Racing Reviews

Seoul Saturday Review: Lucky Light Breaks El Padrino’s 1400M Record

Well the temperatures were springlike but the rain was monsoon-season-like. And the weather created the conditions under which it was possible for Lucky Light to claim the Seoul Racecourse 1400M track record, setting a mark two tenths of a second quicker than that of the Singapore’s El Padrino in the 2014 Asia Challenge Cup.

Sent off the 5/1 third-favourite in the class 2 race 11, Lucky Light (Rockport Harbor), a four-year-old gelding, went to the lead straight out of the gate and never looked seriously threatened as he ran on to win by eight lengths on the line. It was his sixth win in fourteen starts. Goodness knows how fast the 2014 version of El Padrino could have gone in such conditions.

Moon Se Young rode Lucky Light and it was but one of five winners the champion jockey rode on a day when the track was racing very fast. The up and coming pair of Super Start (Strike Again) in race 7 and Miso Wangja (Cowboy Cal) in race 10 being the other standouts.

On the subject of up-and-comers, Winners Glory (Strike Again) was 3rd in the Breeders’ Cup race, Korea’s top juvenile contest last November and today took on two turns for the first time in the 1700M race 8. And mighty impressive he was too, making all under Kim Dong Soo to win easily. Winners Glory is not currently among the nominations for the first leg of the Triple Crown in Busan next month but may play a role on the Classic trail at some point.

One who is nominated for that KRA Cup Mile at Busan next month is Cheonji Storm (Admire Don). He also had his first try at two-turns today, also at 1700M although it was one class higher at class 3. It didn’t go so well. Sent off the strong favourite, Cheonji Storm pulled hard in the early stages of the race and never looked truly comfortable as Daegeoni (Menifee) came through in the home straight to take victory by a length.

Racing returns to Seoul tomorrow when both the capital track and Busan host early Oaks trials. Entry to the racecourse is free tomorrow to make up for the four races that were lost to the weather last Sunday.

 

Busan Friday Review

So how do you make a Seoul horse better? Well if his name is Tapipoint, you move him to Busan. 

The few Seoul horses who have been moved to Busan since switching between the tracks became permitted last year have tended to sink without trace – and in fairness, with a couple of notable exceptions, those who have moved in the opposite direction haven’t exactly been pulling up trees either. Tapipoint (Concorde Point) though has been, for want of a better phrase, on point. He ran 2nd in his first two starts on the south coast and today got it spot-on, winning the class 2 race 10 by three lengths under apprentice jockey Lee Yong Ho.

Favourite for that race had been Emeth. However, the Kim Young Kwan trainee sank without trace in the home straight beating just one home. It wasn’t all bad news for favourite backers though as, on a filthy afternoon, the two bankers obliged. Peter Wolsley’s Golden Kings (Ecton Park) – who is in fact a filly – claimed an easy maiden victory in race 4 under Pasquale Borelli while Dyna’s Dream (Meiner Select) was far too strong in securing his third straight win in race 8.

Bart Rice was also among the winners, saddling race 7 victor Giant Hold (Hold Me Back) but it was Ikuyasu Kurakane who was pick of the foreigners today. The Japanese rode three winners with the pick being the up in class Bohemian (Orientate), a strong winner of the 1800M race 9.

It poured with rain for most of the day and times were quick, with many races being run in near track-record times. Racing returns to Busan on Sunday while on Saturday attention turns to Seoul where there is an eleven-race card which gets under way at 10:50am.

Pinot Noir Is Seoul’s Snow Queen While Triple Nine Scores At Busan

A frenetic day of racing on the peninsula saw a total of four races lost due to a combination of a Tote system failure and then a late-winter blizzard. However, both of the day’s biggest races survived, with Pinot Noir running out the dominant winner of Seoul’s snowbound Donga Ibo Cup and, in altogether more agreeable conditions in Busan, last year’s President’s Cup winner and top three-year-old Triple Nine got his 2016 campaign off to a winning start.

img_20160228_172713.jpg

Pinot Noir slips and slides around the Donga Ilbo Cup winner’s circle

Pinot Noir was sent off the 2nd favourite for the Donga Ilbo Cup, an early prep race for the Queens’ Tour races later in the year. And while, as in recent starts, she was slowly away, she quickly improved and once she took the lead on the turn for home, there was only ever going to be one winner. She and jockey Park Eul Woon crossed the line a full nine lengths clear of their nearest rivals.

Smart Time and Djordje Perovic got the best of a photo-finish for 2nd, nosing ahead of X File. Pre-race favourite Meni Money, 2nd in last year’s Korean Oaks, was a disappointing seven further lengths back in 4th place. It was Pinot Noir’s 6th career victory.

Donga Ilbo Cup (Listed) – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – Feb 28, 2016

1. Pinot Noir (KOR) [Capital Spending – Neungnyeokchungman (Pacificbounty)] – Park Eul Woon – 2.9, 1.2
2. Smart Time (KOR) [Ft.Stockton – Caron (Jade Robbery)] – Djordje Perovic – 1.5
3. X File (KOR) [Exploit – Dorothy Dee (Woodman)] – Kim Dong Soo – 2.9
Distances: 9 lengths/Nose – 9 ran

At Busan, President’s Cup winner Triple Nine (Ecton Park) was making his seasonal debut and he was sent off at odds-on to score in the class 1 handicap over 2000M. He was made to work for it, although not by second favourite Gumpo Sky (Vicar) who as usual set the early pace but this time failed to get home.

Instead, on a day when the road to the Queens’ Tour began in Seoul, it would be last year’s “Queen” Heba (Peace Rules) would run Triple Nine all the way to the line, ultimately going down by only half a length. Old-stager Viva Ace (Macho Uno), nowin his sixth season racing at Busan, ran a huge race and pipped Gumpo Sky by a nose for 3rd.

Neither were perhaps the story of the day. There had been carnage in race 6 at Seoul when filly Brown Rocket broke down when leading, unseated jockey Jang Chuyoul in front of a wall of horses. Three more jockeys would be brought down in the aftermath; Jeong Jeon Hee, Kim Hye Sun and Lee Hae Dong. Remarkably, between them, the most serious injury was a broken arm. Brown Rocket, sadly, was not so fortunate.

While races 3 at Busan and 7 at Seoul proceeded without incident, the tote system then malfunctioned – Busan and Seoul both running the same system. This caused the cancellation of Busan race 4. For a few worrying moments it became clear that not only could the system not take bets, it could not payout or refund tickets either. A ripple of discontent started to appear although to punters’ credit, tempers remained intact.

20160228_153611.jpg

A tractor does its best

With snow now blizzard-like at Seoul, race 8 was cancelled in any case although to the relief of almost all, the tote system came back online to allow Busan race 5 to go ahead as planned. The two feature races were then run before with dusk falling but the snow not yet abating, Seoul races 10 and 11 were cancelled on safety grounds in accordance with jockeys’ wishes.

And so ended an eventful day’s racing. Or mostly racing. It’s March in a couple of days and we should be done with this kind of nonsense. Next Sunday sees early Korean Oaks trials at both Seoul and Busan.

Busan Friday Round-Up

Banjiui Jewang was the star of the show on the south coast on Friday as the three-year-old continued his development with an easy class 3 win over 1400M

The Peter Wolsley trainee was 2nd to Power Blade in the Breeders’ Cup race at Seoul last November and that remains his sole defeat. While favourite on Friday, Banjiui Jewang was thought by no means a certainty in a competitive event featuring proven older winners Korean Tank, Wire To and Yesuri Myeongun.

All three of those would fail to fire and even if they had, it is questionable as to whether they would have got anywhere near Banjiui Jewang. The colt raced away to an eight-length win with jockey Choi Si Dae (gleefully stepping in for the ill Lee Hee Cheon) able to spend the final furlong watching himself on the big screen such was his mount’s superiority.

Banjiui Jewang (Ecton Park), whose name means “Lord Of The Rings”, now has four wins from five and looks set to head to the Triple Crown races beginning with the KRA Cup Mile at Busan on April 3.

In other races, you need to be sure your horse is good if you are going to name him World Champion even if he is the half-brother of last year’s Korean Oaks winner Jangpung Parang. On Friday though World Champion (Didyme) made short work of a class 5 field to record his third victory in five starts. Pasquale Borelli rode.

It was a decent day for the foreign contingent at Busan. Aside from Borelli and Wolsley’s victories, Makoto Okabe guided Useung Chance (Any Given Saturday) to a narrow victory in race 10 while trainers Thomas Gillespie and Bart Rice also saddled winners. For Gillespie, filly Sergeant Cecil (Officer) claimed race 4 while the promising Buhwarui Banseok (Tizway) took race 11 for Rice.

Racing returns to Busan on Sunday. Seoul holds cards on both Saturday and Sunday.

Full Weekend Round-Up: Clean Up Joy Too Good

He put in a huge performance when finishing 3rd in the Grand Prix Stakes in December and today Clean Up Joy opened his 2016 campaign with a dominating win over a strong class 1 field at Seoul Racecourse.

img_20160221_181337.jpg

Clean Up Joy and Ham Wan Sik return to scale following a comfortable win in Seoul’s feature

 

The 1800M race featured Asia Challenge Cup winner Choegang Schiller, top mare Bichui Jeongsang and consistent performer Wonder Bolt among a field of thirteen but Clean Up Joy was sent off the odds-on favourite and punters were overwhelmingly proved right.

Steady in the early stages, Ham Wan Sik brought Clean Up Joy into the frame around the home turn hitting the front with a furlong to go and racing away for an 8-length victory. Bichui Jeongsang continued her recent run of good form in 2nd with Wonder Bolt 3rd. An out-of-sorts Choegang Schiller came home in 8th.

It was a 7th win from 15 career starts for US import Clean Up Joy (Purge) and his 3rd from his last 4.

At Busan, another import was winning in fine style as Peter Wolsley’s Macheon Bolt (Old Fashioned) had too much in the class 1 feature over 1400M, winning by a length. The win was his 8th from 11 outings in total and he too looks to be one to follow this year.

Busan Friday: Friday’s banker bet of the day was sure to be Perdido Pomeroy. Unbeaten after three easy victories, the US import was sent off the long-odds on favourite for the 1400M Class 2 race 11. Unfortunately for favourite backers, jockeys Kim Yong Geun on Perdido Pomeroy and You Hyun Myung on second favourite Made Winner – arguably the track’s two leading riders – came out of the gate like a pair of boy racers in stolen Avantes with neither being prepared to give ground.

Made Winner would suffer first, starting to fade at the top of the home straight adn then Perdido Pomeroy himself, giving way with a furlong to go as Makoto Okabe took full advantage on Darkest Night. Perdido Pomeroy would eventually finish 3rd.

That race aside, You Hyun Myung put in a good shift on Friday, riding four winners across the afternoon. Two of them were for foreign trainers with Thomas Gillespie’s Mujeok Sinhwa scoring in race 4 and Bart Rice’s Wonil Rose the 40/1 winner of race 7. It was also a good day for Peter Wolsley with his first-time starter Smart Valor taking race 1 and Nuri Bulpae race 8.

Seoul Saturday: Things were rather low-key throughout the 12-race card in the capital on Saturday. Standout performer was Dongbanguisaeachim, who got her 4th win from her last 5 starts when taking the class 2 race 11. A five-year-old mare, Dongbanguisaeachim, although always a regular minor prize-money winner, enteres last November with a record of 2 wins from 24 starts. Four months on and it’s 6 from 29.  Earlier inthe day, Djordje Perovic rode his regulation winner guiding Taeyangwang to victory in race 10.

Next Sunday we have big race action at Seoul in the shape of the Donga Ilbo Cup, and 1800M Listed contest for fillies and mares while at Busan, the feature handicap has attracted entries from a substantial number of the track’s best-known horses including Beolmaui Kkum, Gumpo Sky and Triple Nine. We’ll see how many of them declare on Wednesday.

Sunday Round-Up

Apparently the Spring-like temperatures of Saturday brought all sorts of creatures out of hibernation. Sadly, reality returned overnight and 16C suddenly became several below zero, with predictable results for the unfortunate early-risers.

Punters never hibernate. All were present and some were even correct for the action at Busan and Seoul on Sunday. Here’s what happened:

Busan: If Friday at Busan belonged to jockey You Hyun Myung, Sunday on the “Costa Del Gimhae” was trainer Peter Wolsley’s day with the Aussie handler saddling winners in 4 of the 6 races on the card. Included were a couple of notable ones. Banjiui Jewang [Ecton Park-Sweetoil] was 2nd to Friday winner Power Blade in the Breeders’ Cup Champion Juvenile race at Seoul last September and is among the Classic contenders this year. Unlike Power Blade, he stuck to a sprint distance for his three-year-old debut and once jockey  Seo Seung Un had convinced him to take an interest in the race in the home straight, success was a formality as he beat out eleven rivals to win by just under two lengths in a 1200M class 4 handicap.

In the feature race, Wolsley’s US import Leave It To Me [Exclusive Quality-Afillyate] stepped up to class 1 for the first time and looked very comfortable too, running away from a decent field to win by over two lengths with Lee Hee Cheon on board. It was the four-year-old’s fifth win from nine starts. General [Menifee-High Value] and first-timer Gasi Gongju [Thorn Song-Treed Cat] taking races 1 and 3 respectively, meant Wolsley leapt up the Trainers’ Premiership to 2nd. Where he will probably remain for the rest of the season behind Kim Young Kwan’s machine in 1st.

Seoul: There were some tight finishes at in the capital and that included the feature race 11, a class 1 handicap sprint over 1200M.  Sent off the slight favourite, Parang Juuibo [With Distinction-Spicy Souffle] emerged as the marginal winner, holding off Winning Andy by a neck on the line. Parang Juuibo moves onto 6 wins from 29 starts but he has now won three consecutively. Winning Andy was ridden by Djordje Perovic, the Serbian having earlier added yet another winner to his tally.

 

Power Blade Looking Sharp

Power Blade got his three-year-old season off to a good start with a commanding looking win on his first try around two-turns at Busan on Friday.

Last year’s champion juvenile, Power Blade had already raced over a mile, all the way back on his second start in August last year and by a strange quirk of fate, the horse who beat him into 2nd place that day would be his main rival in the 1800M race 10.

That was Samsonneeunenergy, who would start as 4/1 2nd favourite to Power Blade’s long odds-on. And punters got it pretty much spot-on as Power Blade showed prominently throughout and ran on for comfortable two-length victory, Samsonneeunenergy’s customary late run only ever looking likely to be good enough for 2nd place.

From Kim Young Kwan’s stable, Power Blade [Menifee – Cheonmachong (Lost Mountain)] has now won 4 of 6 starts, including the Breeders’ Cup race at Seoul last November. The first leg of the Korean Triple Crown is the KRA Cup Mile at Busan on Sunday April 3.

Also on Friday at Busan, there were wins for a couple of horses with famous siblings. President’s Cup and Grand Prix winner Gyeongbudaero was retired last year and his half-brother Wonil Rookie [Menifee-Princess Lanique] hadn’t raced since May. However, Wonil Rookie returned to action in race 6 and held off some late challenges to score victory at odds approaching 9/1.

Magic Dancer won the Jeju Governor’s Cup at Seoul in 2014 and at one stage had won 10 from 15 starts. He is still in training but that record now reads 10 from 25. Half-sister Evangeline [Menifee-Wildly Magic] looks a prospect and she got her 4th win on her 6th outing in race 8.

Evangeline was ridden by You Hyun Myung, who partnered 5 winners on the day to draw level at the top of the Busan Jockey Premiership alongside Kim Yong Geun who himself notched up a late double in races 10 (with Power Blade) and 11.

At Seoul on Saturday, on a day which started off which unnervingly spring-like weather but ended in monsoon rain and crashing thunderstorms, Djordje Perovic continued his good form by riding a pair of winners.

Round-Up: Another Class 1 Win For Pinna / Success Story Entered at Meydan

Nicola Pinna may not be racking up huge numbers of rides or winners but he is certainly getting the job done on the right horses The Italian jockey ride his third Class 1 winner on Sunday as he guided 17/1 chance Gumanseok to a narrow victory in Seoul’s feature race.

In addition to a pair of class 1 victories on Bichui Jeongsang, Pinna had also won a major Juvenile race on OS Hwadap. Gumanseok (Vicar) had shot back into form with a surprise win under Djordje Perovic a month ago and carrying plenty more weight today, punters once again allowed him to go off reasonably unfancied.

Under a strong ride from Pinna, however, Gumanseok got the best of a tight finish, seeing off Double Shining by a neck on the line. It was Gumaseok’s 1th win of a 41-race career that included success in the Sports Chosun Cup back in 2013. It took Pinna on to 6 wins in career.

At Busan, 2015 Korean Derby winner Yeongcheon Ace was denied once more in Friday’s feature. Sent off the odds-on favourite, the four-year-old just couldn’t get up as outsider Useung Chance, took her chance fully under Makoto Okabe to record an unlikely victory. It’s now been five races since the Derby without a win for Yeongcheon Ace.

Sunday’s feature on the south coast saw a return to the track following five months out for Macheon Bolt (Old Fashioned). And the Peter Wolsley trainee returned in style, cruising through the rain to score a five-length win over a mile. It was the four-year-old’s seventh win from ten starts.

Racing returns to Korea on Friday but before that, attention turns to Meydan in Dubai where, should he get into the race, Success Story is set to make his Dubai World Cup Carnival on Thursday. He has been entered in the 1600M race 1 on the dirt.

Cheongu made his debut on January 8th over 1200M and did ok, finishing 5th  of 8, despite getting a bad start and losing a plate. Racing over a mile, it will be more difficult for Success Story, but if he is right, he can be competitive. As for Cheongu, he may go again next week.

Weekend Round-Up

We’re a couple of weeks into the 2016 racing season and there has been plenty going on already both at Seoul and Busan, as well as further afield.

img_20160108_003134.jpg

Cheongu on TV!

The main story for Korean racing so far this year has to be the Korean horses at the Dubai Carnival. While Success Story is expected to make his debut on January 21, Cheongu ran on the opening night last Thursday and did ok.

Despite missing the break slightly and also losing a shoe in running, the four-year-old Old Fashioned colt finished well in touch with the pack, ending up 5th of 8 runners under British jockey Royston Ffrench.  Cheongu will get another chance either at 1400M or most likely, again at 1200M, later on in the carnival.

Cheongu’s trainer is Seo In Seok and he was back at Seoul on Sunday in time to see his mare Bichui Jeongsang comfortably win the weekend’s feature race. Bichui Jeongsang (Wildcat Heir) had downed Asia Challenge Cup winner Choegang Schiller over 1200M in November and was stepped up to 1800M for Sunday’s class 1 feature. And under Nicola Pinna, she made light of her 59kg impost racing away from the field in the final furlong to win by almost three lengths on the line.

At Busan, there was a new name in the Class 1 winner’s circle. Yuseong Dream (Giacomo) was making his first start at the level following back to back wins at the end of 2015 and the four-year-old completed his hat-trick, making almost all under Kim Dong Young.

Pasquale Borelli is showing the way in the very early stages of the Busan Jockey Championship. The Italian jockey rode a double for trainer Peter Wolsley on Sunday afternoon to take him to four winner for 2016. Tied for first place is Seo Seung Un, who rode a treble on Friday and another one on Sunday and who seems to be very much enjoying his new surroundings at Busan after transferring from Seoul on January 1.

Power Blade, Doraon Hyeonpyo Close Out 2015 With Stylish Victories

Champion Juveniles past and present rounded out the racing year in Korea with impressive performances on the final card of 2015 at Busan Racecourse this past Sunday.

Power Blade overcame stablemate Ottug Ottugi to win a Juvenile Special race and confirm his status as the early favourite for the three-year-old Classics in 2016. Meanwhile Doraon Hyeonpyo, a year his senior, overcame a strong field by by a full ten lengths to record his first regular Class 1 victory.

Second by a rapidly diminishing neck to Ottug Ottugi in the Gyeongnam Sinmun Cup in October before wining the overall Juvenile Champion race, the Breeders’ Cup at Seoul last month.

Back at six furlongs on Sunday in Power Blade and Ottug Ottugi faced off for the third time, this time with just three others to keep them company in a Juvenile Special race which was restricted to those horses who had passed their training test prior to entering the racecourse for the first time.

And it would be the Kim Young Kwan trained pair who would draw clear of their three rivals in the home straight. The filly Ottug Ottugi pushed all the way to the line but Power Blade eventually got his nose in front and went on to win by half a length.

A year ago it was Doraon Hyeonpyo who returned from the trip to the capital victorious as Champion Juvenile. 

He would go on to run creditably in the Classics; 2nd in the KRA Cup Mile, 5th in the Korean Derby and 4th in the Minister’s Cup, without quite making it up to the elite level.

However, last month Doroan Hyeonpyo won a class 2 event over 1900M which saw his rating go over the threshold for class 1 for the first time. Carrying a light weight and faced with a field in which the biggest names, Cowboy Son and Oreuse, were more suited to shorter distances, he ended up being sent-off as the narrow favourite in the Korean win pool.

His victory was anything but narrow. Hitting the front just before they reached the home straight, Doraon Hyeonpyo, under the urgings of jockey You Hyun Myung, galloped away from the rest to win by a full ten lengths.

Unfortunately for Doraon Hyeonpyo, the handicappers promptly walloped him with a new rating of 117 so next time he appears, he is going to be carrying significantly more weight. On Sunday’s evidence though, his 2016 debut is going to be one to look out for.

As indeed is that of Power Blade. The race to the Triple Crown is not far off.