Racing Reviews

Too Smart By Far

Smarty Moonhak Beats Dongbanui Gangja By Ten Lengths

He announced his arrival by winning the Turkey Jockey Club Trophy before going on to stun Korean racing fans by not only becoming the first two-year old to run in the Grand Prix Stakes but managing to finish third. Today, just six weeks later, Smarty Moonhak [Smarty Jones-Madeira M’Dear (Black Tie Affair)] was back in the Seoul Race Park winner’s circle.

Smarty Moonhak, with Dongbanui Gangja in the background - this was about as close as the double Grand Prix winner got to him

Despite there being thirteen horses lining up for the 2000M handicap, it was billed as a match-race. Dongbanui Gangja, the two-time Grand Prix Stakes winner and former Horse Of The Year and at seven-years-old, still a formidable contender, against the now three-year old Smarty Moonhak. In the end, it was a mismatch.

After a slow start, Dongbanui Gangja (Broken Vow-Maremaid) came around the field in the back straight to take the lead. At one point he had three lengths on the field but, rounding the home-turn, Smarty Moonhak, shrugging off some bumping like an old pro, was asked to quicken slightly and the gap closed almost immediately.

Another reminder as they entered the home straight and the young colt was away. The distance n the line was ten lengths but it could have been more had jockey Shim Seung Tae decided it was absolutely necessary.

Dongbanui Gangja held on for a comfortable second place while long-shot Wind King (Montjeu) was third.

Smarty Moonhak now moves onto five wins from seven starts and a quarter of a million dollars in the bank. His two losses came in his racecourse debut and in the Grand Prix. Where he goes from here though is open to question. If he stays sound, his handicap mark is likely to quickly rise – he carried 57Kg today – and, just like Dongbanui Gangja and Bally Brae before him, he could find himself essentially eliminated from the handicap division.

While his next couple of appearances will almost certainly be in handicaps, the main focus is going to have to be on the few Stakes and Conditions races that are open to foreign-bred horses. The Busan Metropolitan, the KRA Cup Classic and ultimately of course, the Grand Prix are the most likely targets for this year. In the course of this campaign, he will almost certainly run into Mister Park and Tough Win.

It says something about the impact he has had that just one race into his three-year old season, those two are the only rivals on the peninsula that Smarty Moonhak has unfinished business with. He is, of course, yet to meet two-time President’s Cup winner Dangdae Bulpae but this too is likely to happen. On today’s evidence, they are all likely to suffer the same fate as Dongbanui Gangja

Class 1 Handicap – Seoul Race Park – 2000M – January 28, 2012

1. Smarty Moonhak (USA) [Smarty Jones-Madeira M’Dear (Black Tie Affair)] – Shim Seung Tae – 1.3, 1.0
2. Dongbanui Gangja (USA) [Broken Vow-Maremaid (Storm Bird)] – Moon Se Young – 1.4
3. Wind King (NZ) [Montjeu-Blessing (Sir Tristram)0] – Jo In Kwen – 15.9

Distances: 10 lengths/1.5 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Larrycat (USA) 5. Necromancer (JPN) 6. Celebrate Tonight (USA) 7. Baekjeonmupae (NZ 8. Indian Secret (USA) 9. Out And About (USA) 10. Royal Missile (USA) 11. Mr. Loving Life (USA) 12. Yaho Cat (USA) 13. Adam One (USA)

60/1 Deep Desire Gives Joe Murphy Unlikely First Winner Of 2012

A fortnight ago, it took a 50/1 winner to get Aussie Peter Wolsley off the mark for 2012. Today it was the turn of the only other foreign trainer in Korea, American Joe Murphy, to get his first of the year with an even longer priced victor as Deep Desire swooped late to land the feature race at Busan.

Sent off at odds of 64/1 and under jockey Lee Hee Cheon, Deep Desire hit the front deep inside the final furlong to take a half-length win from fellow outsider Money Tree while early leader Tough Tiger battled on for third.

Deep Desire (Jump Start) is a five-year old gelding who, at one stage during his three-year-old season, looked to heading for the very top. Instead he has become a solid handicapper and today recorded his eighth win in twenty-eight lifetime starts. His last victory came in September last year – a success that was until today, his trainer’s most recent too.

The win is just Murphy’s eighth in his eighteen months in Korea and while it was, in terms of prize-money, the trainer’s biggest in Korea, it may be that the morale boost to his barn at getting off to a great start for the year ends up being worth far more than the money.

As an interesting footnote to the win, Deep Desire’s owner, Yoo Su Tae, has three horses stabled with Murphy as well as others elsewhere. Remarkably one of those others is second-placed Money Tree. One wonders if, in addition to the prize-money, the owner had a few won on the exacta which paid out at 2544/1.

Sunday Round-Up: Moon Se Young Brings His Wife To Work

Moon Se Young was presented with the 2011 Jockey Championship Trophy at Seoul Race Park on Sunday…by his wife.

2011 Prize-Winners: Trainer Shin Woo Chul (left with check), Tamna Saryo CEO Yoon Tae Hyeon (owner of Tough Win, centre), Champion Jockey Moon Se Young and Ace Galloper's owner Shin Joon Soo (right)

KRA TV Announcer Kim Ryeo Jin, who also happens to be Mrs Moon Se Young, was the surprise presenter of the award to her husband who racked up 105 wins last year to claim his second Seoul Jockey Championship.

Also receiving awards were Champion Trainer Shin Woo Chul, as well as connections of Seoul’s best two horses of the last year. Grand Prix Stakes winner Tough Win claimed the overall Horse Of The Year prize, Tamna Feed Company CEO Yoon Tae Hyeon picking up the award, while KRA Cup Classic winner Ace Galloper won the prize for Korean bred horses for owner Shin Joon Soo.

On the track, Champion Moon notched another two winners but he couldn’t take out the feature race which was won by Ham Wan Sik (who landed a treble) on Japanese five-year-old Real Victor (Biwa Shinseiki) who upset hot favourite Cheonun.

Cheonun was runner-up in the 2010 Korean Oaks and it seems likely that a similarly named filly could be making an impact on the Triple Crown races this year. Cheoneun (Forest Camp) began her three-year old career in the very last race on Sunday, scoring a comfortable two-length win over seven furlongs. That takes her record to four wins from six starts and she’ll be one to watch as the year progresses.

She's not going to believe you bought those so don't even try.

It’s not just horses we need to watch as the year progresses. Moon Se Young may be champion jockey now but there is plenty of talent coming up behind him.

Chief among those seems to be Jo In Kwen, who won Saturday’s big handicap on Jumong and Jang Chu Yeol, who is yet to open his account this year. A year behind them though is first-year apprentice Seo Seung Un. Seo won twice on Sunday and looks in good shape to ride out his apprenticeship (reach 40 winners) quicker than any Korean jockey before him.

For now though, Moon Se Young can content himself with being the best at what he does whilst being one of the richest sportsmen in the country. And married to a TV presenter.

* It was a good start to 2012 for Japanese jockey Makoto Noda. After being without a win in the final two months of last year, he landed successes on both Saturday and Sunday.

Filly Is Seoul’s New Year Darling

Favourite Darling Vision swooped to win the New Year Stakes on opening day at Seoul Race Park.

Darling Vision and Cho Kyoung Ho in the New Year's Stakes winner's circle

Coming into the race on the back of a strong end to her three-year old season, the four-year-old filly was always travelling well under jockey Cho Kyoung Ho and the pair came wide to win by a length from rank outsider Bon Rising, who led the rest of the field home by a nose.

It was Darling Vision’s fifth win in four starts and marked a very quick return to the Stakes winner’s circle for jockey Cho Kyoung Ho who ended last season in the best possible way with victory on Tough Win in the Grand Prix Stakes. Darling Vision is no Tough Win, but she won handily enough to suggest that she cause problems in tougher races than this later in the year.

Also winning handily was three-year-old colt Viva Cat (Creek Cat), who got the race to the Triple Crown underway with a smart victory in race 7. Racing around two turns for the first time, Viva Cat posted his fourth win from five career starts to date. There’s a long way to go until the first of the Triple Crown races, the KRA Cup Mile on the first Sunday of April, but things are off to a good start.

The afternoon’s feature handicap was a very open betting race and it was US five-year-old Jumong (Johar-Foreign Aid) who got the better of top filly Kkakjaengi (Put It Back) to take the spoils over nine and a half furlongs.

Herald Business New Year Stakes – Seoul Race Park – 1800M – Jan 7, 2011

1. Darling Vision (KOR) [Perfect Champion-Groom’s Darling (Runaway Groom)] – Cho Kyoung Ho – 3.2, 1.5
2. Bon Rising (KOR) [Volponi-Shadaroba (El Prado)] – Lee Gang Seo – 18.1
3. Summit Runner (KOR) [Capital Spending-Zeppelin Zu (Night Zeppelin)] – Jang Chu Yeol – 7.6

Distances: 1 length/Nose
Also Ran: 4. Kakamega 5. King Fighting 6. Prime Galloper 7. Fly Energy 8. Seoul Jeongsang 9. Forest Wind 10. Palgigun 11. Storm Troop 12. Manjeomhwanhui 13. Beongaegangho 14. Seungniuihamseong

Racing returns to Seoul on Sunday with 12 races from 11:10 to 17:30. There is no racing at Busan.

Lion Santa Delivers A Gift To Jeonseong Sidae

Low-Key Closing Day At Seoul And Busan

Just over a week ago, two formidable unbeaten records were intact. Now, as we head into the Christmas break, both are gone. Last week Mister Park saw his unprecedented 17-race winning streak come to a valiant end at the hands of Tough Win in the Grand Prix Stakes. This week a horse who skipped the Grand Prix Lion Santa, was looking to make it a perfect 10 at Busan.

The lights were on as they paraded at Seoul for the last time in 2011

He came unstuck. Maybe because it was the break before an extended break or maybe it was because Nonghyup’s sponsorship had added a few million won to the purse but this handicap attracted a stronger field than usual. Nevertheless, Lion Santa was still sent off as the odds-on favourite. He may have won it too, had he not been left in a poor position rounding the home turn. By the time jockey Kim Dong Young had found a way through, second favourite Jeonseong Sidae was uncatchable. Lion Santa rallied for second but the record was gone.

Australian bred three-year old Jeonseong Sidae (Stromberg Carlson-Jessie’s Journey) is no mug. This was his sixth win from nine starts. As for Lion Santa (Lion Heart-Santa Fe Strip) the future is still bright, but connections may be wishing they’d taken the chance to go out in a blaze of glory at Seoul last week instead of with a whimper at Busan today.

Up at Seoul it was also a quiet closing day. The feature race was won by Magnifique (Menifee-Miss Beauty) who was making his debut at class 1. Kept off the classic trail, Magnifique was a late developer but may well turn to be the best of what has been a disappointing three-year old crop in Korea his year.

So that’s it for racing in 2011. While racing returns to the Korean peninsula on the first weekend of January, there’s an awful lot of news to catch up on before that which we’ll start to do this week.

Tough Win Grabs Grand Prix Glory

Tough Win Beats Mister Park & Smarty Moonhak to Win Korean Racing’s Showcase Race

Tough Win ended the seventeen run unbeaten streak of defending champion Mister Park as he took victory in a thrilling renewal of the Grand Prix Stakes at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.

The four-year old gelding was sent off third in the betting but made no mistake with a perfectly timed run as he came through late to overtake Mister Park in the final furlong and win by just over half a length.

As expected, Tamna Ace made the early running but it was Akane Yamamoto and Mister Park who quickly took over at the front. In the backstraight there was excitement as Shim Seung Tae brought the two-year old prodigy, Smarty Moonhak up alongside the leader and these two were neck and neck as they rounded the home turn.

Tough Win in the Grand Prix winner's circle

Behind them though, Tough Win and Cho Kyoung Ho had begun to make their move. In the home straight, Mister Park managed to shake Smarty Moonhak but on the outside, Tough Win was always closing and when he went by, Mister Park had no response.

It was a 14th win from 18 lifetime starts for Tough Win, a $12,000 purchase at the June 2009 Ocala Two-year old Sales. He suffered his first loss in this race last year and was out of the money for the only time in his career in this summer’s Busan Metropolitan. Today, however, everything came together as he scored the win his talent has always promised to deliver.

Mister Park - Unbeaten run came to an end

Mister Park’s front-running style means he always runs the risk of not having enough left in the home straight. Akane Yamamoto managed to control his pace well but he simply couldn’t hold on.

Completing the first three was the wildcard, Smarty Moonhak. In the build-up to the race, few people were talking about anything other than the first two-year old in the Grand Prix’s 30 year history to take his chance. Although he didn’t win, he proved he is the real deal.

Smarty Moonhak - Big run in third

There’s no disgrace in being beaten by a pair such as Tough Win and Mister Park and, having stayed the distance, he was six lengths clear of the fourth horse home. Provided he stays sound, at this moment in time, it is hard to see anything beating him next year. Tomorrow morning, updated rankings will be published and Smarty Moonhak will find himself the first two-year old ever to be promoted to Class 1, the highest level of racing here.

As for the others, 2010 Korean Derby winner Cheonnyeon Daero went quietly into retirement in 9th place while KRA Cup Classic winner Ace Galloper was a disappointing 11th. Peter Wolsley’s first attempt at a Grand Prix was not a happy one with the grey Gyeongkwaehanjilju tailing the field home in 14th.

Today though was about three top horses. One has the Korean racing world abuzz with his potential and ran today like no two-year old should; one met with no disgrace as he saw his record-breaking winning streak come to a battling end. The other, Tough Win, is Korea’s Champion Racehorse of 2011.

Grand Prix Stakes (KOR G1) – Seoul Race Park – 2300M – December 11, 2011

1. Tough Win (USA) [Yonaguska-Maggie May’s Sword (Sword Dance)] – Cho Kyoung Ho – 5.2, 1.7
2. Mister Park (KOR) [Ecton Park-Formal Deal (Formal Gold)] – Akane Yamamoto – 1.3
3. Smarty Moonhak (USA) [Smarty Jones-Madeira M’Dear (Black Tie Affair)] – Shim Seung Tae – 2.0

Distances: 0.75 lengths/1.5 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Tamna Ace (KOR) 5. Dongseo Jeongbeol (KOR) 6. Triple Sinhwa (KOR) 7. Queen Of Rain (USA) 8. Yeonseung Daero (KOR) 9. Cheonnyeon Daero (KOR) 10. Gippeun Sesang 11. Ace Galloper 12. Jumong 13. Yodongjewang 14. Gyeongkwaehanjilju

Tough Win wins the Grand Prix in front of a packed house at Seoul Racecourse (Pic: E-Today)

Dongbanui Gangja and Dongteuja Keep Maremaid’s Memory Alive

Siblings Win At Seoul & Busan

December is a month when punters expect to see Dongbanui Gangja [Broken Vow-Maremaid (Storm Bird)] in the winner’s circle. In 2009, he became the third horse – after 1980’s and 1990’s greats Po Gyeong Seon and Ka Shock Do – to win consecutive Grand Prix Stakes, Korea’s most prestigious race. This year, he wasn’t nominated and instead came to Seoul Race Park this weekend and comfortably dismissed a class 1 field by three lengths despite giving the whole lot of them a minimum of six kilos.

Back winning: Dongbanui Gangja and Choi Bum Hyun (Pic: KRA)

Just one week before his first Grand Prix triumph on the weekend before Christmas in 2008, Dongbanui Gangja’s dam, a then fourteen-year-old mare named Maremaid [Storm Bird-Isayso (Valid Appeal)] arrived in Korea having been bought by the Korea Horse Land breeding operation.

Dongbanui Gangja himself was a $20,000 purchase from the OBS Spring Two-year olds in Training sale at Ocala in 2007. He quickly established himself as a high-class performer and went unbeaten for twelve consecutive races between October 2008 and July 2010, during which time he won hs two Grand Prix’s and an Owners’ Trophy.

The rest of 2010 was a disappointment though. As a five-year old he had become increasingly difficult to control and he started to drift very wide in his races. There was talk of retirement. However, with a lot of training and a pair of pacifiers fitted, this year he has begun to show a little of his old form. It is great to have him back.

Apart from Dongbanui Gangja, Maremaid had produced six other foals who raced in the US. The best of them was a filly, Glitter Maid, by Glitterman, who won six of twenty-eight starts in the early 2000’s. When she arrived in Korea, she was heavily in foal to Montbrook. Sadly, she suffered complications while giving birth to a filly on February 12, 2009.

The filly survived, however, and this afternoon at Busan Race Park, Dongteuja [Montbrook-Maremaid (Storm Bird)] maintained her 100% record as she strolled to her fourth consecutive win since her debut in August. She has a long way to go before emulating her big brother but so far, she’s doing just fine.

Dongteuja was today ridden by Japanese jockey Akane Yamamoto. Akane went on to finish second by a head in the feature race on Goni (Wando) to hot favourite Champion Belt (Exploit). Champion Belt should have been ridden by Nathan Stanley, however, calamity struck for the prolific Australian rider on Friday as he picked up a three-month ban – an unusually strong punishment for in-race incidents in Korea that don’t involve non-trying – for his ride on Cheonjae Bogo in race 6 on Friday.

The suspension, which potentially ends Stanley’s time in Korea given his license expires at the end of December, means he will miss next week’s Grand Prix Stakes at Seoul. Akane will be there though riding Mister Park, last year’s winner as he attempts to emulate none other than Dongbanui Gangja and retain the biggest prize in Korean racing.

Dongbanui Gangja’s second Grand Prix in 2009:

Such A Good Time

Busan Colt Crowned Champion Juvenile

16/1 outsider Good Time became the shock Korean Champion Juvenile of 2011 as Busan horses scored a 1,2,3 in the Breeders’ Cup at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.

Chae Gyu Jun & Good Time in the Breeders' Cup Winner's Circle

Seoul filly Cheoneun was sent off favourite and it was she who took an early lead in the six and a half furlong sprint. She kept the lead until the final furlong but, just as she had in the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup a month ago, faded badly. This time, it wasn’t just one horse who passed her but many as the closely bunched field swept by.

On the line, it was Good Time and Chae Gyu Jun who just got the better of Choi Si Dae on 33/1 Sing A. To complete the unlikely placers, 30/1 Dream Tower grabbed third.

Breeders’ Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1300M – November 27, 2011

1. Good Time (KOR) [Yehudi-A Little Poke (Pleasant Tap)] – Chae Gyu Jun – 16.5, 3.9
2. Sing A (KOR) [Fortitude-Seollimwon (Wheaton)] – Choi Si Dae – 5.6
3. Dream Tower (KOR) [Forest Camp-Hurricane Warning (Thunder Gulch)] – Kim Dong Young – 7.6

Distances: Head/1 length
Also Ran: 4. Dolpung Gangho 5. Dolpung Jilju 6. Jigeum I Sunga 7. Cheoneun 8. Mallu Homerun 9. Daedong Jeil 10. Black Dia 11. Jeongsang Yechan 12. Nuriui Bit 13. Sincheon Gongju 14. Bukdaepung

Foreign Jockeys Dominate Friday At Busan

Akane Yamamoto & Nathan Stanley Score Five Between Them

It was a bad day for the local Jockey Union at Busan Race Park this afternoon as between them, two of the track’s foreign riders hoovered up five of the ten races on the card.

Nathan Stanley: Feature race winner today

Australian Nathan Stanley and Japanese Akane Yamamoto have established themselves as, political issues aside, two of the most sought-after riders at the track and today, on a chilly afternoon, they showed why. Yamamoto started things off, winning race 2 on young colt Predict (The Groom Is Red), who put in an impressive performance winning by seven lengths.

She followed up two races later on 16/1 shot Silver Tiger (Volponi), beating out Stanley on Sangseung Bulpae by a nose. Any punters playing the foreign jockey quinella angle got a 58/1 payout on that finish. Stanley had to wait until race 8 to get in the winner’s circle himself with a four-length win on New Zealand import Dangdae Champ (Falkirk).

The Australian had good reason to hold high hopes of scoring a late treble. Races 9 and 10 would see him partner first Ghost Whisper (Gotham City) and then Secret Whisper (Seas Of Secrets), both owned by Pegasus Stables and trained by Peter Wolsley and both set to be odds-on favourites.

Treble: Akane Yamamoto

It didn’t quite turn out as planned as Yamamoto, on second favourite Baramui Jeonsa (Menifee) pipped Stanley and Ghost Whisper to the line by a length to complete her treble. There were no such problems in the feature race, however, as Secret Whisper did the business, albeit only by a neck, to secure his sixth win from twelve starts. Yamamoto finished a very productive day in third place on filly Night Moves (Proud Accolade).

With their wins today, Stanley moves on to seventeen winners in Korea and Yamamoto twenty-three. While Yamamoto will have a number of opportunities to add to her tally at Busan on Sunday, Stanley will only have one chance in Seoul, where he travels to partner Peter Wolsley’s Nuriui Bit in Sunday’s Breeders’ Cup, Korea’s premier Juvenile race. He’ll join Busan’s third foreign jockey, Eiki Nishimura, who is already in the capital preparing for the race.

* Also of note today was the second win in two starts by two-year old colt Baekdu Daejangun (Didyme-Indeed My Dear (Alydeed). Baekdu Daejangun is the half-brother of double President’s Cup winner Dangdae Bulpae.

Cheonun Cruises To Filly Crown

Cheonun became the capital’s Champion Korean bred filly or mare as she swept to a comfortable win in the NACF Chairman’s Cup at Seoul Race Park on Sunday.

The hot favourite in a field of thirteen, Cheonun came through in the final furlong to lead home outsider Golden Rose by two lengths.

The four-year old Cheonun was a Stakes winner at three, taking victory in the Sports Seoul Cup, before heading down to Busan for the Korean Oaks where she finished second to shock winner Euro Fighter (who was a distant last here).

This year, she was fourth in the Owners’ Trophy – Seoul’s top Stakes race for fillies and mares that isn’t restricted to Korean bred runners – before taking a very creditable second to High Point in the SBS Cup under the lights in August.

2011 Chairman of NACF Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1800M – November 20, 2011

1. Cheonun (Ft. Stockton-Restless Patricia (Born Restless)] – Choi Bum Hyun – 1.6, 1.1
2. Golden Rose [Buster’s Daydream-Pop’s Apple (Digangi’s Grinder)] – Oh Kyoung Hoan – 6.1
3. Special Volpony [Volponi-Marc’s Girl (River Special)] – Jo In Kwen – 1.6

Distances: 2/5 lengths/1.5 lengths – 13 ran

* Down at Busan, 2008 Korean Derby winner Ebony Storm [Buster’s Daydream-Sorority Jazz (Dixieland Band)] scored an upset win in the feature race, surprising favourite Triple Sinhwa. Minister’s Cup winner Dongseo Jeongbeol failed to bounce back from his President’s Cup disappointment finishing in a disappointing fifth.

Aussie jockey Nathan Stanley was victorious in race 1 on Peter Wolsley’s Heukdancer (Vicar) and in race 2 on two-year old Grand Teukgeup (Menifee) to give him three wins for the weekend while Akane Yamamoto was also amongst the winners, scoring in race 5 on debut making US filly Gamdonguibada (Werblin). Stanley now has 15 winners from 65 rides (with a 40% quinella strike-rate) while Akane is on 20 from 133.