Macau

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.

moon-se-young

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.

kim-hye-sun

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.

 

 

Jo Sung Gon & Kenny Seo Combine in Macau, Major King Flops at Pimlico

Mixed news from the overseas Korean racing diaspora over the past couple of weeks. There was an all-Korean connections winner in Macau but Minister’s Cup winner Major King was a major disappointment on his American racing debut.

Jo Sung Gon and Kenny Seo in the Taipa Winner's Circle (MJC)

Jo Sung Gon and Kenny Seo in the Taipa Winner’s Circle (MJC)

Seoul Racecourse based trainer Seo Beom Seok – better known as Kenny Seo – has been running a parallel stable in Macau for a year now, primarily training for Korean owners. Busan’s champion jockey Jo Sung Gon has been based in Macau since January.

On April 4, the Park Nam Sung owned, Kenny Seo trained and Jo Sung Gon ridden Liver Pool (All Bar One) took victory in the 1100 metre race 2 at Taipa. For trainer and jockey it was their 4th and 2nd winners respectively in the Special Administrative Region.

Taipa will host the Korea Racing Authority Trophy on May 2. The KRA Chairman will be among those making the trip from Seoul.

Seo’s attempt to make a go of things in Asia is at odds with the KRA’s seemingly never-ending fascination with the USA, a jurisdiction which despite the source of a large quantity of racehorses and breeding stock, has little in common with Korea and by their own admission, isn’t a model that authorities here are aiming to emulate.

The sending of 2-year-olds to Florida for early training has great merit and the latest batch of them will be returning to Korea next month much better for the experience. However, the habit of sending of mature Korean-bred horses to run in claiming races in the North-East is far more questionable.

2013 classic winners Speedy First and Major King headed Stateside in January and Major King (Pico Central) – who hadn’t exactly been pulling up trees in his most recent Korean outings was the first to make his debut. Korean racing fans are strongly advised to look away now.

It was hoped that the Pick Me Up and Baekpa debacles of 2008 and 2009 had been learned from but it seems we are doomed to keep repeating the same old mistakes – Horses that are bred and only trained in Korea are going to struggle when expected to race alongside animals that have been raised entirely differently.

More interaction with Asia-Pacific – of which the exchange races with Japan last year were a perfect example – is what’s needed now, not sending our Classic winners to plod around Pimlico.

Jo Sung Gon Gets Golden Number One Win in Macau

It’s not been an easy few months for Jo Sung Gon. Things got a little better for Busan’s Champion Jockey this weekend though as he finally made it into the winner’s circle in Macau.

Jo Sung Gon in the Macau Winner's circle (MJC)

Jo Sung Gon in the Macau Winner’s circle (MJC)

The victory came on his 42nd ride at Taipa Racecourse since taking up a 6-month license in January.

And a perfectly timed ride it was too, swooping late on Aussie bred Golden Number One (Happy Giggle) to steal the 1100 metre race 6 on Saturday right on the winning line.

The undisputed number one Korean jockey at Busan, Jo has found opportunities hard to come by in Macau – Golden Number One paid $160.50 on the Macau tote – but no doubt will benefit for the experience in the long-term.

In Korea, Jo Sung Gon has ridden 480 winners including the Korean Derby, Korean Oaks and three successive President’s Cups – Korea’s richest race – on Dangdae Bulpae. He’s currently stable jockey to Australian trainer Peter Wolsley.

Click here for race result and replay from the Macau Jockey Club.

ht: @hiromi9884

He’s Gon! Top Busan Jockey Jo In Macau For 6 Months

Jo Sung Gon has been granted a 6-month license to ride in Macau. The reigning champion jockey at Busan Race Park will have his first rides at Taipa this weekend.

Going...going...Jo Sung Gon is Macau bound

Going…going…Jo Sung Gon is Macau bound

31-uear-old Jo has won more races at Busan than any other jockey, with 480 since the track opened and has a career quinella strike-rate of 27%.

Jo’s big race wins include the Korean Derby in 2009 on Sangseung Ilro and the Korean Oaks in 2012 on Rising Glory, although he’s best known for his partnership with the recently retired Dangdae Bulpae, on who he won a Minsister’s Cup and 3 consecutive President’s Cups.

Most recently, Jo has been stable jockey to Australian trainer Peter Wolsley. He follows on from Seoul’s champion jockey Moon Se Young who also had a stint in Macau this time last year.

Jo will debut this Sunday with rides in six of the seven races on the card, including two for Korean trainer Seo Beom Seok who since the middle of last year has been simultaneously operating stables at both Seoul and Taipa.

Seo Seung Un Represents Korea in Macau Jockey Challenge Friday

Last week it was Kim Hye Sun in Abu Dhabi, this week it’s the turn of Seo Seung Un to represent Korea. The young jockey is in Macau for the “Macao Gaming Show Invitational Jockey Challenge” which will be held at Taipa Racecourse this Friday evening.

Seo Seung Un poses with a doll and some Louis Vuitton in Macau yesterday (Pic: Macau Jockey Club)

Seo Seung Un poses in shiny suit with a doll and some Louis Vuitton in Macau yesterday (Pic: Macau Jockey Club)

Seo will join nine other visiting jockeys, plus two more representing Macau in the three-race challenge, competing for a HK$30,000 prize.

Only debuting in 2011, Seo is the star product of the KRA Jockey Academy and has broken the Korean record for quickest time to ride out an apprentice claim and quickest jockey to ride 100 career winners.

He currently lies in second place in the 2013 Seoul Jockey Championship.

This is Seo’s second visit to Macau as he took part in the 2012 Asia Young Guns Challenge. He also had a brief stint in the United States earlier that year, where he rode one winner.

He’s due back in Korea on Sunday to ride highly fancied Joy Lucky in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup at Busan on Sunday and will head to Japan in the final week of November to ride Watts Village in the 2nd-leg of the Korea vs Japan challenge.

Among others competing in the challenge is Australia’s Claire Lindop while Wayne Lordan of Ireland and Muzi Yeni of South Africa, both veterans of previous challenges in Seoul, will also be there. Here’s a full list of jockeys competing and the nations they will represent:

Macau: Luis Corrales
Macau: Wah Lun Ho
Australia: Claire Lindop
Hong Kong: Keith Ming Lun Yun
Ireland: Wayne Lordan
Japan: Daisaku Matsuda
Korea: Seo Seung Un
Malaysia: Jose Bonifacio Pereira De Souza
Mauritius: Nooresh Juglall
Singapore: Jose Verenzuela
South Africa: Muzi Yeni
Turkey: Gokhan Kocakaya

Click Here for a full preview of the event from the Macau Jockey Club

Weekend Round-up: Global Fusion Takes New Year Stakes While Moon Se Young Rides First Winner in Macau

The first Stakes race of 2013 was run at Seoul Race Park on Saturday afternoon and it went the way of 3/1 joint second-favourite Global Fusion (Menifee).

Global Fusion and Cho Kyong Ho return after winning the New Year Stakes

Global Fusion and Cho Kyong Ho return after winning the New Year Stakes

Yaho Pilseung (Exploit) was sent off as favourite but, despite jockey Choi Bum Hyun’s frantic efforts, refused to break when the gates opened, leaving himself with 20 length to make up on the field – much to the chagrin of punters. In his absence at the business end of the race, Global Fusion, who was always well-placed, got the better of Naejangsan (Menifee) in the final furlong.

Global Fusion (Menifee-Morning Red Sky) is a 4-year-old colt and moves onto 6 wins from 12 starts, qualifying for class 1 races in the process. For jockey Cho Kyoung Ho, it was a welcome return to big race form after a disappointing end to 2012.

Another jockey enjoying a good start to 2013 was Yukio Abe. The Japanese rider has had a challenging time getting rides since moving to Seoul midway through last year after a successful stint at Busan. He’s begun the year well though, landing a double on Saturday first through Sudden Fortune (Latent Heat) in race 5 and then on Appealing Jeil (Exploit) in race 13.

Winning: Seo Seung Un

Winning: Seo Seung Un

The best start of all, however, was made by Seo Seung Un. The second year jockey ride four winners across the weekend and, along with Jo In Kwen, looks set to make Champion Jockey Moon Se Young work very hard if he is to retain his title.

They will certainly have a chance to gain a big lead as Moon is spending the early part of the season riding in Macau. On Saturday, Moon rode his first winner there, partnering 22/1 chance Mr. Excellency to victory over 1200 metres on turf. As well as Moon, Boo Min Ho is also riding on a short-term license in Macau but is yet to score after 5 ides.

* One notable result from Busan on Friday was a second consecutive win for 3-year-old gelding My Key (Macho-Uno-Worldly Pleasure). The half-brother of US champion Game On Dude broke his maiden last time out by 10 lengths and on Friday, despite stepping up in class, was a 7 length winner in race 6.

Busan’s Sunday feature race was won by another horse with a famous sibling – in Korean terms anyway. Dongteuja (Montbrook-Maremaid) is the half-sister of two-time Grand Prix winner Dongbanui Gangja. She was the 3 length winner of the 1800 metre contest to record her 7th victory from 12 starts.

Seo Seung Un Finishes 3rd In Asia Young Guns Challenge

Korean apprentice jockey Seo Seung Un has finished 3rd in the Asia Young Guns Challenge which was held in Macau on Saturday. The challenge, which brings together some of the Asia-Pacific region’s most promising young riders, was won by Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Ng.

Seo Seung Un – 3rd in Asia Young Guns

In the first race of the challenge, Seo could only manage 8th as his mount, Wind Chaser, raced wide for much of the 1350 metre contest.

However, things got better for the first-year rider in the second heat, an 1100 metre sprint, as he guided Toy’s Power to second place.

Seo matched that in the concluding heat when after overcoming some pre-race confusion with whether or not he was riding with the right saddle, he rode Belt OF Golden to second.

That gave the Korean a total of 31 points (1 for finishing his first race and 15 each for his seconds), behind only Hong Kong’s Ng and Malaysia’s Yazid Kamal.

2012 Asia Young Guns Challenge Macau – Final Standings

1. Ka Chun Ng (Hong Kong) – 40 points
2. Yazid Kamal (Malaysia) – 35
3. Seo Sung Un (Korea) – 31
4. M. Cangas (Macau) – 25
5. Jake Noonan (Australia) – 20
6. C F Wong (Macau) – 18
7. Jason Collett (New Zealand) – 13
8. Zawari Razali (Singapore) – 10
9. Shinsuke Ishikawa (Japan) – 8
10. Keagan De Melo (South Africa) – 7
11. Taichi Nishimura (Japan) – 3

For more information and pictures of the event, visit the Macau Jockey Club site

Seo Seung Un Headed For Asian Young Guns Challenge

Apprentice jockey Seo Seung Un has had quite the career so far. He debuted in August last year – riding two winners on his first weekend – and went on to ride 25 more until he went to the USA two months ago where he rode three more winners.

Seo Seung Un returns after his 25th winner – he’ll be off to Macau in August for the Asian Young Guns Challenge

Now back in Korea, Seo will soon be on his travels again as he becomes the first Korean jockey to participate in the annual “Asian Young Guns Challenge” which will be held in Macau on August 4.

Now in its fourth year, the challenge brings together some of the most promising apprentice jockeys from the Asia-Pacific region (and South Africa) to ride in a three-race series.

The event was hosted by the Victoria Racing Club at Flemington in Melbourne in 2009 and 2011 and by the Singapore Turf Club at Kranji in 2010.

Jockeys taking part this year are:

Ng Ka Chun (Hong Kong)
Taichi Nishimura (Japan)
Shinsuke Ishikawa (Japan)
Seo Seung Un (Korea)
Yazid Kamal (Malaysia)
Zawari Razali (Singapore)
Keagan De Melo (South Africa)
Jake Noonan (Australia)
Jason Collett (New Zealand)

They will be joined by a local representative from Macau for the three races, two of which will be on turf and one on sand. KRA Jockey Academy Instructor Robert Moore will be accompanying Seo on the trip.

More info is at the Macau Jockey Club website