NEXT UP

The five-year-old has traveled south to Busan and will take on eight rivals in the Kookje Shinmun Trophy (1400M Korean Listed).

Eoma Eoma  kicked off a golden hour for locally trained horses on International Day on September 4th when rallying late to go past Japanese raider Raptus to win the Korea Sprint (1200M He returns to Busan for the first time since defeating Raon The Fighter to win the Busan Ilbo Sprint (1200M KOR-G3) in April, his only previous visit to the southern track.

Champion jockey Moon Se-young will be aboard Eoma Eoma, who is a winner of twelve of eighteen starts since debuting in December 2019. While it is true that two his defeats have come in his latest two tries at 7 f, it is worth remembering that was, up until very recently, the track record holder for today's distance at Seoul. He has drawn well and should give the rest no chance.

As for those who can potentially test the favourite, the only other one coming down from Seoul is DAEHAN JILJU. He is an up and comer with a good record of five wins at this distance in a good time. His last start was also in the Korea Sprint when he ran on late to just edge Hong Kong's Computer Patch out of 4th place. He has the challenge is an outer barrier but the step back up to 7 f is in his favour.

Success Macho  has been running at further distances, finishing a creditable 6th of thirteen in the Korea Cup (1800M on international day. He has form at 7 f though and his only defeats to date have come in Graded races.

A winner of two class 1 races at this distance including at his last start, DAEMANGUI GIL is in the best form of his career. He likes to settle back and run on and could be sneaking into the places. Meanwhile, SSONSAL is a high-class galloper who seems to be back in form with a win and two placings from his latest three. He likes to settle forward so is well drawn well enough under jockey Franco Da Silva who on Friday notched up his 300th Korean winner.

As for the rest, Yes Perfect  won back-to-back races in super times over 6 f at class 1 level in July and August before running a close 2nd to Daemangui Gil at this distance last month. He can put in a bold showing here too but is less favoured at level weights. COPY THAT and SPEED MATCH both step into elite company for the first time having raced no higher than at class 2 so far. Both are accomplished but this will be a stern test.

The field is rounded out by DORAONPOGYEONGSEON. One of the grand old gentlemen of the Korean sprint division, he has won plenty of big races in his time, but recent form suggests his best days are behind him.

Eoma Eoma is a cut above and is likely to take some beating. The Kookje Shinmun Trophy is the concluding race on the six-race program at Busan on Sunday and has a local post time of 16:40.

Selections: Eoma Eoma Daehan Jilju Success Macho Daemangui Gil