[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] At the ‘17th Busan Metropolitan City Mayor’s Cup (GⅡ)’ held on the 26th at Busan-Gyeongnam Racecourse Park, a ‘Stayer Series’ triple crown winner was born.
The owner of the title, the first in 4 years since ‘Cheongdam Dokki’ in 2018, is ‘Winnersman’, owned by Lee Kyung-hee of Bukyeong.
The Stayer Series is a series of races to select the best long-distance horse of the year. The first gate was the ‘Herald Economy Cup’, the second gate was the ‘YTN Cup’, and the final gate was the ‘Busan Mayor’s Cup’.
Winnersman had won both the first and second gates, the Herald Economy Cup and the YTN Cup, so there was great interest in whether he could also take the final Busan Mayor’s Cup trophy. Winnersman ultimately succeeded in sweeping all the races in the Stayer Series.
The 1800m race was held with 15 horses aged three and older from Seoul and Bukyeong competing for a total prize of 600 million won. When the starting gate opened, ‘Hit Yegam’ took the lead with a bullet-fast start. ‘Winnersman’ closely followed and took the lead to develop the race.
The rankings remained the same until the middle of the race, but as they entered the final 4th corner, the flow changed instantly. Winnersman succeeded in taking the first place and widened the gap. Eventually, he won easily by 3 lengths. Winnersman’s race record that day was 1 minute 54.3 seconds.
Second place went to ‘Simjangui Godong’, third to ‘Success Macho’, fourth to ‘King of the Match’, and fifth to ‘Hit Yegam’.
Winnersman not only won among strong long-distance contenders but also became the Stayer Series triple crown winner, establishing the pride of long-distance Korean-bred horses and rising to the top. Except for fourth place ‘King of the Match’, all four horses up to fifth place were Korean-bred.
Jockey Seo Seung-woon, who rode Winnersman, said, “I am honored that Winnersman became the representative horse of the Stayer Series, and I am grateful that the horse endured the fast pace well.”
Trainer Choi Ki-hong said, “The strategy went as planned. It was a race like flowing water, made for Winnersman. We will continue to manage Winnersman well so that he can have a long career.”
The total prize money Winnersman earned through the Stayer Series is about 800 million won, and he will additionally receive a 100 million won incentive for winning the Stayer Series. Also, as a merit of winning the series, he will represent Korea in the international invitational race ‘Korea Cup’ scheduled for September.
Now just 4 years old, Winnersman has a good physique, stride, speed, and stamina. He is expected to set a new record that will become a legend in Korean horse racing history, surpassing this year’s ‘Grand Prix (GⅠ)’.
The race was broadcast live nationwide through the KBSN channel, and the race video can be viewed on YouTube at Korea Racing Authority’s horse racing broadcast KRBC.
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