Baekpa

Success Baekpa Swoops To Claim Triple Crown 1st Leg

If there is to be a Triple Crown winner this year, his name will be Success Baekpa after the Min Jang-gi trained colt roared home late to sweep past Nice Time to claim the first jewel, the KRA Cup Mile (1600M KOR-G2) at Busan Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

Last year’s champion juvenile Hangang Class was sent off as the odds-on favourite among the thirteen-strong field, but just as in the Busan Classic Trial in February, he was a touch slow coming out of the gate and was always on the backfoot from there on. Ultimately, he did well to run 3rd.

Seoul’s Classic Trial winner Nice Time set the early pace along with second-favourite Wonderful Lear. The latter was quickly beaten but Nice Time stayed on and looked set to go on to score until You Hyun-myung launched 13/1 chance Success Baekpa, who had settled well back in the pack, down the centre of the track to sweep past everything in his path and beat Nice Time by three-quarters of a length on the line.

“The horses drawn in one, two, and three (Hangang Class, Wonderful Lear and Nice Time) were so strong that I would have been very happy even to make it into the top-three, so it is a little unexpected” winning trainer Min Jang-gi told in-house broadcaster KRBC. “I instructed (You Hyun-myung) to follow the leaders from midfield and I think he made good decisions at the right time and was able to win the race.”

Accordingly, expectations have changed now for the remainder of the Triple Crown series. “Now that he has successfully passed the first hurdle, there are two races left. This horse can come from behind and pick up speed, so I think that the distances getting longer mean his winning chances increase.”

For You Hyun-myung it was a return to the Graded Stakes winning enclosure for the first time since enduring a horrible 2023 when he missed most of the season after two heavy falls resulting in multiple surgeries.

“It makes it more special because it’s my first Grand Prize since returning and my family were here today so I’m even happier” he told KRBC. “I think of winning this race as a new beginning and a reason to work even harder, starting from next week.”

You may have to wait a little longer than next week as he picked up a 2-day ban for excessive whip use. Moon Se-young on Nice Time also got a two-day ban for shifting out in the straight.

Success Baekpa is by Purge and out of the 2007 Korean Oaks winner Baekpa (by Revere). She was bred by Kang Seung-youn and was purchased by her owner Lee Jong-hun for KRW 90 Million at the November 2022 Yearling Sale. She moves on to a record of four wins from seven starts – and four in a row.

The second leg of the Triple Crown is the Korean Derby (1800M KOR-G1) at Seoul on Sunday May 12th. Next week, attention shifts to the Sprint Series and the SBS Sports Sprint (1200M KOR-G3) at Seoul on Sunday afternoon.

Korean Classic Winners Speedy First & Major King In USA For 2014 Campaign

Korean Derby and Oaks winner Speedy First and Minister’s Cup winner Major King are in the United States where they will be trained and raced for at least the first part of the year.

Stateside: Korean Derby and Oaks winner Speedy First

Stateside: Korean Derby and Oaks winner Speedy First

The pair, who between them won 3 of the 4 Korean Classic races in 2013, arrived at JFK Airport last week and are currently in quarantine. They are then expected to transfer to Laurel Park in Maryland to enter training.

Speedy First [Menifee – Speedy Deedy (Victory Gallop)] is a 4-year-old filly who has won 6 of her 10 starts to date. In May last year, she became the 5th filly to win the Korean Derby and added another classic in August with a comfortable win in the Oaks at Busan.

Major King [Pico Central – Still Golden (Gold Fever)] was third in the Derby, but had his revenge in the Minister’s Cup, the final leg of the Triple Crown when he scored a 2-length win. An out of sorts Speedy First finishing last that day.

He might have fluffy ears, but Major King is a Classic winner. he is also in the US

He might have fluffy ears, but Major King is a Classic winner. he is also in the US

Neither finished the 2013 season especially strongly, Speedy First slumping to another defeat in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup while Major King was an also ran in the President’s Cup, the effects of a long season being blamed for both.

They are by no means the first Korea bred horses to run Stateside. In 2008, a horse called Pick Me Up went to the US and ran – extremely unsuccessfully – at Charles Town, Laurel and Delaware Park. A year later, 2007 Korean Oaks winner Baekpa also went across and ran similarly poorly.

That prompted the Korea Racing Authority to change their approach a little and to send a small group of yearlings and 2-year-olds to Florida each year in the hope of proving their belief that it wasn’t necessarily that Korean-bred horses could compete if trained the same way as their American counterparts.

They got their reward when Feel So Good won a race at Calder in September 2012. Now they’ve decided to try again with established horses.

If all goes to plan, Speedy First and Major King will make their American debuts in April. We’ll be following their progress.

Speedy First winning the 2013 Korean Derby

Major King winning the 2013 Minister’s Cup

Three Korean Colts Head To USA For Training And Racing

Three young Korean colts flew to the United States this week as the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) continues in its efforts to improve the competitiveness of domestically bred racehorses.

The 2-year olds will spend most of the year in Ocala training and if all goes well racing, before eventually returning to Korea.

Better Than You (KRA)

Better Than You (KRA)

Last year, Feel So Good (Ft.Stockton) became the first Korean bred horse to win a race in the United States after as he triumphed at Calder Racecourse on his third start after spending 15 months in Florida.

He returned to Korea immediately after his win and won his first race in his homeland very easily.

Busan trainer Kim Young Kwan was tasked with selecting the most promising candidates for the project and he chose 3 colts.

They are Seoul Bullet [Peace Rules – Wild Guess (Wild Rush)], Gangnam Camp [Forest Camp – Gimoa (Land Rush)] and Better Than You [Ft.Stockton-Gochiryeong (Proud And True)].

Seoul Bullet (KRA)

Seoul Bullet (KRA)

All were bred by the KRA and would have gone through the 2-year-old sales this spring. Instead, they will be sold to private owners on their return to the states and if they race, will run in the KRA’s colours.

Korea started sending horses to the US in 2008. They chose an experienced racehorse, Pick Me Up (Time Star), and sent him to Fair Hill for three months during which he race three times. It did not go well with Pick Me Up heavily beaten in each outing.

Gangnam Camp (KRA)

Gangnam Camp (KRA)

The following year it was the turn of Baekpa (Revere), winner of the 2007 Korean Oaks. She too failed to make an impact.

Following these two disappointments and facing criticism at home from Korean racing fans (who pointed out that you need only look at the times run in Korea compared to those elsewhere to judge what the current standard of racing was), it was decided that a different approach was needed.

A small number of horses have since been sent to Ocala including Winner Force (Lost Mountain) and Powerful Korea (Distilled), both of whom have become winners on their return. Feel So Good is, however, the star pupil and allowed the KRA’s Ko Byoung Un to utter the memorable quote that “…maybe we found out the problem is not the horse”.

"Hey? This doesn't look like the way to Prestige Class...this is Korean Air, right?" (KRA)

“Hey? This doesn’t look like the way to Prestige Class…this is Korean Air, right?” (KRA)

Seoul Bullet, Gangnam Camp and Better Than You flew Korean Air Cargo from Incheon to JFK Airport in New York on February 13. Whatever happens while they are away, we can definitely be assured that the problem will not be the horse.