Johan Victoire

International Jockeys & Trainers Close Out 2022 With Milestones Aplenty

The overseas contingent in Korean racing had plenty to celebrate as 2022 reached its conclusion with records being smashed over the last couple of months of the year. Johan Victoire has passed the two-hundred winner mark at Seoul while down at Busan jockey Franco Da Silva and trainer Bart Rice, both breached three-hundred winners. Back in the capital, trainer Luigi Riccardi notched his century in the penultimate week of the season.

Franco Da Silva’s milestone came first, and it was for Rice, on the trainer’s Alec King Iji on October 28th. Da Silva debuted in 2016 and just like Rice, was successful in his first ever race in the country, ultimately riding a treble on his first day. Jockey Da Silva’s figures are remarkably similar to those of trainer Rice. He has a win rate of over 13%, a quinella rate of 27% and show rate of 38%.

Da Silva won the Korean Derby in 2018 on Ecton Blade for trainer Kim Young-kwan for whom he also picked up the G3 Busan Owners’ Cup on the Triple Crown winner Power Blade in 2017. On the day he cracked 300, Da Silva added another in the final race on the card and then one more on the following Sunday before heading off for an extended overseas break with family, his 60 winners across the year putting him behind only You Hyun-myung, Seo Seung-un and Park Jae-i at the top of the Busan table.

Bart Rice’s landmark win arrived on November 11th with three-year-old gelding Fusaichi, ridden by Chae Sang-hyun in the colours of owner and breeder Isidore Farm.

“I feel good, you know. Three-hundred wins, it’s ok, I’m happy.” Rice told KRBC Busan’s social media on the day. Fusaichi, who is by Purge and out of Isidore’s mare Fusaichiswonderful (by Fusaichi Pegasus) was breaking his maiden on his fourth start.

“Well done to the owner as well as he has always supported me. But the stable has done well, the staff has done well. It’s been a long road, but all good.”

Having previously trained in South Africa, Bart Rice arrived in Korea in late 2013 as the third overseas trainer to be licensed after Peter Wolsley and Joe Murphy. He sent out his first runners in January 2014 and got a winner with his first starter, an 8/1 chance called Gyeongnam Sinhwa.

Rice’s one-hundredth winner arrived in May 2017 and his two-hundredth in July 2020, the latter, Mr. Fusion, also in the Isidore colours.  He has now sent out over 2200 runners for a win rate in excess of 13%, a quinella rate of 24% and show figures of almost 35%. Fusaichi was his 38th of 43 winners in 2022 leaving him in 6th place in the Busan Trainer Premiership.

Franco Da Silva is currently the only foreign jockey licensed at Busan following the departures during the year of Djordje Perovic and Ioannis Poullis, although new additions are expected in the first part of 2023. Before leaving, Perovic broke Ikuyasu Kurakane’s record of most winners in Korea by a foreign jockey.

In the trainer ranks, Peter Wolsley, who debuted in 2007, is still going strong on and closing in his 650th winner – only Kim Young-kwan has ever trained more at the track. Thomas Gillespie, a 2015 addition, is also going well, with 280 total wins in Korea.

At Seoul, Johan Victoire crashed through the 200-winner barrier in November, when partnering Choego Race to a two-and-a-half length victory at class 3 level. Victoire is another member of the “winner in first race in Korea” club having triumphed on his first mount at Seoul in 2017. He reached 100 in 2019 and ended 2022 with 33 winners for the year.

Among those winners were Jangsan Bada in the Listed Ilgan Sports Trophy, and even more significantly, a second SBS Sports Sprint (G3) in June. Just as he did in 2020, Victoire partnered Morfhis to victory in what is the main lead-up race for the Korea Sprint. Victoire has ridden Morfhis in ten of his eleven career wins since first being paired with him in all the way back in 2018.

Antonio Da Silva finished in 6th place in the Seoul Jockey Premiership with 44 winners. David Breux notched 34 and Alan Munro 27.

Victoire’s Ilgan Sports win on Jangsan Bada was the first feature race win in Korea for trainer Tony Castanheira, one of 18 winners he sent out over 2022. Numbers-wise it was a breakout season for Luigi Riccardi, whose 42 winners saw him tie with Seo In-seok for 2nd place in the Trainer Premiership, two behind the Raon-backed Champion Park Jong-kon. Seo had more runner-up finishes but also sent out nearly double the number of starters with 443 to Riccardi’s 227, the Italian’s 18.5% win-rate the highest among trainers at either Seoul or Busan.

The new Korean racing season gets underway at Busan on Friday January 6.

Franco’s On Fire, Bart And Pete Are Nearly Tied

Franco Da Silva moved to within two wins of the three-hundred mark in Korea, riding four winners across the weekend; trainer Peter Wolsley sent out a treble on Friday, but a series of bad luck saw Johan Victoire stall for at least one more week in his bid to reach two-hundred Korean winners.

Franco Da Silva (Pic: KRA)

The only foreign jockey currently riding at Busan since the departures of Djordje Perovic and Ioannis Poullis, Franco Da Silva has been in imperious form of late on the south coast. Having taken out the final race of the day on Million Bank on Friday, Da Silva kicked off Sunday with a gate-to-wire score on I Will The Star before adding two more, both for trainer Bart Rice, on Spice Ecton in Race 3 and Jessieui Kkum in the concluding Race 6.

Jessieui Kkum (by Jess’s Dream) is a four-year-old American-bred gelding, who is quietly putting together an impressive body of work. On Sunday, he settled back in the pack before steadily improving and then running on strong to score by half a length over 1800M at class 2 level. Under the eye of the progressive Rice stable, he looks to have a bright future.

Aussie trainer Peter Wolsley was in red-hot form on Friday, sending out three winners. The first was something of a surprise as 80/1 filly Happy Jazz led all the way in Race 2 before the better fancied Patriot took out Race 3 and Dream Of Queen Race 5. Bart Rice and Peter Wolsley are now neck and neck in 5th and 6th in the Busan Trainer Premiership.

At Seoul, David Breux rode a winner on both Saturday and Sunday while Antonio Da Silva was on target for one on Saturday and Alan Munro for one on Sunday. It was a slightly frustrating weekend for Breux’s fellow French rider Johan Victoire though.

Victoire is just two shy of reaching the two-hundred winner milestone since starting in Korea in md-2017. He had four good chances on Sunday but endured a string of bad luck. Premiership leading trainer Luigi Riccardi’s well fancied pair of Giant Indy in Race 6 and Trotting Riley in race 9 both missed the break, while arguably Victoire’s best chance of the day, Tiz Barows, was scratched from race 10. It’s hard to keep Victoire down though, and he will surely hit the two hundred sooner rather than later.   

In the feature race of the weekend, the concluding Race 11 at Seoul on Sunday, apprentice jockey Kim Tae-hui added to her burgeoning reputation, producing the veteran Winner Gold at the perfect time to swoop home. Favourite Soul Merit struck the front in the final half furlong, but Kim brought the seven-year-old Wildcat Heir entire past to score on the line. It was the apprentice’s twenty-sixth career winner, and the twenty-one-year-old looks set to ride out her claim in double-quick time.

One milestone was reached this weekend and it was by local trainer Kwak Yong-hyo. The veteran handler sent out his five-hundredth career winner when Take Music dominated Race 1 at Seoul on Sunday. While twenty-five years may be a long time, Kwak has sent out only just over 4,800 runners in that time so has returned a win-rate in excess of 10%. His best horses have been Bicheonbong, who won the President’s Cup (KOR-G1) in 2004, and Star Wood, who won back-to-back runnings of the Ttukseom Cup (KOR-G3) in 2005 and 2006, in the days before that race became restricted to fillies and mares.

Trainer Kwak Yong-hyo with jockey Park Tae-jong following Hangang Ace’s win in the Munhwa Ilbo Trophy (Pic: KRA)

Kwak may not be done quite yet as he has in his stable Hangang Ace, who earlier this month won the Listed Munhwa Ilbo Trophy for juveniles and will probably be headed to Busan in December for the Breeders’ Cup race to decide the season’s champion two-year-old.

Next weekend sees the likely return of Korea Sprint winner Eoma Eoma. With no season-ending Group races for the sprinters, he is set to travel south to Busan where he will be hot favourite to win the Listed Kookje Shinmun Trophy over 1400M next Sunday afternoon.

Round-Up: Cup & Sprint International Runners / Juvenile Winners / Victoire Injury / Seoul Mile Races

It was an eventful weekend of racing in Korea both on and off the track. First up, the selected International Runners for September 8th’s Keeneland Korea Cup & Sprint were announced:

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The ongoing trade dispute between Korea and Japan which has escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis over the past few weeks meant that Japan-trained horses were unable to be invited. This is somewhat of a blow to the event as Japanese horses bring high ratings to a race (organizers had spent some months pursuing one Japanese sprinter in particular who would have brought plenty of star power with him) which would have expected to have been IG3 this year but will now most likely have to wait at least another year before achieving that status.

On the other hand it leaves both races wide open and the USA is bringing a strong challenge for both races with Lone Sailor among those entered in the Cup and the mare Holy Legal in the Sprint. Hong Kong also have a horse in each race in the shape of Glorious Artist and Ugly Warrior.

Accepted Korean entries will be announced later this week with Dolkong expected to be among them in the Cup. However, he is set to be without new regular jockey Johan Victoire. Victoire, who was also expected to partner French raider Bakoel Koffie in the Sprint, suffered a heavy fall in Sunday’s race 7 at Seoul.

Johan Victoire

Johan Victoire

Victoire was riding Dolkong’s stablemate Jjang Kong when favourite Cheungdam Genie crossed in front of him on the corner leaving Jjang Kong with nowhere to go and Victoire unseated. He was taken to hospital for observation with a suspected broken shoulder and will undergo further tests on Monday.

It’s a big blow for the 32-year-old who has ridden 112 winners in just over two years riding in Korea. He gained his first local Group win on Dolkong in the Busan Mayor’s Cup. Cheungdam Genie, who finished 2nd in the race was disqualified and jockey Lee Hyeon Jong banned for three meetings for careless riding.

That incident overshadowed what was the first of two races over the new Mile distance at Seoul on Sunday. That race was won by last year’s Korean Oaks winner Special Stone while the second of them, another class 2 handicap, went to the returning Thunder Blade.

Feature races of the day at both Seoul and Busan were valuable juvenile events over 1200M. At Busan, Save The World (Menifee-Royal Scene) ran out a six-length winner while up in Seoul, Choegang Team (Old Fashioned-Sellsey) was similarly impressive. Both are unbeaten after two starts apiece with their next big tests likely to come in October.

 

Johan Victoire Joins The 100-Club

Johan Victoire has become the latest foreign jockey to ride 100 winners in Korea.

Johan VictoireThe French rider reached the milestone when guiding 3/1 chance Fast Fashion to victory in race 4 on Korean Derby day at Seoul Racecourse last Sunday.

Victoire debuted in Seoul in July of 2017 scoring success with his very first mount and has maintained a steady stream of winners ever since.

The 100 came up just after he passed 920 rides in the country making for a win rate of almost 11%.

Victoire now lies in 8th place on the all-time foreign jockey list in Korea which is led by Ikuyasu Kurakane, way out in front in 347, followed by Djordje Perovic on 238.

Of the foreign jockeys currently riding in Korea, Franco Da Silva leads with 156 followed by Masa Tanaka on 133 and Antonio Da Silva on 129.

Victoire is one of three French jockeys licensed at Seoul right now with he and David Breux joined this month by Ryan Curatolo, who is beginning an intial four-month license.

 

 

Sky Bay Lands Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup / Victoire Bags Seven / Gaon Champ Steps up

Sky Bay ran out the emphatic winner of the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup, the final leg of the 2018 Queens’ Tour at Busan last Sunday. The three-year-old US-bred filly ran away from the field in the home straight to win by five-lengths and secure a first Group race victory for trainer Lee Shin Young.

Sky Bay - KRA

Sky Bay was sent off as favourite for the 2000M test and was prominent throughout. While other early pace-setters Blue Flag and Catch Nine gave way, the Adios Charlie filly was too strong and fast-finishers Seouri Byeol and Damyang Hwanho never looked like getting close. With Sky Bay not having competed in either of the first two legs of the Queens’ Tour, 4th place-getter Cheongsu Yeogeol, winner of the Ttukseom Cup and 2nd in the KNN Cup, was crowned the overall Series winner

Sky Bay [Adios Charlie – KK’s Kitty (Yes It’s True)] was a $95,000 purchase from the OBS 2017 Spring Sale of two-year-olds and has now won five of her nine races. It is the biggest win of trainer Lee Shin Young’s career as she becomes the first Korean female trainer to saddle a Group winner.

For jockey Lee Chan Ho, one of the most naturally gifted riders Korea has produced but who has seen his career weighed down somewhat by suspensions for off-track issues, it was a second Group winner following Choegang Schiller’s triumph in the 2015 Asia Challenge Cup.

Speaking of jockeys, up at Seoul it was a sensational weekend for Johan Victoire. The French rider rode three winners on Saturday and then managed to top that feat on Sunday, partnering four more for a total of seven across the weekend.

Victoire, who is seventeen months into his Korean sojourn, has now ridden 73 winners from 729 rides in the country.

While Sky Bay’s win was impressive, the performance of the weekend, however, may have been up in Seoul. In the very last race on Sunday, Gaon Champ stepped up to class 1 for the first time and completely dominated, running in the second fastest time of the year over 1400M for an untroubled length-and-a-half victory.

Gaon Champ (Ecton Park) is a three-year-old colt whose only defeats so far have come at the hands of Mask, in the Seoul Classic trial back in March, and then in the KRA Cup Mile at Busan when he played up in the gates beforehand. He moves on to six wins from eight total starts and will hopefully be one to look out for in the bg sprints next year. He’ll probably not get the opportunity to carry just 51kg again though.

Victoire Pulls Off Spectacular Juvenile Win On Icheon Ssal As Records Tumble At Soaking Wet Seoul

Have a look at this – Johan Victoire bringing Icheon Ssal from last to first in the final furlong to win a valuable Juvenile race at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday.

Icheon Ssal (Capital Spending) provided Victoire with his first Korean winner on his first ever ride at Seoul just under a month ago. It was Incheon Ssal’s debut that day too and he reappeared on Sunday in a race exclusively for 2-year-olds who graduated from this Spring’s Jeju Breeze-Up Sales.

It was the ride that got the attention though, as French jockey Victoire brought Icheon Ssal from last to first in the closing stages to grab victory on the line.  Victoire’s performance was one of a number of impressive returns from foreign jockeys across the weekend with Antonio Da Silva at Seoul and both Franco Da Silva and JP Guillambert at Busan also being in top form.

Speaking of top form, Cheongdam Dokki has beenturning heads recently. An American import, 3-year-old Cheongdam Dokki (To Honor And Serve) ran out a 17-length winner over 1800M at class 2 last month, despite playing up in the parade ring and bolting on his way to the gate. The antics were limited this Sunday for what was his first try at both class 1 and 2000M. It went rather well:

Late nominations for the Korea Cup for locally trained runners open briefly on August 25…

Cheongdam Dokki would have broken the track record for 2000M had Kim Yong Geun not almost slowed him to a walk by the time they crossed the line but two record did fall on Sunday on a track that was racing exceptionally fast after 15 hours of continuous downpours. Those were at 1700M where Dangdae Geoljak (Peace Rules-So Original) set a new mark of 1:46.6 in race 8 and then at the Korea Sprint distance of 1200M which now has a new record of 1:10.6 following the efforts of Cheonjiga (Trappe Shot-What A Girl Needs) in the closing race 11.

At Busan, the feature race was won by Triple Nine’s little sister, the Thomas Gillespie trained Black Sapphire (Ecton Park-A Little Poke) while the 2yo Breeze-Up-grads race was won by Kim Young Kwan’s Classic Match (Hansen-Intouchable).

Johan Victoire Makes Winning Start / Choegangja, Zentenary Labour At Kranji

Plenty went on over the weekend including business being as usual for the Korean runners in the annual KRA Trophy at Kranji in Singapore, Silver Wolf essentially wrapping up the Queens’ Tour after just two legs and French jockey Johan Victoire making quite the impression on his first weekend in the saddle at Seoul 

It was a good weekend for a foreign jockey to arrive in Seoul what with a number of the track’s leading riders such as Kim Yong Geun and Choi Bum Hyun being at Busan to ride in the KNN Cup, Djordje Perovic still being indisposed and an ongoing inter-union dispute leading some jockeys not to ride for certain stables.

It took Johan Victoire precisely one race to show what he was capable of, guiding debut-maker Icheon Ssal (Capital Spending) to victory in Saturday’s opening maiden. While the 30-year-old couldn’t add another winner from his seven further rides across the weekend, he did get a 2nd and a 3rd as well as plenty of admiration from onlookers. It looks like Victoire will be busy over the forthcoming weeks. Check out the report and pictures on the official site.

While Silver Wolf (Orotorio) put in quite a run at Busan to cruise to the KNN Cup in a time just 0.3 seconds outside the track record for a mile, the Korean pair in Singapore for the annual KRA Trophy at Kranji on Sunday fared less well. In fairness, to Zentenary, that he beat any horses at all is to his credit but Choegangja was undoubtedly disappointing, breaking adequately enough but quickly weakening and finishing a tailed-off last in the race which was won by Distinctive Darci.

Choegangja had gone into the race looking in peak condition, according to trainer Brian Dean, but came back reportedly fine but having suffered a heat-stroke. Perhaps there is something in that given that in his only two races in warm weather last year he came 3rd of 10 and last of 9, both at class 3 before re-appearing in the cool of November and going on to win five in a row, then missing the break and coming last when things warmed up this June. Anyway, the search goes on for a Korean horse to go to Kranji in June and make an impression. Maybe next year.

This weekend Busan takes its one-week summer vacation so only Jeju runs n Friday. Seoul and Jeju will run on Saturday and just Seoul on Sunday.

Seoul Saturday: Race-By-Race Preview (July 22)

French jockey Johan Victoire will make his Korean debut in the saddle at Seoul on Saturday and it’s a good weekend for him to do so. A number of jockeys are absent from Seoul in order to ride in the KNN Cup at Busan on Sunday and Victoire is among those who could take advantage in the 11 race Saturday card which runs from 14:00 to 21:00. English cards are here. Notes on races for overseas simulcast are below:

Race 1: Class 6 (1200M) Allowance / KRW 60 Million 
1. WONDERFUL LUCKY – 4th in trial behind Jungdong Jijon
2. MENI TURBO – 2nd on debut on June 24th and strong favourite here.
3. BABY STAR – 5th in trial behind Special Light. Wasn’t quick.
4. CUPID STORM – Well back behind Jungdong Jijon and Wonderful Lucky in trial.
5. MASK – 2nd in trials and looks set to go well.
6. CAPTAIN POWER – Trialled a couple of times and worked ok but probably best to watch first up.
7. FIORE – Looks competent enough and can go well.
8. HESEDEU – 3rd on debut at the end of May but considerably slower than Meni Turbo. Should lead here.
9. OPI WINTER – Trialled up behind Icheon Seal – looks to have plenty to make up on that one. (more…)