Doraon Hyeonpyo claimed the Korean Breeders’ Cup at Seoul this afternoon to become the nation’s Champion Juvenile of 2014.
Doraon Hyeonpyo and Choi Si Dae win the Breeders’ Cup at Seoul (Pic: KRA)
And it was a clean sweep of the placings for Busan horses as he led home Rafale and Summit Myeongun at the end of the 1400M race.
Doraon Hyeonpyo was sent off as the slight favourite ahead of Gyeongnam Sinmun Cup winner Rafale and these two would fight out the finishing with Choi Si Dae guiding Doraon Hyeonpyo to victory by just under two lengths with Summit Myeongun a further five legnths back in third.
Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup winner Cosmos King confirmed his status as Seoul’s top two-year-old, coming home in 4th with Yesuri Myeongun taking the final money position under Masa Tanaka. The only filly in the race, Dream Queen, was 6th.
Both the winner and runner-up were sired by young stallion Colors Flying (A.P. Indy) who was imported in late 2010. Doraon Hyeonpyo and Rafale are among his first crop to hit the track in Korea.
Breeders’ Cup (KOR G3) – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – November 30, 2014
Ua Deungseon added to her Donga-Ilbo Trophy victory by claiming the Nonghyup Chairman’s Cup, the last big Stakes race of the year for fillies, at Seoul Racecourse this afternoon.
Ua Deungseon was 7th in the Korean Oaks at Busan in August but returned to Seoul to win the Donga Ilbo Trophy in Sepember. Sent off as slight favourite today, she just held on in a tight finish from Geumbit Hwanhui and outsider Cupid Girl.
Nonghyup Chairman’s Cup 2014 – Seoul Racecourse – 1400M – Nov 23, 2014
1. Ua Deungseon (KOR) [Menifee-Singgereoun (Mr. Adorable)] – Ham Wan Sik – 3.4, 1.5 2. Geumbut Hwanhui (KOR) [Peace Rules – Sincheongchun (Silent Warrior)] – Jang Chuyoul – 2.8 3. Cupid Girl (KOR) [Vicar – Sheza Hot Dish (Rubiano)] – Park Hyun Woo – 8.6 Distances: Neck/Nose – 14 ran
Gamdonguibada was back to her dominant best at Busan on Sunday as she crushed her opposition to win the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup and in doing so, complete the full Queens’ Tour set, having won the Ttukseom Cup and KNN Cups earlier in the season.
Gamdonguibdada wins the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup (Pic: KRA)
She was sent off as the slight odds-on favourite for the 2000 metre, with New York Blue, who had beaten her over the same distance last month – albeit carrying less weight – second in the market.
In the end, it wasn’t even close. While outsider Silver Classic set the pace for much of the race, Gamdonguibada was always on her shoulder and pounced as they entered the home straight.
A slight drift over to the stands side barely registered as the 5-year-old sprinted away for a 4-length win. New York Blue was 2nd while prolific placer Ms. Margaux was 3rd.
It was a 6th Stakes win for Gamdonguibada and the $31,000 purchase from Ocala in 2011 has now earned almost $2Million in prize money. He biggest win came in the 2012 Grand Prix Stakes and her name is on the ballot for this year’s event too.
New York Blue in 2nd showed that she too is of high quality at any distance while it was another superb training performance from Peter Wolsley to send out Ms. Margaux into 3rd. Yereobunuiyeowang, under Japanese jockey Nozomu Tomizawa was 4th while Dragon Hill led home the Seoul contingent in 5th.
Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup (KOR G3) – Busan Racecourse – 2000M – Nov 16, 2014
1. Gamdonguibada (USA) [Werblin – Radyla (Country Pine)] – Kim Yong Geun – 1.7, 1.1 2. New York Blue (USA) [Candy Ride – Aim For the Moon (Deputy Minister)] – You Hyun Myung – 1.2 3. Ms. Margaux (USA) [Midnight Lute – Sixtyone Margaux (Cozzene)] – Park Geum Man – 3.1
Wonder Bolt continued to add to his burgeoning reputation with an easy win at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday in a class 1 contest that many observers regarded as being of superior quality to many recent Stakes races.
Watts Village, Nolbu Manse, Sing Sing Cat and Fly Top Queen were among those left behind as Wonder Bolt bided his time under jockey Seo Seung Un before bounding away in the home straight for an eased-down 4-length victory, just outside the track record time for 1700M.
The grey Wonder Bolt first came to mainstream attention by finishing 5th in the season ending Grand Prix last year but it is in his 4-year-old season where he has really started to shine. A couple of smart wins at both sprint and route distances established him as one of the most versatile horses at the track before he finished 2nd to El Padrino in the Asia Challenge Cup in August
That 2nd place – for which he was awarded an official rating of 106 by the Singapore handicapper – meant that he qualifies to run at the Dubai Carnival in the Spring and his win at the weekend suggests that he has every chance of putting in a decent performance if he goes.
Connections may take some persuading. That’s understandable as despite a likely hike in his handicap mark again, if he stays at home, Wonder Bolt will no doubt mop up some lucrative handicaps in the New Year.
Watts Village, victorious in Tokyo last year and 3rd in the race on Sunday was eligible to go to Dubai last year. Connections spurned the opportunity to make even more Korean racing history. Hopefully Wonder Bolt will give it a go this time around.
Class 1 Handicap – Seoul Racecourse – 1700M – November 2, 2014
1. Wonder Bolt (USA) [Desert Warrior – Little Champ (Great Gladiator)] – Seo Seung Un – 1.9, 1.2 2. Clean Up Cheonha (USA) [El Correador – Loh Collado (More Than Ready)] – Lee Sang Hyeok – 5.4 3. Watts Village (USA) [Forestry – Edey’s Village (Silver Deputy)] – Choi Bum Hyun – 1.9 Distances: 4 lengths/2.5 lengths – 12 ran
Jo Sung Gon pulled off a remarkable feat at Busan Racecourse this afternoon, winning 6 of the 11 races – including 5 in a row – all for 6 different trainers and with only one slight odds-on chance among them.
Jo-nly me! Jo Sung Gon rode 6 winners at Busan today
Jo won Race 1 on Namdoui Yeowang, but didn’t strike at all between races 2 and 6, during which time Kim Yong Geun rode a treble of his own. From race 7 on, however, there was no stopping him as he won all of the remaining 5 races on the card.
Pick of the winners was in the class 1 feature where he guided the Peter Wolsley trained Ghost Whisper to a comfortable victory. It was the 14th win of the 6-year-old gelding’s career.
Busan’s reigning champion jockey, the 32-year-old Jo Sung Gon isn’t going to win the title this year. The main reason for this was that he gave his rivals a head start by spending the first three months of the season riding in Macau. Since his return, he has ridden 58 winners and lies 4th in the standings.
Best known among casual racing fans as being the regular jockey for Dangdae Bulpae (seen in the picture above) on whom he won an unprecedented 9 stakes races, he also has a Korean Derby and Oaks to his name and alongside Moon Se Young at Seoul, is widely considered as one of the top two jockeys in Korea.
Jo Sung Gon’s Six-Timer (with trainer name, margin and tote return):
Race 1: Namdoui Yeowang (Creek Cat), Jang Se Han – 4 lengths – 4.1 Race 7: Morning Hwiparam (Everydayissaturday), Lee Jung Pyo – 4 lengths – 3.9 Race 8: Yankee Dream (Yankee Victor), Han Sang Bok – 1.5 lengths – 3.0 Race 9: Forty Cure (Field Asuka), Choi Ki Hong – 1.25 lengths – 3.6 Race 10: Useung Radar (Student Council), Min Jang Gi – Head – 4.4 Race 11: Ghost Whisper (Gotham City), Peter Wolsley – 4 lengths – 1.9
Pinot Noir produced a late run to upset hot favourite Cheonnyeon Dongan to win the Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday and in doing so, be crowned the capital’s Champion filly or mare of 2014.
Pinot Noir gets up to beat Cheonnyeon Dongan to win the Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup (Pic: KRA)
Cheonnyeon Dongan was a proven winner at class and distance against colts. Pinot Noir on the other hand, was running in class 1 company for the first time after winning the Horse Racing Ireland Trophy in August and then running a creditable third in the Donga Ilbo Trophy last month.
And it was the favourite, always travelling well under Seo Seung Un, who looked to be in the box seat she hit the front as the field entered the home straight at the end of the 10 furlong race. However, Park Hyun Woo on Pinot Noir had other ideas, shifting his filly to the rail and making up ground rapidly.
The two would battle it out in the final furlong and it was the 12/1 chance Pinot Noir who just had her neck in front as they hit the line. Choichoro, a 10/1 chance ridden by Moon Se Young came home in third place, 4 lengths behind the leading pair.
It was a 5th win in 15 starts for the 4-year-old Pinot Noir and the first really big win for jockey Park Hyun Woo.
Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup (KOR G3) – Seoul Racecourse – 2000M – Oct 26, 3014
1. Pinot Noir (KOR) [Capital Spending – Neungnyeokchungman (Pacific Bounty)] – Park Hyun Woo – 12.4, 2.1 2. Cheonnyeon Dongan (KOR) [Ecton Park – Honeycakes (Hennessy)] – Seo Seung Un – 1.1 3. Choichoro (KOR) [Concept Win – Eunbiryeong (Mujaazif)] – Moon Se Young – 2.1 Distances: Neck/4 lengths Also Ran: 4. Chiming VIcar 5. Full Moon Party 6. Dangchan Miso 7. X File 8. Chongal Gongju 9. Bongamsa 10. Chowon Yeoje 11. Mighty Forever 12. Bukdaepung
* Cheonnyeon Dongan wasn’t the only favourite to go down at the weekend. Saturday at Seoul saw a number of odds-on shots turned over, principal among them the highly rated Power City (Archer City Slew) who was beaten in the final strides of race 10 by Jeil Jal Naga (Dice Dancer), a horse he had beaten by 9-lengths just a month ago.
Also losing (again) was Call Me Rocket (Colonel John) who finished last in Saturday’s race 11 which was won by 25/1 Wahaha under a very good ride by Lee Ah Na. And in Saturday’s final race 12, Foolish Scip (Scipion) finished 2nd for the 5th consecutive race, this time losing out to up-and-coming import Clean Up Joy (Purge).
Favourites had a slightly better time of things at Busan where the feature race was, unusually, on Friday. Nobody Catch Me (With Distinction), the shock winner of July’s Busan Metropolitan City Stakes made his first start since his victory that day and indeed, nobody could catch him as he cruised to a 5-length win over veteran Viva Ace (Macho Uno) in the 1900M class 1 event.
There’s no Stakes action next weekend but we are now less than two weeks away from Korea’s richest race, the President’s Cup, which will be run at Seoul on Sunday November 9.
The year just keeps on getting better for Ikuyasu Kurakane. The Japanese rider, who is 2nd in the Jockey Championship, got his first Group win or his second stint in Korea by riding Samjeong Jewang to the narrowest of victories in the KRA Cup Classic at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday.
Samjeong Jewang just gets up to beat Rush Forth (obscured) in the KRA Cup Classic (Pic: KRA)
Indian Blue, who Kurakane has had success on in the past, was sent off as the odds on favourite, but despite a change in tactics from jockey Moon Se Young, the filly still found herself left with too much ground to make up in the final furlong.
Instead, it was Samjeong Jewang who beat out a determined challenge by outsider Rush Forth and filly My Day to win by a nse on the line. Indian Blue came hom in 4th but last year’s winner Mari Daemul could only manage 10th.
Samjeong Jewang moves on to six wins from nine career starts and a possible run for the Grand Prix Stakes in December.
KRA Cup Classic (KOR G3) – Seoul Racecourse – 2000M – October 19, 2014
1. Samjeong Jewang (USA) [Patriot Act – Ms.Sadira (Dixieland Heat)] – Ikuyasu Kurakane 3/5, 1.6 2. Rush Forth (USA) [Rush Bay – Fourth Quest (Norquestor)] – Kim Ok Sung – 6.0 3. My Day (KOR) [Touch Gold – Smart Advice (Smart Strike)] – Jang Chuyoul – 3.6 Distances: Nose/0.5 lengths Also ran: 4. Indian Blue (USA) 5. Unbeatable (USA) 6. Cheonma (USA) 7. Sun Speed (USA) 8. Him Jjang (USA) 9. Hwanggeumbiyul (USA) 10. Mari Daemul (USA) 11. Mani Income (USA) 12. Daehan Janggun (USA)
It was 2-year-old Championship weekend at Seoul and Busan and it will be Cosmos King and Rafale who head to the Korean Breeders’ Cup at Seoul next month as the top juveniles from their respective tracks.
Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup – Seoul Racecourse – 1200M – Oct 11, 2014
1. Cosmos King (KOR) [Ingrandire – Lovely Shine (French Deputy)] – Lee Hyeok – 2.4, 1.3 2. Dream Queen (KOR) [Creek Cat – Fine Jilju (Duality)] – Seo Seung Un – 1.6 3. Keunbada (KOR) [Menifee – Keungori (Essence Of Dubai)] – Jang Chuyoul – 1.9 Distances: 1 length / 2 lengths – 10 ran
Cosmos King was sent off as the slight favourite for the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup at Seoul on Saturday, just ahead of fellow unbeaten colt Raon Rusa. Punters were proved right as, under Lee Hyeok, Cosmos King closed from 5th to 1st in the final furlong to win by a length from filly Dream Queen.
On Sunday, it was Busan’s turn to run its Championship race. And there was a little more of a surprise here as 9/1 chance Rafale overcame hot-favourite Doraon Hyeonpyo in a final stretch battle to take the prize. The two were a dominant 6-lengths ahead of their nearest other rival on the line.
Gyeongnam Sinmun Cup – Busan Racecourse – 1200M – Oct 12, 2014
The best 2-year-olds of this year’s crop from both Seoul and Busan will reconvene in the capital at the end of next month for the “Breeders’ Cup” to decide the nation’s overall Juvenile Champion.
South African trainer Bart Rice was on the mark today, sending out two runners at Busan Racecourse today and coming home with two winners.
Strike Rate: Bart Rice (KRA)
It’s the kind of thing the 38-year-old has become renowned for in his short time at the track so far. When punters see a Rice horse running, they know it will be in fine order and wouldn’t be running if it can’t win. The odds usually reflect that.
Today, Rice sent out Better Than You (Ft.Stockton) in race 2 and Aussie import Ace Cheonbok (Zizou) in race 7. Both won comfortably at short-odds under Japanese rider Masa Tanaka.
The wins take Rice onto some extremely noteworthy figures. He has 22 horses in his stable and lies in 11th in the Busan Trainers’ Championship with 23 wins in 2014. However, these have come from just 102 starters. To emphasize his focus on winners, there have been a further 10 second places and just 4 thirds.
Masa Tanaka (Pic: Busan Ilbo)
Only the Peter Wolsley stable and the Kim Young Kwan factory can boast a better strike rate; Rice leads the next best by some considerable distance. Wolsley has sent out 205 runners this year and Kim over 300.
Among the 32 trainers at the South-Coast track, the only ones who have sent out fewer runners than Rice are Ahn Woo Sung and Gu Young Jun and they only received their licenses this summer.
Rice looks like a man who wants to to do things properly. He’s one of very few trainers in korea who has a website and has clearly set out to train and race his own way. In Masa Tanaka, he also has a very capable de-facto stable jockey (Tanaka is officially freelance).
Whether he can sustain this strategy long-term in the face of notoriously demanding Korean owners who, with decent prize-money going all the way down to 5th place, want their horses running whether they have a chance of winning or not, remains to be seen. For now though, it has been a remarkable debut year.
Better Than You is an interesting one. The 3-year-old gelding spent a year in the United States, racing in Florida four times before returning to Korea this summer. Today was his first race in his homeland and he romped home by a full 11 lengths.
He wasn’t the only one of those who went to the US running today. Gangnam Camp (Forest Camp), who was with Better Than You on the same program in Florida, actually landed a 2nd place at Gulfstream Park earlier this year and comfortably won his Korean debut last month. He was on target again today taking race 6 by four lengths.
Queen’s Blade getting beaten in the Minister’s Cup on Sunday may have been a surprise but the Derby and Oaks winning filly’s reverse in the final Classic of the season wasn’t the biggest shock of the weekend at Seoul.
Gwanggyo Bisang – seen here after a Stakes win, became the first Korean horse to beat Yeongsan II
Yeongsan II had won all six of his races in Korea in dismissively easy fashion, culiminating in the Ilgan Sports Cup in September. However, on Saturday afternoon, he stepped up in class and distance and finally met his match in the shape of last year’s Ilgan winner, Gwanggyo Bisang.
Sent off as the odds on favourite, Yeongsan II set the pace under Moon Se Young and as they entered the home straight looked ready to cruise to another routine victory. That was to reckon without Gwanggyo Bisang though as while Yeongsan II was by no means slow in the final furlong, his fellow 4-year-old – depite carrying 60Kg – was able to go up a gear to reel him in and pass him to win by just under a length on the line.
The result, along with Queen’s Blade’s setback, Indie Band on the long-term injured list, and Wonder Bolt on the doubtful list, sets next month’s President’s Cup – Korea’s richest race – wide open with Busan’s Hangangui Gijeok, currently on a winning streak of seven, now the likely favourite. Gwanggyo Bisang, now with eleven wins from sixteen starts, may have to now be considered too.
Class 1 Handicap – Seoul Racecourse – 2000M – October 4, 2014
1. Gwanggyo Bisang (KOR) [Menifee – Touch Upon (Touch Gold)] – Park Tae Jong – 3.8, 1.3 2.Yeongsan II (KOR) [Menifee – Foxxy Cleo (Peintre Celbre)] – Moon Se Young – 1.2 3. Gumanseok (KOR) [Vicar – Perfect Storm (Didyme) – Ham Wan Sik 1.5 Distances: 0.75 lengths / 3 lengths – 10 ran
Another race that is on the near horizon is the Japan/Korea Interaction Cup at Tokyo Ohi on November 11. With big prizes such as the President’s Cup on offer at home in November and only Seoul horses able to make the trip, there is a diminishing pool of talent available to make the trip to defend the title so memorably won by Watts Village last year.
And it was Watts Village (Forestry) who won a preparation race for the Interaction Cup on Sunday afternoon, getting the disappointment of his performance in the Asia Challeng Cup at the end of August out of his system.
Watts Village is unlikely to go to Tokyo but back at his favourite distance of 1200M and under Moon Se Young for the very first time, the 4-year-old led from gate-to-wire to win by 7-lengths in what was one of the fastest ever recorded times over the distance at Seoul. Sing Sing Cat was 2nd with Here He Comes, who is in-line to go to Japan, a creditable 3rd.
This coming weekend it is the 2-year-olds who take centre stage with Juvenile Championship races at both Seoul and Busan. The capital hosts the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup on Saturday with the Gyeongnam Sinmun Cup at Busan on Sunday. The best performers will re-convene in Seoul at the end of November to decided the nation’s overall champion juvenile in the Korean Breeders’ Cup.
Horse Racing in Korea 