Seoul & Busan Sunday: Race-By-Race Preview (January 22)

Sunday sees the first Listed race of the season in the shape of the Segye Ilbo Cup at Seoul. It’s attracted a full field and headlines an 11-race card in the capital from 10:40 to 18:00. There’s action too at Busan with 6 races from 12:35 to 17:05.

English race cards can be found here. Notes on all races to be simulcast overseas below:

Seoul Race 1: Class 6 / 1000M / Allowance / KRW 40 Million / 10:40

(4) PERFECT SOCKS was totally unfancied on debut in November but came a good 2nd. She’s had two months off since and has to be favourite for this. As he’s run already and didn’t disgrace himself, (5) YES YOU CAN will be 2nd favourite. Of the eight the debut-makers. (6) SILVER LION and (12) HERO KING look the most promising.

Selections (4) Perfect Socks (5) Yes You Can (6) Silver Lion (12) Hero King
Next Best 2, 7, 11
Rating –
Fast Starters  
Start-200M 4, 7, 5, 2
200M-Finish 4, 5, 2, 7

Seoul Race 2: Class 6 / 1300M / Allowance / KRW 40 Million / 11:05

(6) TOUR ROSE was much improved second-time out Christmas Day over this distance and she’s the pick to score here. The other contenders are all stepping up to this distance for the first time. (7) LEAD QUEEN was 2nd in a weaker than average class 6 but did little wrong so can be considered although (3) AMAZONAS looks a little easier to recommend. (11) NEW HIGH TIME also looked promising while (2) DANSEONG RUBY has run on well in her past two and may appreciate the step up.

Selections (6) Tour Rose (3) Amazonas (7) Lead Queen (11) New High Time
Next Best 2, 8, 4
Rating –
Fast Starters 3, 5, 6
Start-200M 7, 3, 11, 12, 9
200M-Finish 3, 11, 9, 10, 6

Seoul Race 3: Class 6 / 1300M / Allowance / KRW 20 Million / 11:30 (more…)

Busan Friday: Race-By-Race Preview (January 20)

Busan horses were in action at the Dubai World Cup Carnival overnight at Meydan with Main Stay a winner over 1200M and Triple Nine a valiant runner-up over 2000M. More on that to follow but back home the South Coast track hosts 11 races on Friday from 11:30 to 18:00.

English race cards are here. Notes on races to be simulcast overseas are below:

Race 4: Class 6 / 1300M / Allowance / KRW 20 Million / 13:35 

(8) CAPI RUN beat (7) GOLDEN TROPHY as the pair raced 2nd and 3rd over this distance in a very similar race two weeks ago and they should be battling it out again, this time for the win. Golden Trophy has been favourite for both his last two starts and he’s favoured to get it right this time. Those two stand out but (6) TIME CASTLE comes in after a reasonably encouraging 3rd place last time while (1) HIGH SPEC and (4) K O BARAM may improve on recent outings.

Selections: (7) Golden Trophy (8) Capi Run (6) Time Castle (1) High Spec
Next Best: 4, 11
Rating: –
Fast Starters: 1, 9, 11
Start-200M: 12, 1, 8, 11, 7
200M-Home: 4, 6, 2, 7, 5

Race 5: Class 6 / 1300M / Allowance / KRW 20 Million / 14:20

(3) YEONGGWANGUICOUNTRY ran poorly over 1000M, beaten by a couple of the others here, a month ago but had shown talent before that and gets another chance today stepped up to 1300M for the first time. (5) NAMBANG JEONSEOL beat three of these at the distance three weeks ago and must be considered while the more experienced (2) KING CODE enters following back to back 4ths and can seek a career-best finish here. (7) MACH IMPACT and (8) EGSEU BAND also should not be ignored.

Selections: (3) Yeonggwanguicountry (5) Nambang Jeonseol (2) King Code (8) Egseu Band
Next Best: 7, 11
Rating: –
Fast Starters: 3, 7, 12
Start-200M: 12, 3, 5, 7, 8
200M-Home: 11, 3, 2, 6, 5 (more…)

Triple Nine, Seoul Bullet & Main Stay All Go At Meydan Thursday

It was Power Blade and Diferent Dimension last week, this time it’s the turn of rest of the Korean stable at the 2017 Dubai World Cup Carnival to make their Meydan debuts. Triple Nine, Seoul Bullet and Main Stay will all run at the Carnival meeting on Thursday evening (early Friday in Korea).

triple-nine-2-alex-cairns

Triple Nine is among the Korea contingent going at Meydan Thursday night (Pic: Alex Cairns/The Winning Post)

Triple Nine will take part in the 2000M race 4 while Main Stay and Seoul Bullet will try their luck at 1200M in race 6. Pat Cosgrave, who rode Power Blade to 3rd place last week, partners both Triple Nine and Main Stay while Tadhg O’Shea will ride Seoul Bullet.

Race 4 (20:15): Meydan Sobha – 2000M Handicap – USD 125,000

 

As it was for Power Blade last week, Triple Nine’s race looks very competitive. The trouble is that as joint top-rated, he will be carrying 60kg which is 1.5kg more than he has ever carried in an actual race and 3kg heavier than he has won at in Korea. Nevertheless, Triple Nine remains a best-priced 5/1 2nd-favorite with most odds-makers. Favourite with those same odds-makers is Godolphin’s Fog Of War who hasn’t raced since September 2015 but there’s little to choose between a whole host of them. Munaaser won this race last year but doesn’t enter in tremendous form. The Mikael Barzalona ridden Hunting Ground is sure to be well backed as is Doug Watson’s Etijaah.

Race 6 (21:25): District One – 1200M Handicap – USD 125,000

meydanrace6better

Race 6 is a similarly tricky puzzle. Both Korea-trained horses carry light weights in what doesn’t look a very intimidating field. Main Stay defeated Seoul Bullet over 1400M at Busan last month although the latter did stumble coming out of the gate. The Sweden-trained Giftorm is currently favourite having performed creditably at Meydan last year and winning a Swedish G3 in the Spring. The rest don’t appear to have a lot of solid recent form to go on although Shaishee, Indianapolis and Spirit Quartz have all recorded decent times, if not finishes, so at the strong risk of tempting fate, if there is a solid pace, the Korean-pair have a chance.

For those watching from Korea, it will be a late night with race 4 set for 1:15am Seoul time and race 6 coming under orders at 2.25am.

Moon Se Young, Kim Hye Sun Join Top Class Line-Up For Macau “Mixed Doubles” Challenge

Korean Jockeys Moon Se Young and Kim Hye Sun are in Macau where they will participate in the inaugural Mixed Doubles Jockey Challenge at Taipa Racecourse this coming Saturday January 21.

moon-se-young

Moon Se Young (Pic: Ross Holburt)

The concept for the day involves six pairs of riders – one male, one female – from six different countries, however they will be paired with a partner from another country for the purposes of the challenge. The challenge takes place over three races on the turf on Saturday afternoon, with mounts having been drawn at random. The pair scoring the highest number of combined points will be crowned winners.

kim-hye-sun

Kim Hye Sun (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Moon Se Young, who has been Seoul’s dominant jockey in recent years, has been paired with Australian rider Katelyn Mallyon. Kim Hye Sun, who holds the record for most wins here by a female jockey teams with Champion Singapore jockey Manoel Nunes.

The legendary Yutaka Take and “Idol Jockey” Nanako Fujita represent Japan. Take will team up with Brazil’s Jeane Alves de Lemos while Nanako partners with Hong Kong-based French jockey Olivier Doleuze.

American jockey Jacqueline Davis rides with New Zealand’s Andrew Calder while Ireland’s Emily Finnegan completes the line-up alongside local Macau-based Luis Corrales.

For more information about the Jockey Challenge, see the article on the Macau Jockey Club website here.

For racecards for Saturday’s meeting at Taipa click here.

 

 

(Late) Weekend Round-Up: Final Boss Starts 2017 Well At Seoul

Korea’s reigning champion juvenile made his first appearance as a three-year-old last Sunday and it was a winning start as Final Boss stepped up to two-turns and comfortably saw off his class 3 opposition.

Despite winning the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup in October, Final Boss (Menifee) was still sent off as a 12/1 chance in the Breeders’ Cup (the top juvenile race in Korea) at the beginning of December with punters favoring horses from Busan, where the winners of the vast majority of big races in Korea over the past few years are trained. However, Final Boss was far too strong in the closing stages that day and entered 2017 as the early favourite for the big Classic races.

While there is a long way to go, Final Boss did nothing to change that on Sunday and while it took him a while to get to the front, once he got into gear in the closing stages, the result wasn’t in doubt for long. The margin on the line was almost two lengths and after five consecutive wins, sterner tests await.

* At Busan, Perdido Pomeroy (Pomeroy) got back to winning ways in Sunday’s feature. The colt had been without a victory since his triumph in the SBS Korea/Japan Cup last June but under apprentice Jung Do Yun, the four-year-old led from gate to wire in the 1400M race, seeing off the closing Tongil Sidae with plenty to spare.

* It was another good weekend for much of the foreign contingent with Bart Rice and Peter Wolsley sending out winners as usual while jockeys Djordje Perovic, Jan Havlik, Marcello Belli, Darryll Holland, Yonekura Satoshi and Francisco Da Silva all found the winner’s circle at least once.

Sunday Seoul & Busan: Race-By-Race Preview (January 15)

It’s turned very cold over the peninsula the past few days. No better way to warm up though than getting on the punt! 11 races at Seoul from 10:50 to 18:00 including last year’s champion juvenile Final Boss making his first appearance as a 3-year-old. At Busan there are 6 races from 12:35 to 17:00.

20161022_165205-1.jpg

Last year’s champion juvenile Final Boss races at Seoul on Sunday

English race cards are here. Notes on all Seoul races (which will be shown on Sky Racing in Australia) are below:

Key
Fast Starters: Expected fastest starters today
Start-200M: Fastest average time for Start-200M (most recent 6 starts)
200M-Finish: Fastest average time for 200M-Finish (most recent 6 starts)

Race 1: Class 6 / 1000M / Allowance / KRW 40 Million / 10:40

Nine of the twelve are first-time starters but it’s going to be hard to oppose (10) ARGO MELODY, one of the three with prior experience, who was 2nd on debut a month ago. (3) SUN PLAZA actually beat Argo Melody in trials and joins (2) LITTLE SOCIE and (7) JIBONG BULPAE as looking the best of the debut-makers. Aussie trainer Brian Dean saddles (4) UNKISS ME but a watching brief may be best for that one first-up.

Selections: (10) Argo Melody (3) Sun Plaza (2) Little Socie (7) Jibong Bulpae
Next Best: 12, 1
Rating: –
Start-200M: 1, 6, 10
200M-Finish: 10, 1, 6

Race 2: Class 5 / 1000M / Handicap / KRW 40 Million / 11:05

(2) MONEY TRACK was a seven-length winner on debut on November 26th and while up in class today, he’ll be odds-on to make it two out of two and should lead from gate to wire. If we must oppose him then (1) RAON KINGDOM looks most likely having been 2nd on his first try at this class last month and seems to have potential. (12) ROYAL ESSENCE is up in class following a smart maiden win at the distance on the same day as Money Track’s but has a bit more to find while (11) JEOMIPGASOK is more experienced and can comes in following back to back 3rd places in similar assignments to this.

Selections: (2) Money Track (1) Raon Kingdom (12) Royal Essence (11) Jeomipgasok
Next Best: 8, 6
Rating: 1, 2, 8, 7=12
Start-200M: 2, 12, 1, 4, 7
200M-Finish: 2, 3, 10, 6, 11

(more…)

Busan Friday: Race-By-Race Preview (January 13)

Power Blade and Diferent Dimension ran overnight in the Dubai World Cup Carnival meeting at Meydan with the pair running 3rd and 7th respectively among 15 runners in the 1600M Handicap. Their home track is Busan and it’s on the South Coast where Korea’s weekend racing gets underway on Friday with 11 races from 11:30 to 18:00.

English Race Cards can be found here. Notes on overseas simulcast races are below:

Key
Fast Starters: Expected fastest starters today
Start-200M: Fastest average time for Start-200M (most recent 6 starts)
200M-Finish: Fastest average time for 200M-Finish (most recent 6 starts)

Race 4: Class 6 / 1600M / Allowance / KRW 20 Million / 13:40 

Really rare opportunity for class 6 horses to have a go at a mile so needless to say it’s a full field and none of them have had a chance at the distance before. Were ten months between (5) THE BEE GOLD’s debut and second start. He looked much improved on his return two weeks ago and can continue to improve here. (7) YONGWANGDAM showed ability at 1300M and is one of a number who should appreciate the trip while Kim Young Kwan’s (8) FOUR NINES comes in following back to back 2nd places and looks the likely pace-setter here. Those are the three standouts but in such a race there are plenty of possibilities among which (9) STYLISH and (3) DONGNAM DAEBAK look to be the most likely of the rest.

Selections: (7) Yongwandam (8) Four Nines (5) The Bee Gold’s (9) Stylish
Next Best: 3, 10
Rating: –
Fast Starters: 3, 8
Start-200M: 3, 8, 12, 9, 1
200M-Finish: 8, 10, 11, 5, 7 (more…)

DWCC 2017: Power Blade & Diferent Dimension To Face Off At Meydan Thursday

Power Blade and Diferent Dimension will race each other at the Dubai World Cup Carnival on Thursday evening. The Korea-trained pair have both been declared for the 1600M Handicap race 4 at Meydan Racecourse.

2016 Korean Triple Crown winner Power Blade (Menifee), trained by Kim Young Kwan, will be ridden by Pat Cosgrave while Adrie De Vries will partner the Peter Wolsley-trained Diferent Dimension (Into Mischief) in the race which is at 8.15pm local time (1:15am Friday in Korea).

dubai-race

See the full race card at Emirates Racing Authority

Both horses have reportedly been well in training. The race, which has attracted 15 runners, looks competitive. Top weight is Final Selection (Diktat), who raced in high class company in 2016 and finished 2nd to The Gurkha at Deauville last May but ended the season in indifferent form. Satish Seemar’s North America (Dubawi) enters having won his last two at Meydan, both at a mile, in non-Carnival meetings in November and December. Bluff (Tapit) also won last up at Jebel Ali.

Heavy Metal (Exceed And Excel) has come close in recent starts and  on one of them finished 2nd to Need To Know (Western WInter) who surely goes better on the Meydan dirt than he did on the Seoul sand in the Korea Cup last September. Along with the Korean pair, it’s hard to know at first glance what to make of American and Swedish runners Wildcat Red (D’Wildcat) and Pistol (Eishin Dunkirk).

That’s the beauty of this meeting though and while Power Blade and Diferent Dimension have it all to do, if they run to their best in what is not a strong race by Carnival standards and on what is currently a very fast track at Meydan, this is a field that they should be able to at least be competitive in.

The other three Korea-trained horses in Dubai for the Carnival are expected to be entered for next Thursday’s card. Two-time President’s Cup winner Triple Nine will likely be pointed to 2000M while Main Stay and Seoul Bullet would be expected to tackle a sprint distance.

“Championship Series” Kicks Off With Wins For Champ Line & Gumanseok

Champ Line and Gumanseok both made the most of light weights to win the respective class 1 features at Busan and Seoul on Sunday afternoon and put early points on the board in the new Championship Series.

Champ Line (Curlin) was sent off as the odds-on favourite for Busan’s 1800M feature. Always prominent under Seo Seung Un and carrying 6.5kg less than stablemate and 2nd-favourite Dynamic Dash, he comfortably saw off the challenge of Emeth (Rothesay) when the two went clear in the home straight, running on to win by an eased down two lengths. It was an 8th win in 17 starts for the Thomas Gillespie trained 5-year-old and his second at class 1.

At Seoul, the conditions were the same for the feature race with Sambong and Bichui Jeongsang being sent off as the top two in the market. The latter barely featured under the 58kg top weight but Sambong was one of six horses who got close to the eventual winner in what was a thrilling finish.

That winner would be the 8-year-old Gumanseok (Vicar), making his 51st start and carrying just 51kg with apprentice Ha Jung Hun on board. Just over a length separated the first seven home but three quarters of that was Gumanseok’s winning margin as once he got on top with half a furlong remaining, never looked like being beaten.

It was a 12th career victory for Gumanseok who won a pair of Listed races back in 2013 and has been a consistently reliable performer ever since. Today he took his earnings just shy of 1 Billion Won. It also put him on top, along with Champ Line of the “Championship Series”.

The Championship Series is a new feature of the racing calendar in 2017. The idea is that a number of races throughout the year are to be designated as “Championship Series” races. Points will be awarded for finishing in 1st, 2nd or 3rd places in those races. A league table will be maintained and those horses with the highest points will qualify to run in the two big end-of-season races, the President’s Cup (Korean bred only) and the Grand Prix Stakes. This qualification process will replace the “Arima Kinen” style public vote which has been in recent years to decide on the participants for the Grand Prix as the declining numbers of actual voters (barely a thousand in 2016), has made the voting somewhat less than fit for purpose and risks deserving horses missing out.

Whether Champ Line or Gumanseok will end the year deserving or not remains to be seen but it should maintain the interest over the coming months.

*In other news, all four high profile jockeys who have relocated tracks for 2017 found themselves in the winners’ circle. At Busan, Jo Sung Gon quickly picked up where he left off riding for Peter Wolsley as the pair combined for two winners on Friday while Jo In Kwen was successful on a rank outsider in the penultimate race on the same day. Grand Prix Stakes winning jockey Ham Wan Sik broke his Busan duck on Sunday. Meanwhile, the only jockey to go the other way was Kim Yong Geun and the Triple Crown winning jockey rode a double in Seoul on Saturday.

Racing returns to Korea next Friday at Busan. Before that though, attention switches to Dubai where Power Blade and Diferent Dimension could well line up against each other over a mile in Thursday’s Carnival meeting at Meydan.

Mirko Sanna Rides 1st Korean Winner

Mirko Sanna began his Korean stint at Busan on Friday and it didn’t take the Italian licensed jockey long to get off the mark as he guided 20/1 chance B.K. Park to victory at Busan on Sunday afternoon.

The 32-year-old Sanna, who had previously ridden in Europe, Malaysia and Canada, made the breakthrough on what was 12th Korean ride. He took B.K Park right back at the start of the 1300M Busan race 4 and closed well to beat odds on favourite Great King by just over a length on the line.