Seoul International Jockey Challenge 2012 Preview

The Seoul International Jockey Challenge 2012 is the highlight of the weekend’s action on the peninsula as six visiting riders take on six of the capital’s best in the annual four-race challenge.

Clockwise from top right: Ben Curtis, Karis Teetan, Ozcan Yildirim, Hayato Yoshida, Soo Khoon Beng, Manoel Nunes DaSilva

The jockeys will compete against each other in four races, two on Saturday and two on Sunday, culminating in the YTN Cup Stakes. In addition to the team prize, the leading jockey overall will take home an additional $20,000 prize.

Neither the United States nor Australia have sent riders this year so instead, the visitors hail from countries that the Korea Racing Authority has been forging close links with in recent years. Ireland and South Africa send young up and comers, while Macau, Turkey, Singapore and Japan’s entrants are all more experienced.

The Korean team is about as strong as it could possibly be with champion jockey Moon Se Young captaining. Kim Hae Sun becomes the first female rider to represent Korea in the challenge. Here is a full run down on the entrants. The draw for mounts was conducted on Thursday and appears to have thrown up a reasonably fair spread of chances:

International

Ben Curtis (Ireland) – 1840 rides / 122 wins – Former champion Irish apprentice, the 23-year-old is an American citizen and has also ridden in the USA, and UK.

Manoel Nunes D’Silva (Brazil) – 7831/1269 – Representing Macau in the challenge, the Brazilian learned his trade in Sao Paolo but has been riding in Asia for almost a decade. He’s won numerous Stakes races in Macau and has also ridden in Hong Kong and Dubai.

Soo Khoon Beng (Singapore) – 4139/519 – The 2005 Singapore Champion jockey spent a short but uneventful time riding at Busan in 2008. He’s won a number of Stakes races in his homeland.

Karis Teetan (South African) – 3581/445 – Born in Mauritius, he rides mainly in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. He won the Cape Derby on Jackson earlier this year.

Ozcan Yildirim (Turkey) – 7481/744 – He has 28 Graded Stakes victories in Turkey and 72 winners in the past year.

Hayato Yoshida (Japan) – 5781/443) – Ninth in the JRA standings this year with 41 winners, Yoshida is Japan’s only representative this year.

Riding for the Koreans are: Moon Se Young, Cho Kyoung Ho, Park Tae Jong, Jo In Kwen, Ham Wan Sik and Kim Hae Sun.

The four races involved in the challenge are as follows:

Saturday August 11
Race 9: 19:20, Domestic Class 3 Handicap, 1400 metres
Race 10: 19:50, Domestic Class 2 Handicap, 1900 metres

Sunday August 12
Race 6: 16:50, Domestic Class 3 Handicap, 1400 metres
Race 9: 19:35, Foreign Class 2 Handicap for fillies & mares, YTN Cup Stakes Listed, 1900 metres

Scoring: 1st: 20 points, 2nd: 10 points, 3rd: 6 points, 4th: 4 points, 5th: 3 points, 6th: 2 points, 7th-: 1 point.

There’s plenty more going on up and down the peninsula over the weekend. Here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday August 10

Busan Race Park: 11 races from 15:00 to 21:00
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 16:40 to 21:00

Saturday August 11

Seoul Race Park: 12 races from 14:20 to 20:50
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 16:20 to 21:00

Sunday August 12

Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 14:20 to 21:15
Busan Race Park: 6 races from 16:35 to 20:50

Seo Seung Un Finishes 3rd In Asia Young Guns Challenge

Korean apprentice jockey Seo Seung Un has finished 3rd in the Asia Young Guns Challenge which was held in Macau on Saturday. The challenge, which brings together some of the Asia-Pacific region’s most promising young riders, was won by Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Ng.

Seo Seung Un – 3rd in Asia Young Guns

In the first race of the challenge, Seo could only manage 8th as his mount, Wind Chaser, raced wide for much of the 1350 metre contest.

However, things got better for the first-year rider in the second heat, an 1100 metre sprint, as he guided Toy’s Power to second place.

Seo matched that in the concluding heat when after overcoming some pre-race confusion with whether or not he was riding with the right saddle, he rode Belt OF Golden to second.

That gave the Korean a total of 31 points (1 for finishing his first race and 15 each for his seconds), behind only Hong Kong’s Ng and Malaysia’s Yazid Kamal.

2012 Asia Young Guns Challenge Macau – Final Standings

1. Ka Chun Ng (Hong Kong) – 40 points
2. Yazid Kamal (Malaysia) – 35
3. Seo Sung Un (Korea) – 31
4. M. Cangas (Macau) – 25
5. Jake Noonan (Australia) – 20
6. C F Wong (Macau) – 18
7. Jason Collett (New Zealand) – 13
8. Zawari Razali (Singapore) – 10
9. Shinsuke Ishikawa (Japan) – 8
10. Keagan De Melo (South Africa) – 7
11. Taichi Nishimura (Japan) – 3

For more information and pictures of the event, visit the Macau Jockey Club site

Weekend Preview: Three Nights In Seoul

Seoul plows a lone furrow as the only Korean track hosting live racing this weekend, with Busan and Jeju taking a week’s break.

Twilight at Seoul

And for the first time in about ten years, there is racing in the capital on Friday in order to make up for the card that was lost to monsoon rain earlier this month.

That Friday card sees a pair of class 1 contests while Saturday also has some high-class action. However, the pick of the action is on Sunday evening in the shape of the Seoul Economic Daily News Stakes.

Ace Galloper (Chapel Royal) heads a strong field of domestic bred horses going over 1400 metres in the non-Stakes feature race and should be favourite to overcome 10 rivals, including former champion mare Love Cat (Volponi).

Here’s what’s happening:

Friday July 27

Seoul Race Park: 10 races from 16:00 to 21:00

Saturday July 28

Seoul Race Park: 10 races from 16:00 to 21:00

Sunday July 29

Seoul Race Park: 12 races from 15:00 to 21:00

Dangdae Bulpae Stuns Smarty Moonhak, Tough Win in Busan Metropolitan

Dangdae Bulpae (Biwa Shinseiki), the two-time President’s Cup winner, stunned favourites Smarty Moonhak (Smarty Jones) and Tough Win (Yonaguska), to win the Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup on a hot and humid night under the floodlights at Busan Race Park this evening.

Smarty Moonhak ran second but Tough Win was a disappointing fourth.

Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup (K.G3) – Busan Race Park – 2000M – July 22, 2012

1. Dangdae Bulpae (KOR) [Biwa Shinseiki – Indeed My Dear (Alydeed)] – Jo Sung Gon – 9.7, 1.7
2. Smarty Moonhak (USA) [Smarty Jones – Madeira M’Dear (Black Tie Affair)] – Park Tae Jong – 1.1
3. Jumong (USA) [Johar – Foreign Aid (Danzig)] – Ham Wan Sik – 5.1

Distances: 2 lengths / 0.5 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Tough Win (USA) 5. Smoking Gun (USA) 6. Jeonseong Sidae (AUS) 7. Sangseung Geotap (USA) 8. Yeonseung Daero (KOR) 9. Lion Santa (USA) 10. Cheonjidolpung (USA) 11. Adam One (USA) PU. Ghost Whisper (KOR)

Punters sent off Smarty Moonhak as the 1/2 favourite with Tough Win second in the betting market at 3/1 against. Dangdae Bulpae was the next fancied at 9/1.

It was Dangdae Bulpae who was quickest out of the gate, jockey Jo Sung Gon harrying him over to the rail and into the lead heading into the first corner. Smarty Moonhak went with him. A year ago it was Tough Win who followed Dangdae Bulpae into the corner and the two began racing each other far too early and ended up taking themselves out of the race.

This time they settled into a much more sensible – bordering on the slow – pace as they entered the back straight. It was then that things got interesting. As expected, Cho Kyoung Ho asked Tough Win to improve his position and as he did so, everyone else tried too. Entering the home straight, Dangdae Bulpae still had the lead with Smarty Moonhak on the rail and Tough Win coming down the centre.

In the penultimate furlong Cho on Tough Win made his move and looked set to go past everyone. On the rail, Park Tae Jong did likewise on Smarty Moonhak. But Dangdae Bulpae was not for catching. Tough Win’s challenge stalled in the final furlong and he couldn’t improve his position while Smarty Moonhak, while faster than the winner just couldn’t make up the ground, Jumong finishing quickly to split the two favourites.

Jo Sung Gon reacts as Dangdae Bulpae crosses the finish line (Pic: Newsis)

It was a 15th career win for five-year old Korean bred Dangdae Bulpae, and his 7th Stakes victory, a Korean record. While everyone knew he could beat the best Korean bred horses, today for the first time, he beat the imported ones too. Dangdae Bulpae is now a true champion.

Tough Win doesn’t like Busan. He won narrowly two years ago and was badly beaten last year. How much his bleeding attack in his last outing took of him is still unclear but he wasn’t at his best today.

Then there is Smarty Moonhak. He ran well but, when chased after by his jockey for the first time in his career, he couldn’t quite do it. He was well placed in the home straight but surprisingly was found wanting. He will come back to Seoul and will be aimed at the season ending Grand Prix.

So is Smarty Moonhak not as good as we thought or is Dangdae Bulpae better than we thought? Maybe both but a few months ago, most observers had Smarty Moonhak gradually improving throughout the year before winning the Grand Prix in December.

He is ahead of schedule in that regard and is only three years old which in Korea, unlike in other parts of the world where the breeding shed is more important than the racecourse, is still very young. He has a long career ahead of him. With that in mind it is better for us, as fans of Korean racing to celebrate a great performance by an excellent Korean bred horse, Dangdae Bulpae.

Korean Apprentices Ride Winners In Australia

Jung Dong Cheol and Yoo Gwang Hee Win in Queensland

After Seo Seung Un’s recent triumphs in the USA, it was the turn of two more young Korean jockeys to open their accounts overseas today as Jung Dong Cheol and Yoo Gwang Hee both rode their first winners in Australia.

Jung Dong Cheol (left) and Yoo Gwang Hee (centre) both rode winners in Australia on Saturday (KRA).

The two first year apprentices, who are based at Busan Racecourse, both debuted in August last year and are in Australia as part of their ongoing training. Between them they won three of the five races on Saturday’s card at Longreach Racecourse, a small track, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, in Central Queensland.

Yoo got things started in race 3 taking a half-length victory on 11/1 chance Vanguard (Chateau Istana) for trainer Charlie Prow. A race later he completed his double, riding Golden Portrait (Perugino), a 9/2 shot, to a two length win over Jung who grabbed second on 25/1 outsider Heza Flashman (Iglesia).

Jung didn’t have to wait too long to get in the winner’s circle himself, claiming the fifth and final race on Sistabella (Hidden Dragon) by just under half a length.

Since debuting at Busan last year, Jung has ridden 16 winners from 235 rides while Yoo has triumphed 7 times from 188.

h/t @mmsnippets

Weekend Racing Times

Evening racing is upon us! Here’s what’s happening when and where for the rest of the weekend:

Night-time at Seoul

Saturday July 21

Seoul Race Park: 12 races from 14:20 to 20:50
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 16:20 to 21:00

Sunday July 22

Seoul Race Park: 10 races from 14:20 to 21:00 including the SBS Cup at 19:10
Busan Race Park: 6 races from 16:05 to 20:30 including the Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup at 19:40

Tough Win vs Smarty Moonhak – The Preview

It’s time! The race that we’ve been waiting for all year will take place under the floodlights at Busan Race Park this Sunday evening as Tough Win and Smarty Moonhak square-off in the Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup. Informally billed as the Summer Grand Prix, it’s the climax of the first half of the season in the same way that the actual Grand Prix – at Seoul in December – rounds off the year.

Tough Win takes the Grand Prix (KRA)

It was in the Grand Prix that Tough Win and Smarty Moonhak met for the first and only time to date. Tough Win won that day, with the late Mister Park beating the then two-year-old Smarty Moonhak into third place. Seven months on and things could very well be different this time.

It’s not a match-race. Last year’s winner Yeonseung Daero returns to try to defend his title while double President’s Cup winner Dangdae Bulpae is also among a field of twelve who will contest the 2000 metre race on Sunday.

Here is a full run-down of all the runners, starting with the big two (gate, name, pedigree (runs/1/2/3) sex, age, weight to carry):

Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Stakes (K.G3) – Busan Race Park – 2000M – Sunday July 22, 19:40

Tough Win (KRA)

6. Tough Win (USA) [Yonaguska – Maggie May’s Sword (Sword Dance)] (21/17/2/0) G 5 58Kg – Cho Kyoung Ho (Seoul)
Reigning Grand Prix champion and the best horse in Korea at the moment. He won this race as a three-year old in 2010 but then last year inexplicably got sucked into an early speed duel with Dangdae Bulpae and was exhausted by the time he reached the home straight.

That’s unlikely to happen this time as Cho Kyoung Ho has tended to keep him well back in the early stages of recent races. Tough Win suffered his first bleeding attack last time out while carrying a ridiculous 64kg and while the weight won’t be an issue here, just how much that race took out of him might be. He’s worked well though and is the one to beat.

Smarty Moonhak (KRA)

9. Smarty Moonhak (USA) [Smarty Jones – Maderira M’Dear (Black Tie Affair)] (10/8/1/1) C 3 55Kg – Park Tae Jong (Seoul)
We still have no idea how good this colt is. Aside from his debut, the only time he has had to work in a race was in the Grand Prix and, bearing in mind the distance of the race and his tender age at the time, he wasn’t pushed. His races this year have been little more than public workouts.

This will be his first run at Busan where the back straight is more undulating and the home straight longer than that at Seoul and how he deals with these will be key. With regular jockey Moon Jung Kyun injured, Park Tae Jong, who has ridden more winners than anybody else in Korean racing history, gets the ride. With no disrespect intended to Moon, this can only help his cause. In Korea, jockeys wear their own colours, so Park will be wearing blue.

1. Lion Santa (USA) [Lion Heart – Santa Fe Strip (Phone Trick)] (13/10/1/0) C 4 58Kg – Gerrit Schlechter (Busan)
Won his first nine starts but has only won once from three tries this year and has never even attempted further than 1800M. In Gerrit Schlechter, he has the track’s in-form jockey in board and the South African has picked this one over two others.
2. Cheonjidolpung (USA) [Tactical Cat – Luminate (A.P.Indy)] (34/5/0/4) G 7 58Kg – Seo Do Soo (Seoul)
His third consecutive year running in the race, he took advantage of the favourites’ mistakes to finish fourth last year. He will be hard pushed to equal that this year.
3. Yeonseung Daero (KOR) [Creek Cat – Sensationalkris (Cryptoclearance)] (42/16/8/5) H 6 55kg – Choi Si Dae (Busan)
A wonderful horse, one of the best ever at Busan. Took full advantage of Tough Win and Dangdae Bulpae’s mistakes last year to claim a career capping victory and his been winning since. He can never ever be counted out.
4. Adam One (USA) [Sligo Bay – Toddles (Real Courage)] (30/3/3/3) G 5 58Kg – Lee Gi Hweoi (Seoul)
Smarty Moonhak’s work and stablemate, he’s here because there was space both in the race and in the horsebox on the way down. The only horse in Ko Ok Bong’s stable who can keep up with Smarty Moonhak in trackwork, he’ll not be able to in the race.
5. Jeonseong Sidae (AUS) [Stromberg Carlsen – Jessie’s Journey (Crown Jester)] (13/6/4/3) C 4 58Kg – Jo Chang Wook (Busan)
Without a win this year but with plenty of talent. However, an outside chance of a place at best.
7. Dangdae Bulpae (KOR) [Biwa Shinseiki – Indeed My Dear (Alydeed)] (24/15/2/1) H 5 55Kg – Jo Sung Gon (Busan)
Last year’s favourite and the two-time President’s Cup winner. An in-form Dangdae Bulpae should be able to live with anybody, including Tough Win and Smarty Moonhak. Whether he can beat them though is another question entirely. Looking at it objectively, the conclusion must be that he can’t.
8. Sangseung Geotap (USA) [Indian Charle – Mirta (Theatrical)] (19/7/2/1) F 4 56Kg – Kanichiro Fujii (Busan)
The only filly in the race won the KNN Trophy last time out but the fact that Gerrit Schlechter has decided to get off her may say somethng about her chances here.
10. Smoking Gun (USA) [Hat Trick – Desdemona’s Dream (Announce)] (5/4/1/0) C 3 55Kg – Yukio Abe (Busan)
The wildcard. Lightly raced but very impressive, this may appear to be too much too soon. However, with Yukio Abe on board and a confident trainer (who also trains Lion Santa), he may be worth an outside bet for a place.
11. Jumong (USA) [Johar – Foreign Aid (Danzig)] (30/9/7/4) H 5 58Kg – Ham Wan Sik (Seoul)
A very solid competitor and half-brother to the late Subsidy, Jumong runs in all the big races. He looks overmatched but has every chance of finishing in a moneying position.
12. Ghost Whisper (KOR) [Gotham City – Emmy’s Lullaby (Unbridled’s Song)] (11/7/3/0) G 4 56Kg – Kim Yong Geun (Busan)
Australian trainer Peter Wolsley lets his new stable star take his chance here, the grey was disqualified last time but otherwise was on a run of three straight wins inclusing two at class 1. Kim Yong Geun is an able rider and he may be worth backing for a place.

Verdict: Tough Win is a very strong competitor and most believed that it would not be until later in the year that Smarty Moonhak would be able to challenge him. Neither has put a foot wrong this year but his progress has been such that Smarty Moonhak can be the one who leaves Busan with the title “Best Horse in Korea”.

* Last year’s Busan Metropolitan was a disaster for jockeys Cho Kyoung Ho and Jo Sung Gon on Tough Win and Dangdae Bulpae respectively. They both get a chance to put things right this year – here’s what happened:

Seo Seung Un Headed For Asian Young Guns Challenge

Apprentice jockey Seo Seung Un has had quite the career so far. He debuted in August last year – riding two winners on his first weekend – and went on to ride 25 more until he went to the USA two months ago where he rode three more winners.

Seo Seung Un returns after his 25th winner – he’ll be off to Macau in August for the Asian Young Guns Challenge

Now back in Korea, Seo will soon be on his travels again as he becomes the first Korean jockey to participate in the annual “Asian Young Guns Challenge” which will be held in Macau on August 4.

Now in its fourth year, the challenge brings together some of the most promising apprentice jockeys from the Asia-Pacific region (and South Africa) to ride in a three-race series.

The event was hosted by the Victoria Racing Club at Flemington in Melbourne in 2009 and 2011 and by the Singapore Turf Club at Kranji in 2010.

Jockeys taking part this year are:

Ng Ka Chun (Hong Kong)
Taichi Nishimura (Japan)
Shinsuke Ishikawa (Japan)
Seo Seung Un (Korea)
Yazid Kamal (Malaysia)
Zawari Razali (Singapore)
Keagan De Melo (South Africa)
Jake Noonan (Australia)
Jason Collett (New Zealand)

They will be joined by a local representative from Macau for the three races, two of which will be on turf and one on sand. KRA Jockey Academy Instructor Robert Moore will be accompanying Seo on the trip.

More info is at the Macau Jockey Club website

New Jockeys Beat The Odds

Ahn Hyo Ri, Park Hyun Woo, Kim Hyun Joong All Win

Two apprentice jockeys scored their first ever career winners in the unlikeliest of circumstances at Seoul this past Saturday.

Park Hyun Woo and Ahn Hyo Ri demonstrate traditional awkward Korean poses after their debut wins at Seoul (Pic: Ilgan Sports)

Park Hyun Woo and Ahn Hyo Ri both graduated from the KRA Jockey Academy this year and debuted last month.

Neither had won on from their few rides to date coming into last weekend but that changed as first Park and then later Ahn both rode long priced winners.

Race 2 saw Park ride 280/1 chance Misojanchi to a half-length victory, overtaking champion jockey Moon Se Young on Jeilgosu in the final furlong. It was the longest priced winner at Seoul for some years and an encouraging performance in the saddle from Park who looked very much at home in the finish.

Late on in the afternoon, it was Ahn’s turn. Her win came in race 8 on 53/1 chance Time Zone. Always well-placed, the pair overtook early pacesetter Vicar Summit in the final furlong and went on to record a relatively comfortable length and a half victory.

Winner at Busan: Kim Hyun Joong (Pic: Ilgan Sports)

Down at Busan another new apprentice was also riding a long-priced winner last weekend. Kim Hyun Joong, who debuted at the same time as Ahn and Park, got his second career victory on Sunday.

And it was an impressive performance as, on 48/1 Busan Prince, he beat out South African rider Gerrit Schlechter riding odds-on favourite Gwangsok Engine by a nose in a photo finish.

It’s early days but it seems we have another talented crop of young apprentices. With young jockeys these days being given much more of an opportunity to prove themselves than they once were – owners and trainers knowing that they’ve been better trained than their predecessors – no doubt there will be plenty more visits to the winner’s circle for all of them

Follow The Fleet!

Jigeum I Sungan Beaten A Nose By Fleet Boy In Munhwa Ilbo

It looked like Jigeum I Sungan was just going to do enough to win the Munhwa Ilbo Cup at Seoul Race Park this afternoon. However, the Korean Derby winner just ran out of rain-soaked track as 10/1 chance Fleet Boy held on to take victory by a nose.

Making his first appearance since winning the big one in May, Jigeum I Sungan was sent off as the odds-on favourite for the seven furlong Stakes race. It was filly Cheoneun, so talented but so inconsistent, who made the early running with Fleet Boy in close attendance and Jigeum I Sungan sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack.

Cheoneun tired in the home straight and Fleet Boy took over at the front while Jigeum I Sungan came through the middle, closing quickly. The head start he had given Fleet Boy was just too much, however, and the four-year-old just managed to hang on to take victory.

A late developer, it was a fifth win from fourteen starts for Fleet Boy and his third this year. As for Jigeum I Sungan, he’ll still be among the favourites for the final three-year-old Classic, the Minister’s Cup in the autumn. Cheoneun held on for third and will most likely try her luck in the Korean Oaks at Busan next month.

Munhwa Ilbo Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1400M – July 15, 2012

1. Fleet Boy (KOR) [Creek Cat – Fleet Carla (Afleet)] – Jo In Kwen – 10.2, 2.2
2. Jigeum I Sungan (KOR) [Ingrandire – Solmaru (Mujaazif)] – Moon Se Young – 1.2
3. Cheoneun (KOR) [Forest Camp – Naha (Silver Buck)] – Oh Kyoung Hoan – 2.2

Distances: Nose/2 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Gieongnal Geunal 5. Jeumeundeungi 6. Magic Light 7. Firenze 8. Seungniuihamseong 9. Shoot The Gold 10. Reverse Captain 11. Concho Dancer 12. Full Moon Party 13. Black Thunder 14. Challenge Vision

* Down at similarly sodden Busan, there was a breakthrough win for Joe Fujii. The Japanese jockey claimed his first feature race victory as he guided last year’s Minister’s Cup winner Dongseo Jeongbeol (Vicar) to an emphatic 8 length win in the class 1 race 5.