Four track records fall in June

June has seen four of the ten track records at Seoul Race Park broken:

1300 Metres: The New Zealand bred Playing Politics took nine tenths of a second off the 1300 metre record on June 21 to set a new time of 1:19.1. (Video - needs Internet Explorer)

1800 Metres: Milwaukee Special (Canada) took a two length win in a record time of 1:52.09 on June 29.

1900 Metres: Dashing Champ becomes the only Korean bred horse to currently hold a track record taking a tenth of a second off the 1900 metre record in a time of 2:00.1 on June 22.

2000 Metres: Saerounbisul (New Zealand) landed the Seoul Owner’s Association trophy in a record time of 2:05.0. (Video)

The only records standing for more than year are those of Bally Brae over 1200 metres set in 2006, Island Fever over 2300 metres in 2005 and the longest one, Jin Gom Da Ri, at the seldom used distance of 2200 metres set way back in 1992.

Chris Taylor heads new jockey list

South African Chris Taylor was among eight new jockeys officially added to the roster at Seoul Race Park last week. The twenty nine year old made his debut in South Africa in 1995 but has spent much of his career racing in the middle east in Qatar and Dubai. Taylor, who has signed an initial six month contract with the KRA, will ride freelance and will take the tally of foreign jockeys currently riding in Korea to five along with Ikuyasu Kurakane and Nozomu Tomizawa at Seoul and Danny Craven and Toshio Uchida at Busan. To find out a little more about Taylor, here is an interview he gave to SAHorseracing.com back in 2006.

The seven other newcomers are all graduates of the KRA’s jockey academy. They are:

Kim Dong Min (b. 1986)
Kim Cheol Ho (b. 1987)
Park Byung Yun (b. 1987)
Park, Si Chon (b. 1983)
Yu Mi Ra (b. 1984) - Yu becomes the fourth female jockey to gain a license at Seoul
Cho In Kwon (b. 1987)

Bally Brae and Subsidy head Seoul Owner’s field

Bally Brae and Subsidy top the weights for this Sunday’s KRW 106Million first prize Seoul Owner’s Cup which will be off at Seoul Race Park at 17:00. The 2000 metre handicap, one of the biggest of the year for foreign-bred horses also features Saerounbisul, who unexpectedly beat an out-of-sorts Bally Brae last time out. Full list of runners and riders:

Seoul Owner’s Cup (G.III), 2000M - Seoul - Sunday June 22, 2008, 17:00 (Race 9)
1. Gamadongja (NZ) (9/5/1/0) - 52.5 - Nozomu Tomizawa
2. Obaek Yechan (Aus) (22/5/4/3) - 53.5 - Jun Duck Young
3. Subsidy (USA) (27/17/4/0) - 58 - Oh Kyung Hoan
4. Baekjeonmupae (NZ) (12/4/4/0) - 53 - Yoo Sang Wan
5. Angus Empire (USA) (19/6/5/0) - 54 - Kim Ok Sung
6. Clever Star (Can) (6/3/1/1) - 51 - Cho Kyoung Ho
7. Saerounbisul (NZ) (16/5/3/1) - 52.5- Park Tae Jong
8. Dongbanui Gangja (USA) (9/5/2/1) - 52.5 - Choi Beom Hyun
9. Bally Brae (USA) (21/13/5/1) - 59 - Shin Hyoung Chul
10. Dirt King (Aus) (10/5/2/1) - 53.5 - Ham Wan Sik
11. Seoul Teukgeup (USA) (10/4/4/0) - 52 - Moon Jung Kyun

Neither Bally Brae or Subsidy will have their usual jockeys - Moon Se Young being suspended over the weekend and Subsidy’s usual partner Cho Kyoung Ho riding Clever Star instead. Shin Hyong Chul rides last year’s Grand Prix winner while Oh Kyung Hoan partners the eight year old son of Mr Prospector. Disappointingly, Shaving Points, possibly the most exciting foreign bred three year old in Korea right now, doesn’t go.

Subsidy/Bally Brae to face off again?

One of the great rivalries in Korean racing may be renewed on June 22 as Subsidy and Bally Brae are among 13 declarations for the KRW 106Million first prize Seoul Owners Cup. Bally Brae has got the better of the now eight year old Subsidy - one of the last sons of Mr. Prospector still racing on the flat - however, the five year old Grand Prix winner suffered a shock reverse last time out coming third to Saerounbisul and Baekjeonmupae, both of whom are also declared. The most intriguing name on the list, however, is that of Shaving Points, the three year old with three dominant victories in three starts, possibly about to mix it with the big names for the first time. We’ll have a full preview of the 2000 metre race, once the final line-up is confirmed next Thursday.

KNN Cup field announced

A field of ten will line up for this coming Sunday’s KNN Cup Handicap at Busan Race Park. The weights are headed by Procyon (9 wins/14 runs), the four year old gelding looking for a fifth straight win although if he were to take the KRW 77Million first prize, it would be the biggest win of his career to date. Chae Gyu Jun rides. Second weight is Areumdaun Jilju (7/11), making her first appearance since February, followed by the less prolific Haeil (3/21) and Yeoin Cheonguk (5/26). Former star three year-old Mirae Cheonsa (9/17) also goes but is yet to place in five races in a to date disastrous four year old season whereas Seongsan Daegun (3/19) has never been out of the placings in six outings in 2008. Lower in the weights are two horses who won tidy handicaps last time out in the shape of Distance Runner (5/18 ) and Annika Queen (5/16). Rounding out the field are Hangryong (3/17) and Magic Moment (5/15). The 1400 metre KNN Cup is race 5 on Sunday and comes under orders at 15:35.

J.S. Hold to return on Sunday

Last year’s triple crown winner J.S. Hold is one of 12 set to line up in this Sunday’s feature race at Seoul Race Park. Final declarations will be published tomorrow but the for year old is scheduled to line up in race 10, a 1900 metre handicap.

We;ll have a full preview of the holiday weekend’s cards tomorrow but other than J.S. Hold, the highlight is on Friday afternoon at Busan where there will be a rerun of May’s Gukje Sinmun Cup when winner Angle Slam goes up against second placed Golding.

Japanese riders extend contracts

Both Ikuyasu Kurakane and Nozomu Tomizawa have signed six month extensions to their contracts at Seoul Race Park. The new deals will see Ikuyasu continue until the end of December and Nozomu until the end of January next year.  Ikuyasu currently has a record of 42 wins from 508 rides and Nozomu 18 from 338.

Meanwhile, various media have reported that South African jockey Chris Taylor will become the third overseas rider at Seoul.

An Byung Ki retires from the saddle

One of the most senior figures in the paddock, An Byung Ki is retiring as a jockey at age 42. Making his debut at Ttukseom in 1984, An went on to record figures of 5501 rides with 770 winners, 648 seconds and 579 thirds. He won a number of cup and group races throughout his career with the highlight being winning the 1997 Grand Prix race on P’Ulgeurim, one of the dominant horses of 1997-98. An’s last race was on Sunday with a seventh placed finish on Sudden Attack in race 4. His last winner cam on Saturday May 17 when Lucky Mountain in race 6 gave him the second leg of a double and leacing him with a career win strike rate of 14.0% and a place rate of 25.8%. An will now take up a trainer’s licence. Here is a video of his 1997 Grand Prix win on P’Ulgeurim.

Jockey’s Championship / New jockeys update

Moon Se Young recorded four wins over the weekend to move onto 56 winners for the year so far. Moon won race 1 and 10 on both Saturday and Sunday. Cho Kyoung Ho scored one winner on Saturday before picking up an injury in race 4 on Sunday ruling him out of his remaining rides. The Japanese contingent was in good form on Sunday with Ikuyasu Kurakane winning two, including on Shaving Points, and Nozomu Tomizawa winning one.

Japanese jockey Toshio Uchida has been added to the roster at Busan Race Park.  The 47 year old is set to make his debut as early as next week.  Meanwhile at Seoul, American Kevin Radke, who competed in last November’s international jockey’s challenge is scheduled to join full-time having been granted a licence last month. He is yet to appear on Seoul’s official list, however.  The current foreign duo at Seoul, Ikuyasu and Nozomu will finish their initial year at the end of June and July respectively.  There will also be a new intake of graduates from the KRA’s jockey school.  We’ll have a full list of the newcomers, both Korean and overseas over the next week or so.

1. Moon Se Young 56
2. Cho Kyoung Ho 49
3. Park Tae Jong 25
4. Ikuyasu Kurakane 20
5. Shim Seung Tae 19

J.S. Hold on the way back?

Last year’s triple crown winner J.S. Hold, who hasn’t run since winning the Minister of Agriculture Cup last October, is on his way back to fitness. The horse has been suffering from Tendinitis which caused him to miss the end of year Grand Prix and many have doubted whether he would emerge as a four year old. J.S. Hold reportedly ran at racing speeds in sessions on the track during last week and a return to racing is on the cards. His injury is similar to that suffered by Baekgwang last year - Baekgwang returned to finish second in the Ttukseom Cup in April only to suffer a re-occurence which has sidelined him for another year - so further injuries are a big concern. Also set to return is Ganghomyeongjang, who finished only half a length behind J.S. Hold in the Minister’s Cup. Both horses finished four lengths clear of the star performer of this year so far, Namchonuijijon.