3 minute read

September’s Keeneland Korea Cup and Sprint resulted in home wins for the very first time.

While Sprint winner Blue Chipper seems set to make his next start in the USA, this Sunday at Seoul Racecourse, Cup winner Moonhak Chief headlines what is in effect, a re-match of the big race against domestic rivals Cheongdam Dokki and Dolkong, over 2000M in the KRA Cup Classic (KOR G2).

After running 6th in last year's season-ending Grand Prix Stakes, Moonhak Chief (Pioneerof The Nile) established himself as a top level performer by kicking off 2019 with a pair of Class 1 victories, but he really announced his arrival at the elite level with a twelve-length demolition job in the YTN Cup at the Cup Classic distance of 2000M. He then went to Busan and got within a length of Dolkong in the Owners' Cup over a mile before making local history in the Cup last month.

That win has made him the highest rated horse in Korea, and he has earned the right to be favourite to prevail again this Sunday.

Moon Se Young who will once more partner Moonhak Chief, told KRBC that he expects a different challenge this time. "At the Korea Cup I didn't really know much about the foreign horses and what to expect with their tactics, so preparation was complicated. I took a chance in going to the front when I did, and it paid off."

"Obviously I'm very familiar with all these rivals this time, I know their strengths and weaknesses and what the dangers are."

That danger may be Cheongdam Dokki (To Honor And Serve). "The KRA Cup Classic is Cheongdam Dokki's race, isn't it?" continued Moon. "My horse and Cheongdam Dokki potentially have the same style so he's a difficult horse to prepare to race against. When I crossed the line in the Korea Cup, I looked back and I saw Cheongdam Dokki behind me and I knew everything had gone perfectly, but this is a different race. Of course, Lim Gi Won (Cheongdam Dokki's rider) will have exactly the same problem as me."

As for Moonhak Chief, Moon thinks the horse is ready. "We've prepared well, he's a very relaxed horse normally but once it's race time, he gets a bit wild – he knows he's there to race. We're ready to go."

Cheongdam Dokki has won the last two runnings of the KRA Cup Classic but he faces an uphill task if he is to complete a hat-trick. The five-year-old made a welcome return to form in the Cup, running a strong 2nd and while he never looked like getting to the winner, jockey Lim Gi Won hopes it is a sign his troubles are behind him.

"His condition is good, as good as it has been all year. If I had to describe it, I would say he has got his aura back. He's a very strong horse, full of character and before the Korea Cup he was quite hard to control."

On his race tactics, Lim was just as coy as Moon Se Young. "It might be an idea to lead; he is a front-runner but I'm certainly not going to panic if I'm not leading."

Lim rode Cheongdam Dokki to the second of his Cup Classic wins and would love to help the horse complete the treble. "A third win in this race would be great. He's a really good horse, one of Korea's best ever and the stable have worked so hard to get him back to where he should be."

Then there is Dolkong (Afleet Alex). His Korea Cup run came too late and from too far back but with an additional furlong to play with this time, he may be a different prospect and he will be reunited with Antonio Da Silva, who partnered him to second place in the 2018 edition of the Korea Cup.

Jockey Da Silva brushed off any concerns about Dolkong's fitness with the five-year-old's weight at the Korea Cup this year a full 24kg more than when he won the Busan Owners' Cup in June.

"I heard some people have talked about his weight but my feeling after working him is I am not worried at all. He breathes well and he's in very good condition. I can't really speak about the Korea Cup because I didn't ride him but maybe he wasn't at 100% or the pattern of the race didn't suit him…but riding him now, he feels the same as he did when I last rode him last year".

"I think every horse has a chance in this race but obviously Moonhak Chief and Cheongdam Dokki are the big dangers" continued Da Silva before adding that while the tactics of those two may still be uncertain, there wasn't likely to be a surprise in how he rides Dolkong: "I'm a jockey who likes to be at the front of course but with Dolkong, he will settle nice and quietly and then he'll be fast in the later stages."

The KRA Cup Classic is race 9 on an 11-race card at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday, with a post time of 16:45, local Korean time.