For the second time in three years, Cheonnyeon Dongan ran out victorious in the Donga Ilbo Trophy at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday. The odds-on favourite ran on for a 4-length win under champion jockey Moon Se Young.
Cheonnyeon Dongan and Moon Se Young win the Donga Ilbo
The last time she won this race, it was held in September and a change in the racing calendar meant that the past two winners of the trophy would face-off much earlier this year.
Last year’s winner, Ua Deungseon was sent off third in the betting but she never really featured, coming home in 5th as Cheonnyeon Dongan took things up in the home straight and cruised clear.
No a 5-year-old, Cheonnyeon Dongan (Ecton Park) has won 9 of her 21 career starts. This was her third big race win with a Nonghyup Chairman’s Trophy added to her two Donga’s.
Donga Ilbo Trophy – Seoul Racecourse – 2000M – February 15, 2015
1. Cheonnyeon Dongan (KOR) [Ecton Park – Honeycakes (Hennessey)] – Moon Se Young – 1.4, 1.0 2. Geumbit Hwanhui (KOR) [Peace Rules – Sincheongchun (Silent Warrior)] – Jang Chuyoul – 2.7 3. Revereduction (KOR) [Revere – Neednointroduction (Announce)] – Han Sung Youl – 14.7 Distances: 4 lengths / Head – 11 ran
The fun’s over for the Seoul Jockey colony. There have been plenty of wins to go around so far this year but the main man was back this weekend. And Moon Se Young promptly asserted his dominance riding eight winners across the weekend.
And well he might smile. Moon Se Young was back and in-form this weekend (Pic: Hiromi Kobayashi)
Last year’s champion jockey picked up a 6-meeting ban during the final weekend of 2014 giving him a pleasant few weeks off on what should have been the coldest race-days of the winter. As it transpired, it wasn’t that cold but in his return to race riding this weekend, Moon was red-hot.
To the surprise of no-one, he was in the winner’s circle after his first ride back on Saturday and he would return there a further seven times across the weekend – two more on Saturday followed five on Sunday. He added three 2nd places and two 3rds and is remarkably already in 3rd place in the 2015 Jockey Championship. Park Tae Jong, racing’s “President”, will know its odds-on Moon Se Young will have overtaken him at the top by the end of next weekend.
At Busan, the performance of the day came from Cinderella Man. The Peter Wolsley trained 4-year-old made his class 1 debut in the feature handicap. Under Jo Sung Gon, he led home last year’s Derby winner Queen’s Blade and solid handicapper My Key for victory by just under three lengths.
Cinderella Man (Southern Image) now has seven wins from ten career starts and looks a force to be reckoned with. Aussie trainer Wolsley has built up another strong stable this year and already sits in third place in the Trainer Championship. Another promising one of his, the (poorly-spelled, in an orthographical rather than a having a rest on the farm way) Diferent Dimension (Into Mischief) was an easy winner on Friday.
Also on the foreign training front, Bart Rice saddled his first winner of the year on Friday, with his Aussie-bred filly Ace Sinhwa (Onemorenomore) scoring on her racing debut.
As for the foreign jockeys, both Ikuyasu Kurakane at Seoul and Joe Fujii at Busan were among the winners on Sunday.
Back at Seoul, the feature race of the weekend was won by Strong Road (A.P.Warrior) who, just like Cinderella Man at Busan stepped up to class 1 for the first time and duly registered his 7th win from 10 career starts so far.
The fallout from the Korea Racing Authority’s 2015 plan continues with local media in Korea reporting that a coalition of breeders, owners and trainers may boycott the races from the first weekend of February. As punters, we’ll worry about that next week though because in the meantime, there’s a full set of cards definitely going ahead over the next three days.
Busan hosts the pick of the action this weekend
The feature race of the weekend is, as has become the norm so far this year, at Busan and takes place on Sunday when 2014 Korean Derby winner Queen’s Blade faces My Key and Peter Wolsley’s impressive Cinderella Man in the feature handicap.
At Seoul, champion jockey Moon Se Young returns from suspension for his first rides of 2015 and has plenty of live chances across the weekend. Moon will ride Impetus in Seoul’s feature race of the weekend, a race which sees Heukgisa carrying top weight in the handicap.
Among the foreign riders, Ikuyasu Kurakane, who’s nearing the end of his license period, should be in the winner’s circle at Seoul while Joe Fujii has plenty of decent rides at Busan. Nozomu Tomizawa will also be in action at Busan as will Nobuyuki Oyama who has made a quick return from injury. Masa Tanaka is suspended.
Moon Se Young – seen here being greeted by the female members of the weighing room after his 1000th winner, dominated Seoul
Once again, Moon Se Young was unstoppable. During the year he became only the second Korean jockey to reach 1000 career winners and finished the season with 61 more winners than his closest rival. That was Ikuyasu Kurakane and it was the Japanese jockey’s hard work on far less glamorous rides that saw him, despite Moon’s numbers, being awarded “Jockey of the Year” honours.
Seoul Jockey Championship 2014
1. Moon Se Young – 162 (27.1% win ratio)
2. Ikuyasu Kurakane – 101 (14.9%)
3. Seo Seung Un – 93 (15.1%)
4. Ham Wan Sik – 72 (20.6%)
5. Choi Bum Hyun – 56 (14.4%)
6. Yoo Seung Wan – 47 (9.1%)
7. Lee Chan Ho – 47 (13.5%)
8. Park Tae Jong – 40 (10.1%
9. Jang Chu Youl – 35 (8.0%)
10. Park Eul Woon – 35 (12.4%
At Busan, You Hyun Myung just missed out on 100 winners for the season but comfortably took the title. He did have some fortune with former champion Jo Sung Gon spending the first three months of the year in Macau and Joe Fujii missing five months through injury.
Busan Jockey Championship 2014
1. You Hyun Myung – 99 (20.2% win ratio)
2. Kim Yong Geun – 91 (20.1%)
3. Choi Si Dae – 78 (17.8%)
4. Jo Sung Gon – 75 (20.3%)
5. Kim Dong Young – 55 (12.4%)
6. Song Keong Yun – 34 (7.7%)
7. Kanichiro Fujii – 33 (12.2%)
8. Masakazu Tanaka – 29 (8.8%)
9. Lee Hee Cheon – 27 (14.6%)
10. Kim Hyun Joong – 25 (7.9%)
The Seoul Trainers’ title is nothing to get especially excited about but someone has to win it and that someone was Kim Ho. Special mention goes to Lee Shin Young who continues to make strides, finishing in 8th this year with 35 winners.
Seoul Trainer Championship 2014
1. Kim Ho – 50 (12.6% win ratio)
2. Bae Dae Sun – 43 (10.5%)
3. An Byung Ki – 41 (12.3%)
4. Kim Hyo Seob – 40 (15.9%)
5. Ji Yong Cheol – 39 (12.2%)
Kim Young kwan (right) manages to maintain his figure despite having to eat a cake after every Stakes winner. He trains a lot of Stakes winners. (Pic: Ross Holburt)
Down at Busan the competition is stronger mainly due to the presence of two men. The Kim Young Kwan factory continues to churn out winner after winner and hoover up the cream of each year’s horses. 2014 was an exceptional year too for Peter Wolsley, who finished 2nd with a superior strike-rate to Kim and in the process scored his first Triple Crown race win with Never Seen Before in the Minister’s Cup at Seoul.
Busan Trainer Championship 2014
1. Kim Young Kwan – 96 (23.7% win ratio)
2. Peter Wolsley – 65 (25.5%)
3. Baik Kwang Yeol – 48 (10.8%)
4. Kim Jae Sub – 47 (15.4%)
5. Min Jang Gi – 45 (13.1%)
* 2014 was also notable for the retirement of one of Seoul’s most successful jockeys, Cho Kyoung Ho, at the age of 38. The winner of two President’s Cups on Myeongmun Gamun and the Grand Prix Stakes and Busan Metropolitan on Tough Win, Cho did not announce in advance of his final ride that he would be retiring.
Afterwards, he posted a message online citing the pain from a shoulder injury suffered years earlier as having become too great to continue riding. He will be missed.
Also in jockey news, there will be a change in tracks for Oh Kyoung Hoan. It is unusual for Korean jockeys to switch between racecourses and while numerous jockeys relocated to Busan upon the track’s opening in 2005, it has been almost unheard of since. Nevertheless, Oh, who has been riding at Seoul for nearly 15 years, officially relocated to Busan on January 1.
Yeongsan strolled to victory for the 6th time in 6 starts in Korea, securing his second Stakes win in the process, in the Ilgan Sports Trophy at Seoul Racecourse this afternoon.
Yeongsan II and Moon Se Young after winning the Ilgan Sports
Unsurprisingly for a horse who had won his 5 previous starts by a combined margin of 53 lengths, Yeongsan was sent off the long odds-on favourite – indeed at 1.0, all that punters who backed him could hope for, was to get their money back.
At least they were never in any danger of losing it. Moon Se Young brought Yeongsan to the front early and controlled the race, accelerating away from the field in the home stretch and then easing down for a 7-length win on the line.
Pretty sure Se Young only did this because K-Pop girl group Dal Shabet were looking on
Yeongsan (Menifee) – who is officially known as “Yeongsan II” as there was an Australian filly of the same name in Korea 15 years ago – was exported to Malaysia as a 2-year-old but returned a year later. Yet to be seriously challenged by anything domestically, his next target is expected to be the President’s Cup, Korea’s richest race, in November and then a possible shot at the Grand Prix Stakes a month later.
Ilgan Sports Trophy – Seoul Racecourse – 1800M – September 14, 2014
1. Yeongsan II (KOR) [Menifee – Foxxy Cleo (Peintre Celebre)] – Moon Se Young – 1.0, 1.0 2. Citadel (KOR) [Sakura Seeking – Tropic (Danehill)] – Seo Seung Un – 1.6 3. K-Man (KOR) [Volponi – Sash Of Silver (Woodman)] – 1.5 Distances: 7 lengths / 2.5 lengths – 11 ran
* Speaking of the Grand Prix, a former winner was in action at Busan today. However, it didn’t go well for Gamdonguibada (Werblin) who, despite being sent off as a short-price favourite, was beaten a length and a half by old favourite Lion Santa (Lion Heart).
Now 6-years-old, Lion Santa won his first 9 starts back in 2010 and 2011. While never really being able to go on and win the very biggest races, he’s been a solid money winner since and his victory today was his 13th from 30 lifetime starts.
And it is at Busan where the focus will be next week when the southern track hosts the Busan Owners’ Cup. Magic Dancer, Gyeongbudaero, Joy Lucky – and back from his US jaunt – Major King, are among the entrants for this Busan vs Seoul race.
Moon Se Young today went where only one Korean man has ever gone before and rode his 1000th winner.
Moon Se Young greets punters after his 1000th winner
A four-timer last Sunday had taken him to the brink and while he couldn’t quite close it out in the rain last week, it didn’t take him very long today.
Riding Cheonha Miin in race 1, a horse who under any other jockey would probably have been 2nd or 3rd favourite but under Moon was odds-on, he settled just off the pace, before finding the rail in the home straight and guiding his filly to a comfortable win.
An Hyo Ri greets Moon Se Young in the winner’s circle
There was no overt celebration; a brief handshake with 2nd placed jockey Choi Won Joon as they pulled up was the only sign that this was anything other than another routine victory.
Indeed back in the winner’s circle, Moon tried to play it down, however, the presence of a KRA broadcast team and a large number of well-wishing punters scuppered that idea.
After a brief interview, Moon was ambushed by the several female members of the jockey colony who, just like those punters who had gathered, were determined not to let such an occasion pass without due recognition.
1,000 winners may not sound like a lot, especially for a 33-year-old. However, Korea is a little different. Moon Se Young qualified in 2001, in an age when jockeys were restricted to just 5 rides a week. Not a day, a week. Even when that restriction was lifted – and after Moon had served his time in the military – he could (and still can) only race 2 days a week; an absolute maximum of 20 rides.
An unconventional means of congratulations from Lee Ah Na
Yet in that time, Moon Se Young has won everything. Among almost every big Stakes race, his most memorable victories came in the 2007 Grand Prix Stakes on Bally Brae in 2007 and then in a string of big races, including the Korean Derby in 2012, on the remarkable Jigeum I Sungan.
Only “President” Park Tae Jong has won more races than Moon. Park, 15 years Moon’s senior, is currently out injured but is approaching 2,000 winners. He is probably the only jockey who is a household name in Korea.
Moon Se Young, one of Korea’s great sportsmen, must soon be approaching that status. He finished the day on 1,002 winners.
Race 1 – Seoul Racecourse – 1300M – August 16, 2014
1. Cheonha Miin (KOR) – Moon Se Young – 1.9, 1.4 2. Royal Power (KOR) – Choi Won Joon – 3.3 3. Morning Heights (KOR) – Lim Gi Won – 1.2 Distances: 1.75 lengths/2.5 lengths – 7 ran
Joe Fujii underwent surgery on his broken shoulder on Monday. Fujii fell heavily coming out of the gate in race 4 at Busan last Sunday, breaking his scapula. While he was originally hopeful of being back within 6 to 8 weeks, a visit to a Seoul specialist confirmed the need for an operation which is likely to keep him out for between 3 to 4 months. The Japanese rider hopes to be back in time for either the Busan Owners’ Cup or the President’s Cup at Seoul.
Speaking of falls, Park Tae Jong, is currently sidelined from a bad one suffered a month ago. “President” Park is currently on 1881 winners, by far the most of all time by a Korean jockey. However, he could be about to have company in the “Thousand Club” after Moon Se Young’s victory on Yeongsan II on Sunday took the 33-year-old to 987.
Three Korean horses arrived back from the United States last week and will go through a Seoul sales ring in a few days time. Gangnam Camp, Seoul Bullet and Better Than You have spent the past 17 months in Ocala training and, more recently racing. None of the three actually managed to win a race Stateside.
2013 Minister’s Cup winner Major King, who had been racing fruitlessly in the North-East US for the past few months, joined them on the flight home, however, last year’s Derby and Oaks winning filly Speedy First remains in the US.
Meanwhile, there is no end in sight to the long-running dispute over the relocation of the KRA’s off-site betting Plaza in Seoul’s Yongsan district. The new plaza finally opened amid tight security and vehement protest at the end of June and the dispute – originally started by the fact that the new Plaza is a block closer to a school than the old one – has now become something of a political football between governing and opposition parties.
Counter protests by Unions with interests in the racing industry have also taken place at the site with the most memorable banner being one imploring the other side to “Please Stop Insulting Racing Fans”, a reference to the ongoing campaign against the Plaza which has, among other things, sought to link the presence of Plazas with a rise in sex-crimes.
Pro-Plaza counter-protestors at Yongsan
While the KRA has been busy producing glossy videos on the history of the Plazas and the community facilities they provide on non race-days, playing those videos at Seoul Racecourse seems somewhat like preaching to the converted. It’s certainly unlikely to change the minds of the anti-Plaza campaign which has raised a petition with 50,000 signatures calling for the Plaza’s closure.
Best to finish on news from the track and this coming Sunday sees the Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Stakes – colloquially known as the “Summer Grand Prix”. It’s been the lowest key build-up to the Metropolitan since Seoul horses became eligible to run a few years ago although the expected presence of the likes of Oreuse, Gamdonguibada, Cheonji Bulpae, Cowboy Son and Indian Blue among others, should make for an interesting race. We’ll start the full previews later this week.
Champion jockey Moon Se Young was in imperious form at Seoul on Sunday, riding the winner in 6 or the 10 races on the card.
Moon Se Young
As has been mentioned many times on this blog, the standard of riding in Korea has been getting better and better over the past few years.
Seo Seung Un, while not the champion, was undoubtedly the jockey of the year in 2013 by virtue of his outstanding performance with limited firepower.
Lee Chan Ho, a first year apprentice is showing great potential, while Jo In Kwen pushed Moon all the way last year.
However, if there was any doubt as to who is the number one in the weighing room, it was dispelled today. All his mounts had chances and Moon brought them home with ruthless efficiency.
Those wins included both co-feature races, firstly with Brig (Menifee), a 4-year-old who was 4th in the Korean Derby last year and looks set to fulfil his potential this time around.
Then there was Bichui Wangja (Roman Ruler), a 4-year-old American import who held off two long shots to record his 5th career win. Seo Seung Un had ridden Bichui Wangja in all his previous outings before today. With Moon being available though, the ride went to him.
A smile would be nice: Even after Bichui Wangja give s him his 6th winner of the day, Moon Se Young is in no mood for celebration
Earlier in Moon’s haul was Feel So Good (Ft.Stockton). The only Korean bred horse to win a race in the United States returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in 4 outings, winning race 6 by a nose. He’ll be in class 2 company next time out.
Down at Busan, we have some quality riders too although with Jo Sung Gon off to Macau, most of them are now foreign.
Joe Fujii and Darryll Holland both picked up where they left off from Friday by riding winners. Fujii added to his Friday four-timer by scoring a routine win on hot favourite Not Anymore (Casino Prince) in race 4. It was a 3rd win from 7 starts for the Aussie filly who has never finished worse than 3rd.
Two races later, Holland, who rode a double on Friday, landed the feature race for the 2nd time in as many meetings, guiding Grand Teukgeup (Menifee) to a comfortable win over 7 furlongs.
The fears of those of us who suspected that Smarty Moonhak would never again be competitive in the top-tier of Korean racing were allayed in fine fashion as the 4-year-old colt produced a burst of late speed to win the feature race at Seoul Race Park this afternoon.
Moon Se Young is delighted with Smarty Moonhak in this screengrab from Seoul Racecourse today
Making his second start since being away from the track for over a year with tendonitis, Smarty Moonhak (Smarty Jones) was made a warm favourite for the 6-furlong event that saw up-and-comer Samjeong Bulpae make his first class 1 appearance.
The latter made the early running but the final furlong was all about Smarty Moonhak as, under Moon Se Young, the former phenom, who finished 3rd in the Grand Prix Stakes aged just 2, swept by to win by half a length from Dongbanjaui Gijeok.
It’s still early days in his return. This was by no means an especially strong class 1 event and it remains to be seen how he will take to the longer distances he will need to cover if he is to start competing for big Stakes prizes again. For now though, Smarty Moonhak is back.
Class 1 (Open) – Seoul Race Park – 1200M – November 17, 2013
1. Smarty Moonhak (USA) [Smarty Jones – Madeira M’Dear (Black Tie Affair)] – Moon Se Young – 2.9, 1.3 2. Dongbanjaui Gijeok (USA) [Half Ours – Feisty Cherokee (Cherokee Run)] – Choi Bum Hyun – 1.4 3. Dangdae Jeonseung (CAN) [Put It Back – Diamond Heirloom (Pembroke)] – Lee Sang Hyeok – 2.3
Noel Callow won the Macau Jockey Club Trophy while the Horse Racing Ireland race went to Moon Se Young
Noel Callow Dismounts from Victory Dancer (Pic: Ross Holburt)
Noel Callow on Victory Dancer edges out Fausto Pinto on Blue Camp to win the MJC Trophy (Pic: Ross Holburt)
Macau Jockey Club Trophy – Seoul Race Park – 1400M
1. Victory Dancer (KOR) – Noel Callow 2. Blue Camp (KOR) – Fausto Durso 3. Geomtan (KOR) – Raymond Danielson Distances: 0.5 lengths/2.5 lengths Also ran: 4. Last Mudae – You Hyun Myung (KOR) 5. Sen Tank – Jo In Kwen (KOR) 6. Daebagyeonchul – Shinichiro Akiyama (JPN) 7. Black Swan – Park Tae Jong (KOR) 8. Hayan Nuri – Niall McCullagh (IRE) 9. Changcheon – Moon Se Young (KOR) 10. McKenzie Boy – Yucel Bilik (TUR) 11. Cheolli Gisang – Seo Seung Un (KOR) 12. S-Way – Jo Sung Gon (KOR)
Eutteum Khan (far side) and Moon Se Young, win the HRI Trophy (Pic: Ross Holburt)
Irish Thoroughbred Marketing’s Mark O’Hanlon presents Moon Se Young with the winner’s…vase (Pic: Ross Holburt)
Horse Racing Ireland Trophy – Seoul Race Park – 1400M – Aug 10. 2013
1. Eutteum Khan (KOR) – Moon Se Young 2. Yeoui Gold (KOR) – Jo In Kwen 3. Blue Band Zet (KOR) – Jo Sung Gon Distances: Neck/4 lengths Also ran: 4. Suho Cheonsa – Park Tae Jong (KOR) 5. Chongal Gongju – You Hyun Myung (KOR) 6. Dangchan Miso – Yucel Bilik (TUR) 7. Chiming Vicar – Raymond Danielson (SA) 8. Bukdaepung – Fausto Durso (BRZ) 9. Victory Camp – Shinichiro Akiyama (JPN) 10. Onnuri Plaza – Niall McCullagh (IRE) 11. January Queen – Seo Seung Un (KOR) 12. Geuma Queen – Noel Callow (AUS)
The challenge concludes on Sunday when there are 14 races at Seoul from 13:00 to 19:40. On show in other races will be Jiegum I Sungan and Fly Top Queen on a massive day of racing in the capital.
Horse Racing in Korea 