‘Aqualine’ Breeders' Cup Rookie Comeback Victory... Rising as 2-Year-Old Champion

The Breeders' Cup Rookie Stakes, which drew attention with a fiery race among Korea's top 2-year-old horses, was won by 'Aqua Line' (2-year-old colt, trainer Seo Beom-seok, owner Mizutani Masateru), who achieved a dramatic come-from-behind victory in perfect harmony with jockey Jo In-kwon.

Aqua Line delivered an explosive final surge to claim first place in the Breeders' Cup Rookie (2-year-old open, 1400m, total prize money 700 million KRW) held at LetsRun Park Busan-Gyeongnam on the 24th. The winning time was 1 minute 27 seconds, with Dragon Ninja finishing 0.2 seconds behind in second place.

Now in its 16th year, the Breeders' Cup Rookie Stakes was established to promote early development of domestic horses and invigorate the auction market. This year's race, serving as the final stage of the Juvenile Series, attracted Korea's strongest 2-year-olds, drawing significant attention.

Due to a somewhat slow start, Aqua Line was pushed to the back group throughout the race, trailing strong favorites such as 'Captain PK', 'Silver Rain', and 'Oasis Red'. Even after turning the 4th corner, Aqua Line was not visible among the leaders, but with about 400 meters left to the finish line, he unleashed tremendous speed in a thrilling come-from-behind victory, earning the winner's prize of 385 million KRW.

Debuting last September, Aqua Line raised expectations by winning his debut race with explosive closing speed, but showed disappointing form by finishing 8th in a recent 1400m allowance race. Having now triumphed over the strongest 2-year-olds in this event, anticipation is high for his performance in next year's Triple Crown races.

At the awards ceremony held immediately after the race, trainer Seo Beom-seok said, "The horses that took the early lead expended a lot of energy. Since there were many horses strong at leading, our strategy to aim for a late charge paid off. His stamina is excellent, so we paid special attention to that for this race."

Jockey Jo In-kwon, who guided Aqua Line to victory, said, "I couldn't be 100% sure of winning, but when we entered the home stretch, I felt a strong power remaining and sensed the victory."