Kim Hye Sun

Derby Winner Global Hit Lands Minister’s Cup

Global Hit sealed his status as the nation’s top three-year-old as the Korean Derby winner produced another late surge up the inside to win the Minister’s Cup (2000M KOR-G2) at Seoul Racecourse on Saturday evening.

Global Hit beats stablemate Speed Young in the Minister’s Cup (Pic: KRA)

Sent off as third favourite in a full field of sixteen, Global Hit was unable to get to a forward position coming out of the gate when Uptown Whiz drifted in front of him. Instead, jockey Kim Hye-sun had to be patient and settle the Derby winner in midfield as Dokki Bulpae and betting favourite Naol Sniper set the pace.

Global Hit steadily improved as the field made their way down the backstraight and joined the leaders as they turned for home. Once in the straight, Global Hit quickly accounted for Naol Sniper and Dokki Bulpae and was left with only stablemate Speed Young to see off. This he did with a final furlong burst of speed that saw him cross the line two-lengths to the good. As ever late on the scene, Nut Play came home 3rd a full seven-lengths further in arrears.

“I am really happy. Global Hit is a very good horse and he proved that the Derby wasn’t just luck” winning jockey Kim Hye-sun told in-house broadcaster KRBC. “I don’t really think I gave him due credit in my interview after the Derby, but I expected him to win this time. He has so much talent, and while his legs are not the strongest, the stable staff did such a good job in managing him and allowing him to show his ability.”

Asked about the start when Uptown Whiz crossed, impeding Global Hit from getting their desired position and whether it forced her to change tactics, Kim said she noted it. “As we came out the gap narrowed, I hesitated a little but decided not chase it, so we settled back a little bit further than planned, but ultimately it didn’t matter.”

Pic: KRA

For trainer Bang Dong-suk, it was a remarkable one-two with last year’s champion juvenile Speed Young running a redemptive race following lacklustre showings in both the Cup Mile and the Derby.

“I have to praise my jockeys.” Bang told KRBC. “They were great, but this is a whole team effort by everyone back at the stable. They worked hard to prepare this.” As for the future, the trainer was non-committal: “Global Hit has been through a lot with his legs, but they are both young and I am looking forward to what’s next.”

Jockey You Hyun-myung rode Speed Young to win the Breeders’ Cup and following a lengthy spell out after a bad injury in a race fall, was reunited with him in the Minister’s Cup. “The staff had told me he was back in form, and they were right. Global Hit was just too strong in the last 200M.”

Global Hit is by To Honor And Serve and is out of Tammy’s Victress (by Yankee Victor). With the win he moved on to five wins from seven starts.

Global Hit Stuns In The Derby

Global Hit stuck to the rail and the tiny colt inked his name into Korea racing history by winning the Korean Derby (1800M KOR-G1) at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon. On his back, Kim Hye-sun wrote another chapter of firsts in her storied career.

Kim Hye-sun and Global Hit win the Derby (Pic: KRA)

He may have drawn the plum inside gate but having not taken part in the first leg of the Triple Crown, Global Hit, not a big horse to begin with, weighed in having lost 13kg since his last outing, the second lightest of the sixteen-strong field. Accordingly, he was sent off as a 25/1 outsider for the premier jewel in the crown.

It was a case of taking full advantage of that inside draw. Global Hit settled handy and stuck to the fence throughout before accelerating away in the home straight leaving pre-race favorite Naol Sniper in his wake, while the heavily fancied closer Nut Play finished strongly but too late. and could only manage 3rd.

Kim Hye Sun and Global Hit (Pic: KRA)

“I am so happy; I am overwhelmed really” winning jockey Kim Hye-sun told in-house broadcaster KRBC. “I am surprised and happy at the same time. I wanted him to run in this race, but I didn’t expect him to win.”

She was fully appreciative of her apparently fragile mount: “(Global Hit) has weak legs so my only priority was to race safely. And this was his first time at 1800M. I was worried about everything, the distance, the weight. But I wasn’t worried about his ability, and he ran really well.”

It was a career Triple Crown for both owner Kim Joon-hyun and trainer Bang Dong-suk, who combined with Hit Yegam in 2021 to claim the KRA Cup Mile and the Minister’s Cup but missed out when 2nd to Winner’s Man in that year’s Derby.

Hyesun signs off on a brilliant performance (Pic: KRA)

It is almost unseemly in this day and age to talk about “first woman to…” and Kim Hye-sun herself certainly doesn’t want the narrative about her career to be defined by that. As she always points out, she is just another jockey doing what jockeys do. But just like American trainer Jena Antonucci sending out Arcangelo to win the Belmont Stakes this weekend, she is smashing glass ceilings and that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated.

Kim Hye-sun debuted at Seoul in 2009 and quickly started winning. The highlight of her career prior to this Derby came in 2017 when she accompanied the filly Jejui Haneul to Busan and won the Korean Oaks at odds of 55/1. She gave birth to a son (with her husband, fellow jockey Park Jae-i) in 2020 and returned to race riding ten-months later quickly picking up where she left off, booting home three winners on International Day at Busan last year.

“I know people were worried when I came back after I had my son, but really my son is a treasure to me, and he gives luck to me when I ride.”

“I would like to thank my husband also; did he finish last? (Press Corp: “second last!”). “Ha!, Also, thanks to the owner for giving me the chance and the stable hands for preparing him so well. They earned this win.”

The final leg of the 2023 Korea Triple Crown is the Minister’s Cup over 2000M on July 22nd.

Blue Chipper Back On Top At Busan

Blue Chipper returned to the winner’s circle at long last at Busan Racecourse on Sunday afternoon as Korea’s 2019 Breeders’ Cup hero registered an effortless class 1 win over seven-furlongs.

With the Covid-induced financial crisis still biting, Sunday’s Busan feature was contested for a 1st prize of just KRW 24 Million (US$21,400). Nevertheless, in addition to Blue Chipper the race also attracted the likes of Ssonsal, the up-and-coming sprinter who came in off the back of four consecutive wins, as well as multiple winner King Of Glory and Dubai World Cup Carnival alumnus Today among a full field of fourteen.

None stood a chance as under jockey Djordje Perovic and coming out of gate five, Blue Chipper quickly assumed command of the race, before motoring away from the field in the home straight. Ssonsal, who had to overcome the widest draw, got closest, finishing three-lengths in arrears.

It’s been a long way back for Blue Chipper, who last tasted victory in the Korea Sprint (KOR G1) at Seoul Racecourse in September of 2019. Knowing that he held a Breeders’ Cup nomination, connections then opted to take a chance on him in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup First Mile at Santa Anita where, under an enterprising Flavien Prat ride, Blue Chipper finished 3rd behind Spun To Run and Omaha Beach.

Blue Chipper was then pointed at the Dubai World Cup Carnival and a tilt at the Goldolphin Mile. Disaster struck, however, when on arrival he was found to have travel sickness, the complications of which ruled him out of competing at Meydan.  By the time he was passed fit to fly, he returned to a Korea where racing, with no legal remote betting, was amid the still ongoing Covid crisis.

Having returned to training in December – and moved to trainer Min Jang-ki’s stable – Blue Chipper was given a low-key return to racing in February in a race which had no legal betting markets either at home or overseas. Going over a mile he showed at the front early but visibly tired in the final furlong ultimately ending up in 5th. He came out of that race in good order though and the improvement was there for all to see on Sunday.  

Where to next is the million-dollar (hopefully not the 24 Million Won) question for Blue Chipper. Now six-years-old, the Tiznow gelding seems unlikely to travel again given the risks involved and with no confirmed Stakes schedule for Korea as the pandemic continues to squeeze prizemoney, it may be some time before he even gest to face the likes of Seoul-based rising-star Eoma Eoma in Korea.

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Jockey Kim Hye-sun rode her first winner back since returning from maternity leave just a week ago. The thirty-two-year-old, who is married to fellow jockey Park Jae-I, partnered Haeundae Bada to victory in race 1 at Busan on Sunday.  It was career victory number 284 for Kim, who is the most successful female thoroughbred jockey in Korean history. She rode Jejui Haneul to victory in the Korean Oaks in 2017.

In the three-year-old ranks, Winner’s Man returned to winning ways at Busan on Saturday. The Musket Man colt was beaten by the very good Golden Winner on his first try around the Korean Derby distance of 1800M last month and while he suffered another scare this time around, he had enough about him to hold off long-shot Man Of Top by a head at class 3 level for his first success around two turns. Winner’s Man now has a record of five wins and two runner-up finishes from seven starts.

Kim Hye Sun Becomes 1st Female Rider To Win Korean Classic as Jejui Haneul Stuns in The Oaks

There was a thrilling finish to the Korean Oaks at Busan this afternoon and at the end of it, plenty of Korean racing history was made. Kim Hye Sun became the first Korean female jockey to win a Group race while Masteru Mizutani became the first foreign owner to do the same as 56/1 outsider Jejui Haneul pulled off a shock win

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Jejui Haneul (near side) bests Bright Star in the Korean Oaks (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

Jejui Haneul was unfancied but was never likely to be a no-hoper having been one of the few in the field that had already performed creditably around two turns. However hers and all others chances were boosted when pre-race favourite Ice Marine blundered on exiting the gate, putting herself at a huge disadvantage before the race had even got going.

She never really recovered from that and things looked set up for 2nd and 3rd in the betting, Uju Star and Bright Star to dispute the finish. They reckoned without Jejui Haneul, who flew home on the stands-side under Kim Hye Sun to pip Bright Star by a head on the live. Longest shot on the board, the 183/1 chance Teukbyeol Star got up for an even unlikelier 3rd and almost break the tote system with an unprecedented tierce pool dividend.

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Jejui Haneul and Kim Hye Sun in the Korean Oaks winner’s circle (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

Since debuting in 2009, Kim Hye Sun has already established herself as the most successful Korean female rider of all time, the Oaks being her 225th win from just shy of 3000 mounts. No Korean woman had ever won a Group race though, much less one of the Classics. There were tears in the post race interview but 30 minutes later, Kim was back out and riding in the day’s finale.

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Kim Hye Sun after winning the Korean Oaks (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)

It was a great ride and while time will tell how good this current crop of fillies is, it was another win for Seoul. The capital track has now won three out of four encounters involving this year’s three-year-olds. That’s something we didn’t think we’d be seeing anytime soon.

Korean Oaks (KOR G2) – Busan Racecourse – 1800M – June 11, 2017

1. Jejui Haneul (KOR) [Raconteur – Isanghwa (Didyme)] – Kim Hye Sun -56.0, 14.4
2. Bright Star (KOR) [Menifee – L Vicar (Vicar)] – Francisco Da Silva – 2.7
3. Teukbyeol Star (KOR) [Air Shady – Teukbyeolhwanhui (White Muzzle)] – Lee Hae Dong – 29.4
Distances: Head / 2 lengths
Also Ran: 4. Uju Star 5. Yesangbaek Seung 6. Queen’s Queen 7. Ice Marine 8. Yongwangdam 9. Daeho Chukje 10. Take Four Meals 11. Morning Baramse 12. Goldstar Hills 13. Ecton Bulpae 14. Sun Smart 15. Gasok Champion 16. Happy Gongju

Moon Se Young, Kim Hye Sun Join Top Class Line-Up For Macau “Mixed Doubles” Challenge

Korean Jockeys Moon Se Young and Kim Hye Sun are in Macau where they will participate in the inaugural Mixed Doubles Jockey Challenge at Taipa Racecourse this coming Saturday January 21.

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Moon Se Young (Pic: Ross Holburt)

The concept for the day involves six pairs of riders – one male, one female – from six different countries, however they will be paired with a partner from another country for the purposes of the challenge. The challenge takes place over three races on the turf on Saturday afternoon, with mounts having been drawn at random. The pair scoring the highest number of combined points will be crowned winners.

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Kim Hye Sun (Pic: Ross Holburt)

Moon Se Young, who has been Seoul’s dominant jockey in recent years, has been paired with Australian rider Katelyn Mallyon. Kim Hye Sun, who holds the record for most wins here by a female jockey teams with Champion Singapore jockey Manoel Nunes.

The legendary Yutaka Take and “Idol Jockey” Nanako Fujita represent Japan. Take will team up with Brazil’s Jeane Alves de Lemos while Nanako partners with Hong Kong-based French jockey Olivier Doleuze.

American jockey Jacqueline Davis rides with New Zealand’s Andrew Calder while Ireland’s Emily Finnegan completes the line-up alongside local Macau-based Luis Corrales.

For more information about the Jockey Challenge, see the article on the Macau Jockey Club website here.

For racecards for Saturday’s meeting at Taipa click here.

 

 

Weekend Round-Up: Cinderella Man & Bold Kings Star

Cinderella Man charged back into the winner’s circle at Seoul while Bold Kings maintained his 100% record at Busan as the pair emerged victorious from Sunday’s two Grand Prix Stakes trials.

Cinderella Man had run just twice in the capital since his ownership transferred from Pegasus Stables to Ruairi O’Coilean and he joined the stable of Seoul’s fast emerging trainer Lee Shin Young. The first of those was the KRA Cup Classic when questionable riding tactics scuppered his chances but he looked sharp when running 2nd last month over 2000M

He had to battle on Sunday when racing over the Grand Prix distance for the first time but once he had finally managed to get past long time leader Hwanggeum Tap in the final furlong, Cinderella Man ran on for victory by just over a length under champion jockey Moon Se Young. It was Cinderella Man’s 10th win from 17 career starts.

Class 1 Handicap – Seoul Racecourse – 2300M – Nov 9, 2015

1. Cinderella Man (KOR) [Southern Image – Tiza Fast Kat (Tiznow)] – Moon Se Young – 2.7, 1.3
2. Hwanggeum Tap (USA) [Tiz Wonderful – La Tulipe (Silver Deputy)] – Lee Sang Hyeok – 3.4
3. Winning Andy (USA) [Cowboy Cal – Belvedere Miss (Pleasant Colony)] – Djordje Perovic – 1.5
Distances: 1.5 lengths/1.5 lengths – 9 ran

At Busan, three-year-old US import Bold Kings confirmed his status as one of the hottest emerging talents in Korean racing. He too had to battle in the 2200M class 1 event but under Jo Sung Gon, he finally got the better of Goji Jeongbeol by a head after the two dueled for the final furlong. Bold Kings is now six for six.

The Grand Prix at Seoul next month would be a big ask for both of them. Bold Kings is three, has only run six times and is yet to travel to race. Cinderella Man, while reasonably conservatively campaigned this year (he has run eight times) did suffer setbacks over the summer. Their presence though would be a huge boost for the race.

Class 1 Handicap – Busan Racecourse – 2200M – Nov 8, 2015

1. Bold Kings (USA) [Afleet Express – Bold Arrival (Gilded Time)] – Jo Sung Gon – 2.5, 1.3
2. Goji Jeongbeol (USA) [Congrats – I Love CIndy (Adonis)] – Ikuyasu Kurakane – 1.5
3. Gandai (KOR) [ Don’t Get Mad – Gamble To Victory (Prospector’s Gamble)] – Song Keong Yun – 2.7
Distances: Head / 2.5 lengths – 8 ran

Bold Kings was ridden for the first time by Jo Sung Gon as regular rider Kim Yong Geun was riding Nobody Catch Me for Kim Young Kwan. It may be a good thing that he won’t be going to the Tokyo Daishoten and he probably won’t be going to the Grand Prix either as he faded to a well-beaten 6th having shown prominently early in the race.

Trainer Kim will still have plenty of options for the season-ending showpiece – which once again will be available to European punters through the PMU – with three-year-olds Rock Band and Triple Nine among them.

On a weekend when it rained practically non-stop and the track at times resembled more a rowing lake than a racecourse, the pari-mutuel system decided that it was as wet and fed-up as everybody else and packed up immediate following race 3 at Seoul. It was a good 40 minutes before it could be coaxed into life again and that meant the abandonment of race 4. It’s not the first time it’s happened.

Jockey of the weekend was once more Djordje Perovic who rode another treble on Saturday and a further winner on Sunday. Jockey of the weekend wasn’t Nicola Pinna who while finally making his debut on Saturday, had to get off two later mounts – one of which Perovic won on.

Jockey of the weekend wasn’t Kim Hye Sun either. She will be having nightmares over getting Saetbyeori beaten in Saturday’s race 4 when the race looked won. While it looked to be a total brain freeze rather than anything nefarious (the Stewards adjourned their inquiry), the punters who backed the 10/1 shot won’t have been amused. However, those who were on the favourite that Kim failed to notice closing on her inside until it was too late, wouldn’t have minded at all. The usually reliable Kim was much more vigilant on Sunday with a very good ride on 38/1 shot Beongae Power, who she coaxed home when looking about to be beaten.

In other jockey news, Japanese rider Makoto Okabe debuted at Busan with seven rides across the weekend. He didn’t manage to get a winner but did land two 2nd places and one 3rd. Pasquale Borelli, Ikuyasu Kurakane and Masa Tanaka all did manage to find their way into the winner’s circle though.

Kim Hye Sun Finishes 7th in Abu Dhabi Challenge Race

Kim Hye Sun, who last week became the first Korean woman to ride 100 career winners, was in action in the United Arab Emirates last night.

Overseas racer: Kim Hye Sun

Overseas racer: Kim Hye Sun rode in Abu Dhabi this weekend

Kim made the trip to compete in the “HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship” challenge race at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.

Riding 7-year-old Arabian gelding Al Mouttakel, Kim finished the race – which was won by Omani jockey Salima Al Taleei on the Jaci Wickam trained Kareem W’Rsan – in 7th place.

The race comments for Al Mouttakel were “Soon led, headed 400m out, weakened final 200m”. Kim, currently lies in 12th place in the Seoul Jockey Championship, despite spending a large portion of the year out injured.

More information at the Emirates Racing Authority

* In other overseas Korean news, Seoul trainer Seo Beom Seok, trained his first winner in Macau last week.