April is underway and the first Triple Crown weekend of the season is upon us with the running of the KRA Cup Mile at Busan.

The formidable looking quintet of Doraon Hyeonpyo, Rafale, Mac And Cheese, Summit Myeongun and Yeongcheon Ace head the field while the hope that Seoul’s two entries were actually some form of Korean racing April Fool’s Day joke have been dashed. See below for a full preview of the big race.

April also sees the shifting of Friday racing at Busan to a later start time with the first race now being 12.50 and the last 19.00. This will be the case for the next four months.

Full racecards are available here.

Here’s what’s happening when and where across this big weekend:

Friday April 3
Busan Racecourse: 10 races from 12.50 to 19.00.
Jeju Racecourse: 8 races from 13.15 to 17.10

Saturday April 4
Seoul Racecourse: 13 races from 10.50 to 18.00.
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 12.20 to 17.10.

Sunday April 5
Seoul Racecourse: 10 races from 10.50 to 18.00.
Busan Racecourse: 6 races from 12.45 to 17.30 including the KRA Cup Mile at 16.35

Sunday will see the first leg of the 2015 Korean Triple Crown. The race in question, the KRA Cup Mile, has been run every year since 2005 but only since 2008 has it been open to horses from Seoul and run on its current date in the calendar as the first jewel in the 3-year-old crown.

The track configuration at Seoul Racecourse has never allowed for races to be run at a distance of a mile so, when the Busan Racecourse was designed, that was to be a key feature. The track opened in 2004 and the first Cup Mile, held on a Friday in September 2005, was won by US import Siseon Jeap (Precise End).

The following year the race got a name change, the KRA Chairman’s Cup and a distance change to 1800M. Golding (Gold Alert), who would continue to be a stalwart at Busan until 2011, took the honours. In 2007, it was back to being the Cup Mile and Luna (Concept Win) landed the biggest win of her career. Australian jockey Garry Baker became the first of three foreign riders to date to have won the race.

In that same year, J.S. Hold won all three races of the Seoul Triple Crown but for 2008 Busan horses were invited to take part for the first time and the track invited to host the first leg. As a result, the Cup Mile was shifted to the first Sunday in April. Here is a list of the winners every year since then and what’s become of them:

2008: Rainmaker [Revere – Wandering Katie (Tejano)] – The 3/1 favourite won the race by two and a half lengths but then finished last in the Derby and would never win a race again. He suffered some injury setbacks and was finally retired in 2010. He was registered for breeding and covered the occasional mare but last September began training for Equestrianism.

2009: Sangseung Ilro [Concept Win – Ms. Whiskey (Whiskey Wisdom)] – The first of two superstar winners, she was a 16/1 outsider (the first and only correct tip ever given on this blog’s twitter feed!) and despite behind the scenes shenanigans with Eiki Nishimura getting jocked off in favour of Jo Sung Gon, she went on to win the Korean Derby. Long odds-on favourite for the Korea Oaks. she was caught on the line by Pang Pang and then, at 80% fitness, ran 3rd in the Minister’s Cup when trying to seal the Triple Crown. She is the only Cup Mile winner so far to go on to win the Derby. Sangseung Ilro won two more Stakes races as a 4-year-old before being retired for broodmare duties. One of the best fillies ever produced in Korea.

2010: Money Car [Newsprint – Pinocchio (Big Sur)] – The first of just two winners from Seoul, he came into the Cup Mile with 5 wins from 6 starts and was a dominant 11-length winner. Odds-on favourite for the Derby, he looked home and hosed a furlong out but was run down on the line by Cheonnyeon Daero. He only ran once more, his career ended by injury. Out at pasture for a few years, he was registered for breeding in 2013 and occasionally covers mares at Hyunma Farm on Jeju Island.

2011: Soseuldaemun [Meisei Opera – This Ole Way (Vigors)] – This was a 3-year-old crop that, filly Useung Touch and solid handicapper Singgereounachim aside, didn’t really live up to its early promise. Toshio Uchida, “Mr. Pink” rode 7/1 chance Soseuldaemun to a 2-length win but the colt didn’t travel well to Seoul for the Derby and, 20 kilos lighter, finished 7th. He only raced twice more, a very solid 3rd in the Gyeongnam Do-Min Ilbo was followed by a return to Seoul for the Minister’s Cup where he was last of 14. Not registered for breeding, he was retired to Myeongsin Farm on Jeju.

2012: Gyeongbudaero [Menifee – Princess Lanique (Cherokee Run)] – One of the finest Korean-bred racehorses who is only now peaking. He was Busan’s champion Juvenile in 2011 and was the 3-length winner of the Cup Mile. A month later, he finished 3rd in the Derby, just a length behind Jigeum I Sungan and was 3rd behind the same horse in the Minster’s Cup. The same year, he was also 3rd in the President’s Cup. 13 of his 29 starts have come in Stakes races and it was in 2014 where he rose to the very top of Korean racing. Having won the President’s Cup at Seoul in November, he returned to win the biggest race of all, the Grand Prix Stakes, in December. Currently the highest rated Korean bred horse.

2013: Sting Ray [Forest Camp – Straight Cash (Straight Man)] – A victory for the Korean breeding program with dam Straight Cash being a winner of the JRA Trophy in Korea. Sting Ray was the odds-on favourite for the Cup Mile and duly won by 4-lengths. He finished 6th in the Derby a month later and is still running and regularly winning money in class 1 races at Busan in races up to a mile.

2014: Cheongnyong Bisang [Volponi – Miss Alwuhush (Alwuhush)] – The 20/1 chance filly became Seoul’s second winner of the KRA Cup Mile when taking a 2-length victory last year. Another filly, Queen’s Blade, had been sent off as the odds-on favourite and she would come good a month later in the Korean Derby in Seoul with Cheongnyong Bisang back in 4th. Blighted by injury, the KRA Cup Mile winner has only run twice since the Derby and remains in training.

Final declarations for this year’s race will be made on Wednesday. A full preview of the big race is to follow.

Cheonnyeon Dongan confirmed her status as Seoul’s top Korean bred racemare with a commanding performance in the Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup in the capital on Sunday afternoon.

A 5-year-old, Cheonnyeon Dongan came into the race a multiple Stakes winner already and was duly sent off as the odds on favourite for the 2000M test, the same distance over which she beat plenty of her rivals here in last month’s Donga Ilbo Trophy.

Once more, she didn’t disappoint. Under champion jockey Moon Se Young, she sat in the middle of the pack until beimg unleashed in the home straight to beat Pinot Noir by just over a length, with Ua Deungseon a further 8 lengths back in 3rd.

It was Cheonnyeon Dongan’s 10th career victory from 22 starts and it takes her to just shy of $1Million in prize money. A tilt at the Queens’ Tour series in the latter half of the year looks the logical next step for her.

Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup (KOR G3) – Seoul Racecourse – 2000M – March 29, 2015

1. Cheonnyeon Dongan [Ecton Park-Honeycakes (Hennessy)] – Moon Se Young – 1.4, 1.1
2. Pinot Noir [Capital Spending-Neungnyeokchungman (Pacific Bounty)] – Park Eul Woon – 1.3
3. Ua Deungseon [Menifee-Singgeureoun (Mr.Adorable)] – Seo Seung Un – 3.4
Distances: 1.5 lengths/8 lengths – 15 ran

At Busan though, some punters denied their fellow racegoers the opportunity of seeing Gyeongbudaero maintain his 100% record with the final two races having to be abandoned after crowd disturbances.

In race 4, Yeongung Bolt was sent off as the odds-on favourite and was sent towards the front by jockey Joe Fujji. However, after about a furlong, the saddle on Yeongung Bolt, who had been sweating up considerably, began to slip.

Fujii was soon left with no stirrups and very little in the way of control and he was left riding Yeongung Bolt home cowboy style in the straight. Unsurprsingly, the horse finished last.

No doubt emboldened by the racing authority’s decision to pay out on a disqualified horse at Seoul last week to end disorder, a small number of punters invaded the walkway between paddock and track demanding Yeongung Bolt be declared a non-runner.

To his enormous credit, Fujii appeared on the Racing Broadcast Network to explain exactly what happened and to (unnecessarily) aplogise to punters, something he repeated on twitter on Monday morning.

This time the Authority was not for turning and abandoned the final two races. The card at Seoul continued without incident.

Following last week’s decision, it was inevitable that some punters would be looking for another opportunity to rebel as soon as possible. With Busan punters having now had their turn, hopefully it’s now out of everybody’system.

Cheonnyeon Dongan aside, it was less than a great day all round with Seoul jockeys Yoo Mira and Kim Ok Sung both requiring hospital treatment after seperate falls.

Next week it’s the KRA Cup Mile, the first leg of the 2015 Korean Triple Crown.