Power Blade is Korea’s champion juvenile of 2015. The colt, favourite in the betting market, claimed the title with a comfortable win in the Breeders’ Cup at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.
Power Blade was favourite on the strength of his second place in the Gyeongnam Sinmun Cup last month. That day he was beaten by his stablemate, the filly Ottug Ottugi. That day, over 1200M, he was only beaten by a neck and finishing much the stronger. Given an extra furlong, he never looked like being beaten.
The previously unbeaten Ottug Ottugi as expected went straight to the front out of the gate along with unbeaten colt Banjiui Jewang. Power Blade was also ridden forward and under Kim Yong Geun, took things up entering the home straight and didn’t look back. Banjiui Jewang ran on for a very solid 2nd place and looks to be one to follow next year too while Winner’s Glory was the first Seoul-trained horse home in 3rd.
Breeders’ Cup (KOR G3) – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – November 29, 2015
1. Power Blade (KOR) [Menifee – Cheonmacheong (Lost Mountain] – Kim Yong Geun – 2.3, 1.2 2. Banjiui Jewang (KOR) [Ecton Park – Sweetoil (Broken Vow)] – Jo Sung Gon – 2.9 3. Winner’s Glory (KOR) [Strike Again – Luck And Fame (Western Fame)] – Moon Se Young – 2.5 Distances: 2.5 lengths / 4 lengths Also ran: 4. Waikiki 5. Ottug Ottugi 6. Major Winner 7. Clean Up King 8. Cheonji Storm 9. Whiz Speed 10. Sunganui Beopchik SCR: Gaia Thunder
Yet again it was anther big race winner for trainer Kim Young Kwan and for Busan-trained horses in Seoul. It was Kim’s seventh group winner of the year, beating his own Korean record of six which he recorded in both 2013 and 2014. He could well land an eight in the Grand Prix Stakes on December 13.
It hadn’t been the easiest of starts to riding in Korea for Nicola Pinna but things came right for the Italian jockey at Seoul Racecourse on Saturday as he rode a double, including victory in the feature race on Bichui Jeongsang who downed Asia Challenge Cup winner Choegang Schiller in a tight finish.
Nicola Pinna (and interpreter) are interviewed after Bichui Jeongsang won Seoul’s Saturday feature
Pinna couldn’t make weight on the first of his scheduled mounts a few weeks ago and was handed an automatic two-day ban for his troubles. It meant that despite having been in the country a month, prior to today, he had only had three rides.
Today it came right though. Pinna made his breakthrough on 3/1 second favourite Hwangnyongbisang, who scored a two-length victory in race 8. However, by far the best was yet to come.
Choegang Schiller (Artie Schiller) beat Singapore’s El Padrino to win the Asia Challenge Cup in a track record time at the end of August. The three-year-old hadn’t run since then and was sent-off the hot favourite to repeat today with regular jockey Lee Chan Ho riding. Third-favourite was Bichui Jeongsang (Wildcat Heir), a four-year-old filly, who had won five of fifteen career starts and was 3rd to Esmeraldina in the Ttukseom Cup.
With Pinna in the saddle, Bichui Jeongsang wasn’t quickly away but improved around the home turn to come shoulder to shoulder with Choegang Schiller entering the home straight. That would be how they would remain for a keenly-fought tussle through the final two furlongs that went all the way to the line. It looked at one point as Choegang Schiller had it but Pinna coaxed out one last effort from his mount to get her home a neck in front.
Punters second-choice Bear Queen Trophy was a distant third but may as well have been running a different race, so dominant the first two were. The winning time was just one-tenth of a second outside the mark that Choegang Schiller set in the Asia Challenge Cup. The win could be a boost for Bichui Jeongsang’s connections ambition to race her overseas early next year.
A day can make a big difference and all of a sudden, 27-year-old Pinna now has two wins from just seven mounts and really showed his quality in that second win. He has five more rides tomorrow. Fellow Italian-licensed rider Djordje Perovic meanwhile guided home his 38th Korean winner earlier in the day and is now joint-leading jockey at Seoul for the month of November. While Perovic can do a kilo lighter, more rides like the one on Bichui Jeongsang and Nicola Pinna could well be challenging him in the near future.
Cheongu and Success Story left their respective class 1 opponents at Seoul and Busan seemingly running in different races as they dominated the weekend’s feature events.
Cheongu has had an entertaining year, with a third place in the Asia Challenge Cup behind Choegang Schiller and El Padrino sandwiched between trips to Singapore and Japan. In all three of those races, he went out quickly only to be reeled back in the closing stages.
On Sunday, back in the comfort of a regular class 1 field at Seoul, the familiar tactics paid off with Cheongu making all over seven furlongs to win by an irrelevant margin of three lengths on the line with Mirae Yeongung and Parang Juuibo the somewhat surprising other placegetters. Cheongu has now won 5 of 8 starts in Korea.
Class 1 – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – Nov 22, 2015
1. Cheongu (USA) [Old Fashioned – So Much Fun (Speightstown)] – Yoo Seung Wan – 1,9, 1.2 2. Mirae Yeongung (KOR) [Aragorn – Willing Miss (More Than Ready)] – Djordje Perovic – 4.3 3. Parang Juuibo (USA) [With Distinction – Spicy Souffle (French Deputy)] – 13.4 Distances: 3 lengths/5 lengths – 12 ran
Busan’s Sunday feature saw a welcome return to the winner’s circle for Success Story. The four-year-old has had a bit of a stop-start year but if Cheongu’s win was easy, Success Story’s was barely a race.
With apprentice Lee Yong Ho on board, Success Story was carrying less weight than in previous starts this year and by the end of the race jockey Lee seemed likely to end up needing treatment for a sore neck so much time he spent looking over both shoulders as Success Story sauntered away from a small, but by no means soft field over a mile.
Despite not breaking into a sweat, Success Story won by seven lengths from outsider Baksuchyeo in a time not far outside of the track record. Success Story moves on to 10 wins from 18 starts and one hopes tougher challenges await for this horse who is yet to perform in a Stakes race.
Class 1 Handicap -Busan Racecourse – 1600M – Nov 22, 2015
1. Success Story (KOR) [Peace Rules – Power Pack (Lil’s Lad)] – Lee Yong Ho – 2.4, 1.4 2. Baksuchyeo (USA) [Bob And John – Say Amen (Pulpit)] – Lee Hee Cheon – 5.3 3. Oreuse (USA) [Smoke Glacken – Heavenly Splendor (Point Given)] – Jin Kyum Distances: 7 lengths/3 lengths – 7 ran
In other news, Masa Tanaka came one winner closer to his stated goal of 100 winners in Korea; he partnered Bart Rice’s debut-making US gelding High Five (Girolamo) to victory in race 1 at Busan on Sunday. It takes the Japanese rider to 97 for his time in the country so far.
Next Sunday sees the Juvenile highlight of the year, the Breeders’ Cup race at Seoul
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
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
Cinderella Man charged back into the winner’s circle at Seoul while Bold Kings maintained his 100% record at Busan as the pair emerged victorious from Sunday’s two Grand Prix Stakes trials.
Cinderella Man had run just twice in the capital since his ownership transferred from Pegasus Stables to Ruairi O’Coilean and he joined the stable of Seoul’s fast emerging trainer Lee Shin Young. The first of those was the KRA Cup Classic when questionable riding tactics scuppered his chances but he looked sharp when running 2nd last month over 2000M
He had to battle on Sunday when racing over the Grand Prix distance for the first time but once he had finally managed to get past long time leader Hwanggeum Tap in the final furlong, Cinderella Man ran on for victory by just over a length under champion jockey Moon Se Young. It was Cinderella Man’s 10th win from 17 career starts.
Class 1 Handicap – Seoul Racecourse – 2300M – Nov 9, 2015
1. Cinderella Man (KOR) [Southern Image – Tiza Fast Kat (Tiznow)] – Moon Se Young – 2.7, 1.3 2. Hwanggeum Tap (USA) [Tiz Wonderful – La Tulipe (Silver Deputy)] – Lee Sang Hyeok – 3.4 3. Winning Andy (USA) [Cowboy Cal – Belvedere Miss (Pleasant Colony)] – Djordje Perovic – 1.5 Distances: 1.5 lengths/1.5 lengths – 9 ran
At Busan, three-year-old US import Bold Kings confirmed his status as one of the hottest emerging talents in Korean racing. He too had to battle in the 2200M class 1 event but under Jo Sung Gon, he finally got the better of Goji Jeongbeol by a head after the two dueled for the final furlong. Bold Kings is now six for six.
The Grand Prix at Seoul next month would be a big ask for both of them. Bold Kings is three, has only run six times and is yet to travel to race. Cinderella Man, while reasonably conservatively campaigned this year (he has run eight times) did suffer setbacks over the summer. Their presence though would be a huge boost for the race.
Class 1 Handicap – Busan Racecourse – 2200M – Nov 8, 2015
1. Bold Kings (USA) [Afleet Express – Bold Arrival (Gilded Time)] – Jo Sung Gon – 2.5, 1.3 2. Goji Jeongbeol (USA) [Congrats – I Love CIndy (Adonis)] – Ikuyasu Kurakane – 1.5 3. Gandai (KOR) [ Don’t Get Mad – Gamble To Victory (Prospector’s Gamble)] – Song Keong Yun – 2.7 Distances: Head / 2.5 lengths – 8 ran
Bold Kings was ridden for the first time by Jo Sung Gon as regular rider Kim Yong Geun was riding Nobody Catch Me for Kim Young Kwan. It may be a good thing that he won’t be going to the Tokyo Daishoten and he probably won’t be going to the Grand Prix either as he faded to a well-beaten 6th having shown prominently early in the race.
Trainer Kim will still have plenty of options for the season-ending showpiece – which once again will be available to European punters through the PMU – with three-year-olds Rock Band and Triple Nine among them.
On a weekend when it rained practically non-stop and the track at times resembled more a rowing lake than a racecourse, the pari-mutuel system decided that it was as wet and fed-up as everybody else and packed up immediate following race 3 at Seoul. It was a good 40 minutes before it could be coaxed into life again and that meant the abandonment of race 4. It’s not the first time it’s happened.
Jockey of the weekend was once more Djordje Perovic who rode another treble on Saturday and a further winner on Sunday. Jockey of the weekend wasn’t Nicola Pinna who while finally making his debut on Saturday, had to get off two later mounts – one of which Perovic won on.
Jockey of the weekend wasn’t Kim Hye Sun either. She will be having nightmares over getting Saetbyeori beaten in Saturday’s race 4 when the race looked won. While it looked to be a total brain freeze rather than anything nefarious (the Stewards adjourned their inquiry), the punters who backed the 10/1 shot won’t have been amused. However, those who were on the favourite that Kim failed to notice closing on her inside until it was too late, wouldn’t have minded at all. The usually reliable Kim was much more vigilant on Sunday with a very good ride on 38/1 shot Beongae Power, who she coaxed home when looking about to be beaten.
In other jockey news, Japanese rider Makoto Okabe debuted at Busan with seven rides across the weekend. He didn’t manage to get a winner but did land two 2nd places and one 3rd. Pasquale Borelli, Ikuyasu Kurakane and Masa Tanaka all did manage to find their way into the winner’s circle though.
Heba was the runaway winner of the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup at Busan Racecourse this afternoon. In the process she became the overall winner of the Queens’ Tour series of races and was crowned champion filly or mare of 2015.
Having finished in 5th place behind Japanese visitor Esmeraldina in the opening leg of the tour, 1400M Ttukseom Cup at Seoul in June and then winning the second leg, the KNN Cup at Busan in September, Heba was always going to be in pole position to claim the overall title and was duly sent off as a warm favourite today.
And once they got to the business end of the race, nothing looked like beating the favourite. As expected, the Korean Oaks winner Jangpung Parang made the early running along with Seoul-based filly and TJK Trophy winner Silver Wolf. Under Song Keong Yun, Heba, also as expected, sat comfortably behind them.
Making the long turn for home, Song brought Heba to the front and the pair of them never looked like being caught. They raced on for a four-length win on the line from Ms. Margaux with YTN Cup winner Areumdaundonghaeng Seoul’s best finisher in 3rd.
Heba is a five-year-old mare who this year has really come into her own. She was 3rd in the Busan Mayor’s Cup in July, behind last year’s Queens’ Tour champion Gamdonguibada. She finished 5th behind New York Blue in a handicap in August and it was New York Blue, who was 2nd in the Ttukseom Cup, who was sent off the odds-on favourite in the KNN. She met with interference and lost her jockey.
That’s racing though and Heba took full advantage to record her 8th career win that day and then today her 9th.
Despite the breeding bonus available to fillies or mares who win the Queens’ Tour, Gamdonguibada raced on having won it last year.
As for the others, Peter Wolsley’s Ms. Margaux ran a huge race in 2nd – a position she seems to love having been runner-up or 3rd on 15 of her 21 starts. Areumdaundonghaeng proved her YTN Cup win in the summer was no fluke while Jangpung Parang ran on well for 4th. 2nd favourite Bichui Jeongsang was perhaps a touch disappointing though in 6th.
And none of them could get close to Heba.
Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup (KG3) – Busan Racecourse – 2000M – Nov 1, 2015
Given that this coming weekend’s cards are already out – at least those for Busan – this is rather late but there were a few notable things that happened last weekend.
Doraon Hyeonpyo, seen here winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup, got back to winning ways last weekend (Pic: KRA)
Spring Gnarly suffered his first bleeding attack when sent off as odds-on favourite for Sunday’s feature race at Busan. The US bred five-year-old had won nine of his previous fifteen starts and was 2nd in this summer’s Busan Mayor’s Cup but fell out of contention rounding the home turn and while he actually completed the race at a canter, jockey Kim Yong Geun opted not to push him. Aussie-bred Cheonji Bulpae won the race, his first win since March 2014.
Right now, you’ll not get up on the rail at Busan. For the past few weeks it has been noticeable that winner after winner has been coming home in the centre of the track while those on the rail have ended up going backwards. It’s happened to several well-fancied horses including odds-on favourite My Blade on Sunday afternoon. The reason is that the sand is much deeper on the rail than in the centre at the moment and until that’s sorted – and it needs to be – it looks set to continue.
Doraon Hyeonpyo, last year’s Champion Juvenile, couldn’t quite cut it in the Triple Crown races this year but he bounced back to form at Busan last Friday winning a class 2 race over 1900M. Jockey Choi Si Dae made sure to bring him to the middle of the track (of course) as they entered the home straight and the three-year-old cruised away for a 6-length win. Doraon Hyeonpyo will be racing at class 1 next time.
Already at class 1 in Seoul is another Korean Derby also-ran, New White Socks. However, the three-year-old, who looks practically unbeatable up to 1700M, yet again was found wanting over 1800M. Sent off as the odds-on favourite for Sunday’s feature race, New White Socks led into the closing stages only to be overhauled close to the line by Nulpurunchongnyong. It was a third consecutive 2nd place for New White Socks at the distance.
Riding Nulpurunchongnyong was Yuri Takahashi with the Japanese jockey continuing his excellent recent run of form with a double on Sunday. That took Takahashi’s total number of winners to 15 since joining a couple of months ago. A new Italian jockey is set to join Seoul from November 1.
This coming Sunday sees the final leg of the Queens’ Tour, the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup, take place at Busan. We will have a full preview on Saturday.
It promised to be a great occasion and so it proved as in the sunshine of a glorious autumn afternoon at a packed Seoul Racecourse, Triple Nine avenged two big race defeats to stablemate Rock Band to romp away with the President’s Cup.
Triple Nine after winning the President’s Cup
Triple Nine was 2nd in the Korean Derby to Yeongcheon Ace, 2nd in the Minister’s Cup to Rock Band and 2nd in the Owner’s Cup once more to Rock Band. He had picked up a minor Stakes of his own in between and today punters were split between the two three-year-olds. In the end Triple Nine started as favourite by the tiniest possible margin.
That faith by punters was to prove well-founded. Rock Band, ridden by Kim Yong Geun, would lead early with Gumpo Sky and High Five for company. Lim Sung Sil meanwhile kept Triple Nine just behind, stalking the leading three.
The question as they turned into the home straight was would Rock Band find another gear and go away? He wouldn’t. But he did stay on well. Sotong Sidae briefly got his nose in front at the furlong pole but travelling down the outside by far the best of them was the winner. Triple Nine collared them all and then lengthened away, already in front by three lengths on the line.
Rock Band rallied himself for 2nd while Masa Tanaka brought home the fast-finishing Ildeung Hanghaesa to edge Sotong Sidae out of 3rd. Gumpo Sky was 5th with Derby winner Yeongcheon Ace in 6th.
Triple Nine and Rock Band meant yet another big race 1-2 for the Kim Young Kwan trainng juggernaut. It was a clean sweep too for Ecton Park and for the Isidore Farm on Jeju Island where he stands. Triple Nine is the third product of a mating between his sire Ecton Park and his dam, the wonderfully named A Little Poke (Pleasant Tap). She already has three more full siblings to today’s champion; a filly and two colts, on the ground. Rock Band and Ildeung Hanghaesa are also both Isidore products.
For jockey Lim Sung Sil it was a second President’s Cup win. He rode Indie Band, Rock Band’s elder brother, to victory in 2013. He would go on to win the Grand Prix Stakes on the same horse.
Indeed, for the past two years, the winner of the President’s Cup has gone on to win the season-ending Grand Prix Stakes back at Seoul over 2300M in December. Triple Nine, who has now won seven of his eleven starts and has finished 3rd in the other four could well be there and could well make it three in a row. In a sign that he may not be coming to the Grand Prix, Rock Band was this week nominated for the Tokyo Daishoten at Ohi, also in December.
As expected, the race was once again dominated but Busan horses with them occupying five of the top six spots. The exception was the ever-improving Sotong Sidae who stepped up again to finish a very gallant 4th. Busan has been entering horses in this race for six years now and has won on all six occasions. The two tracks face each other again on the south coast next Sunday in the final leg of the Queens’ Tour. It’s hard to see the capital’s trainers starting to make amends there.
President’s Cup (KOR G1) – Seoul Racecourse – 2000M – Oct 18, 2015
1. Triple Nine (KOR) [Ecton Park – A Little Poke (Pleasant Tap)] – Lim Sung Sil – 2.4, 1.1 2. Rock Band (KOR) [Ecton Park – Plie (Dixieland Band)] – Kim Yong Geun – 1.2 3. Ildeung Hanghaesa (KOR) [Ecton Park – Saeroun Bulpae (Northern Afleet)] – Masakazu Tanaka – 3.5 Distances: 3 lengths / 0.5 lengths Also Ran: 4. Sotong Sidae 5. Gumpo Sky 6. Yeongcheon Ace 7. Heukgisa 8. Pinot Noir 9. Impetus 10. Mupae Daewang 11. Singgeureounachim 12. Haemaru 13. High Five 14. Goliath Marine 15. Yaho Sunshine 16. Jeongsang Bima
We might have had a surprise winner of the Juvenile Championship race at Seoul on Saturday but it was business as usual in the corresponding event at Busan on Sunday as trainer Kim Young Kwan saddled a 1-2 and the odds-on favourite Ottug Ottugi doing the business.
One thing that Ottug Ottugi does have in common with Seoul’s winner Waikiki is that she is a filly. However, unlike Waikiki, who was getting her maiden victory yesterday, Ottug Ottugi came in to today’s race undefeated in her two previous starts.
Under Choi Si Dae Ottug Ottugi led from gate to wire but the second string very nearly got up. Nozi Tomizawa and Power Blade ended up almost in the stands so wide did they run looking for quicker ground – as had been common at Busan this weekend – but Ottug Ottugi just held on by a neck
It’s the fillies that will go to the Breeders’ Cup race at Seoul at the end of November as favourites.
Gyeongnam Sinmun Cup – Busan Racecourse – 1200M – Oct 11, 2015
Filly Waikiki was the shock 48/1 winner of the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup at Seoul Racecourse on Saturday afternoon, in the process becoming a rather unlikely champion 2-year-old for the capital city track.
The previously unbeaten Meni Music had been sent off the slight favourite for the 1200M test but with a whole host of unexposed and very lightly raced entrants, the likelihood of a surprise was always high.
Second favourite Winners Glory was prominent for much of the race and looked to have the race won entering the final furlong. However, Waikiki, who had been very slow to jump and only led one entering the home straight, flew home in the closing stages under jockey Park Byeong Yun to snatch victory on the line.
Waikiki had raced twice previously, finishing 2nd on both occasions. She is now likely to race in the Breeders’ Cup at the end of November when the bet Seoul juveniles will face the best of Busan’s. Indeed, the Busan version of the Mayor’s Cup – the Gyeongnam Sinmun Trophy – will take place this afternoon on the south coast. Ottug Ottugi, currently two for two, is set to start as favourite.
Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup – Seoul Racecourse – 1200M – Oct 10, 2015
1. Waikiki (KOR) [Pico Central – Wyvern (Didyme)] – Park Byeong Yun – 49.0, 7.4 2. Winners Glory (KOR) [Strike Again – Luck And Fame (Western Fame)] – Kim Dong Soo – 1.5 3. Gaia Thunder (KOR) [One Cool Cat – Now Cope With This (Tiznow)] – Song Jae Chul – 14.0 Distances: 0.5 lengths / 1 length – 12 ran
Horse Racing in Korea 