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The home team took the honours on Sunday afternoon at Seoul Racecourse as Eoma Eoma ground down a brave Raptus to win the Korea Sprint while Winner’s Man led home a local one-two with Raon The Fighter to land the Korea Cup and in doing so, become the first Korean bred and trained winner of one of the races.

With Typhoon Hinnamnor approaching the Korean peninsula, heavy rain and thunder had been forecast for throughout the day but while there were several rain showers, the weather remarkably stayed fine for what were two enthralling races.

Japanese raider Raptus was sent off as the favourite for the Korea Sprint (1200M-G3) and after some early barging to the detriment of Hong Kong's Computer Patch, the six-year-old found the front under Hideaki Miyuki, joined by Celavi of Singapore and Korean mare Raon First.

Having drawn gate twelve, Eoma Eoma  was fairly away but was then ridden up along with Annaf to join Raptus on the lead. In the straight, Raptus appeared to have shaken them off, with Annaf fading and the margin on Eoma Eoma up to over a length at the furlong pole. Moon Se-young and Eoma Eoma would not be denied, however, whittling away at the gap as Raptus tired and ultimately sweeping by in sight of the line.

Raptus was a brave 2nd while Raon First took 3rd and Daehan Jilju snatched 4th away from the unfortunate Computer Patch. Annaf from Great Britain finished in 7th place having shown on pace throughout, but Celavi faded to last.

"I didn't think of anything else except just run" winning jockey Moon Se-young told state broadcaster KBS. "No tactics. Raptus was in front, so just go with him, if I let him go, I wouldn't get him."

The victory was especially remarkable given he had the widest gate to contend with. "When I drew the gate, I was worried but wanted to do my best to show that Korean horses are good."

Eoma Eoma [Algorithms – Lignite (Run Away And Hide)] is a five-year-old American-bred entire. Owned by the Nasca Group and trained by Song Moon-gil, he has won twelve of his eighteen races.

With the victory, Moon Se-young joined Joe Fujii as the only jockeys to have won both the Korea Cup and the Korea Sprint, having won the former on Moonhak Chief in 2019. An hour after Eoma Eoma's victory, Moon went desperately close to winning both in a single afternoon.

As in the Sprint, the Japanese visitor, this time Sekifu, was sent off as the favourite for the Korea Cup (1800M-G3). But Moon roused his mount Raon The Fighter out of the gate faster than any and into an early lead. Contrary to the expectations of most, Kota Fujioka on Sekifu also opted to go forward and the two would duel almost the entire way around.

On board Winner's Man , Seo Seung-un settled towards the rear before dramatically improving his position in the backstraight, looping around the outside of the field to slot into 4th. Raon The Fighter finally shook off the attentions of Sekifu and looked set for victory, but that was to reckon without Winner's Man who with an all-out drive, scooped up first Sekifu and the Raon The Fighter to cross the line a length to the good.

Moon and Seo celebrated together after the line while Sekifu, who put in a huge performance for a three-year-old after a very challenging season, came home just one further length back in 3rd. Such was the trio's dominance that 4th placed King Of The Match was a full nine-lengths back down the track. Hong Kong's Kings Shield had a hard time having been denied the lead by Raon The Fighter finished in 9th, while Intellogent from Britain was 12th.

Seo Seung-un told KBS "I am very honoured to win this race. I just tried to ride him my best as I believe he is the best horse in Korea. Raon The Fighter and Sekifu set a strong pace and I had to make sure I could get up and be close enough to them."

Winner's Man [Musket Man – Winner's Marine (Volponi)] is a four-year-old colt, who won the Korean Derby in 2021 and has now won thirteen of his eighteen starts.

It had been a stripped-down International Week with little of the fanfare or lavish events of years gone by. Overseas visitors solely comprised the connections of the overseas horses and a small delegation from Singapore, as well as the ever-industrious Japanese racing press who seem to always find a way. The New Zealand Ambassador to South Korea, who is a racing fan, and the US Embassy's Agriculture attaché provided the extent of the diplomatic guests.

Seo Seung-un for one is looking forward to next year. "I really wish these international races continue." Next year might see a bigger event, but for many in the crowd, regardless of how big any event is, it will take some feat to match the moment when Eoma Eoma went past Raptus.

Korea Sprint Video: https://youtu.be/mXPDOcNiyDM

Korea Cup Video:  https://youtu.be/YpL0PpbTH1c