Nice Choice Leads Munhwa Hopefuls

It’s been another disappointing year for three year olds at Seoul but one of them may have the chance to step up on Sunday as four of the best of the crop are among the entries for the Munhwa Ilbo Cup.

The Munhwa brings together a group of three year olds and also older horses who haven’t quite made it into the big time yet. However, with winners in recent years including Myeongmun Gamun and Baekgwang, who went on to become two of the track’s biggest stars, there is the potential for a champion to emerge.

Nice Choice is the one many will be looking to. He’s won five of his eight races to date and was last year’s champion two year old. The one race he’s dissappointed in was the Derby. Ahead of him that day, Baengnyeonbong slipped into third place and following a smart win last month, he’s also back. Khanui Jeguk also disappointed in the Derby, but he too won last time out. The final three year old is Event. Kept off the classic trail, the colt has quietly amassed six wins from his ten starts.

Among the older horses, Lhotse Shar has been in good form this year and won at this level last time out. All the others have wins in their history but only Super Jet and Hallasinbi have been in winning form recently.

The race will be run under the lights on Sunday evening with post time at 7:35pm. Click here for past performance information (Korean) and see below for a full list of runners, records and riders:

Munhwa Ilbo Cup – Seoul Race Park – 2000M – July 26, 2009

1. Nanjeongseo [Psychobabble – Caroful (Sportful)] – (22/4/1/3) – Ham Wan Sik
2. Lhotse Shar [Revere – Leave It To Mama (Pappa Riccio)] – (16/5/1/1) – Shim Seung Tae
3. Baengnyeonbong [Al Naba – Sansovino Art (Mister C.)] – (11/5/1/2) – Shin Hyoung Cheol
4. Taegeuk Musa [Walkslikeaduck – Bae Gil Gi Do (Salmon Leap)] – (47/3/2/5) – Yang Hee Jin
5. Super Jet [Archer City Slew – Tae-Eulbong (Road Of War)] – (12/5/0/1) – Kim Young Jin
6. Khanui Jeguk [Sunday Well – Lucky Dip (Didyme)] – (9/4/1/1) – Choi Beom Hyun
7. Hallasinbi [Duality – Gamble On Jill (Spare Card)] – (21/4/4/1) – Lee Gi Hwoi
8. Challanhanbit [Psychobabble – Naha (Silver Buck)] – (21/5/1/1) – Moon Jung Kyun
9. Event [Creek Cat – Forget Me Dot (Citidancer)] – (10/6/0/0) – Moon Se Young
10. Nice Choice [Lost Mountain – Betty’s Rhapsody (Don’t Hesitate)] – (8/5/2/0) – Cho Kyoung Ho
11. Grandzif [Mujaazif – Knight Blues (Knight’s Choice)] – (18/3/5/3) – Park Tae Jong

Sit in at Busan

Another overseas jockey rides into Busan this weekend as Hong Kong’s Vincent Sit takes up a four month licence. He’ll make his debut on Friday.

Sit (Shun Keung Sit) isn’t one of Hong Kong’s most prolific jockeys – he has 103 career wins from 2385 rides. His best season was in 2000-2001. In the 2008-2009 season he has three wins.

He will join what’s becoming a vibrant overseas jockey community at Busan. Eiki Nishimura and Martin Wepner have been thriving recently with Wepner currently the in-form jockey at the track. Stephan Swanepoel also recently transferred down from Seoul and has already landed his first winner – something he was unable to do in four months in the capital.

Back up north, Nozomu Tomizawa continues to valiantly battle on against the odds at Seoul where he was recently joined by fellow Japanese rider Toshiyuki Katoh .

Click here for Vincent Sit’s profile from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Update: Shaka has collected some videos of Vincent Sit in action in Hong Kong

Baekpa Does a Little Better

Baekpa not only stayed in touch with the field but actually beat one home in her second US outing at Colonial Downs on Monday evening. The five year old ran sixth of seven in race 6, an Allowance Optional Claiming over a mile on the turf under jockey Geovany Garcia.

Still not exactly world beating but a better effort for her first ever race on turf and if they must run her again before bringing her home, one that gives heart.

Video hat-tip to Fpop.

Screens Go Dark as Racing on TV Outlawed

Yesterday saw the last live TV broadcasts of horse racing in Korea before such coverage became illegal today. The Living TV cable channel had previously broadcast four hours on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The ban comes in conjunction with an enforced end to telephone and internet betting which also came into effect today.

The move to ban TV coverage comes from a fear that as punters can no longer legally bet from home on what they are watching, they will do it illegally. Now they will have to leave their houses. Racing on TV had long been keeping those in charge of the nation’s morals up at night. The maximum bet limit of KRW 100,000 and the 27% take-out rate had meant that many had already been seeking other avenues for their gambling money and to prevent illegal bookmakers using the racing coverage, a time delay was in place to ensure races weren’t actually shown “live”.

Living TV, a relentlessly optimistic channel which spends most of its time showing travelogues set to uplifting music, will continue to show its “Ye-Sang Gyongma!” preview shows on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Many inside racing fear that the strong anti-gambling lobby will use this victory to move onto bigger targets. This year they have succeeded in cutting the number of race dates as well as limiting the number of pari-mutuel windows that can be open at any one time at the track. Now it is the ending of telephone and internet betting coupled with the TV ban. Next in their sights is likely to be the Off Track betting sites – or “KRA Plazas”. Aside from the race tracks themselves, these are now the only places in Korea where it is legal to place a bet.

The KRA is responding. They have worked to position the Plazas – generally located in prestige office buildings – as community hubs on the four days a week there is no racing, with various activities and events taking place free of charge for local residents.

There is some requirement on them to do this. The KRA is part of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (FAFF, as it were) and is mandated to fund a lot of social programs. It also plays a large role in promoting Korean agriculture. Making itself indispensible is perhaps the only defence the racing industry can use when the next onslaught comes.

Meanwhile, as punters become criminalized, those already on the other side of the law remain more than willing to take over.

Update: In semi-related news Korea Beat translates a YTN report about some Korean teachers being caught gambling. It is likely that these games go on up and down the country every day of the week. The report is typical of Korean news coverage of gambling issues in that it describes the teachers as engaging in “anti-educational” acts. Korearacing would contend that, on the contrary, he learned what little mathematics he did calculating each-way returns at Newmarket.

Baekpa To Make Second US Start

Baekpa will make her second US start on Monday evening (Tuesday morning Korean time) in race 6 at Colonial Downs in Virginia. The 2007 Korean Oaks winner finished last on her debut at Delaware Park last month and she’ll be hard pushed to improve on that with seven tough looking fillies and mares currently entered against her. Here’s the line-up with records and rider:

Allowance/Optional Claiming ($40,000) – Colonial Downs – One Mile (Turf), July 20, Race 6

1. One Man To Beat – (11/4/3/0) – H. Karamanos
2. Baekpa – (23/8/5/2) – G. Garcia
3. Royal Regan – (34/6/8/6) – L. Garcia
4. Miss Lombardi – (23/7/3/5) – R.B. Homeister, Jnr.
5. Song Cat – (19/3/2/3) – S. Russell
6. Burst Of Light – (13/3/2/1) – J. Hall
7. Lily’s Joy – (19/3/2/7) – M. Franklin
8. Beau’s Trip – (22/3/1/1) – E. Camacho

The race is off at 7:20pm local time (8:20am Korean time).

Hallyu Star Lights Up SBS

Outsider shocks Seoul / Areumdaun Jilju takes Min Ilbo
On a glorious summer’s evening under the lights at Seoul Race Park, long shot Hallyu Star was the shock winner of the SBS Cup.

The six year old had set the early pace in the nine and a half furlong race and had opened up a lead of four lengths at one point in the back straight. With the big guns of Namchonuijijon, Triple Seven, Natural Nine and Baekgwang all gathering behind, it was inevitable that the lead wouldn’t last for long.

It didn’t. The field came roaring back as they entered the home straight and Seoul settled back to see which of the favourites would step up. There was a twist. Rather than succomb, Choi Won Joon coaxed a second wind out of Hallyu Star. Somehow they stayed in front during a pulsating final furlong that saw the first five horses within a length and a half of each other on the line. To add to the shock, the horse closest to them was Lucky Seven, the longest shot on the board. Natural Nine grabbed third while the returning Baekgwang, finishing fast, ran out of track in fourth.

It was another big race let down for Namchonuijijon while Triple Seven never fired, despite being in a good position turning for home, ultimately beating only one home. Baekgwang looked good and ran as expected – he was fourth in the betting and he finished fourth. The vet will have the final say but the signs are good that he has indeed made a full recovery.

Today, however, belongs to Hallyu Star, the old stager winning his sixth race from thirty seven starts. For jockey Choi Won Joon, who put in a sparkling ride, it is also the biggest win of his career.

In what was a sumptious half hour of racing on the peninsula, the lights were on at Busan too as Areumdaun Jilju landed the Gyeongnam-Do Min Ilbo Cup. The only Korean bred horse in the field, Areumdaun Jilju dominated the nine furlong race, taking the lead as they entered the back straight and though tiring late on, did enough to repel a challenge from outsider Haengbok Dream. Filly Miss Ecton finished third. With the win, and in landing a race for foreign bred horses, Areumdaun Jilju further embellishes his reputation.

A little later on at Busan, it was the turn of a three year old to start to repair his reputation. Yeonseung Daero was sent off favourite in the KRA Cup Mile and was well-fancied for the Derby. He flopped in both. Today he began to make amends as he made a very late run to overhaul Distance Runner in the last few strides of the mile long category 1 handicap. The domestic picture looks very bright under the lights of Busan this evening.

Finally, mention must be made of jockey Yoo Mi Ra. The apprentice made her debut over a year ago and today she finally made it into the winner’s circle as she took favourite Tamnahwanhui to victory in race 2. It was only the third time she’d ridden a favourite in over 110 mounts and while she had scored plenty of seconds, the win had eluded her until today. Next month, Yoo will join Lee Ae Li and Park Jin Hee at Busan on Oaks day for the “Lady Jockeys International Challenge” races. Among those set to compete are Australian Claire Lindop and Ireland’s Catherin Gannon. Full preview over the next couple of weeks.

After yesterday’s storm lashed card, perfect conditions and a massive crowd at Seoul in the region of 70,000 made for a wonderful afternoon and evening’s entertainment. Next Sunday will see another big night at Seoul when the Munhwa Ilbo will top the bill.

SBS Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1900M – Jul 19, 2009

1. Hallyu Star (KOR) [Sharp Appeal – Angel (Land Rush)] – Choi Won Joon – 35.2, 4.6
2. Lucky Seven (KOR) [Didyme – Agent Flirt (Double Agent] – Lee Sang Hyuk – 10.9
3. Natural Nine (KOR) [Revere – C. Bop (Aly Dark)] – Oh Kyoung Hoan – 1.4
Distances: 0.5 lengths/Neck
Also ran: 4. Baekgwang; 5. Geumbit Gangja; 6. Daehyo; 7. Namchonuijijon; 8. Triple Seven; 9. Seungni Yongsa
Non-Runner: Wangson

Gyeongnam-Do Min Ilbo Cup – Busan Race Park – 1800M – Jul 19, 2009

1. Areumdaun Jilju (KOR) [Didyme – Chills Of Nepal (Nepal)] – Lim Sung Sil – 1.9, 1.3
2. Haengbok Dream (JPN) [Lammtarra – Sister Slew (Slew The Dragon)] – Jo Chan Hoon – 7.4
3. Miss Ecton (USA) [Ecton Park – Miss Lion King (Lion Cavern)] – Martin Wepner – 2.8
Distances: 1 length/1.5 lengths
Also ran: 4. Phasmes; 5. Crafty Louis; 6= Hardride; 6=Wonder Love; 8. Winter Invitation; 9. Angle Slam; 10. Gyeongcheonsa; 11. King Kephalos; 12. Jewang; 13. Power Captain; 14. Saeroun Bulpae

FULL RESULTS FROM SEOUL

FULL RESULTS FROM BUSAN

Weekend Preview – Night Racing Begins

After a year’s break, night racing returns to Korea this weekend. High oil prices were blamed for last year’s decision to abandon the usual four weeks of late starts and late finishes but this year, it goes ahead. This year the four weekends are interrupted by a two week total break from racing.

It is a weekend capped by two big races within thirty minutes of each other on Sunday evening: The Gyeongnam-Do Min Ilbo Cup at Busan (preview) and the SBS Cup at Seoul (preview).

Busan will get things underway with a ten race card on Friday. The first will come under orders at 4pm and the last will be at 9pm. Seoul and Jeju take over on Sunday and as usual, all three tracks host cards on Sunday.

Busan Race Park

Friday July 17: 10 races, first post 16:00, last post 21:00
Sunday July 19: 6 races, first post 16:20, last post 20:50

Seoul Race Park

Saturday July 18: 12 races, first post 14:30, last post 21:00
Sunday July 19: 11 races, first post 14:30, last post 21:00

Jeju Race Park (Pony Racing)

Saturday July 18: 10 races, first post 16:30, last post 21:30
Sunday July 19: 10 races, first post 16:30, last post 21:35

It’s been a monsoon filled week on the peninsula with Tuesday seeing the largest amount of rainfall on any one day for many years. It hasn’t rained since but more storms are predicted for Friday and Saturday.

Baekgwang Comes Back

Former Champion Heads SBS Cup Field
Baekgwang will be the star attraction on Sunday as the SBS Cup crowns this year’s first weekend of night racing at Seoul Race Park. In a week when live televised horse racing was outlawed in Korea, it is perhaps a little ironic that the first big race after the ban is sponsored by one of the country’s three main broadcasters and is the only race of the year to usually be shown on that channel.

And with the presence of Baekgwang, champion three year old of 2006, the race has become one of the most eagerly anticipated of the year. Whether the “White Wave” (see full profile) will be anything like his former self will go a long way to determining the outcome and a tough field of nine rivals will assemble to try to prevent him from achieving the fairytale comeback in winning the race his little sister Baekpa did last year.

Namchonuijijon will be there. Though dreadful last time out, he was second in the Ttukseom Cup and must always be considered. Third in that race back in April was Triple Seven and he returns on Sunday also. Winning last time out, he was a close second to Secret Weapon last month. Stepping up to the top level for the first time will be Wangson. Making his first appearance since winning the Sports Chosun in May, the four year old will be a dangerous contender.

A perennial placer of late has been Natural Nine. One of those who may have won a Classic were it not for J.S. Hold in 2007, he’s been involved at the business end of all of his races over the past year. Daehyo ran third to Top Point last monthand while Lucky Seven, Hallyu Star, Seungni Yongsa and Geumbit Gangja may look to be making up the numbers, all are proven winners.

The race, over nine and a half furlongs, is off at 7:35pm on Sunday. Click here to download past performance info (in Korean) and see below for a full list of runenrs, records and riders:

SBS Cup – Seoul Race Park – 1900M – July 19, 2009

1. Lucky Seven (KOR) [Didyme – Agent Flirt (Double Agent)] – (24/5/5/1) – Lee Sang Hyuk
2. Geumbit Gangja (KOR) [Didyme – Fleein Snow (Snow Chief)] – (25/4/7/1) – Ham Wan Sik
3. Daehyo (KOR) [Happy Jazz Band – Jasmine Douglas (Reference Point)] – (24/5/3/7) – Moon Se Young
4. Triple Seven (KOR) [The Groom Is Red – Impudence (Grand Lodge)] – (18/5/3/5) – Choi Beom Hyun
5. Seungni Yongsa (KOR) [Our Poetic Prince – Jane Lauren (Snow Chief)] – (49/5/4/7) – Won Jung Il
6. Baekgwang (KOR) [The Groom Is Red – Grey Crest (Gold Crest)] – (17/9/5/3) – Park Tae Jong
7. Hallyu Star (KOR) [Sharp Appeal – Angel (Land Rush)] – (36/5/6/3) – Choi Won Joon
8. Natural Nine (KOR) [Revere – C. Bop (Aly Dark)] – (21/7/4/4) – Oh Kyoung Hoan
9. Wangson (KOR) [Distilled – Eastern Tide (Far Out East)] – (11/5/3/0) – Kim Young Jin
10. Namchonuijijon (KOR) [Concept Win – Intriga (Lord At Law)] – (22/6/8/3) – Cho Kyoung Ho

Areumdaun Jilju Goes For The Min

A big weekend for Korean racing is coming up as the first of four weeks of evening racing gets underway. There are co-main events on Sunday with the SBS Cup at Seoul and the Gyeongnam-Do Min Ilbo Cup at Busan. The Min Ilbo is for imported horses and a full field of fourteen will contest the 1800 metre race.

Continuing the theme of recent weeks of locally bred horses running against the imports at Busan, Korean bred Areumdaun Jilju is entered. Last year’s most feared horse, has only run twice this season, but has won both of those and will, as ever, be hard to beat.

Among those trying will be a host of frequent winners such as Crafty Louis, who won over this distance last month. 2008 Busan Owners’ Trophy winner Hardride will be there, as will King Kephalos, winner of two out of his last four. Angle Slam prefers shorter distances but is always likely to be around the front of the field in the home straight while the filly Miss Ecton has been in strong form this year.

The race is off at 19:05 and is race 4 of 6 on Busan’s Sunday card which gets underway at 16:20. Full past performance information can be downloaded here (Korean) and a full list of runners and riders is below:

Gyeongnamdo Min Ilbo Cup – Busan Race Park – 1800M – July 19, 2009

1. Hardride (USA) [Colony Light – Lametta] – (21/6/5/1) – Han Sang Gyu
2. Wonder Love (USA) [Wild Wonder – Love Spanish] – (43/5/9/7) – Kim Tae Kyoung
3. Jewang (USA) [Precise End – Chap Slewy] – (21/1/6/1) – Eiki Nishimura
4. Winter Invitation (USA) [Take Me Out – Winter Crown] – (38/3/7/8) – Kim Dong Young
5. Crafty Louis (USA) [Louis Quatorze – Crafty Atlantic] – (31/11/4/2) – Jo Chang Wook
6. Power Captain (AUS) [King Charlemagne – Green Band] – (25/5/4/2) – Kim Young Min
7. Haengbok Dream (JPN) [Lammtarra – Sister Slew] – (7/3/2/1) – Jo Chan Hoon
8. Miss Ecton (USA) [Ecton Park – Miss Lion King] – (15/5/2/5) – Martin Wepner
9. Phasmes (USA) [Parker’s Storm Cat – Madelaine] – (10/4/1/4) – Jo Sung Gon
10. King Kephalos (JPN) [King Glorious – Western Edge] – (15/7/2/2) – Kim Eu Su
11. Gyeoncheonsa (USA) [Slew Gin Fizz – Jika] – (23/6/2/0) – Park Geum Man
12. Angle Slam (USA) [Gold Case – Platinum Code] – (40/8/7/8) – Gu Min Sung
13. Saeroun Bulpae (USA) [Northern Afleet – Really Appealing] – (17/5/1/4) – Chae Gyu Jun
14. Areumdaun Jilju (KOR) [Didyme – Chills of Nepal] – (19/13/3/0) – Lim Sung Sil

Tomorrow we’ll have a full look at the rest of the weekend’s cards including a run down of the contenders for Seoul’s SBS Cup.

Gaeseon Janggun Wins Again

Namdo Jeap did it last week and today at Busan Race Park it was the turn of Gaeseon Janggun to take on and beat the track’s imported horses.

Second in the first two legs of last year’s Triple Crown and winner of the final one, Gaeson Janggun has now won all four of his starts as a four year old and until Sangseung Ilro takes on older horses, still has claims to be recognised as the top Korean bred horse currently in training.

Today’s win was typical as he came late and wide to defeat a field of twelve rivals by three lengths. Korean bred horses rarely take on imported horses and although this field contained no real stars – indeed Gaeseon Janggun was sent off as odds-on favourite, it is encouraging to see some of the top horses entered in open races.

There is little incentive for owners to do so, however. Prize money is generally higher in domestic races and the competition is less fierce. While the standard of imported horses in Korea is not especially high – there is, after all, a limit ($20,000 for colts $40,000 for fillies) on how much can be spent on them, their early training and conditioning tends to have been better than that which locally bred horses receive. While the KRA spends a lot of money sending horses overseas to “test” the level of Korean racing, one might think it would be a start to get them to run against the imports here in Korea a little more often.

Up at a wet Seoul Race Park, Bulpae Gisang, last year’s top imported two year old, stepped up to category 1 racing for the first time. It was winning start as the colt overhauled long time leader Gamadongja in the final firlong of the 2000 metre race to claim his sixth win from nine career starts.

Class 1 (foreign bred) – Busan Race Park – 2000M (Hdcp) – July 12, 2009

1. Gaeseon Janggun (KOR) [Duality – Diamond Star (Dixieland Band)] – Jo Sung Gon – 1.5, 1.3
2. Bugyeong Choegang (AUS) [Flying Spur – Time For Bed (Night Shift)] – Yang Young Nam – 1.6
3. Bugyeong Maru (AUS) – [Favorite Trick – Narrate (Danzero)] – Martin Wepner – 15.7
Distances: 3 lengths/Neck – 13 ran

FULL RESULTS FROM SEOUL

FULL RESULTS FROM BUSAN