Winner’s Man may not have been able to retain the Korea Cup he won in 2022 when faced with the might of Japan’s Crown Pride and Gloria Mundi a month ago, but this year’s international race 3rd placegetter franked the form as he defeated his principle local rivals to win the KRA Cup Classic (2000M KOR-G2) at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.
Six of the local contenders who lined up for the Korea Cup on September 10th returned for the KRA Cup Classic, a key pointer towards December's season-ending Grand Prix Stakes. They included Tuhunui Banseok, who had defeated Winner's Man to win both the YTN Cup and Busan's Mayor's Cups in the summer. Success Macho and Haengbok Wangja, 4th and 5th respectively in the Cup, also lined-up again.
In the end, none could get near Winner's Man . With Seo Seung-un on board, he sat alongside Tuhonui Banseok throughout the early half of the race as outsiders The Gumpu and Vics Go set the pace ahead of Success Macho who stalked in 3rd under Franco Da Silva.
As the field turned into the straight, the outsiders would fall away leaving Success Macho briefly in front, but he was no match for Winner's Man, who cruised past to take an unassailable lead with a furlong to run. Ultimately, he would lead home Success Macho by three-lengths with Haengbok Wangja emerging from the back to claim 3rd ahead of Simjangui Godong. Tuhonui Banseok was 5th.
Winner's Man [Musket Man – Winner's Marine (by Volponi)] moved on to sixteen wins from twenty-six starts and in the process claimed his seventh victory at Group level. Likewise, it was a seventh Group win for trainer Choi Ki-hong – all with Winner's Man.
For jockey Seo Seung-un, the victory also brought up a personal milestone as it marked his 700th career winner. "I am really happy I could share this moment with Winner's Man" Seo told in-house broadcaster KRBC. "Every winner is important but this one does mean more than most. He (Winner's Man) is a different horse to what he was when he was four years old, he doesn't necessarily want to dictate pace, so we did what we did in the Korea Cup. We'll go back to Busan and see how he comes out of this and then all being well prepare ultimately for the Grand Prix."
For Success Macho, it was confirmation, as if further was needed, that he belongs in the elite level and jockey Franco Da Silva was pleased. "The race wasn't as I expected because the number 6 (Vics Go) went forward and the horse who I expected to lead (Tuhonui Banseok) jumped out slow, so it was a little bit confusing early, and I just had to wait a little bit more to challenge coming into the straight. I expected to run a good race because the last time he got very close to Winner's Man but today Winners' Man looks like he is back to his normal self, his condition was very good. Success Macho has improved a lot but still not 100% (at Winner's Man level) yet so I'm very pleased with the results today."
As Korean-breds, both Winner's Man and Success Macho are eligible to run in the next race in the Korea Premier Series, the President's Cup (2000M KOR-G1). Winner's Man did precisely that last year and was beaten, running 3rd behind Raon First and Simjangui Godong (who won the race in 2021). It remains the only Group 1 in the country (Korea Sprint aside) that eludes him. This year's edition is at Seoul on Sunday November 19th and the 1 Billion Korean Won purse may prove very tempting. Trainer Choi Ki-hong confirmed as much: "We're aiming for Winner's Man to get a career Gland Slam of Korean Group 1', so we will think about the President's Cup."
The season-ending Grand Prix Stakes (2300M KOR-G1) is a month later on Sunday December 17th.
Race Video: https://youtu.be/A_6RvAVkkd0?si=HKHdwyAW61v6uH63
