Weekend Preview

KNN Cup at Busan / Owners’ Trophy at Seoul

It’s set to be a Super Stakes Sunday as the KNN Cup at Busan and the Seoul Racehorse Owners’ Association (SROA) Trophy headline a busy weekend of action on the peninsula.

Yeonseung Daero and Choi Si Dae will go for the KNN Cup

Down south, the KNN brings together a pair of Derby Winners in Cheonnyeon Daero and Ebony Storm as well as President’s Cup Champion Dangdae Bulpae and Governor’s Cup winner Yeonseung Daero.

Classic placed Triple Sinhwa and prolific winner Lucky Dancer also join a star-studded line-up who will race over a mile in one of the most eagerly anticipated contests of the year (see blow for a full list of runners and riders).

Up at Seoul, it’s the Owners’ Trophy which is one of the biggest races of the year for foreign bred fillies and mares. Having said that, plenty of Korean bred fillies will be taking their chance including well-known names such as Love Cat, Cheonun and recent Stakes winner Raon Glory. We’ll have a full preview of the race – in which young jockey Kim Hae Sun will get her first Stakes ride – on the blog on Saturday.

Mai Beppu returns this weekend

Also this weekend sees a welcome return to action for jockey Mai Beppu.

The Japanese rider suffered an injury exiting the starting gate on just her second day of racing in Korea back in March after just five rides. She has several chances this weekend.

Here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday June 10

Busan Race Park: 9 races from 12:00 to 18:00
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 13:30 to 17:30

Saturday June 11

Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 11:10 to 17:30
Jeju Race Park: 10 races from 12:30 to 17:30

Sunday June 12

Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 11:10 to 18:10 including the SROA Trophy at 16:45
Busan Race Park: 6 races from 12:30 to 17:15 including the KNN Cup at 16:15

* And here is a full run-down of the field for the KNN Cup – all are Korean bred and the race is a handicap:
(Name (Pedigree) – Age, Sex, Weight to Carry – Races/1sts/2nds/3rds) – Jockey

KNN Cup – Busan Race Park – 1600M – Sunday June 12, 16:15

1. Annika Queen (Ft. Stockton) – 7,M,50Kg (46/6/7/0) – Hwang Jong Woo
2. Super Chocolate (Silent Warrior) – 4,G,50Kg (24/4/2/3) – Kim Tae Kyung
3. Pick Me Up (Time Star) – 9,H,50Kg (71/8/13/9) – Jo Chang Wook
4. Ebony Storm (Buster’s Daydream) – 6,G,54.5Kg – (32/8/5/5) – You Hyun Myung
5. Dangdae Bulpae (Biwa Shinseiki) – 4,C,58.5Kg – (16/11/1/1) – Jo Sung Gon
6. Triple Sinwha (Capital Spending) – 4,C,55.5Kg – (16/6/6/0) – Chae Gyu Jun
7. Lucky Dancer (Fiercely) – 6,H,56.5Kg – (28/11/3/3) – Toshio Uchida
8. Cheonnyeon Daero (Creek Cat) – 4,C,57.5Kg – (21/7/8/3) – Park Geum Man
9. Crown Flag (Volponi) – 4,F,50Kg – (22/2/3/7) – Kim Myoung Sin
10. Coming Through (Bon Vivant) – 4,C,50Kg – (16/3/6/1) – Jo Chan Hoon
11. Yeonseung Daero (Creek Cat) – 5,H,58.5Kg – (32/14/6/5) – Choi Si Dae
12. Gangjaui Beopchik (Fortitude) – 6,G,50Kg – (33/6/3/4) – Kim Do Hyun

After Government Bans Floodlit Golf, Will Night Racing Be Next?

High Oil Prices Could see a Repeat of 2008 Cancellation of Evening Program

Korea’s traditional summer night racing program could be under threat after the Korean government banned Golf courses across the peninsula from using their floodlights in order to save electricity. The measure, which came into effect in March will only be repealed if crude oil prices are recorded as being below $100 per barrel for five consecutive days.

The lights come on at Seoul - will they be kept off this year?

Korea, which must import 100% of its oil, is very sensitive to the prospect of fuel shortages and in 2008, the KRA dropped its plans for summer evening racing after the global oil price rocketed. Neither Baseball nor Football (Soccer) are affected by the measures and, while technically, the rules only come into effect at midnight each day, given the KRA’s status as a branch of the Agricultural Ministry, it would make sense if the evening program was abandoned to set an energy-saving example.

Currently, racing is scheduled to switch to the evenings at all three Race courses (Seoul, Busan and Jeju) from the weekend beginning Friday July 15 and continuing until Sunday August 20 with the last weekend of July being blank. “Evening” racing generally gets underway at Seoul at around 2:30pm continuing until 9pm with the lights on from about 7pm.

Of course, if it does happen the fixtures themselves will still go ahead but will be run during daylight hours.

Lee Shin Young Will Become First Female Trainer

Korea’s Most Successful Female Jockey To Begin Training In July

After eighty-nine years of organised horse-racing on the peninsula, Korea is finally getting its first ever female Trainer after it was confirmed that Lee Shin Young will make the transition from riding to saddling on July 1.

Lee Shin Young (Picture: KRA)

As we reported last April Lee successfully passed the Trainer’s License exam to become eligible to take charge of her own barn once a vacancy became available. That vacancy has now arisen and thirty-one year old Lee will give up her Jockey license at the end of June to begin training full-time.

Lee was only the third woman to gain a Jockey license in Korea and in her ten-year career on the track has ridden 90 winners from 893 rides. Known for an aggressive racing style that proved popular with punters but frequently landed her in trouble with stewards, she holds the record for thoroughbred race wins by a female jockey in Korea (Na YuNa having ridden well over 150 winners in pony racing on Jeju Island). That record may soon be under threat from Kim Hae Sun who has notched 23 winners during her apprenticeship at Seoul so far.

Whether Lee will get much support from owners remains to be seen. As Peter Wolsley will testify at Busan, outsiders tend to start off their training careers with the horses nobody else wants. While she has been in Korean racing circles for a very long time, Lee Shin Young will know better than anyone else that there will be those who see her as an outsider. It’s going to be a tough road to success but there will be few who doubt her ability to successfully navigate it.

* Back in 2009, we wrote about the history of women in Korean racing. This was followed in 2010 by the death of jockey Park Jin Hee

Forest Camp Colt Tops Jeju Sale

A colt by Forest Camp and out of the With Approval mare Fully Approved, fetched the highest bid at last week’s Jeju May Two-Year old Sale. The colt – called Myeongun Jewang – was bought for 130 Million Korean Won, a price which broke the sale record set last year by Exploit colt Champion Belt who was fourth in this year’s Korean Derby.

This Forest Camp colt topped the Jeju May 2yo Sale (Pic: Korea Racing Journal)

Forest Camp arrived in Korea in late 2007 and this year will see his first crop of two-year olds reach the racecourse. Fetching the second highest amount was a colt out of the mare Byenne (Jambalaya Jazz) who was in foal to Jump Start when she was imported to Korea in December 2008.

There were no fillies among the top ten lots and only two in the twenty. Menifee was the only sire represented more than once in the top ten which was as follows:

Sex – Pedigree – Sale Price – Seller – Buyer (Racecourse)
1 U.S. dollar = 1 082 South Korean won (June 7, 2011)

1. Colt [Forest Camp – Fully Approved (With Approval)] – 130,000,000 – Korea Horse Land – Kim Pyeong Kap (Busan)
2. Colt [Jump Start – Byenne (Jambalaya Jazz)] – 90,000,000 – Horse & Agriculture Co-op – Kim Taek Soo Busan/Seoul)
3. Colt [Menifee – Star Billing (Quest For Fame)] – 61,000,000 – Kim Soon Gon – Park Jae Beom (Seoul)
4. Colt [Menifee – Island Maiden (General Silver)] – 55,000,000 – Korea Horse Land – Jangsu County (Seoul)
5. Colt [Vicar – Prada (El Prado)] – 50,000,000 – KRA – Lee Joon Geol (Busan)
6. Colt [The Daddy – Nikki’s Nightmare (Dixieland Band)] – 50,000,000 – Choi Jong Bok – Woobin Leisure (Seoul
7. Colt [Pico Central – Shagoof (Diesis)] – 49,500,000 – Kim Chae Hyoung – Jangsu County (Seoul)
8. Colt [Exploit – Dixie Humor (Distorted Humor) – 40,500,000 – KRA – Jo Young Ja (Busan)
9. Colt [Archer City Slew – Bar Room Hit (Singh America)] – 40,000,000 – KRA – Lee Sun Ho (Seoul)
10. Colt [Biwa Shinseiki – Catcom (Catrail)] – 39,500,000 – KRA – Choi Byoung Kwan (Seoul

Source: Korea Racing Journal

As ever, full details on all horses in Korea for both racing and breeding can be found online in the Korean Studbook. meanwhile, Fallight has a number of official appearance videos by Korean based stallions on his Youtube channel.

Jo The Real Victor

Moon Se Young landed four winners on the day but, as the former champion jockey heads into yet another suspension, it was rising star Jo In Kwen who landed the feature race as he helped Real Victor live up to his name at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.

Putting them in the shade: Real Victor and Jo In Kwen hit the front

Real Victor was sent off as second favourite in the eight and a half furlong main event After sitting towards the back for much of the race, Jo guided the four-year old colt through the field with a blistering final furlong run to take the line a length ahead of Natural Guy. Symphony Sonata (a half-brother to former Blue Grass Stakes winner Dominican through their dam First Violin) grabbed a shock third place – his first money finish since October 2009.

He may have had four winners but Moon Se Young still didn't look too pleased as he contemplated his next four-day ban

Earlier, Moon Se Young had shown his class with four routine victories including on the improving Tiger Wing (Repent) in race 9. However, he’s going to have a fortnight off to spend his prize money after picking up a four-day ban yesterday for the kind of crazy first corner manoeuvre that he is becoming notorious for.

Although he won the Jockey Championship in 2008, he was, unfortunately injured for much of the 2009 season. Last year, he was neck and neck with Cho Kyoung Ho at the end of November before picking up a lengthy ban which gifted the title to his rival. This year, it seems he has been suspended more often than not.

For up and coming Jo In Kwen who, in the past few weeks has passed the milestones of both his 100th career winner and his first Stakes race victory, it was another very good day.

Down at Busan it was another extremely good day for Toshio Uchida as the Japanese jockey claimed victory in both co-feature races. First up he took the domestic Class 1 handicap on Mupae Star before winning the foreign class 1 on Daldeongi (Whywhywhy). Uchida remains untouchable at the top of the Busan Jockey CHampionship.

Ruler Of The Gold takes command at Seoul today

Earlier back at Seoul, there was a second win for US three-year old Ruler Of The Gold (Tribal Rule). The colt always looked to be a late developer and looked very sharp when coolly taking the seven furlong race 7.

Next week is a big one. At Busan it is the KNN Cup, a race that will see Derby winners Cheonnyeon Daero and Ebony Storm, President’s Cup winner Dangdae Bulpae and Governor’s Cu winner Yeonseung Daero among a field of Busan’s top Korean bred horses. Meanwhile, Seoul’s best fillies and mares will battle it out for the Owners Association Trophy. Full build-up to both of them will be on the blog in the coming days.

Seoul Racecourse - June 5, 2011

Dongbanui Gangja Gets His Toughest Win At Last

Double Grand Prix Winner Comfortably Defeats Tough Win in Stretch Duel To Win “Clash Of The Champions”

Dongbanui Gangja turned the tables on Tough Win to claim victory in the feature event at Seoul Race Park this afternoon to score his first win in over a year and get the better of the battle of three former Horse of the Year winners.

Dongbani Gangja and Moon Jung Kyun win the "Clash of the Champions" at Seoul

It had been a bad 12 months for Dongbanui Gangja. Once the undisputed best horse on the peninsula, he had always had a tendency to run wide in the home straight causing him to cover far more ground than necessary. He got away with it for twelve consecutive victories, including the Grand Prix Stakes in both 2008 and 2009 until he ran into the then unbeaten Tough Win – two years his junior – in the Busan Metropolitan last July. The younger horse prevailed, Dongbanui Gangja veering wildly off the racing line as the field turned for hom, eventually finishing ninth.

This would be repeated, albeit less dramatically in the KRA Cup Classic – won by Tough Win, and would thwart his attempt to secure an unprecedented third Grand Prix title. It looked like he may never win again. Today though, with race conditions allowing for a dramatic drop in the weight he usually has to carry, things were different.

With Dongbanui Gangja only carrying 51 kilos today, lightweight Moon Jung Kyun got the ride

Because of that weight drop, regular jockey Choi Bum Hyun couldn’t ride and Moon Jung Kyun was drafted in to partner the former champion for the first time and Dongbanui Gangja was sent off second favourite behind the odds-on Tough Win. While outsider Big Sox took the lead early on with Tough Win close behind, Dongbanui Gangja sat right at the back of the field. Midway through the back straight though, he made his customary move, rounding the field within the space of 100 metres and slotting in on the rail slapbang in front of Tough Win.

This time he stayed on the rail. Rounding the home turn, it became clear that this was going to be a private battle between Dongbanui Gangja and his former usurper. And with Dongbanui Gangja running in a straight line for once, Tough Win had no answer and was three lengths behind as the winner crossed the line. Dongbanui Gangja was back in the winner’s circle.

Tough Win canters to the start for what would be his third career defeat

Jumong came in third, with the final former Horse of the Year in the race, Bally Brae grabbing the final money finish in fifth.

Class 1 (Foreign) – Seoul Race Park – 1900M – June 4, 2011

1. Dongbanui Gangja (USA) [Broken Vow – Maremaid (Storm Bird)] – Moon Jung Kyun – 3.6, 1.4
2. Tough Win (USA) [Yonaguska – Maggie May’s Sword (Sword Dance)] – Cho Kyoung Ho – 1.1
3. Jumong (USA) [Johar – Foreign Aid (Danzid)] – Jo In Kwen – 1.5

Distances: 3 lengths/3 lengths – 10 ran

Dongbanui Gangja moves on to eighteen victories from thirty career starts. Today everything came right in a way that it might not again. Regardless of this and of whether Tough Win, who was slow to emerge for the post parade, was at 100%, Dongbanui Gangja is a special horse who still only six years old, has plenty still to offer.

Here’s what’s happening tomorrow:

Sunday June 5

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

Seoul Racecourse - June 4, 2011

Weekend Preview

Three Horse Of The Year Winners Clash at Seoul on Saturday

The first races of June get underway imminently at Busan and after last week’s low-key cards, there’s plenty to keep us occupied racing wise on the peninsula this weekend. There are no Stakes races – we have to wait until next week’s Owners’ Trophy for that – for big name value, Saturday’s feature race at Seoul is hard to beat.

It's Dongbanui Gangja vs Tough Win again

We have the double Grand Prix Champion and one time Horse of the Year, Dongbanui Gangja. Difficult to control as he gets older, he hasn’t won for over a year. However, a change of jockey and carrying significantly less weight (this race not being a handicap) than usual means that if he runs in a straight line, he cannot be discounted. However, that’s a big “if.” Then there’s Tough Win. He dethroned Dongbanui Gangja in the Busan Metropolitan last year and has won eleven of his thirteen starts. He’ll be favourite.

Also going in the same race is another past Grand Prix champion and Horse of the Year, Bally Brae. The nine-year old is in good form and renews his competition with Jumong, half-brother of his erstwhile rival Subsidy. The four top stars will be joined by six others in the nine and a half furlong race which is off at 17:00 on Saturday.

Here’s what’s happening when and where this holiday weekend:

Friday June 3

Busan Race Park: 9 races from 12:00 to 18:00
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 13:30 to 17:30

Saturday June 4

Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 11:10 to 17:30
Jeju Race Park: 10 races from 12:30 to 17:30

Sunday June 5

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

Delago Brom, Air Shady Join K-Stallion Ranks

May is traditionally a busy season for Korean buyers at overseas racehorse sales. This year, however, the nation’s equine shoppers have also returned home with additions to the peninsula’s breeding stock in the shape of established Australian sire Delago Brom and recently retired superstar Japanese racehorse Air Shady.

Delago Brom on Aussie Guineas Day 2003 (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Delago Brom [Encosta De Lago – Brompton Cross (El Qahira)] only raced ten times but among his four wins was the 2003 Australian 2000 Guineas. An A$80,000 purchase at the Inglis Great Southern Bloodstock Sale in Melbourne, he’ll be standing on Jeju Island for the 2012 breeding season. Among the small number of Delago Brom’s progeny who are racing in Korea, the most successful is four-year old Dudeurim who has four wins from fourteen starts. Delago Brom is a very welcome Australian addition to the US dominated sire-ranks in Korea.

Aussie based owner and drinking buddy friend of the blog Ross Holburt, who owns Delago Brom three-year old Delago’s Lad who is being pointed towards the Australian Spring Classics later this year thinks Delago Brom is an ideal sire for Korea “they tend to be one paced but tough…I think the sand will suit them down to the ground.”

Joining Delago Brom in Korea will be Japanese born Air Shady. Son of the legendary Sunday Silence, Air Shady [Sunday Silence – Air Deja Vu (Northern Taste)] was officially retired from racing in Japan only two weeks ago.

Air Shady (Pic: Kazushi Ishida)

His early racing years were blighted by injury and it was not until he was seven years old that he won his first Group race but, with his six-year career, Air Shady became one of the most popular racehorses in Japan in recent times. It will be fascinating to see what kind of mares get sent to Air Shady and whether he can repeat the success of fellow Japanese sire Meisei Opera who, despite being totally unheralded, sired this year’s KRA Cup Mile winner Soseuldaemun.

While Delago Brom and Air Shady are, along with Officer, the highest profile recent additions to the stallion ranks, a number of racehorses have been retired to stud so far this year. New Korean bred sires are Nice Choice (Lost Mountain), Money Car (Newsprint) Secret Weapon (Native Regent) and Rainmaker (Revere). Secret Weapon is potentially the first second generation Korean stallion. Foreign bred horses retired from the track to stud are Angle Slam (Gold Case), Angus Empire (Lion Cavern) and Florida Native (Kissin Kris). Additionally, Colors Flying (A.P. Indy) and Limitless Bid (Sunday Silence) have been imported from the US and Japan respectively.

* Picture of Delago Brom is by Ross Holburt of the inimitable Slickpix while that of Air Shady is by Ishida Kazushi of the HimawariKazushi racing blog.

K-League Scandal Puts Betting Under Spotlight

Just when it looked like it couldn’t get any more depressing, the K-League “Match-Fixing” saga did just that today as a second footballer linked to the fixing of professional football matches in Korea was found dead at a hotel in Seoul. Jung Jong Kwan of K3 side Seoul United, and formerly of K-Leauge outfit Jeonbuk Motors, wrote in an apparent suicide note that he was a broker involved in the fixing of matches.

Seoul United, Jung Jong Kwan's last team, play Cheonan City in this match from last year's semi-pro K3 League. The yellow advertising board is for Sports Toto

So far, five players have been arrested and the affair is also thought to have led to another player, Incheon United goalkeeper Yoon Gi Won, taking his own life earlier this month (although Yoon’s death is yet to be formally linked to match-fixing). No mater how it plays out, it is clear that for all aficionados of Korean professional Sport and especially those who enjoy the occasional (legal) punt, things are not going to be the same for a very long time.

Betting on football matches in Korea is legal through a quasi-governmental organisation called Sports Toto but it is far from clear as to whether the fixing – which has been confirmed to include a match between Daejeon Citizen and Pohang Steelers in the League Cup (equivalent to the English Carling Cup) earlier this season – involved was designed to benefit bets wagered on correct score betting on the Toto or on illegal markets. See this thread on the Rokfootball.com forum for an excellent summary of the situation and hypothesis on how the fix may have happened.

The K-League has two types of clubs. The first type are the corporate-owned ones; FC Seoul (LG/GS), Suwon Bluewings (Samsung), Jeonbuk Motors, Ulsan Tigers & Busan I’ Park (all various incarnations of Hyundai), Jeju United (SK) and Pohang Steelers (POSCO). Also included in this group is Seongnam Ilhwa, owned by the Unification Church of Reverend Moon Sun Myung (better known as “The Moonies”). The others are “Citizen” teams, without a large backer. Without the financial clout of their rivals they are unable to offer big salaries and usually make up the also-rans in the K-League championship. All players implicated so far have been members of Citizen clubs. Just as in racing in Korea, the gangs know who to target.

Worse still there are rumours that K-League clubs knew exactly what was going on but opted to quietly terminate the contracts of players they knew to be involved in accepting bribes. If true, this is potentially devastating both for the K-League and for legal betting in Korea. The National Gaming Control Commission do not miss a trick in their war on legal gambling. The K-League has asked Sports Toto to remove its matches from its products, at least for the forseeable future. This is dangerous. Once this happens, organised crime will once more hold the monopoly over football betting in Korea, just as they do over off-track horse racing betting in many parts of the country since the enforced closure of the KRA’s “K-Netz” internet and telephone betting service.

Two men are dead and others are languishing behind bars. It’s both a human and a sporting tragedy. But it is not the fault of Sports Toto. As long as competition occurs, there will be those who will find a way to bet on it. Making the legal means to do so as attractive as possible is to everyone’s benefit.

Weekend Preview

It’s been a busy week and we’re a long way behind – there’s jockey news, stallion news, and (joy of joys) regulatory news all to catch up on. We’ll do that over the next few days, meanwhile, the weekend’s racing gets underway in just a few minutes. There’s no Stakes action but still plenty to keep us occupied. Here’s what’s happening when and where:

Friday May 27

Busan Race Park: 9 races from 12:00 to 18:00
Jeju Race Park: 9 races from 13:30 to 17:30

Saturday May 28

Seoul Race Park: 11 races from 11:10 to 17:30
Jeju Race Park: 10 races from 12:30 to 17:30

Sunday May 29

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