Dongbanui Gangja made it twelve wins in a row at Seoul Race Park this afternoon as he came with his characteristic late run to overcome Big Sox in the final few metres of the ten furlong feature handicap. It looked as though for once he had been allowed to drift far too wide in the home straight, but Choi Bum Hyun was able to get enough out of the five-year old to just sneak home.
Meanwhile, Derby hope Northern Ace breezed to his fourth win from four starts against a hopelessly mismatched class 4 field. Significantly, it was Northern Ace’s first effort around two turns and he now goes on to challenge the KRA Cup Mile winner Money Car in the big showdown in May.
Money Car produced a sterling performance to leave the rest of the best of the nation’s three-year olds stalled in the Busan sand as he won the KRA Cup Mile, the first leg of the Korean Triple Crown at Busan Race Park this afternoon.
Starting the odds-on favourite in a field which was reduced to thirteen following the scratching of Dae Wan (which is another story in itself), Park Tae Jong launched Money Car at full throttle out of the gate and into an early lead. No-one came to challenge him and he was able to cruise away from the field as they left the final corner and entered the home straight – eleven lengths the margin at the finish.
Triple Sinhwa led the field home as a distant second, just edging out second favourite Cheonnyeondaero. South African jockey Martin Wepner’s mount, Dangdae Bulpae, was sent off third in the betting but finished a disappointing eighth. Australian trainer Peter Wolsley saddled both Saeroun Taeyang and Mega Tough, who finished fifth and twelfth respectively.
Money Car is one of the few foals to make the track by the young sire Newsprint, who died tragically young late in 2009. He’s now won six of his seven starts and although his main challenger for Triple Crown honours, Northern Ace, was absent today, Money Car is now in pole position for the Korean Derby which is just over a month away.
Money Car’s victory was the first for a Seoul based horse in a Classic since the Triple Crown series was opened up to runners from both the nation’s thoroughbred tracks. The last horse from the Capital to win one was J.S Hold who would, of course, go on to sweep all three in 2007.
KRA Cup Mile (KOR.G.II) – Busan Race Park – 1600M – Apr 4, 2010
1. Money Car (KOR) [Newsprint – Pinocchio (Big Sur)] – Park Tae Jong – 1.6, 1.1 2. Triple Sinhwa (KOR) [Capital Spending – Claudia’s Secret (Crafty Prospector)] – Chae Gyu Jun – 2.9 3. Cheonnyeondaero (KOR) [Creek Cat – Doneitmyway (Northern Flagship)] – Jo Sung Gon – 1.4
Distances: 11 lengths/0.5 lengths Also Ran: 4. Forest Wind; 5. Saeroun Taeyang; 6. The Almighty; 7. Udeumji; 8. Dangdae Bulpae; 9. Glory Yeongwang; 10. Baekjeom Manjeom; 11. Almighty Hit; 12. Mega Tough; 13. Sliver Mon
Non-runner: Dae Wan
Money Car wasn’t the only one of the ill-fated Newsprint’s progeny to score today. Up at Seoul Race Park, 2009 Champion Juvenile, Seonbongbulpae, was an emphatic winner in the class 2 race 9 and has qualified for the top-tier of racing. Could a showdown with Money Car in the Derby be the ultimate tribute to his sire?
On any other afternoon, Seonbongbulpae would have been the star at Seoul, but today was not just another day. The main event in the capital was the coming of age of a different three-year old. Overseas-bred horses aren’t eligible for the Triple Crown but do make up the elite of those running on the peninsula. Tough Win [Yonaguska – Maggie May’s Sword (Sword Dance)] is one of the most exciting of those to arrive in Korea in recent times and went into today’s showdown with Bulpae Gisang – winner of last year’s Busan Metropolitan and recognised as the second best horse in Korea – with a perfect five from five record.
He maintained it. Haengun Daewang, a winner last time out, set the early pace, but Tough Win took command as the field entered the home straight. Bulpae Gisang is a closer and under Choi Bum Hyun he did indeed make a late run. The younger horse always had things in hand though and, while he won’t have a four kilo weight advantage again, punters were already thinking this could be the horse who could take on Dongbanui Gangja later on this season.
Any final clash would potentially be in the season ending Grand Prix. Today Money Car and Tough Win were both first to their respective “chequered flags”. Later this year we may find out who is the greatest “Prancing Horse”.
Segye Ilbo Stakes winner Florida Sox stepped up to nine furlongs but punters were left no nearer to knowing whether the exciting filly can handle two turns after she returned lame at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.
Florida Sox had won three of her four races to date and was sent-off the odds-on favourite in the class 2 race 9. However, with an aggressive front-running style, there were doubts as to whether she would have the stamina to last in longer distance races as opposed to the sprints that she had dominated.
As ever, she bounced out of the gate in the lead and looked comfortable heading into the home straight. When it was time to start sprinting, however, jockey Boo Min Ho could find nothing and he gradually eased the filly out of the race as outsider Baramsan came through for a 50/1 victory. Florida Sox will be out for at least four months.
Love Cat
In the main event, it was another filly, Love Cat, who was in top form. Under Choi Bum Hyun, the four-year old – winner of last year’s Sports Seoul Stakes – romped to victory in the class 1 race 11, beating Chamgippeum by four lengths. Love Cat now has eight wins from seventeen starts.
In other races on a glorious Spring day at Seoul Race Park, there was a smart win for filly D Day, who strolled to victory in race 9. There were also two returns of note. Jockey Kim Ok Sung, rode his first races after a two and a half month ban for a combination a poor ride and failing a breath test. The “Smile Jockey” didn’t trouble the placings throughout the afternoon.
D Day was a winner today
Meanwhile, three-year old filly Raipai made only her second racecourse appearance. Her first was seven long months ago, at the end of August last year. In that race, she veered wildly off course at the start and collided with the rails, ruling jockey Moon Se Young out for three months and herself for much longer. Today there were no problems as she led from the start to secure a six length win.
Racing returns to Seoul on Sunday when Bulpae Gisang Vs Tough Win tops the bill. The main business of the day though will of course be down at Busan as the 2010 Triple Crown series gets underway in the shape of the KRA Cup Mile.
For the second consecutive week, a dusty Saturday gave way to a sunny Sunday at Seoul Race Park. While the worst of the latest dust-storm to hit the peninsula came on Friday evening, there was still enough in the air yesterday to make for an unpleasant afternoon.
Yoo Sang Wan won on Seungundaeseung
There were no such worries today though as Seungundaeseung upset Gi Ra Seong and Taesanbukdu to claim the feature Sports Donga Cup. Punters sent Gi Ra Seong off the favourite but it was Yoo Sang Wan on six-year old Seungundaeseung who got the better of a tight finish ahead of Free Woody. Taesanbukdu was third as Gi Ra Seong wilted in the final furlong.
Down at Busan, a small but very competitive field contested the main ten furlong handicap. Highly rated US bred three-year old Captain Sir led for almost the whole race only to be pipped on the line by Seonnyang Yongsa, the Australian bred gelding snatching a second victory of 2010.
Meanwhile, for the fourth consecutive meeting at Busan, all horses from trainer Kim Young Kwan’s stable were scratched.
Good form: Lee Ae Li
It was a good day for female riders at both tracks. Seonnyang Yongsa was partnered by Japanese jockey Hitomi Miyashita, scoring her seventeenth winner of the year. Up at Seoul, Lee Ae Li, took race 3 on Victory Camp. For the resurgent Lee, it was a third winner from fifteen rides in March.
Smart As Me got up for an unlikely victory in a thrilling end to the Busan Ilbo Cup this afternoon.
After Aju Joa had set the early pace in the seven furlong race, the stage seemed set for Useung Geotap, winner of five of her six previous races, to take the honours as she battled into the lead. But that was to reckon without some final furlong drama.
Outsider Neat Play, under Lee Sung Jae, darted to the rail as Hwang Jong Woo on Smart As Me began flying down the outside. In the middle Useung Geotap and Aju Joa seemed to go backwards. Five horses hit the line within half a length of each other but it was Smart As Me who was the clear winner by a nose.
Imported in 2007, Smart As Me was out for most of 2009. She returned last month with a victory and now, at age 5, is set to finally fulfil her potential. She has a record of five wins from twelve starts.
Busan Ilbo Cup – Busan Race Park – 1400M – March 21, 2010
1. Smart As Me (USA) [Take Me Out – Smart As Scot (Ascot Knight)] – Hwang Jong Woo – 12.3, 2.6 2. Neat Play (JPN) [Meishi Doto – Kobekko (Windstoss)] – Lee, Sung Jae – 33.0 3. Ilchul Gwangya (AUS) [Honours List – Zella (Zoffany)] – Lee Hee Cheon – 4.4
Distances: Nose/Neck
Also Ran: 4. Useung Geotap (USA); 5. Aju Joa (USA); 6. Daejaui Yeosin (USA); 7. Dalbit Miso (KOR); 8. Amateras (JPN); 9. Double The Gold (USA); 10. I First (USA); 11. Scit Scat Cat (USA); 12. Tropical Sky (USA); 13. Ecton Legacy (USA); 14. Bonghwasan Jeongi (JPN)
Up at Seoul, Bally Brae was expected record his second consecutive win in the feature race. With Oh Kyoung Hoan in the saddle for the first time, the popular eight-year old duly obliged leading from start to finish to win by a length from Free Hugs. In scoring his second victory of the year, Bally Brae notched his seventeenth career victory.
Oh Kyoung Hoan
It was a blustery day at Seoul although the wind thankfully did not bring with it the dust-storm that wreaked havoc across the track yesterday. Nevertheless, it made the long home straight very hard work for some. One of those who completely faded was Juamdaegun.
The three-year old Australian import was strongly fancied to make it three wins in a row in the last. However, after leading from the gate he fell away badly in the final furlong.
Also of mention at Seoul was a maiden victory for Murim Choegang. The four-year old had recorded five second and two third place finishes in his nine starts to date. Today, he finally went one better, cruising to victory in race six.
Yesterday's dust was still in evidence but the sun was out at Seoul today
While high winds, rain and a dust-storm combined to create a trifecta of unpleasantness at Seoul Race Park this afternoon, Khanui Jeguk kept up his 100% start to 2010 with an impressive win in the feature race.
Ham Wan Sik - Khanui Jeguk was the biggest of his 3 winners today
The four-year old was sent off as favourite for the ten furlong handicap and, under Ham Wan Sik, he took an early lead and always kept his rivals at arm’s length to take victory by a length and a half. Bungjeongmalli and Machine Gun filled out the placings.
Underperforming in the really big races in 2009 – the Derby, Minister’s Cup and President’s Cup – Khanui Jeguk did manage to land the Ilgan Sports. Winning on his season debut last month he looked much improved from last year and today’s performance confirmed that he is likely to be involved in some of the bigger prizes later in the year.
Generally the only punters who have to go outside on miserable days like today are those who have plenty of respiratory problems already. Today those gents suffered even more for their cigarettes as a dust-storm swept in from China coating both surfaces and lungs in a fine yellow film of dirt and chemicals. Just as we had finally gotten rid of the snow, the phenomenon known as “yellow-dust” was making its first appearance of the year.
If it was awful in the stands, it must have been ten times worse on the track Just plain dismal weather had made it seem like night-time at lunchtime even before the dust hit. There were wins for useful looking fillies Secret Woman and Cheonun while Australian-bred three-year old Emperor Cugat looks to be getting better with every run. Today the colt saw off a class 2 field by six lengths to take his second win of 2010.
Racing returns to Seoul tomorrow and at the moment the forecast is for much of the same. Yellow-dust is notoriously difficult to predict though so we may get lucky. On the track, Bally Brae is set to be the star attraction at Seoul while Sangseung Ilro, last year’s KRA Cup Mile and Derby winner is considered doubtful to start in the main event at Busan. That leaves the Busan Ilbo Cup, which pits some of the track’s up and coming imports against one another, as the big race.
Northern Ace showed no signs of being any the worse for a six month lay-off as he picked up where he left off last August at Seoul Race Park this afternoon. Just as in his only two outings to date, the colt required nothing more than to be pointed in the right direction to easily see off the rest of the class 4 field. The margin of victory was thirteen lengths without him even being asked to run.
Whether he is back in the classic picture remains to be seen. The first jewel of the Triple Crown, the KRA Cup Mile, is just three weeks away and it may be, like with Nice Choice last year, Seoul’s best horses again skip the Busan leg of the Crown. Regardless of what comes next, the very fact that he is back is good news for race fans across the peninsula.
Northern Ace capped four winners for Moon Se Young
On a day when there was still a sense of shock in the air following the events of 48 hours ago in Busan, Moon Se Young was the undoubted star. He suffered a bad fall on the same day of Northern Ace’s last run. If it hadn’t happened, he would surely have won last year’s championship. Today he took a big step towards regaining it with four wins in total.
There were co-feature races, one for domestic horses and one for overseas bred horses. In the domestic event, Triple Seven, got the better of Good Day by a length, while in the overseas race, Bold Magic scored his first class 1 win in eleven attempts. He overcame K J Khan and favourite Obaek Yechan to win the ten furlong race by a convincing two and a half lengths.
Yeonseung Daero, Namdo Jeap go down at Busan / Seonbongbulpae wins at Seoul
They really are the “nearly horses”. Yeonseung Daero and Namdo Jeap both spent much of last year running second when they really should have won. Today, facing each other at least one was always going to get beaten. In the event, both did.
That they were even running this afternoon is testament to the connections of both horses. Not content to be flat-track bullies hoovering up prize money in races restricted to Korean bred runners, both horses are frequently entered against overseas bred opposition. So it was today and it was at the hands of a late developing New Zealand born gelding that they came unstuck.
Dandi got injured in the summer of 2008 and reappeared in the Spring of last year only to immediately suffer another setback, his promising career seemingly cut short. He finally returned in January this year when he was a well-beaten fifth. Coming through the race was a triumph in itself, however, and today he showed what punters have been missing.
Yeonseung Daero and Namdo Jeap were at the front of the race throughout and going into the home straight, it looked as though they were set to fight it out between them. However, it was Dandi who had much the faster finish, coming past first Yeonseung Daero and then Namdo Jeap, setting a track record for nine furlongs in the process.
Dandi now has five wins from nine starts, spread over more than two years. His return is a very welcome addition to the top flight of racing at Busan. Meanwhile, Namdo Jeap and Yeonseung Daero will surely be back.
Class 1 Handicap (Foreign) – Busan Race Park – 1800M – March 7, 2010
Up at Seoul,Seonbongbulpae was given a third chance at running round two corners in the feature race. Last year’s champion two-year old had struggled in his two outings to date at longer distances. His habit of tearing out of the gate at breakneck speed being an asset at five furlongs but the opposite at the eight or more he’s going to need to do this year.
Motion Blur: Seonbongbulpae was too quick for everybody
Today, with Moon Se Young in the saddle for the first time, Seonbongbulpae was true to form and roared out of the gate. By the middle of the back straight he was ten lengths clear of a patient field. The crowd, who had kept faith with him and sent him off favourite, sighed and waited for the seemingly inevitable collapse.
It never came. Moon Se Young regained control of Seonbongbulpae as they turned for home and the colt had enough in him to make another effort in the home straight, eventually cruising to victory by six lengths. Seonbongbulpae’s sire, Newsprint died tragically young late last year. With Seonbongbulpae back in the Classic picture, and his other son Money Car very much there already, he may just have left a golden legacy.
Greetings From Seoul: It was an unusually clear day in the capital
After failing last time out, Lucky Mountain justified punters’ continued faith in her by returning to the winner’s circle at a gloomy Seoul Race Park this afternoon. Sent off favourite for the nine and a half furlong handicap, the five-year old emerged from the middle of the field in the home straight under champion jockey Park Tae Jong to lead home New Rider by a length and a half.
Lucky Mountain sees off New Rider in the Seoul mist
Lucky Mountain [Silent Warrior – Myeonggaheui (Revere)], winner of the Selangor Turf Club Trophy in 2008 and NACF Chairman’s Cup in 2009, now has eight wins from her twenty-six starts and has only been out of the money on three occasions and with Top Point currently out of action, can claim to be the top filly or mare currently running in the capital city.
While Lucky Mountain’s race went to form, the second of co-feature races most certainly did not. While Yodongseong, Vicar Love and Seoul Teukgeup were all well-fancied, all flopped in the mist as 40/1 outsider Big Sox, without a win since June 2008 strode to a surprise win.
With the newly freelance jockey Yoo Seung Wan on board, Big Sox led from gate-to-wire to lead the field home by a length. The identity of those closest to him on the line were equally surprising as Soseono made a welcome return to form after a difficult class 1 debut last month by finishing second. In third place was Key To Success, the only British bred horse currently running at Seoul, making a promising top-level debut. The combination made for impressive payouts for some lucky punters.
Someone got lucky in race 11
Class 1 Handicap (Foreign) – Seoul Race Park – 2000M – March 6, 2010
1. Big Sox (USA) [Cimarron Secret – West Point Woman (Great Above)] – Yoo Seung Wan – 40.8, 5.9 2. Soseono (USA) [Aldebaran – Foreign Aid (Danzig)] – Moon Jung Kyun – 5.0 3. Key To Success (GB) [Mujahid – Shining Cloud (Indian Ridge)] – Choi Bum Hyun – 6.6
Distances: 1.5 lengths/1.75 lengths – 13 ran
* Racing on Jeju Island was abandoned after just two races today. The start of both of those races had been delayed as rain and fog severely limited visibility and, with the runners at the post for the third race but no break in the fog in prospect, the decision was made to call off the rest of the card.
On Sunday there is racing at Seoul from 11:20-18:00 and at Busan from 12:40-16:30.
Some reputations were left intact but some were in question at the end of a busy afternoon at Seoul Race Park. While Money Car continued his stately progress through the ranks, fellow hot property Ace Galloper went down to a shock defeat to break a five race winning streak.
Stepping up to class 2 and going half a furlong further than in any of his previous outings, Ace Galloper was nevertheless sent off the 1/5 favourite. Coming round the final bend in third place on the shoulder of the leaders, he looked set to justify that price and go clear. To everyone’s surprise, however, while early pace-setter Good Diva did indeed start to fade, second placed Brothers did not. Instead the four-year old kicked on and tied up with Ace Galloper in the home straight.
Ace Galloper was a joker in the paddock and folded on the track
On the line, the older horse got the better of the potential superstar by half a length to record an unexpected win. For Brothers, it was a fourth win from thirteen starts. For Ace Galloper [Chapel Royal – Explicitly (Exploit)], who was causing mischief in the paddock before the race, it was bad day.
There were no such problems in race 8 for classic hopeful Money Car. Park Tae Jong waited until the final furlong to ask the three-year old to make any effort but when he did, the colt abruptly jumped away from the field and was a confortable three-length winner. Since finishing second on his debut, Money Car [Newsprint – Pinocchio (Big Sur)] has now won five in a row.
Money Car (Park Tae Jong) won for the fifth time
Later, in the gathering gloom of a grey, waning afternoon, Bulpae Gisang went to post as the odds-on favourite in the feature handicap. He would be the second odds-on favourite to go down on the day though as he could only third place with Haengun Daewang leading from gate to wire. Four-year old Bulpae Gisang is generally recognised as the second best horse running at Seoul. Not on today’s performance.
Finally in the last race, it was the turn of another three-year old hopeful Dongbang Rose [Volponi – Night Mary (Strike Gold)] to put her unbeaten record on the line. She came through with no problems whatsoever, scoring a two-length victory over seven furlongs.
Down at Busan, there were co-feature races. Australian-bred Cheonseungmanseung [Way of Light – Mysterious Ransom (Red Ransom)] – a horse whose name looks much shorter in Korean than it does in English, took the first of these, a mile handicap for foreign bred horses, while an Australian trainer, Peter Wolsley, took the honours an hour later in the domestic event. His five-year old gelding Khaosan came home three lengths ahead of Isidae Gangja and Golden Appeal.
Horse Racing in Korea 