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Hard Work The Key For Aussie Peter Wolsley On Another Korea Milestone September 30, 2021

3 minute read

Korean racing resumes from its short Thanksgiving Holiday hiatus this weekend and Peter Wolsley will go into the final quarter of the season having reached another landmark in his trail-blazing time at Busan.

Peter Wolsley & Macheon Bolt
Peter Wolsley & Macheon Bolt Picture: Ross Holburt/Slickpix

The Aussie handler saddled his 600th winner in the country when Le Concord, a three-year-old gelding, picked up his maiden victory just prior to the break.

"I'd just like to thank all my staff and everyone back at the stable and (jockey Lee) Sung-jae, who does a good job for us." Wolsley told the Korea Racing Broadcasting Channel (KRBC) as he reflected on the ups and downs of almost fourteen years of training on the South Coast.

"I had traveled around overseas a bit before coming here so I know the hardships you can have and it was quite hard here when I started but I got used to things, the first couple of years went by and we started getting some winners; life was quite good here and over the years I've been quite satisfied. We've won some big races along the way, I've made some good friendships, so it's been quite fulfilling."

Those big races have included the Minister's Cup with Never Seen Before in 2014 and The Grand Prix Stakes with Bold Kings in 2015 but according to the Bendigo native there has been no magic formula to his success. "I think just hard work, I've always just worked hard. When I first came here it was very hard, and although things are a lot better these days with the staff I have, it's basically, turn up, do your job and work hard for the result."

That it was Le Concord who brought up the 600, with his comfortable four-length score, was especially satisfying for Wolsley. "He is the first winner for my good friend in Australia, James Whitfield, so that's really pleasing. I bought this horse for him at the Jeju Sales just over a year ago and we didn't have high expectations, he was a cheap horse, but he looked ok, and we thought if he could just win a class 6 or a class 5 race, that would be pretty good. I actually rang (Whitfield) yesterday, and I said if Le Concord wins, he'll be my 600th winner, so we were all pretty happy."

The racing season returns at Busan on Friday October 1, and Peter Wolsley has three runners on the card, including highly thought-of newcomer Man Of The Star in race 1 and the progressive filly Miss Indie in race 5. Bart Rice and Thomas Gillespie, both of whose stables were in superb form prior to the short break, also send out plenty of runners across the weekend.


Korean Racing Authority

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