The Queens’ Tour returns for it’s Fall and Winter series and while the top-two from the Spring and Summer, Raon The Spurt and Raon First return, the Park Jong-kon trained pair will have to contend with a newcomer as Triple Tiara winner Jeulgeounyeojeong will join them in the starting gate in the Jeju Governor’s Cup (1400M KOR-G3) at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.
JEULGEOUNYEOJEONG won the Luna Stakes (1600M) by just a nose, but she dominated both the Korean Oaks (1800M) and the Gyeonggi Governor’s Cup (2000M) to sweep all three jewels of the Tiara. Even more impressive perhaps was her return to Busan on August 27th when she crushed a field of solid older male class 1 horses over the same 1400M that she will face on Sunday. Back in restricted filly and mare company and with a three-year-old weight allowance, she may prove hard to beat.
Franco Da Silva will partner Jeulgeounyeojeong, just as he did in all three-legs of the Triple Tiara after stepping in as a late replacement for Seo Seung-un in the Luna Stakes and subsequently keeping the ride. It’s been a golden year for Da Silva, who is in second place in the Busan Jockey Premiership (behind Seo Seung-un) and he is closing in on Djordje Perovic’s all time record of winners for foreign jockeys in Korea.
Although she will start a strong favourite, Jeulgeounyeojeong may not have everything all her own way. RAON FIRST is the highest rated filly or mare in the country courtesy of her superb win in the President’s Cup (2000M KOR-G1) last November. She hasn’t won a race since, but she finished 2nd in the opening two legs of the Queens’ Tour Spring and Summer before beating Eoma Eoma on her way to 2nd behind Ssonsal in the SROA Chairman’s Sprint. It is this consistency that has her favoured over stablemate RAON THE SPURT, despite the latter beating her by six-lengths in May’s Ttukseom Cup over the same course and distance. That win was enough to see Raon The Spurt to enough points the claim the overall Spring and Summer series title, but she can mix her form.
The Raon pair are likely to be second and third in the betting market. They will be followed by a duo that have gone somewhat under the radar. YELLOW CAT is a lightly raced five-year-old, who defied big odds to run a solid 4th in the KNN Cup, the final leg of the Spring and Summer Series in June over a mile at Busan. She rarely runs a bad race and can be close. ILBEONJI steps into this company for the first time. She has won six of thirteen, most recently over 1400M at class 2 level in August, making all. She could step up.
EODIGANA, who won the first race of the Spring and Summer Series, the Donga Ilbo Trophy, returns but is racing for the first time since her 5th place in the Ttukseom Cup and faces a big ask first-up. Aside from Jeulgeounyeojeong, there is just one other three-year-old in the race. That’s RANUT, a winner of five from ten, runs in Graded Stakes company for the first time and has Moon Se-young aboard. She has been done no favours by the draw.
The Jeju Governor’s Cup is race 8 on an 11-race program at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday.
Selections: (12) Jeulgeounyeojeong (6) Raon First (9) Raon The Spurt (15) Yellow Cat
