Korea Cup – 1800M (1 1/8 miles)
1. GREAT WINNER – By a Korean Derby winner, he has won two of three starts since being promoted to class 1 level. His latest was a six-length score over 1800M on July 13th when he led from gate to wire. 5th behind Success Baekpa in the final leg of last year's Triple Crown, he is untested at elite Group level. He will want to be on pace and draws well to do so.
2. CHANCHENG GLORY – A mainstay in Group races in Hong Kong, the most recent of the five-year-old's eight wins came in the G3 Centenary Vase in January and he has also placed at G1 level. How he takes to the sand track will be key with all his racing experience coming on the Sha Tin turf, but he is bred for it, and Hong Kong-trained horses with fewer credentials than him have run well in previous editions of both Cup and Sprint. He rates as a big chance and draws well.
3. RAMJET – A winner of five from twelve, four-year-old Ramjet has been running in elite company finishing off his three-year-old campaign with 3rd place in the Tokyo Daishoten behind Forever Young, earning him a trip to both the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup running 6th and 9th respectively. He last ran 6th in the Teio Sho Mikki Fight in July but this race has long been the target. Tactically versatile, he generally sits midfield and aims to run on He has looked very good in morning work and shapes as the one to beat.
4. SUCCESS BAEKPA – A two-time Classic winner in 2024, he downed Global Hit by four lengths to win the KRA Cup Classic (2000M) at the start of August, having tracked his rival on the pace throughout. That added to the Herald Business (2000M) he won earlier in the year again from on pace. The best chance among the local horses, he is tactically versatile and has a strong finish.
5. GALAXY ROAD – A good 5th at odds in excess of 150/1 in this race last year before running 5th in the President's Cup (2000M) and then well back in the Grand Prix (2300M). He has missed most of this season through injury but came back on August 15th and ran a solid 3rd at class 1 over 2000M, coming from off the pace. He should strip fitter for that run, but it will take a big leap for him to be close here.
6. DURA EREDE – Remarkably the five-year-old hasn't won since his two-year-old campaign, but he has been racing against the very best ever since. Across the turn of the year, Dura Erede ran 3rd in the G1 Champions Cup behind Lemon Pop at Chukyo and then 3rd again to Sunday Funday in the G2 Procyon Stakes at the same track. Previously he was 5th in the 2024 Dubai World Cup. His latest start saw him finish midfield in the G3 Elm Stakes at Sapporo on August 9th, a run he can benefit from in Seoul
7. DIKTAEAN – Veteran seven-year-old and a four-time Listed winner in Japan, he has a 2nd and three 4th place finishes to his name this year, all at Listed level, most recently in the Teio Sho at Oi in July, where he beat Ramjet when coming from off the pace. He is not to be dismissed, and jockey Takuyuki Yano has previous experience of Seoul.
8. SPEED YOUNG – A Swiss army knife of a horse, he was the best placed local in last year's Korea Sprint, but he has won at up to 2000M. His last win was more than year ago but he always runs in Group company and placed in all three legs of the Stayer Series behind Global Hit and Success Baekpa this year. Likes to settle back and run on.
9. SOMETHING LOST – The only horse trained at Seoul to show up as all the other locals have travelled from Busan. Something Lost is a sprinter, although as a three-year-old, he did run 2nd in the KRA Cup Mile and then 5th in the Minister's Cup (2000M). He took part in the Sprint Series this year but made little impact and he tries something very different here. He probably isn't backable.
10. TUHONUI BANSEOK – Multiple Group race winner and 6th in this race in 2023, but it has been a while since he showed his best form. Unplaced in four outings this year, all of them in group company, and most recently 7th behind Success Baekpa in the KRA Cup Classic. In his Group winning days, he used to race on pace but recently has been settling back. Hard for him on current form.
11. STAR MATTA – Enters in good form with a class 1 win two starts back over 1400M before running 5th of ten over 1800M behind Great Winner on July 13th. Tends to settle back and he does have a decent finish on him but previous attempts in Group company haven't gone well enough to suggest he can make an impact here.
Korea Sprint – 1200M (6 furlongs)
1. MIGHTY NEO – An up and coming three-year-old who won four times and never been outside the top five. Mighty Now was a smart winner at this distance at class 2 level before running 4th at class 1 over a mile in early August, his best performances have come from on the pace. This is a tough assignment against harder opposition than he has faced before, but he can be competitive.
2. SUNRISE HAWK – A three-time winner at Listed level in Japan, the six-year-old began this year with back-to-back runner-up finishes at the same level at 1500M and 1200M. Returning from three-months off, he was well back in the G3 Tokai Stakes at Chukyo at the end of July but that is a level at which he has previously achieved consistently good results at and he can be better here. Great draw and can be in the mix.
3. BLACK MUSK – Making his fourth appearance in the race, he was 2nd to Vincero Cavallo in April's SBS Sports Sprint. He can mix his form, as shown when a long way back in the final leg of the series but he was a class 1 winner at the end of July by a full four-lengths. He has a strong finish on him and at his best, he is a top five chance for an in-form stable.
4. DESPITE WIN – A winner of five from eleven, he ran 2nd in the G3 Owners' Cup at a mile in June before struggling in the KRA Cup Classic at 2000M a month ago. He has won at distances from 1200M to 2000M and looks to have more scope for development. He likes to come from off the pace and minor money is possible
5. VINCERO CAVALLO – A breakout 6th in this race last year, he has since established himself as Korea's best sprinter with a sweep of all three legs of the Sprint Series this spring. He missed a scheduled prep race at the end of July, so he is first-up, but he went through two trials in August so should be fit. Tactically versatile, at his best, he is a winning chance.
6. ACHIM DONGJA – A stablemate of Vincero Cavallo, he gets his chance having won two of his last three at class 2 level, all at today's distance and most recently on August 3rd when he came from a long way back. Untried against this level of opposition but he benefits from the services of Ruan Maia aboard.
7. SELF IMPROVEMENT – A rare Hong Kong All-Weather track specialist, the six-year-old was a two-time winner during the 2024/2025 season, both at 1200M. His wins have come when he has raced on or close to the pace and if he takes to the sand track and gets a good start, then he can give a strong account of himself at probable big odds.
8. MIGHTY GO – He ran a super 2nd to Vincero Cavallo in the G3 Busan Ilbo Sprint at this distance in February but has struggled to recapture that form in three subsequent starts, all at Group race level. He has a smart finish and will be running on, but that recent form doesn't inspire much confidence.
9. KING ANYDAY – It's fair to say he doesn't win out of turn and that he isn't a winning chance here, but he rarely runs a bad race and was most recently 3rd over this distance at class 2 level on August 1st. He likes to race on pace or handy, but he is yet to run the kind of time that will be necessary to compete here. Outsider.
10. CARDINAL FORCE – A three-year-old who has been ultra consistent as he has moved through the grades this year, most recently landing his first class 2 level win over a mile on August 10th when on pace throughout. This is his first time tested against the elite and while he can hold his own, others will be favoured at this stage.
11. SUPER FINISH – He was 4th behind Vincero Cavallo in the final two legs of the sprint series before running 2nd over this distance at class 1 level on July 27th having led for part of the way around. More to find in this company and not an ideal draw, but he can be on or close to the speed and be in this a long way.
12. TAGANO BEAUTY - The veteran eight-year-old rounded off last season with victory in the Listed JBC Sprint at Saga and has in the past been placed at G3 level on the JRA. Remarkably in a career spanning forty-two races and stretching back to 2019, he has never raced at less than 1400M, but the ability to stay further than the 1200M can be a big plus for sprinters on the often-grueling Seoul sand.
13. CHIKAPPA – Won the Listed Hokkaido Sprint Cup and Tokyo Hai last year and he kicked off his four-year-old season with a trip to Saudi Arabia for the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint. While he had a hard time there, he showed a return to form when 4th in the Listed Cluster Cup on August 11th and could be peaking in Seoul. A big run is expected, and Yutaka Take rides, who won the race on Graceful Leap in 2017, rides. Widest gate, but the favourite.
