Seoul’s unforgiving sand proved too much for Hong Kong’s three runners in the Korea Sprint, as Japan’s Dragon Welds and American Stage fought out the finish and delivered Japan a fifth victory in the International Group 3 contest.
Danny Shum’s Gorgeous Win fared best of the Hong Kong trio in fifth, while defending champion Self Improvement and Tony Cruz’s Beauty Waves finished 14th and 15th, respectively.
Gorgeous Win had to overcome the outside barrier in gate 16, but Richard Kingscote was able to work across and secure the best position of the three Hong Kong runners, settling fifth in the run.
Self Improvement, drawn nine, and Beauty Waves, drawn 13, were unable to show the same early pace. Both dropped towards the rear soon after the start and were left with difficult tasks on Seoul’s deep sand.
“Gorgeous Win ran a really good race and I think Richard [Kingscote] did a good job. He rode the perfect race,” Shum told The Standard. “From draw 16, to find the position he did, two deep, that was amazing. Good job.
“Unfortunately, he lost his left-fore shoe. Otherwise, I think he would have been closer in the finish, but I’m still very proud of the performance.
“I really appreciate my team, the work rider Jay, the mafoo Chong and the farrier. They all worked really hard. I really appreciate my team.”
Manfred Man’s assistant trainer Wing Ip felt the difference between this year’s surface and last year’s rain-affected track was a factor in Self Improvement’s performance.
“Dylan [Mo Hin-Tung] came back and said the ground today was a bit soft,” Wing said. “Self Improvement jumped just okay today, and he tried to get him into a good position, but the inside horses were really fast.
“And the kickback became really bad. That’s why the horse lost his balance for a little bit, but once he re-balanced, it was too hard work to make ground. He just grinded away.”
Cruz pointed to a similar challenge for Beauty Waves but was not looking for excuses after the disappointing finish. The six-year-old slipped as he left the gates, according to jockey Jerry Chau Chun-lok.
“According to Jerry, he said, ‘I wanted to jump fast, but he slipped, and when he slipped, that’s why he was slow out,’” Cruz said. “And he couldn’t get going after and he was out of the race.”
Cruz also highlighted the strength of the Japanese challenge on Seoul’s sand, with Dragon Welds and American Stage breaking away from the field turning for home before engaging in a fierce battle down the straight.
Ridden by Keita Tosaki, Dragon Welds took control inside the final 200 meters to defeat Ryusei Sakai’s mount American Stage by two lengths, with the Japanese pair confirming their country’s dominance in the race.
