J.S. Hold won’t run / Angle Slam vs Golding at Busan
It’s Memorial Day on Friday and the first of the weekend’s racing gets underway at Busan Race Park at 13:00 for a nine race card. Feature race of the day, and indeed of the weekend, is a KRW 52Million handicap over 2000 metres which will see a rematch of last month’s Gukje Sinmun Cup first and second placings in Angle Slam and Golding. Earlier, Sinjin Gangja will head the weights in another category 1 handicap. Sunday sees a more modest six race card at Busan. Japanese jockey Toshio Uchida will make his Busan debut with four rides.

As usual, there are cards at Seoul Race Park. on both Saturday and Sunday with 11:20 the post time for the first race on both days. J.S. Hold, who had been entered for Sunday’s feature race will not run, with Good Day (14 runs 10 wins) heading the field of the 1900 metre race 10. As usual there is also a card at Jeju Race Park on both Saturday and Sunday, with the first under orders at 12:20.

With Friday being a public holiday, there should be a slightly larger crowd at Busan although it is predicted to be a cloudy, if dry day. Saturday and Sunday are also predicted to be dry with Sunday likely to see the best of the weather.

The weekend’s cards get underway at Busan Race Park at 13:00 on Friday afternoon. Feature race on Friday is a 2000 metre handicap for foreign bred horses at 17:10 with Crafty Louis (22 runs/8 wins) the tope weight followed by Hwanggeumbit Taeya (29/6).  There is also a six race card at Busan on Sunday afternoonwith the first race as usual at 12:40. Feature is race 5 where Perfect Champ will be looking to make it three out of the last three and eight from a career of fourteen, taking on  Milliondollar (21/7).

Racing at Seoul begins at 11:20 on both Saturday and Sunday. There are twelve races on Saturday with Galsaem going in the feature handicap at 16:50, the six year old mare still looking for her first win of 2008. She’s up against Nujindo, who won over the distance last time out and perennial handicapper Flying Cat.  Sunday sees eleven more races, with a pair of average handicaps the day’s highlights. As usual there are also cards on Jeju beginning at 12:20 on both Saturday and Sunday. It;s hot and humid in Seoul right now and over the weekend it is expected to be dry and sunny with temperatures reaching 25C on Saturday and 27C on Sunday.

Fourteen go in Sports Chosun Cup / Gayasanseong, Hongji & Secret Weapon face-off
Racing gets underway at Busan Race Park at 13:00 on Friday. Nine races are rounded off with a KRW 40Million handicap with Florida Native at joint top-weight. Racing returns to Busan on Sunday at 12:40 with six races. Feature race is the last with Boryeong Bulbit heading the field.

Big race of the weekend is at Seoul Race Park on Sunday afternoon in the Sports Chosun Cup, an 1800 metre race for domestic bred horses aged four and up. An open field includes four year olds Natural Nine, Jeokdaejeok and Nice Champ. The race is off at 17:00. On Saturday, the main event is a 2000 metre handicap. Only seven horses run but there are some big names among them with the weights headed by Secret Weapon (23 runs/11 wins), followed by Hongji (22/7) and Gayasanseong (44/16) who beat Galsaem by a nose last time out. Racing starts at Seoul at 11:20 on both days with twelve races on Saturday and eleven races on Sunday.

There is also a card at Jeju Race Park on both Saturday and Sunday with the first off at 12:20 both days.

It’s the 2008 Korean Derby weekend at Seoul Race Park and while the main event isn’t until late on Sunday afternoon, there’s plenty of other action on both days. We have a full preview of the big race here and the Derby is under orders at 17:05 on Sunday. Racing begins on Saturday at 11:20 with 12 races. Racing gets underway on Saturday at 11:20 with the first of twelve races. Saturday’s feature sees one of the superstars of Korean horse racing make an appearance as Myeongmun Gamun, last year’s President’s Cup winner goes after his fifteenth win. The seven-year-old, to be ridden by Cho Kyoung Ho, will carry 60.5kilos in the 1900 meter race 10 which also features last years Korean Oaks winner Baekpa.

Sunday’s Derby card also gets underway at 11:20 with eleven races. There is also racing on Jeju Island on both Saturday and Sunday with the first race off at 12:20 both days and a six race program at Busan on Sunday.

There are cards at Busan Race Park on Friday and Sunday. Friday sees nine races with the first off at 13:00. There are dual feature races with Admiral Reigart heading the weights in a KRW 42Million handicap for foreign bred horses at 17:10 and Taehwa Janggun top-weight in a similar handicap for domestic bred runners forty minutes earlier. Sunday’s card of six races begins at 12:40 and the Korean Derby from Seoul Race Park will be simulcasted back to Busan. We’ll have a full preview of the Korean Derby tomorrow.

It’s almost the weekend already and racing starts at Busan Race Park at 13:00 on Friday with nine races. Feature event tomorrow sees Sinjin Gangja looking to return to winning ways after three consecutive second place finishes, topping the weights with Pick Me Up in a category 1 handicap. Yeongwonhari will also run in the 2000 metre race 9 off at 17:10. There is also racing at Busan on Sunday when the first of six races gets underway at 12:40.

Seoul Race Park has racing on Saturday and Sunday with 11:20 starts on both days. Saturday sees an average looking card enlivened by the presence of Hwangnyonsaji in the day’s most valuable race, the 1900 metre race 10. The three year old has placed in all his eleven races so far, winning five of them including the KRW 52Million New Year’s Race in January beating odds-on favourite Namchonuiijon, winner of last month’s Ttukkseom Cup. Sunday will see three beaten horses from the Ttukseom Cup up against each other again as Seonju Jangsu, Totoro and New Fighter all go in the weekend’s most valuable race.

As usual, there will also be a card on Saturday and Sunday at Jeju Race Park with the first of nine races getting underway at 12:20 both days.

The weekend’s horse racing gets underway at Busan Race Park on Friday afternoon where the first of nine races is under orders at 13:00. There are joint feature races, a KRW 42Million handicap at 17:10 over 1800 metres with the weights headed by Dangdae Star and earlier, at 16:00, a 1400 metre KRW 40 Million race involving Luna, winner of the KRA Cup Mile in 2007 and Perfect Champ. Luna has a record of 10 wins from 21 races but has only run twice since her Cup Mile victory, disappointing both times. there will also be an outing in race 8 for unbeaten The Bee Keeper.

Busan’s main event takes place on Sunday when the feature of six races is the Gukje Sinmun (International Newspaper) Cup, a 1400 metre race for foreign bred horses with a KRW 68Million first prize. The biggest name in the field is Golding, the six year old with 14 wins from 27 outings dropping down to 1400 metres for the first time since April 2005. Golding will be up against a horse that was just three weeks old on that Spring day three years ago, Daejiui Yeosin, runner-up to Miss Ecton when favourite in the Segye Ilbo Cup in March. The three year old has 3 wins and 2 second places from his 5 starts and will be ridden on Sunday by Danny Craven. The first race on Sunday is off at 12:40 with the Cup race at 15:35.

There’s racing at Seoul Race Park on both Saturday (12 races) and Sunday (11 races) with an 11:20 start on both days. 2007 Grand Prix winner Bally Brae (13 wins from 20 starts) makes another appearance on Sunday, going in the feature handicap race 10 carrying 62 kilos, four more than second top-weight Angus Empire. The most valuable race at Seoul over the weekend is Sunday’s race 9, known as “The Netizen’s” race. Fourteen horses will go over 1400 metres for a KRW 53Million prize, the most interesting being the three year old Gangho Jewang with two wins from four runs and Huimang Energy, the horse with two white feet, who has won three of his seven outings. Park Tae Jong returns from his two week ban and Cho Kyoung Ho is also back after a one week lay off. There is also racing at Jeju Race Park on both Saturday and Sunday, race 1 is at 12:20 on both days.

Although both were beaten last time out, Galsaem and Subsidy remain the biggest names on show at Seoul Race Park this weekend. With Moon Se Young on board, Galsaem, beaten into fifth in appalling conditions at the end of March goes in race 11 on Saturday over 2000 metres going up against Gayasanseong. On Sunday, Subsidy – who will also be ridden by Moon Se Young in Cho Kyoung Ho’s absence – will carry 61.5 kilos over 1900, giving five kilos to Obaek Yechan and 10 kilos to Pocketful of Money and Eunpamanse.

There are twelve races in Saturday with the first at 11:20 and eleven on Sunday also starting at 11:20. As usual, there is also a card on Jeju Island on both Saturday and Sunday starting at 12:20 both days and, as previewed below, racing at Busan on Friday and Sunday.

Cards are out for Busan Race Park’s meetings on Friday and Sunday. On Friday, the first of nine races gets underway at 13:00 with the feature handicap being run over 1800 metres at 17:10 with Hangye Geukbok (10 wins from 30 races) heading the weights. Sunday sees a similar main event where the highlight of 6 races is another 1800 metre handicap, this one seeing Procyon taking on Boryeong Bulbit and Mirae Cheonsa. Racing starts on Sunday at 12:40pm.