Triple Tiara winner Jeulgeounyeojeong took on her elder filly and mare compatriots at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon and proceeded to dismantle them to win the Jeju Governor’s Cup (1400M KOR-G3), the first leg of the Queens’ Tour Fall/Winter series.
Having not only won all three jewels in the Tiara series with increasing ease, Jeulgeounyeojeong came into the race having dismissively swept aside a competent set of older male class 1 horses at Busan over the Jeju Governor's distance of 1400M at the end of August. Accordingly, she was sent off as a prohibitive favourite ahead of the Park Jong-kon trained pair of Raon First and Raon The Spurt.
The odds were correct. While Raon The Spurt set the pace under Lim Gi-won, Franco Da Silva guided Jeulgeounyeojeong smoothly out of gate twelve to sit just outside the leaders and from then on it was a formality. Both "Raons" gave way early and Jeulgeounyeojeong ended up being chased home by outsiders Yeonhui Ilchul and Wonderful Kitty, crossing the line three-lengths to the good and with seemingly plenty in hand.
"After the first three-hundred metres, I was in a very good position, and I knew she was going to win" winning jockey Franco Da Silva told in-house broadcaster KRBC. "She's very strong at the end so I wasn't afraid of the draw. She's proved that she's a champion, coming back from the longer distance."
Quizzed on just how good Jeulgeounyeojeong is, with many comparing her favourably with leading three-year-old colt Global Hit (they haven't raced), as well as on what is in her immediate future, Da Silva was non-committal: "She's a horse that I just don't know how good she is because she keeps improving. I don't know what is next for the horse, I will talk with the trainer, and he will decide. If there is a longer distance race for the fillies only, it would be nice to take them on again."
She still needs to figure out her best trip, although Da Silva was clear that needn't be an issue for Jeulgeounyeojeong. "From 1000M to 2400M, she can win at any of them."
If Jeulgeounyeojeong does indeed stick to racing against fillies and mares for the rest of this season, the second leg of the Queens' Tour Fall/Winter Series is the Gyeongnam Governor's Cup (2000M KOR-G3) at Busan on October 29th. The concluding race in the series is the newly established "Breeders' Cup Queen" also at Busan on December 10th although with only Listed status and prize money to match, there may be other targets.
Racing now takes a one-week break in Korea for the Chuseok Thanksgiving holiday. It will return on Friday October 6th at Busan with Sunday October 8th seeing the first legs of the Juvenile Series at both Seoul and Busan – and the probable return of viral sensation, Lala K in the Munhwa Ilbo Trophy. There is also a rare Monday card scheduled for Seoul on October 9th.
Race Video: https://youtu.be/jV8j_pfBY5A?si=JHOsxUBcHdr0hYlW
