Win, lose or draw in Thursday's second-race handicap over 1200 meters of the Meydan dirt track, Cheongu (Old Fashioned) will make some history as the first South Korean-based runner to make an appearance at the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
Bred in New York by Capistrano Bloodstock LLC, the $11,000 FTNAUG yearling and $25,000 FTMMAY 2-year-old purchase enters his sternest test to date having won half of his 10 career appearances while amassing earnings of better than $277,000. Cheongu was third to Choegang Schiller (Artie Schiller) in the Asia Challenge Cup at Seoul Aug. 30, a race in which defending champion El Padrino (NZ) (Mr Nancho {Arg}) was second. The latter was a winner during the 2012 Carnival over the old Tapeta track, but proved he could handle a conventional dirt surface with a strong fourth behind Secret Circle (Eddington) in last year's G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. His most recent trip to the post resulted in a front-running, three-length victory in a Class 1 handicap over 1400 meters Nov. 22 (video) and while success in Dubai is somewhat unlikely, Korean racing officials are relishing the opportunity.
“It has been a dream of mine, and finally that dream has come true,” Dr. Seungho Ryu, international races manager for the Korean Racing Authority, told The National newspaper. “It would be silly of me to say now that Cheongu will be good enough for Dubai World Cup night, but if he could just get there it would be like the Korean football team making the World Cup semi-finals.”
Cheongu will break from gate two in the night's second event and is to be ridden by jockey Royston Ffrench for trainer In Seok Seo.
“You can't say what they are capable of and that is the beauty of it,” Martin Talty, the international racing manager for the Dubai Racing Club, told The National. “It would be massive for racing both in Dubai and in Korea if one of them won and it would reverberate around the world as international racing would benefit.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
