With less than two weeks until the big day, Korean racing is gearing up for the 2009 Korean Derby which will take place at Seoul Race Park on Sunday May 17.

A maximum of fourteen will line up for the race and at this stage, exactly fourteen remain entered. Sangseung Ilro will venture north from Busan in an attempt to keep her Triple Crown effort on course. The filly was the surprise winner of the first leg of the Triple Crown, the KRA Cup Mile at Busan in April. Stablemate Namdo Jeap, who she duelled with in the home straight of the Cup Mile, will join her in shipping up from Busan as will Yeonseung Daero, who started as favourite that day and finished third. However, following his disappointing run in the Cup Mile and a lacklustre performance in a handicap a week ago, the one time highly fancied Impeccable will not travel to Seoul.

Busan based horses swept all the Classics in 2008 and Seoul will be looking to regain some much needed pride. They have a good chance of doing so in the shape of the likely favourite, Nice Choice. Last year’s top juvenile didn’t travel down to Busan for the Cup Mile, his connections giving up the chance of going for the Triple Crown in order to focus solely on the Derby. His two races so far this year have both been at the Derby distance of nine furlongs and ended in a comfortable win and a narrow second against older horses.

A host of others will also fancy their chances and we will take a closer look at all of the contenders over the coming days. For now, here is the full list of entries with race records (Runs/1st/2nd/3rd), [B] = Busan, (F) = Filly:

Nice Choice [Lost Mountain – Betty’s Rhapsody (Don’t Hesitate)] – (6/4/2/0)
Triple Canon [Tahamkke – Tamna Jeilbong (Lost Mountain)] – (7/4/2/0)
Love Cat (F) [Creek Cat – Love Cue (Curia Regis)] – (9/5/0/2)
Red Ball [Lethal Instrument – Wildly Magic (Pieterhof)] – (8/4/0/1)
Seokcheong [Fiercely – Miss Geology (Jade Hunter)] – (6/4/1/1)
Baengnyeonbong [Al Naba – Sansovino Art (Mister C.)] – (9/4/1/1)
Khanui Jeguk [Sunday Well – Lucky Dip (Didyme)] – (7/3/1/1)
Khanui Huye [The Groom Is Red – Noble Michelle (Flow Technology)] – (7/2/2/0)
Money Teukgeup[Ft. Stockton – Headwork (Silveyville)] – (8/2/3/1)
Sangseung Ilro [B] (F) [Concept Win – Miss Whiskey (Whiskey Wisdom)] – (6/4/1/1)
Yeonseung Daero [B] [Creek Cat – Sensationalkris (Cryptoclearance)] – (8/5/1/2)
Namdo Jeap [B] [Ft. Stockton – Wandering Katie (Tejano)] – (6/3/2/1)
Sky Star [B] [Tahamkke – Blue Lark (Ravenwood)] – (10/5/1/0)
Pangpang [B] [Revere – Awishnotalark (Rio’s Lark)] – (11/3/0/1)

In 2008, the race was run following a downpour and 90/1 outsider Ebony Storm shocked the favourites to claim the victory. See race video here.

Seoul Race Park’s biggest race of the year so far comes under orders on Sunday afternoon as the Park Dae Heung trained pair of Namchonuijijon and Myeongmun Gamun head the field for the Group Three Ttukseom Cup.

Horse of the Year in 2008, the eight year old Myeongmun Gamun will be dropping down to seven furlongs for the first time since the corresponding race in 2006 when he finished fifth – his worst ever finish in a career spanning thirty one races so far in which he has never been out of the money. Nevertheless, Myeongmun Gamun’s only outing this year ended in a surprise defeat and he hasn’t raced since January.

Winner of this race in 2008, Namchonuijijon didn’t kick on after last year’s race but opened his 2009 account with a smart win last month. In that race he finished ahead of two of his rivals here, Free Woody and Mighty Runner, the latter suffering his first defeat in five races.

Also going are the “three sevens”; Triple Seven, Lucky Seven and the impressive but untried at this level so far Seven Card, as well as mares Seonju Jangsu and Geumsuni. The race is off at 17:00. See below for a full list of runners, records and riders (Races/1st/2nd/3rd):

Ttukseom Cup (G.III) – Seoul Race Park – 1400M – Apr 12, 2009

1. Highway Star – (71/5/5/9) – Jung Pyeong Soo
2. Myeongmun Gamun – (31/17/3/6) – Cho Kyoung Ho
3. Seonju Jangsu – (40/6/11/3) – Yang Hee Jin
4. Seven Card – (9/5/3/0) – Yoo Seung Wan
5. Mighty Runner – (19/6/3/4) – Kim Hyo Seob
6. Saebyeok Dongja – (34/10/5/2) – Shin Hyoung Cheol
7. Lucky Seven – (21/5/5/1) – Lee Sang Hyuk
8. Free Woody – (17/5/5/3) – Moon Jung Kyun
9. Triple Seven – (15/4/2/4) – Choi Beom Hyun
10. Taebaek Janggun – (25/7/3/0) – Park Tae Jong
11. Namchonuijijon – (20/6/7/3) – Jung Ki Young
12. Geumsuni – (21/6/4/2) – Han Sung Yeol

There were no last minute surprise additions and no late withdrawals as the final declarations for Sunday’s KRA Cup Mile at Busan Race Park were published on Wednesday. The unbeaten Impeccable heads the field which will go to post at 15:45.

Leading jockey Ikuyasu Kurakane will partner highly rated Sky Star and there is a first big race ride in Korea for South African jockey Martin Wepner who will take the reins on Namdo Jeap. The race will also see the first trial of Trifecta betting in Korea.

Here is the full list of runners, records and riders:

KRA Cup Mile (G.III) – Busan Race Park – 1600M – Apr 5, 2009

1. Power Boy [Lost Mountain – Keon-Gon Ch’eonggi (Pro For Sure)] C (7/2/3/1) – Lim Sung Sil
Has never gone further than seven furlongs although finished ahead of three of this field last time out – but that was back in January.
2. Geumbit Sesang [Duality – Shawnee Sunset (True Colors)] C (4/3/0/0) – Chae Gyu Jun
Won over the distance in March
3. Yeonseung Daero [Creek Cat – Sensationalkris (Cryptoclearance)] C (7/5/1/1) – Kim Eu Su
Stepped up to class 1 early and finished a creditable third behind Procyon and Ebony Storm over this distance in March. A real chance.
4. Sandeomi [Commendable – Regal Meg (Regal Classic)] C (7/4/0/1) – Jo Chan Hoon
Won over this distance in February although was well beaten by Sky Star last time out. Dropping back to a mile could suit though.
5. Sky Star [Tahamkke – Blue Lark (Ravenwood)] C (8/4/1/0) – Ikuyasu Kurakane
A winner at this distance and at class 2 level. With Busan’s top jockey on board, he’ll have plenty of supporters.
6. Namdo Jeap [Ft. Stockton – Wandering Katie (Tejano)] C (5/3/1/1) – Martin Wepner
On a run of three straight wins but has never gone further than six furlongs. If he gets the trip, this half brother of last year’s winner Rainmaker, will be in contention.
7. Money Teukgeup [Ft. Stockton – Headwork (Silveyville)] C (7/2/3/1) – Shin Hyoung Cheol
A regular placer up at Seoul but has been in weak company so far.
8. Impeccable [Distilled – Belle Breezy (Foolish Pleasure)] C (4/4/0/0) – Park Geum Man
Unbeaten and eased down every time. The one doubt is he’s never gone a mile. His times have been nothing special but they haven’t needed to be. Potentially very good.
9. Pangpang [Revere – Awishnotalark (Rio’s Lark)] F (9/2/0/1) – Choi Si Dae
Finishing out of the money last time out, it would be a surprise if the filly made much of an impact.
10. Sangseung Ilro [Concept Win – Ms. Whiskey (Whiskey Wisdom)] F (5/3/1/1) – Eiki Nishimura
Has won her last three races including one over the distance.
11. Dream Wings [Exploit – American Royalty (Alleged)] F (5/2/1/0) – Lee Seung Jae
Finished a long way behind Sangseung Ilro last time.
12. Love Cat [Creek Cat – Love Cue (Curia Regis)] F (8/5/0/2) – Choi Beom Hyun
Seoul’s top filly will have no problems getting the trip and her times suggest that if she takes to the Busan track, she could be in contention. Choi Beom Hyun goes south with her.

2008 Winner: Rainmaker [Revere – Wandering Katie (Tejano)]. Last year’s winner came into the race with two wins and three thirds from his five outings. The Cup Mile was his first attempt at anything over seven furlongs. Rainmaker went on to disappoint in the Korean Derby and suffered a knee injury in the Minister’s Cup at Seoul in October.