Filly/Mare & juvenile finales set for Busan Sunday

We’re a week away from the Grand Prix Stakes, the final Group race of the year, where Global Hit is expected to confirm his Horse of the Year elect status, but this Sunday at Busan, two other divisions will be decided as the fillies and mares complete their Stakes assignments in the Breeders’ Cup Queen (1800M KOR-Listed) while the juveniles do the same in the Breeders’ Cup Rookie (1400M KOR-G2).

Champion Filly & Mare is very much up for grabs. Jeulgeounyeojeong  and Wonderful Slew  have dominated the division, the four-year-old pair between them accounting for all five Queens' Tour races so far this year with Jeulgeounyeojeong leading the head-to-head by three races to two.

Jeulgeounyeojeong  struck first, beating Wonderful Slew by just under a length in March's Donga Ilbo Trophy (1800M KOR-Listed) and a month later took out the Ttukseom Cup (1400M KOR-G2), which the Luigi Riccardi-trained Wonderful Slew missed in order to face the boys in the YTN Cup a week earlier where she was a creditable 5th behind Global Hit.

Wonderful Slew would strike back in the KNN Cup (1600M KOR-G3) in June, to conclude the Spring/Summer section of the series, although Jeulgeounyeojeong had excuses, having been severely hampered in the early stages.

The pair renewed hostilities in the Jeju Governor's Cup (1400M KOR-G3) where Jeulgeounyeojeong romped to a five-length victory before the series returned to Busan on October 20th and the Gyeongnam Governor's Cup (2000M KOR-G3). There, Wonderful Slew produced a dominant performance to win while her rival could only manage 3rd.

On Sunday Jeulgeounyeojeong will be the defending champion having beaten – who else? – Wonderful Slew  in the inaugural edition of this race, a year ago. It's a toss up between the two again.

They take their place in the Breeders' Cup Queen among a full field of sixteen that also includes the Gyeongnam Governor's Cup runner-up, FLYING STAR as well as another up and coming three-year-old in GLOBAL TAEYANG as well as the unexposed pair of YOUR TURN and BANG BANG BANG. Few would bet against it being the Wonderful Slew and Jeulgeounyeojeong show again though. Moon Se-young partners Wonderful Slew while Seo Seung-un returns to Jeulgeounyeojeong.

Less than an hour later, the juveniles will have their chance in the Breeders' Cup Rookie. Two-year-olds from Seoul and Busan have competed in their own opening two legs of the Juvenile Series but now combine for the finale and as in the Queen, there is a full field of sixteen slated to run.

Captain P.K.  won both the Seoul Rookie Stakes and the NACF Chairman's Trophy and enters as the capital's leading hope and probable overall favourite. His dam, P.K. Party was one of the more outstanding juveniles in recent years, winning her first six races and having also already won over the 1400M distance, Captain P.K may take some stopping. Kim Jeong-jun, who rode him in both the Rookie and NACF successes, will once more be aboard the Race Day colt.

Among those based at Busan, OASIS RED gets the nod. As is common in trainer Baik Kwang-yeol's juveniles, he has already been tried successfully at a mile and 1800M and while he was a slightly disappointing 4th in the Gangseo-gu Mayor's Trophy in September at 1200M, today's trip can be better suited, and he will be expected to be on the pace.

WONDERFUL GROOM and SILVER RAIN are among plenty of others who have shown promise who will be taking their place in the gate.

The Breeders' Cup Queen is race 5 at Busan with a local post time of 15:15 while the Breeders' Cup Rookie is race 6 with a post time of 16:05.

Breeders' Cup Queen:

Breeders' Cup Rookie: