South Korea are not regular players on the international stage but the Asian country will take a huge step forward on Thursday night when Cheongu becomes the first Korean runner at Meydan Racecourse.
Despite 18 initial entries to the Longines Conquest Classic Gents Moon Phases Handicap over 1,200 metres Cheongu is one of just eight runners in the US$110,000 (Dh404,000) contest, one of three dirt races open to thoroughbreds on the opening night of the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
South Korea secured gold in the baseball at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, KJ Choi and YE Yang have been making waves in golf for several years and following the 2011 announcement that the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang, Korea has been making a mark in snowsports, too.
It is their run to the semi-finals, however, in the 2002 Fifa World Cup that stands out like a beacon in the Korean sporting landscape.
ALSO READ: Numbers down at Meydan Racecourse but quality is up for Dubai World Cup Carnival
Should Cheongu run creditably under Royston Ffrench and rally all the way to World Cup night on March 26, Dr Seungho Ryu believes that the whole country will stand up and take notice.
“It has been a dream of mine, and finally that dream has come true,” the International Races Manager of the Korea Racing Authority said.
“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.”
Dubai has welcomed runners from the likes of India, Greece, Bahrain, Macau and Turkey in the past and Korea will become the 28th racing jurisdiction to have a runner at this most international of Carnivals.
Cheongu is not alone in making the trip, either, and Success Story will be the first horse bred in Korea to run in Dubai when he takes his chance in a handicap on January 21.
Cheongu has won five of his eight starts in Korea but has travelled before when finishing out of the places both at Kranji in Singapore in July and in Ohi in Japan in October.
Between those races he was third in the Asia Challenge Cup at Seoul to Choegang Schiller, one of Korea’s best horses, and El Padrino, a Singaporean sprinter who was fourth in the Dubai Golden Shaheen in March.
Cheongu is trained by Inseok Seo, who was promoted from assistant trainer five years ago while Success Story is handled by Jang G Min, a former pony trainer who took advantage of the Korean Racing Authority opening up their training licences.
Cheongu is not among the top 100 horses based in Seoul, while Success Story was ranked only the 10th best horse in Busan, the only other racecourse in Korea. Both courses boast sand tracks that race slower than Meydan’s dirt surface.
“We nominated three horses for the Carnival but only these two were accepted, even though we offered travel subsidies,” Ryu said.
“For Class One races in Korea we have prize money over $100,000 so a lot of owners were hesitant about sending over their horses, especially in the middle of our season.
“If one of the horses could win it would shock a lot of Korean owners. We want to encourage owners to race here under the Korean national flag.”
If Korean prize-money is higher than expected, the state of their bloodstock industry is in better health than you might imagine, also.
Their top sire last year was Menifee, the 1999 Grade 1 Haskell Invitational winner. Second in the list was Ecton Park, who was fifth in the 2000 Dubai World Cup behind Dubai Millennium. Other star names include Hansen, the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and Any Given Saturday, the winner of the 2007 Haskell.
Much like the Jinma Lake project that finally got off the ground in Chengdu, China in April 2014 the presence of Cheongu and Success Story is the culmination of over two years work by Seungho at establishing a quarantine protocol for getting horses both to Dubai and perhaps back again for the $1 million Korea Cup in September.
The Dubai Racing Club’s Martin Talty hopes that the Korean horses can open up a new market for the Carnival by running well at Meydan.
“Racing in Korea is huge,” the international department of the Dubai Racing Club said. “Good horses can come from anywhere.
“You can’t say what they are capable of and that is the beauty of it. 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.”
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SPECS
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Cracks in the Wall
Ben White, Pluto Press
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Wonka
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How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENever%20click%20on%20links%20provided%20via%20app%20or%20SMS%2C%20even%20if%20they%20seem%20to%20come%20from%20authorised%20senders%20at%20first%20glance%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAlways%20double-check%20the%20authenticity%20of%20websites%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEnable%20Two-Factor%20Authentication%20(2FA)%20for%20all%20your%20working%20and%20personal%20services%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOnly%20use%20official%20links%20published%20by%20the%20respective%20entity%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDouble-check%20the%20web%20addresses%20to%20reduce%20exposure%20to%20fake%20sites%20created%20with%20domain%20names%20containing%20spelling%20errors%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
SCORES IN BRIEF
Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
more from Janine di Giovanni
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