2017 Triple Crown.

English language race cards are here. While the Cup Mile itself isn’t being simulcast overseas, three of the late races at Seoul are. Form comments for those are below:

Race 9: Class 1 (1200M) Handicap / KRW 150 Million

1. WONDER BOLT – Last win was his last try at this distance in the corresponding race last year. Has a hard time in handicaps due to high weight but better chance today. (more…)