Soseuldaemun Third As Meisei Opera’s Gamun Daejangun Wins Do-Min Ilbo

We knew it was going to be a tough ask for KRA Cup Mile winner Soseuldaemun to recover from his Derby drubbing and so it was to prove. However, his conqueror in today’s Gyeongnam Do Min Ilbo Stakes at Busan Race Park came from an unlikely source in the shape of Gamun Daejangun, with whom Soseuldaemun shares a sire, Meisei Opera.

Beaten: Soseuldaemun

Dongseo Jeongbeol was sent off as a warm favourite ahead of Heukdujangun with Soseuldaemun, looking much fitter than he did at the Derby, third in most punters’ minds. The top two, however, never got involved as Gangho Gullim led the cavalry charge to the first corner of the 1800 metre race. He almost stayed there until the end. Toshio Uchida brought Soseuldaemun into contention in the back straight and he, along with Heukdujanggun was well placed as the field entered the home straight.

Gangho Gullim didn’t stop going, however, and the only one who could match him in the straight was 44/1 shot Gamun Daejangun. Under Chae Gyu Jun the outsider hit the front with a furlong to go and kept it up until the line, finishing a length and a half ahead of Gangho Gullim with Soseuldaemun a full seven lengths behind in third.

Gyeongnam Do-Min Ilbo Stakes – Busan Race Park – 1800M – Sunday July 10, 2011

1. Gamun Daejangun (KOR) [Meisei Opera – Wild Triple (Military)] – Chae Gyu Jun – 44.6, 10.3
2. Gangho Gullim (KOR) [Mujaaxif – Our Kaapstad (Kaapstad)] – Oh Young Il – 3.1
3. Soseuldaemun (KOR) [Meisei Opera – This Ole Way (Vigors)] – Toshio Uchida – 1.9

Distances: 1.5 lengths/7 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Heukdujanggun 5. Dongbangmiin 6. Choego Yeongung 7. Dongseo Jeonbeol 8. King Austin 9. Perfect Made 10. Black Ruby 11. Yeonsuk Yeonseung 12. Enough To Win 13. Daeseung Yegam

Gamun Daejangun – “Shogun Family” in English, while starting as an outsider, had never been out of the money in his eight previous starts. The three-year old gelding now has three wins in total.

Beaten: Cheonnyeon Daero

On what was a big day at Busan, two former Korean Derby winners squared off. However, 2010 winner Cheonnyeon Daero and 2008 champion Ebony Storm were beaten into second and third place respectively by four-year old Super Force (True Direction). The colt got the better of a very tight photo-finish with Cheonnyeon Daero – over whom he had a nine-kilo weight advantage – to record his first win at class 1 level.

Up at Seoul there were fewer surprises as favourite Top Point (Tom Cruiser) took victory in the feature race. The seven-year old former champion Mare scored a half-length win over Victory Town in the 2000 metre event.

Next week is a big one. It’s the first of four weeks of evening racing (racing begins at 2:30pm continues until 9pm) and is headlined by the Munhwa Ilbo Stakes at Seoul and, most importantly at Busan, the Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup. The Metropolitan will see Grand Prix winner Mister Park looking to record his sixteenth straight victory. It would be a Korean racing record but he couldn’t have been given a tougher task. Seoul’s best will be going down to stop him in the shape of Tough Win and Dongbanui Gangja, while Busan’s finest – Dangdae Bulpae and Yeonseung Daero will also be there. It’s set to be one of the races of the year. Full build up throughout the week.

Rain Battered Seoul Loses a Race but Gwangyajeil Emerges With Reputation Intact

Gwangyajeil put in a performance full of spirit to grind out a victory at rain-soaked Seoul Race Park this afternoon. The Korean Derby winner came from behind to overhaul long time leaders Full Step and Kanui Byeol in the final furlong.

He may be a Derby winner but Gwangyajeil got soaked along with everyone else today

In his first appearance since the Derby, Gwangyajeil [Vicar – Hurricane Havoc (Jade Robbery)] was sent off as odds-on favourite although with the race delayed so that as much water could be cleared off the track as possible, the shocking conditions meant nothing could be taken for granted. Moon Jung Kyun on Full Step (Didyme) shot out of the gate and raced across to find the rail, the driest part of the track, with Gwangyajeil having emerged from gate 1 following.

It proved to be a good tactic as Full Step, without a win in over a year and sent off at 12/1, kept the lead as the field entered the home straight. However, Oh Kyoung Hoan had Gwangyajeil exactly where he wanted him and launched him down the rail in a flat-out bid to catch the leaders. Catch them he did and while Full Step battled on gamely, he was no match for Gwangyajeil who recorded his sixth win from eight career starts by half a length.

Race off: Horses and jockeys return after race 7 is abandoned

It almost didn’t happen at all. The monsoon returned with a vengeance overnight and by the time racing got underway this morning it had been raining non-stop for seven hours. It hit its peak in mid-afternoon as, with a flash of lightning, day turned to night, the rain intensified and suddenly outside did not seem like a wise place to be. As all this was happening, horses were heading to post for rain 7. For the first time since February the floodlights were switched on and the jockeys, having reached the start, sought shelter inside the gate handlers’ coach.

With time ticking on and the horses getting wetter and wetter, race 7 was abandoned which meant we didn’t get the chance to see how the much hyped Ruler Of The Gold (Tribal Rule-Continental Miss) did on his debut around two turns. After the abandonment, a delegation of jockeys and KRA officials toured the track by Land Rover to assess its safety. While race 8 was initially announced as abandoned too, on completion of the inspection the decision was reversed and racing went ahead.

What no punter likes to see - race 7 is off

This meant that Balhaemyeongjang [Champali-Beauty On Duty (Dynaformer)] had the opportunity to take victory in the feature handicap as he scored a three length win over Super Jet to record his eighth victory from fifteen career starts. The four-year old is becoming quite a force to be reckoned with in these kinds of events.

Down at Busan, where it was dry for much of the day, there were co-features. In the first of them, Australian six-year old Cheonseungmanseung [Way Of Light – Mysterious Ransom (Red Ransom)] took the honours while an hour later, Tamna Ace [Thunder Gulch – Escape (A.P. Indy)] was victorious over Bulkkot Gisang (Langfuhr) to record his seventh win from nine starts.

Racing returns to the peninsula next weekend and we could well still be in monsoon season. Pick of the action will be at Busan where KRA Cup Mile winner Soseuldaemun heads the field in the Gyeongnam Do Min Ilbo Stakes. He’ll be up against Isidore Farm and Peter Wolsley’s King Austin, as the Aussie trainer looks for hs first Korean Stakes win.

Despite the weather, many punters still showed up

After the mid-week monsoons, it was a hot, damp and humid day at Seoul Race Park. The rain held off, however, and there was plenty of action on the track to keep punters entertained. And some of them got very rich indeed.

Moon Se Young knows he's won on Tango Step

The day started with one of the biggest surprises in recent times at the track. It wasn’t just that filly Magic Choice [Yankee Victor – Redeemed (Red Ransom)], a non-winner in eleven starts and rated a 134/1 chance in the betting, won the race; it was that she won it by ten lengths.

These things happen from time to time – if they didn’t, there wouldn’t be much point in betting on racing. However, after Magic Choice in race 1 was quickly followed by 55/1 shot Finezif [Mujaazif – Fine Stone (Sober Star)] taking race 2, some punters must have been wondering whether to bother with the form any more.

Indeed, there wasn’t a single odds-on winner all day although things settled down a little bit as the afternoon wore on. There was a welcome return to the track for three-year old filly Gate Shine [Capital Spending – Rich Emotions (Rizzi)]. Winning her first two races as a two-year old, she finished runner-up to champion juvenile Magic Party in early December before picking up an injury that had kept her off the track ever since. She returned today in race 7 and looked very sharp as she scored a comfortable length’s victory. She’ll be an interesting potential addition to some big races later in the season.

As there was no class 1 action, a pair of class 2 races – one for domestically bred horses and one for foreign bred – acted as co-features. In the first of them, Moon Se Young guided filly Tango Step [Jump Start – Jewell Dare (Woodman)] to a last gasp victory of Sports Chosun Cup runner-up Tamnaseontaek. One race later, US filly Silent Dashing [Van Nistelrooy – Raised Silently (Raised Socially)] took the honours ahead of 90/1 outsider Hwanhuiui Hamseong (Westbridge). The four-year old has only been out of the money once in her nine starts and this was her third win.

Racing returns to Seoul on Sunday with Derby winner Gwangyajeil being the main draw. There’s also a card at Busan. However, with the monsoon set to return any moment now, it’s likely to be a very wet day at both tracks.

Sunday July 3

Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 11:10 to 18:00
Busan Race Park: 6 races from 12:30 to 17:00

Seoul Racecourse July 2, 2011

Strodes Creek Filly Wins Sports Seoul / Kim Ok Sung Returns To Stakes Winner’s Circle

Under an angry sky at Seoul Race Park this afternoon Sen Girl, a 7/1 chance, took victory in the Sports Seoul Cup and in the process put herself among the favourites for the Korean Oaks this coming August.

All Smiles: Kim Ok Sung and Sen Girl return as Sports Seoul Champions

Sunday’s racing began in the monsoon rain that has lashed the peninsula non-stop since Wednesday, however, by the time the ten fillies took to the track for main event at 4:30pm, the rain had stopped and a brisk wind made for drying conditions. While Seungniuihamseong was sent off the even money favourite, it was Mustang Queen and champion jockey Cho Kyoung Ho who set the early pace. As they began the long turn for home, veteran jockey Kim Ok Sung brought Sen Girl around the field to take the lead.

While Mustang Queen fought back bitterly in the home straight, it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish and Sen Girl held on to win by a neck on the line to claim the 108 Million Won first prize and punch her ticket to the Oaks at Busan. Behind Mustang Queen, Allegrissmo was a distant third.

Sen Girl is just one of twenty foals to be produced by the sire Strodes Creek (Halo) during his spell in Korea before his untimely death in 2008. Imported from Japan in late 2006, Strodes Creek stood for just one season before his tragic paddock accident. Three of that crop were in this race with Cheonupilseung and Event Queen finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

A few months ago, few would have foreseen Kim Ok Sung being back on the podium after a Stakes victory

It was also a milestone day for jockey Kim Ok Sung. Kim had his license cancelled last year after being accused of passing along inside information. After serving a six month ban, he returned to action last month. Although accused of a crime that punters hate more than almost anything, Kim remains exceptionally popular with race fans in Korea.

It could be his ever-present grin and willingness to engage in paddock banter that causes this – since his return punters are forever asking him for a tip. Or it could be the fact that he’s one the most experienced riders in the weighing room and punters like familiarity.

Perhaps though, it’s more to do with the fact that unlike the young professional athletes he rides alongside these days, he simply looks as though he enjoys a spot of soju and Sam-gyeop-sal and that if he wasn’t riding, he’d be queuing at the betting windows along with everyone else. Whatever the reason, it seems great to have him back.

Sports Seoul Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1700M – June 26, 2011

1. Sen Girl (KOR) [Strodes Creek – Badgering Shari (Badger Land)] – Kim Ok Sung –
2. Mustang Queen (KOR) [Concept Win – Arouser (Golden Missile)] – Cho Kyoung Ho –
3. Allegrissimo (KOR) [Bon Vivant – Corporate Romance (Corporate Report)] – Moon Se Young –

Distances: Neck/8 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Seungniuihamseong 5. Cheonupilseung 6. Event Queen 7. Giengnal Geunal 8. Saebyeokcheonsa 9. Hwaryeohansesang 10. Firenze

The rain stopped leaving clear air and an angry sky over Seoul Race Park