Peter Wolsley

After Seventeen Years Peter Wolsley, Korea’s First Overseas Trainer, Signs Off

Peter Wolsley has never done emotion at the races, but he almost made an exception after race 3 of the short 6-race program at Busan on Sunday December 29th. Samakui Kkot was the trainer’s 693rd winner in Korea and he knew it would be his last.

It’s an old picture but Peter Wolsley never posed for many – here with Macheon Bolt (Pic: KRA)

“I didn’t give (jockey Lee) Sung-jae any specific instructions” said Wolsley, “but he knew the horse likes to be on pace and he got him there. A few times I thought he was beat, but he kept lifting and Sung-jae got him home.”

It was an energetic ride by the journeyman jockey, a rider who had ridden so many times for Wolsley over the years, and who knew the significance. Lee Sung-jae did not want to lose that race. “It was Sung-jae’s last ride of the day, and he came straight up to us afterwards. I don’t get expressive, I don’t get emotional, but it was good to share that moment with him.”

And it was done. After seventeen years, Peter Wolsley’s career in Korean racing was over. Not by choice, but by remorseless numbers. Those numbers said that he hadn’t shaped up in the past couple of years. Foreign trainers – rightly – get held to a higher standard than the locals, and according to those numbers – debatable – the previous fifteen years were irrelevant.

“I got the official notification by text message just before Christmas that I would be done a week later. Nice after seventeen years, isn’t it?”

Peter Wolsley was the first foreign trainer in Korea. Goodness knows what advert he answered, but he arrived in 2007 and was assigned to Busan Racecourse, then only two years into existence. The KRA’s wish to bring in foreign trainers was not universally shared in the wider Korean racing industry – and probably not even within the entire KRA – and with little plan what to do with him, he was assigned what was known as “the breakdown barn”, essentially the horses nobody else wanted to train.

One of the tractor drivers who harrowed the track spoke some English, so he was seconded to be Wolsley’s interpreter. It wasn’t a promising start. But through patience, horsemanship and not a little stubbornness, Wolsley got some of those unfortunate horses up to standard. And even winning.

An early turning point (and I have written these sentences before) came in late 2008. Wolsley had requested that pacifiers (mesh eye-protectors used to prevent sand getting in the eyes of the horse) be allowed to be fitted during races – a cause also taken up by the first foreign steward Brett Wright – and in October of that year, they were finally approved for use.

Bold Kings wins the 2015 Grand Prix (Pic KRA)

The next month, Wolsley’s mare Gyeongcheonsa became the first racehorse in Korea to run in pacifiers and she duly flew home to win at odds of 19/1. One race later, his colt Khaosan, also sporting the same equipment and starting at similarly attractive odds, came from last to second in the home straight.

Wolsley never looked back – he even got the 90/1 2008 Korean Derby winner Ebony Storm to finally win another race – and a couple of years later, Khaosan would provide the trainer with his first Korean Group race winner. Almost every horse wears pacifiers in races in Korea now.

Peter Wolsley reached one hundred Korean winners in May of 2011 and later the same year the aforementioned Khaosan won the G3 Owners’ Cup – albeit in the Stewards’ room – under a first Korean ride for jockey Nathan Stanley. It took only two more years for the double century to arrive when My Winner won the Gold Circle Trophy, an International Trophy exchange race in September 2013, under Darryll Holland.

The numbers continued to pile up – the winning milestones were so regular I stopped bothering to report them – and in 2014 Wolsley earned a Classic win when Never Seen Before scored at odds of 25/1 in the Minister’s Cup, the final leg of that year’s Triple Crown.

“I really believed he was going to win. All week he had been so good – I walked him around that hill behind the stables at Seoul Racecourse – and he felt amazing. I remember telling you that he would win. You didn’t believe me, I might add.” I didn’t.

“He had to fight, it was a good race, Gumpo Sky was a proper horse, so was Success Story, but Charlie (jockey Lee Hee-cheon) rode him well and he beat them.”

Others behind Never Seen Before included a couple of fillies, Korean Derby winner Queen’s Blade, as well as Winner’s Marine, who went on to foal the great Winner’s Man.

Then in 2015, came Bold Kings. Only debuting as a three-year-old at class 4 level that March, he promptly went unbeaten in six, including at class 1 over 2200M in November which earned him his shot in that year’s Grand Prix Stakes, then the biggest Group 1 of the year and still the season finale.

Bold Kings looked beaten on the turn in the Grand Prix, but he and jockey Jo Sung-gon found a way, shifting inside at the top of the straight, and launching a run. He beat Gumpo Sky by a neck with Clean Up Joy in 3rd and the great Triple Nine in 4th in what is still regarded as the most exciting Grand Prix ever run. It was seven from seven.

“You don’t really think about it at the time but looking back on it, to do that was some achievement. For a three-year-old that never ran at two to debut at the start of the year, run seven times and finish the year unbeaten by winning the 2300M Grand Prix is astonishing, really.”

Bold Kings had some injury setbacks in 2016 and was eventually moved to a different trainer. He was retired at the end of the 2017 season and while registered as a stallion, was reported to have died in 2019.

I ask Wolsley about the jockeys who rode for him, and he mentions Park Geum-man, one of the first to be attached to his barn in the early days, and how proud he was when he won the Korean Derby in 2010, albeit on another trainer’s horse (Cheonnyeon Daero, who by a curious twist of fate, would be the horse demoted in favour of Khaosan in the Owners’ Cup a year later). But he also goes on to talk about feedback and the important relationship between trainer and jockey.

“When you can’t ride them all yourself (Wolsley, in company with most of his fellow foreign trainers here, had to do exactly that for a long time), feedback is so vital to a trainer. Daryll Holland was so good at it. He could ride a horse in the morning and tell you instantly if there is an issue and what we need to do to fix it – it hasn’t surprised me at all that he is making a good go of his training career.”

“Jo Sung-gon was an excellent jockey. In my opinion he was the best of the locals that I worked with in terms of race riding, but what really made him stand out was his feedback. Obviously, he spoke good English, which helped with me, but it wasn’t just that. He had a sense with the horses that made him so valuable to a trainer.”

Jo Sung-gon took his own life in 2019 at the age of 37.

Wolsley’s cellphone wallpaper is of Jo Sung-gon winning the Grand Prix on Bold Kings. “It has been ever since the day we won. I won’t change it.”

Wolsley and Jo Sung-gon after the 2015 Grand Prix (Pic from the blog: https://blog.naver.com/choi9036903)

As for his owners, Wolsley, like any diplomatic trainer, was hesitant to name names, but when pressed admitted that two stood out: “Park Hee-sang was with me the whole time. While he does love winning – and we had some very good horses together over the years – he loves his horses more. Korea needs more owners like him.”

“And of course, Peter Hill (Pegasus Farm) has been a great supporter.” Like any owner and trainer, they had their ups and downs “but he backed me from the start and to the very end, and I will always be thankful to him.” Samakui Kkot, Wolsley’s final winner, fittingly saluted in the Pegasus green.

Wolsley’s big rival in the training ranks over the years was Kim Young-kwan. “I loved to beat him” he admits “I knew I couldn’t do it over an entire season because he always has so much fire power and so much influence that eventually, he would come out on top. But I used to like saving a few up at the end of the year and then go all out in the first few months of the new year. Build up a big lead. It would drive him mad! Can you imagine the panic?”

Wolsley and fellow Aussie trainer Simon Foster (Pic: Ross Holburt)

He may laugh but the rivalry was real, and there was absolutely no love lost between the pair. With Wolsley spurring him on, Kim Young-kwan transitioned from a tracksuit wearing old style Korean trainer to a suited and booted modern businessman trainer. Both men would probably be horrified by the idea but there is a fair case to be made that without Wolsley, Kim Young-kwan would not have reached the heights that he did, winning races in Dubai and saddling Blue Chipper to 3rd place in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.

Wolsley too took several of his horses to the Dubai Carnival over the years and won what would prove to be his final Group race in 2021 when Mr. Afleet won the G2 KRA Cup Classic at Seoul.

Wolsley’s final Group win was in the stilted Covid environment (Pic: KRA)

In terms of how these seventeen years ended, while I was skeptical, I had heard rumours that Wolsley was in danger of not being renewed – under the stated (and, it has to be said, ever evolving) criteria for overseas trainers to retain their licenses, he was at risk – and the trainer himself had certainly believed himself to be. He was given the equivalent of a “strike” last year and had reached the age at which Korean trainers are expected to retire. But it was still fast.

“I would have respected it if they had said “look your results the last two seasons haven’t been as good as they were and we think it’s time, how about going up to next June when your visa will be up and retiring with the others? (Kim Young-kwan and Yang Kui-sun are among those other first-generation Busan trainers reaching retirement age in 2025). I might not have liked it but I could have and would have accepted that.”

“After it was done, they invited me into the office, and to be honest I didn’t want to go, but I did, and they gave me a plaque and said they hope I only have good memories. I do have a lot of good memories, but I don’t have any respect for the way it ended. It’s been such a big part of my life that I don’t want to feel any hate – and I don’t to individuals – but it is hard not to.”

“I would have liked to have got to 700 (winners). In the back of my mind, I wondered if I would make it and I was thinking about it last year, I knew it would be tough, and I knew the owners were thinking I might not be here come January, so it was hard to get the two-year-olds in. It wasn’t to be.”

As for the future, Wolsley is still young, trainer-wise, and open to other challenges but for the next few months, he is going to take some time out.

“I am ok with my Korean visa to stay here for six-months so I am going to relax, do a bit of skiing in Japan and go to Sri Lanka for the Australian Test (cricket) matches. And then I will think about what I want to do.”

In assessing Peter Wolsley’s contribution to Korean racing, I think back to a talk given a few years ago by an overseas consultant who was brought over for a few months to examine the training and racing and make recommendations. In the Q&A after her final presentation, she was asked why Busan horses tended to perform better than Seoul horses. Her answer was given without hesitation: “Peter Wolsley. He’s raised the standard there.”

“We’ve seen some things over the years, haven’t we?” Wolsley laughs as we part on a freezing January evening in downtown Seoul. “And stop bowing, I’m not Korean.”

Wolsley has seen far more than I have, and while he might not be Korean, the story of the development of Korean racing over the past two decades is inextricably linked with Peter Wolsley. While all things must end, it will be poorer for his absence.

In numbers

4285 Starts, 693 wins, 521 2nds, 434 3rds for a win rate of 16.2% and a Place Rate of 38.5%

Principal Race Wins:

2011: Owners’ Cup (G3) – Khaosan

2013: Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup (G3) – Secret Whisper

2014: Minister’s Cup (G2) – Never Seen Before

2015: Grand Prix (G1) – Bold Kings

2018: Kookje Shinmun Trophy (Listed) – Ace Korea

2021: KRA Cup Classic (G2) – Mr. Afleet

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.

DWCC 2017: Power Blade & Diferent Dimension To Face Off At Meydan Thursday

Power Blade and Diferent Dimension will race each other at the Dubai World Cup Carnival on Thursday evening. The Korea-trained pair have both been declared for the 1600M Handicap race 4 at Meydan Racecourse.

2016 Korean Triple Crown winner Power Blade (Menifee), trained by Kim Young Kwan, will be ridden by Pat Cosgrave while Adrie De Vries will partner the Peter Wolsley-trained Diferent Dimension (Into Mischief) in the race which is at 8.15pm local time (1:15am Friday in Korea).

dubai-race

See the full race card at Emirates Racing Authority

Both horses have reportedly been well in training. The race, which has attracted 15 runners, looks competitive. Top weight is Final Selection (Diktat), who raced in high class company in 2016 and finished 2nd to The Gurkha at Deauville last May but ended the season in indifferent form. Satish Seemar’s North America (Dubawi) enters having won his last two at Meydan, both at a mile, in non-Carnival meetings in November and December. Bluff (Tapit) also won last up at Jebel Ali.

Heavy Metal (Exceed And Excel) has come close in recent starts and  on one of them finished 2nd to Need To Know (Western WInter) who surely goes better on the Meydan dirt than he did on the Seoul sand in the Korea Cup last September. Along with the Korean pair, it’s hard to know at first glance what to make of American and Swedish runners Wildcat Red (D’Wildcat) and Pistol (Eishin Dunkirk).

That’s the beauty of this meeting though and while Power Blade and Diferent Dimension have it all to do, if they run to their best in what is not a strong race by Carnival standards and on what is currently a very fast track at Meydan, this is a field that they should be able to at least be competitive in.

The other three Korea-trained horses in Dubai for the Carnival are expected to be entered for next Thursday’s card. Two-time President’s Cup winner Triple Nine will likely be pointed to 2000M while Main Stay and Seoul Bullet would be expected to tackle a sprint distance.

Dubai World Cup Carnival 2017: Korea’s Contenders At Meydan

Five Korea-trained horses arrived at Meydan on Christmas Eve to begin preparations for their campaigns at the 2017 Dubai World Cup Carnival. Horse Of The Year Triple Nine and Triple Crown winner Power Blade have been joined on the trip by Diferent Dimension, Seoul Bullet and Main Stay. They will be hoping to emulate the feats achieved by Success Story, who managed two 3rd placed finishes at the 2016 Carnival. 

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Horse Of The Year Triple Nine leads the Korean contingent in Dubai (Pic: Alex Cairns/TheWinningPost)

Diferent Dimension (USA) [Into Mischief – Pardon My Sarong (Souvenir Copy)] 4-year-old Gelding
Breeder: Larkspur Thoroughbreds (Kentucky), Owner: Mun Kyung Sook, Trainer: Peter M. Wolsley
Race Records: 15(9/2/2)
The only US bred among the Korean contingent. It’s not a spelling mistake, he’s named after a lyric in a Katy Perry song (or something like that, I’m told) and was a $30,000 purchase from OBS in April 2014 (having previously gone through Keeneland as a yearling). He’s won at distances up to 1800M but could go further. He was 3rd last month at 2200M but was giving 7kg to the pair who beat him and should be fresh having not been able to get a run in the Grand Prix. He’s saddled by Australian trainer Peter Wolsley.

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Diferent Dimension (Pic: Seungho Ryu)

Triple Nine (KOR) [Ecton Park – A Little Poke (Pleasant Tap)] 4-year-old Colt
Breeder: Isidore Farm (Korea), Owner: Choi Byeong Bu, Trainer: Kim Young Kwan
Race Records: 20(11/7/1)
As a three-year-old, he was 2nd in both of the final two-legs of the Triple Crown before asserting his talent with victory in the Presidents Cup. He’s now a two-time winner of that race having successfully defended his title this autumn and accordingly, Triple Nine was this past weekend crowned Horse Of The Year in Korea for 2016. He finished 3rd in the Korea Cup and 2nd in the Grand Prix Stakes and has comfortably defeated Power Blade on three consecutive occasions.

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Triple Nine arrives (Pic: Seungho Ryu)

Power Blade (KOR) [Menifee – Cheonmacheong (Lost Mountain)] 3-year-old Colt
Breeder: Kim Jung Du (Korea), Owner: Kim Hyeong Ran. Trainer: Kim Young Kwan
Race Records: 13(8/3/1)
He was the Champion Juvenile of 2015 he then dominated the three-year-old division in 2016, comfortably winning all three legs of the Korean Triple Crown. He has gone on to show his class against older horses with 4th place in the Korea Cup, 2nd in the President’s Cup and 3rd in the Grand Prix, the latter over 2300M. Triple Nine has finished ahead of him in all three of those races. In the middle of those races, he dropped down to 1400M to beat Seoul Bullet in a valuable race at Busan.

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A blurry Power Blade on the Meydan track (Pic: Seungho Ryu)

Main Stay (KOR) [Tale Of The Cat – No Bull Baby (Indian Charlie)] 3-year-old Gelding
Breeder: Nokwon Farm (Korea), Owner: SH. Baek, Trainer: Kim Young Kwan
Race Records: 16(9/3/0)
Classed as a Korean bred as he was imported in-utero when his dam was purchased for $32,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale. As such he wasnt eligible for the three-year-old Classic races but has gone on to establish himself as one of the top sprinters in Korea with four wins from his last five starts. He is yet to run in Stakes company but has run and won at distances of up to a mile. Comes in having beaten Seoul Bullet narrowly over 1400M in December.

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Main Stay arrives (Pic: Seungho Ryu)

Seoul Bullet (KOR) [Peace Rules – Wild Guess (Wld Rush)] 5-year-old Gelding
Breeder: Kim Chae Hyung (Korea). Owner: Cho Tae Man, Trainer: Kim Young Kwan
Race Records: KOR: 10(7/2/0) USA: 4(0/0/1)
He’s had an interesting career having spent the first year of it in the United States where he ran four times for one 3rd place in Florida and even managed to get claimed out of a race at Gulfstream. He was claimed back and returned to Korea where he promptly won his first six starts. He was then sidelined for fifteen months before finally returning to action this summer. He pushed Power Blade all the way over 1400M in October before winning a class 1 race at the same distance very handily. Narrowly defeated by Main Stay last time out.

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Seoul Bullet strolls at Meydan (Pic: Seungho Ryu)

Miller’s Time: Kiwi Trainer Breaks Through At Busan

Dynamic Star was a winner on debut at Busan on Friday and the 2-year-old Hansen colt landed not only his own maiden win but also a Korean maiden win for New Zealand trainer David Miller.

Miller, who previously trained in Malaysia, has been steadily establishing his stable since arriving in Korea in early autumn and has now assembled a string of 21 horses.

Dynamic Star, a 5/1 shot having put in a reasonably impressive performance in a trial last month, was Miller’s 14th runner and under jockey Chae Sang Hyun, he pulled clear in the closing stages to win by a comfortable three-lengths on the line. Hopefully it will be the first of many.

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David Miller

Miller brings the total number of overseas trainers at Busan to four. Finishing 2nd to Dynamic Star on Friday was Agnes, trained by Thomas Gillespie.

The Irish trainer is almost 18 months into his time at Busan and is quietly moving into the upper echelons of the Busan ranks. He currently lies 10th in the 2016 standings and is sure to rise. Gillespie was 2nd only to Kim Young Kwan in prize-money won in November courtesy of Ms. Margaux giving him his first group winner in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup.

Already firmly established in the top tier of trainers at Busan is Bart Rice. Although the South African’s stable has had a quiet couple of months, he remains in 5th place in the Championship and maintains a very impressive strike-rate. Also in the top tier of course, is Peter Wolsley. The Australian saddled his 400th Korean winner last week and will finish in 2nd place in the Championship.

Three overseas trainers in the top ten can only be good for the overall standard at Busan. Can David Miller make it four in 2017?

 

“Rivals” On Show / Park Jae I Wins In Australia / Imran Gets 10 Days

The villainous foreigner looks directly into the camera, eyes obscured by dark glasses no doubt in an attempt to disguise malign intentions. Meanwhile, the stout defender of Korean honour gazes wistfully, but determinedly, into the middle distance, face bathed in an almost saintly glow.

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There’s a good little exhibition running right now in the small museum at Seoul Racecourse called “The Rival” which attempts to build up some of the rivalries ongoing in racing in Korea. Peter Wolsley and Kim Young Kwan was the natural choice for the trainers while for jockeys, it is Moon Se Young and Kim Young Geun  so if you’ve ever wanted to see Moon Se Young’s schoolboy pictures, then a) why? and b) now’s your chance.

To keep things current, for horses, current stablemates Triple Nine and Power Blade were chosen (as opposed to say, Subsidy and Bally Brae) while it’s Menifee and Ecton Park for sires. The museum is located behind the Luckyville Grandstand on the Parade Ring side. It’s free entry and only takes a couple of minutes to look around. This particular exhibition runs until December 30th.

In other news, Busan apprentices Jin Kyum and Park Jae I are currently in Australia to gain overseas experience and Park was among the winners at Port Macquarie Racecourse in New South Wales on Tuesday afternoon. 20-year-old Park, who debuted in 2015 and rides off a 2kg claim with 21 winners to date in Korea, partnered 5-year-old mare Tiaconi to a two-length victory in the 1000M race 7 for owner/trainer Brett Bellamy (h/t Michael Cox):

Not such happy news for jockey Imran Chisty. The Indian rider has picked up a ten-day ban for his ride on Monday Money in race 4 at Seoul last Sunday. The fast finishing 5/1 chance just failed to get up for 2nd with Stewards of the view that slightly more vigour on the part of the jockey would have overcome the nose deficit. Because Seoul only races two days each week, it means the suspension doesn’t expire until Christmas Day.

Busan Friday Review

So how do you make a Seoul horse better? Well if his name is Tapipoint, you move him to Busan. 

The few Seoul horses who have been moved to Busan since switching between the tracks became permitted last year have tended to sink without trace – and in fairness, with a couple of notable exceptions, those who have moved in the opposite direction haven’t exactly been pulling up trees either. Tapipoint (Concorde Point) though has been, for want of a better phrase, on point. He ran 2nd in his first two starts on the south coast and today got it spot-on, winning the class 2 race 10 by three lengths under apprentice jockey Lee Yong Ho.

Favourite for that race had been Emeth. However, the Kim Young Kwan trainee sank without trace in the home straight beating just one home. It wasn’t all bad news for favourite backers though as, on a filthy afternoon, the two bankers obliged. Peter Wolsley’s Golden Kings (Ecton Park) – who is in fact a filly – claimed an easy maiden victory in race 4 under Pasquale Borelli while Dyna’s Dream (Meiner Select) was far too strong in securing his third straight win in race 8.

Bart Rice was also among the winners, saddling race 7 victor Giant Hold (Hold Me Back) but it was Ikuyasu Kurakane who was pick of the foreigners today. The Japanese rode three winners with the pick being the up in class Bohemian (Orientate), a strong winner of the 1800M race 9.

It poured with rain for most of the day and times were quick, with many races being run in near track-record times. Racing returns to Busan on Sunday while on Saturday attention turns to Seoul where there is an eleven-race card which gets under way at 10:50am.

Sunday Round-Up

Apparently the Spring-like temperatures of Saturday brought all sorts of creatures out of hibernation. Sadly, reality returned overnight and 16C suddenly became several below zero, with predictable results for the unfortunate early-risers.

Punters never hibernate. All were present and some were even correct for the action at Busan and Seoul on Sunday. Here’s what happened:

Busan: If Friday at Busan belonged to jockey You Hyun Myung, Sunday on the “Costa Del Gimhae” was trainer Peter Wolsley’s day with the Aussie handler saddling winners in 4 of the 6 races on the card. Included were a couple of notable ones. Banjiui Jewang [Ecton Park-Sweetoil] was 2nd to Friday winner Power Blade in the Breeders’ Cup Champion Juvenile race at Seoul last September and is among the Classic contenders this year. Unlike Power Blade, he stuck to a sprint distance for his three-year-old debut and once jockey  Seo Seung Un had convinced him to take an interest in the race in the home straight, success was a formality as he beat out eleven rivals to win by just under two lengths in a 1200M class 4 handicap.

In the feature race, Wolsley’s US import Leave It To Me [Exclusive Quality-Afillyate] stepped up to class 1 for the first time and looked very comfortable too, running away from a decent field to win by over two lengths with Lee Hee Cheon on board. It was the four-year-old’s fifth win from nine starts. General [Menifee-High Value] and first-timer Gasi Gongju [Thorn Song-Treed Cat] taking races 1 and 3 respectively, meant Wolsley leapt up the Trainers’ Premiership to 2nd. Where he will probably remain for the rest of the season behind Kim Young Kwan’s machine in 1st.

Seoul: There were some tight finishes at in the capital and that included the feature race 11, a class 1 handicap sprint over 1200M.  Sent off the slight favourite, Parang Juuibo [With Distinction-Spicy Souffle] emerged as the marginal winner, holding off Winning Andy by a neck on the line. Parang Juuibo moves onto 6 wins from 29 starts but he has now won three consecutively. Winning Andy was ridden by Djordje Perovic, the Serbian having earlier added yet another winner to his tally.

 

Perovic Perks Up At Seoul As Foreign Jockeys & Trainers Enjoy Winning Weekend

Borelli, Tomizawa, Rice, Tanaka, Takahashi, Gillespie & Wolsley All With Winners Too

It’s been a mixed couple of months for Djordje Perovic but the “Balkan Wolf” was back smiling again having guided four winners home on what was an all-round good weekend for the foreign contingent in Korean racing.

Things hadn’t been going all Perovic’s way since losing the support of one of his main trainers after the KRA Cup Classic at the end of August. However, other trainers have continued to use him and this weekend it all came together as the “Serbian Frankie” – he has no shortage of nicknames – showed his class with a treble on Saturday and a further winner on Sunday.

Those four winners took Perovic to 28 in Korea. Meanwhile fellow Seoul rider Yuri Takahashi, whose Korean license was last week confirmed to have been extended until the end of April 2016 rode his 16th winner in the country on Saturday.

Down at Busan, Bart Rice saddled two winners on Friday, giving Masa Tanaka his 95th Korean victory and taking the Japanese rider one closer to his stated goal of 100 before his license ends. Rice also provided Italian rider Pasquale Borelli with one of his two weekend successes. Nozi Tomizawa also got home in front twice, the first of them a welcome win for trainer Thomas Gillespie.

Gillespie has still only sent out 35 runners in total but has 4 winners now and a remarkable place strike rate of 37%. Rice too takes care of his horses and doesn’t send them out for the sake of it and has a place strike rate of 31%. Peter Wolsley also sent out a winner on Friday and remains in clear 2nd place in the Trainer Championship. His place strike rate is also 37% and was bolstered by Ms. Margaux running a very good 2nd in the Governor’s Cup on Sunday.

Those foreign trained or ridden winners in full:

Djordje Perovic: 4 – Saturday Seoul Race 2 (Yeongam Arirang), Saturday Seoul Race 8 (Bulguruisinhwa), Saturday Seoul Race 13 (Sun Strong), Sunday Seoul Race 1 (Cin Cin Jjan)

Nozi Tomizawa: 2 – Friday Busan Race 9 (Professor Silver), Sunday Busan Race 1 (Green Mireu)

Bart Rice: 2 – Friday Busan Race 1 (Jangguneui Huye), Friday Busan Race 3 (King’s Rules)

Pasquale Borelli: 2 – Friday Busan Race 3 (King’s Rules), Sunday Busan Race 3 (Ganghan Namja)

Masa Tanaka: 1 – Friday Busan Race 1 (Jangguneui Huye)

Yuri Takahashi: 1 – Saturday Seoul Race 5 (Samba Festival)

Thomas Gillespie: 1 – Friday Busan Race 9 (Professor Silver)

Peter Wolsley: 1 – Friday Busan Race 5 (Dangdae Queen)

It wasn’t all good news for the foreign contingent though. Italian jockey Nicola Pinna was scheduled to debut at Seoul this past weekend but unfortunately was unable to make weight for his three mounts. Pinna’s disappointment was compounded as the first of those, Jeongsang Daegil in race 2 on Saturday, bolted up at 10/1 under replacement Lee Chan Ho. Pinna will hopefully get another chance next week when Japanese rider Makoto Okabe is expected to start at Busan.

In addition to Takahashi’s extension, the KRA also confirmed last week that Ikuyasu Kurakane (who was suspended this week) has had his jockey license extended until April 2016. Good news for punters and less so for the local jockey colony. “Good”, is the only sensible reaction to that.

Busan has undoubtedly benefited from the presence of foreign trainers and that is set to be extended to Seoul. Applications have been received over the past couple of months and the first overseas trainers to be granted licenses in the capital will be announced soon.