Weekend Preview: Moon Se Young Is Back, Heukgisa At Seoul, Queen’s Blade At Busan

The fallout from the Korea Racing Authority’s 2015 plan continues with local media in Korea reporting that a coalition of breeders, owners and trainers may boycott the races from the first weekend of February. As punters, we’ll worry about that next week though because in the meantime, there’s a full set of cards definitely going ahead over the next three days.

Busan hosts the pick of the action this weekend

Busan hosts the pick of the action this weekend

The feature race of the weekend is, as has become the norm so far this year, at Busan and takes place on Sunday when 2014 Korean Derby winner Queen’s Blade faces My Key and Peter Wolsley’s impressive Cinderella Man in the feature handicap.

At Seoul, champion jockey Moon Se Young returns from suspension for his first rides of 2015 and has plenty of live chances across the weekend. Moon will ride Impetus in Seoul’s feature race of the weekend, a race which sees Heukgisa carrying top weight in the handicap.

Among the foreign riders, Ikuyasu Kurakane, who’s nearing the end of his license period, should be in the winner’s circle at Seoul while Joe Fujii has plenty of decent rides at Busan. Nozomu Tomizawa will also be in action at Busan as will Nobuyuki Oyama who has made a quick return from injury. Masa Tanaka is suspended.

Click here for full racecards from the KRA.

Here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday January 23
Busan Racecourse: 11 races from 11:40 to 18:00 (Click here for a full preview of races 4-11)
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 13:20 to 17:20

Saturday January 24
Seoul Racecourse: 12 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 12:20 to 17:10

Sunday January 25
Seoul Racecourse: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Busan Racecourse: 6 races from 12:45 to 17:00

Beolmaui Kkum Heads January Ratings

Beolmaui Kkum remains the top-rated horse in Korea being pushed up one point following his Class 1 victory on Sunday. The latest Korean ratings, which were published on Monday, has the US-bred 5-year-old one point ahead of Grand Prix Stakes winner Gyeongbudaero.

Gyeongbudaero's Grand Prix Stakes win wasn't quite enough to see him to the top of the ratings. He is though, the top Korean bred horse (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Gyeongbudaero’s Grand Prix Stakes win wasn’t quite enough to see him to the top of the ratings. He is though, the top Korean bred horse (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Wonder Bolt is Seoul’s top horse and is up two points following his Grand Prix Stakes win although he was scratched from his scheduled start on Sunday. He is now 7 points clear of his nearest rival in the capital. New entrants at the top of the list at Seoul include Clean Up Joy, who was 4th in the Grand Prix Stakes, while at Busan Success Story comes in following two dominant victories over the past month.

Dropping off the list is Indian Blue, who has been retired ready for the 2015 breeding season.

Seoul Top 30
Busan Top 30

For the first time the ratings, which are for domestic use only and are not intended to be compared to international ones, have been expanded to include all horses down to class 5. The ratings are one of a number of changes which have not been universally popular among some stakeholders – principally trainers. For now though, while there will always be disagreements between connections, punters and the handicappers, they are if nothing else, providing a talking point.

Round-Up: Beolmaui Kkum, Success Story, Rafale Impressive Winners / Japanese Riders Going Strong / Opposition To KRA’s Race Plan

While Seoul’s top horse, Wonder Bolt, was scratched from what was supposed to be his 2015 debut in the capital on Sunday, down at Busan there were some strong performances last weekend.

Beolmaui Kkum was a winner on Sunday (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Beolmaui Kkum was a winner on Sunday (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Beolmaui Kkum (Put It Back), who for the second year running, couldn’t quite get it done in the Season-ending Grand Prix Stakes a month ago, returned to Busan and returned to the winner’s enclosure on Sunday afternoon. The 5-year-old carried top weight of 60kg for the 1900M Class 1 race, a full 8kg more than the other nine runners, but that didn’t stop him leading from gate-to-wire, running on for a two length victory, his 12th from 18th career starts.

Another who disappointed on his visits to Seoul last year was Success Story. A late arrival on the Triple Crown trail, he was 4th in the Minister’s Cup and last October and then a disappointing 10th in the President’s Cup a month later. Both those races were run over 2000M but on his return to Busan in December, he blitzed a class 2 field by a full seventeen lengths at 1400M. On Friday, Success Story (Peace Rules) was stepped up to a mile on what was his first try at a class 1 handicap.

And the results were impressive. Jockey Jo Sung Gon took the 4-year-old to the front right out of the gate and the pair stayed there for a very easy 8-length win. Success Story is going to be one to watch out for this year, possibly, with his sprinting credentials as they are, for such event as the Asia Challenge Cup.

There was also interest at Busan last Friday for this year’s Triple Crown. Rafale (Colors Flying), 2nd in the Breeders’ Cup race at Seoul at the end of November, made his own 2015 debut and his first attempt on the Derby distance of 1800M. It was a successful one with the colt streaking away for a 7-length win on the line. Rafale joins Doraon Hyeonpyo at Busan and Cosmos King at Seoul as having made very impressive first tries around two-turns and this year’s 3-year-old crop looks to be shaping up very nicely ahead of the first leg of the Crown, the KRA Cup Mile at Busan on April 5.

In other news, the Japanese jockey contingent continues to go strong. Ikuyasu Kurakane looks set to ride winners right until the bitter end at Seoul. The 2014 Jockey of the Year rode another two on Sunday. At Busan, Joe Fujii continues to be his consistent self, guiding 4/1 chance Battle Master to victory on Sunday while Masa Tanaka’s strong start to the year shows no signs of abating.

Tanaka ride two more winners across the weekend, first on Nobel Shinhwa (Ecton Park) on Friday and then on Sunday on Triple Nine (Ecton Park). The latter was a 5-length win on a favourite for Busan’s top trainer Kim Young Kwan. Even though he managed to pick up a ban as well, that kind of result bodes extremely well for Tanaka. He lies in 5th in the Jockey Championship with 5 winners from 23 mounts, just behind Fujii who is in 3rd with 6 from 33.

On the political front, the Korea Racing Authority’s new race plan for 2015, which has embraced a new rating system, a revamped Stakes calendar and permission for foreign ownership of racehorses, is being resisted by a coalition of breeders, owners and trainers. While such a disparate group is never, within itself, going to have the same priorities, one thing they do appear to agree on was that they were not consulted in the way they would have liked. There are interesting times ahead in the next few weeks

Big Changes As KRA Overhauls Its Racing Calendar

The Korea Racing Authority (KRA) has announced a major shake-up of of the racing calendar for 2015 as it seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of Korean horse racing and further its goal of being promoted to a Part 2 country.

All change in 2015

All change in 2015

The changes – which have been an open-secret for some time but were finally posted on the Authority’s Korean language website on Friday – coincide with the introduction of a new rating system that will see domestic-bred horses run against imported horses with far more regularity than they do now (although the Triple Crown remains restricted to Korean-bred entrants). The new calendar also adds International Open races to the the International Invitational ones which have been held in the past two years.

Here are the major changes:

Triple Crown: While the individual races which make up the Triple Crown remain the same, the final leg will be brought forward from October to July so the three jewels will be as follows:

April 5: KRA Cup Mile (Busan)
May 17: Korean Derby (Seoul)
July 19: Minister’s Cup (Seoul)

The Korean Oaks will also move forward from its previous August date and will be run at Busan on June 21. The Oaks will be the final leg of the “Filly Triple Crown” after the Cup Mile and the Derby.

Queens’ Tour: The three races that made up this series were previously spread over a period of 8 months which meant the line-up for the last leg was often unrecognisable from the first. To remedy this, the Ttukseom Cup at Seoul, has now been put back to June with the two Busan legs, the KNN Cup and South Gyeongsang Governor’s Cup being in September and November respectively.

International: Five races have been designated as open to international runners. The JRA Trophy in May and the aforementioned Ttukseom Cup in June will be international open races while the SBS Asia Challenge Cup will be the centrepiece of a huge weekend at the end of August. The Cup itself will be an international invitational race as it was last year, however, the Singapore Turf Club Trophy and the KRA Cup Classic will be run on the same weekend and wil be designated international open races. Qurantine protocols have already been established with both Japan and Singapore while others are being worked on currently.

Recognised Trial Races: While this blog has talked for years about such and such race being a trial for such and such another race but it’s never been officially that way. Now though, taking March 1 as an example, the Macau Jockey Club Trophy at Busan and the Sports Seoul Cup in the capital will both be official Korean Oaks trials.

More Opportunities For Sprinters: If Korean horses are to eventually compete on the international stage, it is most likely to be at sprint distances and with that in mind, there are more opportunities for them to run for big prizes. Both the Asia Challenge Cup and the Jeju Governor’s Cup will be sprints and both will also have official prep races.

Click here for the full 2015 schedule

Weekend Preview – Wonder Bolt, Beolmaui Kkum Headline At Seoul & Busan

It’s been a mild week across the peninsula and the almost spring-like conditions are set to continue for what’s going to be a busy weekend of racing in Korea.

Wonder Bolt is the star attraction at Seoul this weekend (Pic: Elan959)

Wonder Bolt is the star attraction at Seoul this weekend (Pic: Elan959)

At Busan, there are class 1 races on both Friday and Sunday. Friday’s card sees Success Story, fresh from a 17-length triumph last month, make his first bid for a big class 1 handicap as he takes on Road To Prince, My Winner and Challanhan Useung over a mile. Also on Friday, Rafale, the south-coast track’s champion juvenile, makes the first start of his 3-year-old campaign and his first attempt on the Korean Derby distance of 1800M.

On Sunday, Korea’s joint-top rated horse Beolmaui Kkum will be in action in the feature race. He’ll carry a full 8kg more than his rivals, who include Mujinjang, who has won 6 of his 7 starts and returns to action after over 4 months in the sidelines.

Seoul also sees its top-rated horse in action with Wonder Bolt headlining the feature race on Sunday afternoon. Just like Beolmaui Kkum, he’ll be giving 8kg to his rivals, but has every chance of overcoming it in the 1800M handicap.

Full racecards for the whole weekend are available at the KRA website. Here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday January 16
Busan Racecourse: 11 races from 11:40 to 18:00 (races 4-11 simulcast to Singapore – race by race preview here)
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 13:20 to 17:20

Saturday January 17
Seoul Racecourse: 12 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 12:20 to 17:10

Sunday January 18
Seoul Racecourse: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Busan Racecourse: 6 races from 12:45 to 17:00

More Acclaim For Ikuyasu Kurakane With NAR Special Prize

The exploits of Ikuyasu Kurakane, who was recently named Seoul Racecourse Jockey of the Year, have now earned him recognition in his home country with the Japanese rider set to receive a “Special Award” at the upcoming NAR Grand Prix in Tokyo on February 5.

Ikuyasu is becoming accustomed to receiving prizes (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

Ikuyasu is becoming accustomed to receiving prizes (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

Although he didn’t win the Seoul Jockey Championship, Ikuyasu rode 102 winners in 2014 including his first Korean Group win, which came on Samjeong Jewang in the KRA Cup Classic in October. That, combined with the fact that he had achieved his total with significantly less quality rides at his disposal than his rivals, was enough for the Korean poll to go his way.

Now that news has reached Japan. The Special Award generally goes to a rider who has reached a particular milestone in his or her carrer but it is unusual for the NAR to grant such an award for a Jockey’s performance overseas. Previous winners include one-time Busan based Hitomi Miyashita, who was recognized on her retirement in 2011.

Kurakane, who’s home track is the NAR’s Kochi Racecourse, is currently in his second stint in Korea, having previously ridden at Seoul and Busan between 2007 and 2008.

Taking both times into consideration, he has 285 winners from 2293 rides in Korea. Remarkably, it is a record that puts him 11th on the all-time leading jockey list at Seoul Racecourse.

Weekend Preview

It’s Magic Dancer vs Gumpo Sky in the feature contest of another busy weekend of racing in Korea

Magic Dancer and Joe Fujii go in Busan's Sunday feature

Magic Dancer and Joe Fujii go in Busan’s Sunday feature

Fields are a little on the short-side at Busan on Friday but there is still plenty of betting interest (click here for full race by race preview) and it could be another good day for the foreign connection with Joe Fujii and Masa Tanaka both on fancied mounts while trainer Peter Wolsley sends out the banker of the day in the shape of Lucky Gangja in race 5.

On Sunday on the south coast, Joe Fujii will partner Magic Dancer as top weight in the feature handicap, taking on one of last year’s top three-year-olds in the shape of Gumpo Sky.

There are competitive cards too at Seoul on both Saturday and Sunday with the capital’s only class 1 event of the weekend being Sunday’s finale.

It’s set to be a reaonably mild weekend, so come racing!

Click here for full racecards from the KRA but here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday January 9
Busan Racecourse: 11 races from 11:40 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 13:20 to 17:20

Saturday January 10
Seoul Racecourse: 12 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Jeju Racecourse: 9 races from 12:20 to 17:10

Sunday January 11
Seoul Racecourse: 11 races from 10:50 to 18:00
Busan Racecourse: 6 races from 12:45 to 17:00

2014 Review: Jockey & Trainer Titles
Moon Se Young - seen here being greeted by the female members of the weighing room after his 1000th winner, dominated Seoul

Moon Se Young – seen here being greeted by the female members of the weighing room after his 1000th winner, dominated Seoul

Once again, Moon Se Young was unstoppable. During the year he became only the second Korean jockey to reach 1000 career winners and finished the season with 61 more winners than his closest rival. That was Ikuyasu Kurakane and it was the Japanese jockey’s hard work on far less glamorous rides that saw him, despite Moon’s numbers, being awarded “Jockey of the Year” honours.

Seoul Jockey Championship 2014
1. Moon Se Young – 162 (27.1% win ratio)
2. Ikuyasu Kurakane – 101 (14.9%)
3. Seo Seung Un – 93 (15.1%)
4. Ham Wan Sik – 72 (20.6%)
5. Choi Bum Hyun – 56 (14.4%)
6. Yoo Seung Wan – 47 (9.1%)
7. Lee Chan Ho – 47 (13.5%)
8. Park Tae Jong – 40 (10.1%
9. Jang Chu Youl – 35 (8.0%)
10. Park Eul Woon – 35 (12.4%

At Busan, You Hyun Myung just missed out on 100 winners for the season but comfortably took the title. He did have some fortune with former champion Jo Sung Gon spending the first three months of the year in Macau and Joe Fujii missing five months through injury.

Busan Jockey Championship 2014
1. You Hyun Myung – 99 (20.2% win ratio)
2. Kim Yong Geun – 91 (20.1%)
3. Choi Si Dae – 78 (17.8%)
4. Jo Sung Gon – 75 (20.3%)
5. Kim Dong Young – 55 (12.4%)
6. Song Keong Yun – 34 (7.7%)
7. Kanichiro Fujii – 33 (12.2%)
8. Masakazu Tanaka – 29 (8.8%)
9. Lee Hee Cheon – 27 (14.6%)
10. Kim Hyun Joong – 25 (7.9%)

The Seoul Trainers’ title is nothing to get especially excited about but someone has to win it and that someone was Kim Ho. Special mention goes to Lee Shin Young who continues to make strides, finishing in 8th this year with 35 winners.

Seoul Trainer Championship 2014
1. Kim Ho – 50 (12.6% win ratio)
2. Bae Dae Sun – 43 (10.5%)
3. An Byung Ki – 41 (12.3%)
4. Kim Hyo Seob – 40 (15.9%)
5. Ji Yong Cheol – 39 (12.2%)

Kim Young kwan (right) manages to maintain his figure despite having to eat a cake after every Stakes winner. He trains a lot of Stakes winners. (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Kim Young kwan (right) manages to maintain his figure despite having to eat a cake after every Stakes winner. He trains a lot of Stakes winners. (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Down at Busan the competition is stronger mainly due to the presence of two men. The Kim Young Kwan factory continues to churn out winner after winner and hoover up the cream of each year’s horses. 2014 was an exceptional year too for Peter Wolsley, who finished 2nd with a superior strike-rate to Kim and in the process scored his first Triple Crown race win with Never Seen Before in the Minister’s Cup at Seoul.

Busan Trainer Championship 2014
1. Kim Young Kwan – 96 (23.7% win ratio)
2. Peter Wolsley – 65 (25.5%)
3. Baik Kwang Yeol – 48 (10.8%)
4. Kim Jae Sub – 47 (15.4%)
5. Min Jang Gi – 45 (13.1%)

* 2014 was also notable for the retirement of one of Seoul’s most successful jockeys, Cho Kyoung Ho, at the age of 38. The winner of two President’s Cups on Myeongmun Gamun and the Grand Prix Stakes and Busan Metropolitan on Tough Win, Cho did not announce in advance of his final ride that he would be retiring.

Afterwards, he posted a message online citing the pain from a shoulder injury suffered years earlier as having become too great to continue riding. He will be missed.

Also in jockey news, there will be a change in tracks for Oh Kyoung Hoan. It is unusual for Korean jockeys to switch between racecourses and while numerous jockeys relocated to Busan upon the track’s opening in 2005, it has been almost unheard of since. Nevertheless, Oh, who has been riding at Seoul for nearly 15 years, officially relocated to Busan on January 1.

2014 Review: Menifee Dominates Leading Sire Ranks Again

For the third consecutive year, Menifee was Leading Sire in Korea in 2014. This time it was by a record margin as his son Gyeongbudaero completed a late season President’s Cup and Grand Prix Stakes to take his sire’s earnings to nearly double that of next best, Forest Camp.

Menifee is Leading Sire once again (Pic: Malsarang)

Menifee is Leading Sire once again (Pic: Malsarang)

The table was very similar to last year’s with the only new entrant to the top ten being Peace Rules in 9th, who saw a remarkable 21% of all his starters win. He replaced Japanese sire Ingrandire, who dropped down to 17th after his best horse, Jigeum I Sungan, was retired at the end of 2013.

Leading General Sire in Korea 2014
Name – Earnings in 1000KRW – (Runners/Winner/Starts/Wins) Win% – Chief Earner

1. Menifee (USA) – 8,265,181 – (145/79/901/146) 16.2% – Gyeongbudaero
2. Forest Camp (USA) – 4,700,535 – (147/53/926/83) 9.0% – Magic Dancer
3. Vicar (USA) – 4,428,950 – (102/47/697/78) 11.6% – Gumpo Sky
4. Creek Cat (USA) – 3,301,666 – (124/44/675/78) 11.6% – Jungang Cheonhae
5. Pico Central (BRZ) – 3,098,159 – (113/39/641/61) 9.5% – Road To Prince
6. Volponi (USA) – 3,065,538 – (111/32/728/52) 7.1% – Cheongnyong Bisang
7. Didyme (USA) – 3,062,492 – (90/33/554/59) 10.6% – Hangangui Gijeok
8. Ecton Park (USA) – 3,044,083 – (85/37/516/63) 12.2% – Never Seen Before
9. Peace Rules (USA) – 2,924,780 – (67/35/365/78) 21.4% – Geumbit Hwanhui
10. Exploit (USA) – 2,843,528 – (107/36/711/51) 7.2% – Impetus
11. One Cool Cat (USA) 12. Yankee Victor (USA) 13. Ft.Stockton (USA) 14. Hawk Wing (USA) 15. Revere (IRE) 16. Capital Spending (USA) 17. Ingrandire (JPN) 18. Duality (USA) 19. Henny Hughes* (USA) 20. The Groom Is Red (USA)
* Very popular these days with Korean importers, Henny Hughes is the only non-Korea based sire to make the top 20

There is likely to be a shake-up next year though. While Menifee, as leading sire of two-year olds as well, is likely to keep his crown for a fourth year, top sires Creek Cat, Didyme and Pico Central have all passed away in the past two years and will gradually drop off the list.

Meanwhile Colors Flying has made an immediate impact with his first crop of two-year-olds hitting the track in 2014.

Leading Sire of Two-Year-Olds in Korea 2014
Name – Earnings in 1000KRW – (Runners/Winner/Starts/Wins) Win% – Chief Earner

1. Menifee (USA) – 920,575 – (38/22/123/32) 26.0% – Summit Myeongun
2. Colors Flying (USA) – 698,904 – (32/9/89/15) 16.9% – Doraon Hyeonpyo
3. Creek Cat (USA) – 567,884 – (34/11/108/19) 17.6% – Dream Queen
4. Forest Camp (USA) – 441,882 – (30/11/80/17) 21.3% – Yesuri Myeongun
5. Didyme (USA) – 363,080 – (25/5/78/10) 12.8% – Yuseong Fighting

Looking further into the future, Hansen covered 83 mares in his first season standing in Korea while 2014’s big money purchase, Tiz Wonderful, arrived on Jeju Island in November.

Sadly some stallions are no longer with us. Here is a list of foreign born sires who passed away in Korea this year:

Commendable (USA) [Gone West] (see obituary here)
Revere (IRE) (Dancing Brave] (Obituary to follow in January)
Al Naba (USA) [Mr. Prospector]
Field Asuka (USA) [Forty Niner]
Enlisted (USA) [Our Emblem]
Big Swing (USA) [Dixieland Band]
Happy Jazz Band (USA) [Dixieland Band]
Turbulent Storm (USA) [Storm Creek]

Tough Win Rolls Back The Years At Seoul

Tough Win returned to the racecourse for the first time since last September and more importantly he returned to the Winner’s Circle for the first time since July 2013 with a vintage come from behind performance under the lights at Seoul Racecourse today.

Tough Win in the paddock prior to his racing return this afternoon

Tough Win in the paddock prior to his racing return this afternoon

Wrapping up the bumper 15-race card, Tough Win (Yonaguska) was sent off as top weight and fourth in the betting for his first race as an 8-year-old and with a new jockey in the shape of Lee Chan Ho in the saddle.

Lee took Tough Win right to the back of the field as the exited the gates for the 1900M class 1 handicap, settling a full ten lengths behind the rest as they went into the first corner.

The well-fancied Bichui Wangja was showing the way for most of the race and Lee gently brought Tough Win back in touch as they went through the back-straight and began the turn for home.

Going wide, Lee and Tough Win still had ten horses to pass in the home straight but they picked them off but by the furlong pole, the race was as good as over, Tough Win cruising home by 2-lengths ahead of the rather unfortunately named favourite Unbeatable.

One of the stars of the past decade, Tough Win won the Busan Metropolitan and KRA Cup Classic in 2010 before beating Mister Park and Smarty Moonhak in a memorable 2011 edition of the Grand Prix. He would repeat his Metropolitan win in 2013 and today’s victory was his 23rd from 36 career stars.

The handicapper may punish him for this but it was worth it.

Motion Blur: Tough Win gets ahead in the final furlong

Motion Blur: Tough Win gets ahead in the final furlong

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