High Point cruised to victory in the SBS Cup at Seoul Race Park this evening in a remarkable return to form for the trainer/jockey combination of Shin Woo Cheol and Cho Kyoung Ho.

Champion jockey Cho had faced much criticism from punters for his ride on Tough Win in the Busan Metropolitan last week after he allowed the Shin trained defending champion to get sucked into a speed duel with Dangdae Bulpae right from the start. The pair wore each other out and played no part in the finish as Yeonseung Daero scored a narrow victory over Dongbanui Gangja.

Today on High Point, a completely different kind of horse, it was completely different. Cho dropped the five-year old, who was sent off as third favourite in the betting behind last year’s winner Wangson and former Ttukseom Cup winner Triple Seven, right to the back of the field as they approached the first corner, leaving it to outsider Pop’s Slew and old-stager Hongji to set the pace.

However, as soon as they got into the back straight, Cho made his move, bringing High Point right around the outside of the field to take him to the front. He didn’t stop there though and another burst of acceleration took the pair clear of the field as they rounded the hometurn. Into the home straight and the challenge from the favourites never materialised. The race was won with a furlong to go and Cho had the luxury of being able to showboat his way through the last 100 metres.

Behind them, Cheonun, second in the Oaks last year, got the closest – six lengths adrift, with Pop’s Slew gamely hanging on for third in a photograph with Special Volpony.

High Point (Silent Warrior) moves onto seven wins from his twenty-three starts. For Cho Kyoung Ho it’s a first Stakes success of 2011 and his second SBS Cup following his win on Neocheon in 2007. The champion jockey has had his critics in the past week, but today he was back to his best.

SBS Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1900M – July 24, 2011 – 18:20

1. High Point (KOR)[Silent Warrior – Fran’s Express (Expressman)] – Cho Kyoung Ho – 4.8, 1.6
2. Cheonun (KOR) [Ft. Stockton – Restless Patricia (Born Restless)] – Jang Chu Youl – 4.2
3. Pop’s Slew [Archer City Slew – Pop’s Glory (Navarone)] – Kim Ok Sung – 15.1

Distances: 6 lengths/1 length – 13 ran
Also Ran: 4. Special Volpony 5. Money Teukgeup 6. Baengnyeonbong 7. Natural nine 8. Suseong TX 9. Cheot Insang 10. Hongji 11. Triple Seven 12. Winner Prince 13. Wangson

Racing takes its annual summer break next weekend with all three tracks dark. It returns the following week on August 5, 6, 7. Between now and then, there is plenty of news to catch up on from the first seven months of the season which we’ll start doing tomorrow.

Tough Win, Dangdae Bulpae Beat Themselves / Legal Lady Wins Munhwa Ilbo

Yeonseung Daero sensationally grabbed victory in a thrilling finish to the Busan Metropolitan Stakes this evening, grabbing a home victory for Busan and a striking a blow for Korean bred horses against their imprted rivals. The five-year old beat double Grand Prix champion Dongbanui Gangja by the narrowest of margins after the two had given everything in a duel down the stretch.

Pre-race favourites Dangdae Bulpae (Biwa Shinseiki) and Tough Win (Yonaguska) set off out of the gate at a ferocious gallop and started racing each other for the first corner. By the time they entered the back straight, the pair had opened up a lead of ten lengths on the field. It was a risky game for jockeys Jo Sung Gon and Cho Kyoung Ho to play given the kind of quality behind them and slowly but surely as they turned for home, Dongbanui Gangja (Broken Vow) hove into view with Yeonseung Daero (Creek Cat) right there with him.

The favourites had given too much and the stage was swept clear for the stretch battle. It ebbed and flowed with both horses looking at one point as if they would go on to take a clear victory. But both kept on fighting back. In the end it was Yeonseung Daero who had his head down at the right time to land the biggest prize of the summer.

Six lengths behind them, Baekjeonmupae (Traditionally)led the field home with Cheonjidolpung and Mai Beppu landing a creditable money finish in fourth. As for the favorites, Dangdae Bulpae trailed home in sixth with Tough Win in eighth. Both left their races on the first corner.

Yeonseung Daero has had a remarkable career. So often the nearly horse – first behind Sangseung Ilro in 2009 and then Dangdae Bulpae in 2010 and the early part of this year, he has still managed to notch fifteen wins from thirty-four starts. Never taking the easy option, his owners have entered him for everything, more often than not taking on the imports instead of hoovering up weak domestic handicaps. Today, finally, they got their reward.

Would it have been different had Mister Park been there? As one who also likes to hit the first corner in first place, he may well have got sucked into the early battle between Dangdae Bulpae and Tough Win. Or, given a good ride by Yoo Hyun Myung, he may have joined Dongbanui Gangja and Yeonseung Daero in being perfectly placed to pick them off in the straight. But who cares? There will be plenty of days to talk about Mister Park. Today, Yeonseung Daero is the Champion.

Thirty minutes before they saw their best horses get downed once again by Busan, punters at Seoul were also treated to s spectacular finish to a Stakes race as Legal Lady (Lethal Instrument) held off a valiant late charge by second favourite Yeongtap (Sunday Well) to win the Munhwa Ilbo Cup. One of only two fillies in the race, Legal Lady was winning her sixth race from ten starts and seems destined to end up in class 1 racing sooner or later.

Legal Lady’s win saw a welcome return to the Stakes winner’s circle for former jockey Chun Chang Ki. Now a trainer, it was his first big race win.

Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup – Busan Race Park – 2000M – July 17, 2011

1. Yeonseung Daero (KOR) [Creek Cat – Sensationalkris (Cryptoclearance)] – Choi Si Dae – 10.5, 1.9
2. Dongbanui Gangja (USA) [Broken Vow – Maremaid (Storm Bird)] – Choi Bum Hyun – 1.7
3. Baekjeonmupae (NZ) [Traditinally – Star Sixty Seven (Phone Trick)] – Jung Ki Yong – 3.2

Distances: Head/6 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Cheonjidolpung 5. Mr. Loving Life 6. Dangdae Bulpae 7. Saseong 8. Tough Win 9. Yaho TS 10. Necromancer 11. Gippeun Sesang

Munhwa Ilbo Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1400M – July 17, 2011

1. Legal Lady (KOR) [Lethal Instrument – Sister (Houston)] – Oh Kyoung Hoan – 6.9, 2.2
2. Yeongtap (KOR) [Sunday Well – Full Time (Fiercely)] – Moon Jung Kyun – 2.2
3. Prime Galloper (KOR) [Strodes Creek – Apple G (Carson City)] – Won Jung Il – 7.9

Distances: Neck/1.25 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Super Rich 5. Saebyeogi 6. Absolute 7. Kakamega 8. Gayabobae 9. Dan Land 10. The Almighty 11. Yodongjewang 12. Medlin Speed 13. D. Day Plus 14. Yuseongjeil

The big summer of racing continues next week with the SBS Cup at Seoul.

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.

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.

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.