Who Is the Strongest Racehorse in Korea? ... 'Hit Yegam' Wins KRA Cup Mile, Aiming for the Strongest 3-Year-Old This Year

Busan Gyeongnam Race Park Race: 1st 'Hit Yegam', 2nd 'Heungbaragi', 3rd 'Chief Indi'

No. 9 Hit Yegam, who won the championship, and jockey Yoo Hyun-myung.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Who is the strongest racehorse this year? Sixteen 3-year-old horses clashed for the top spot.

On the 10th, at the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) Busan-Gyeongnam Race Park, the ‘17th KRA Cup Mile (GⅡ, 1600m, total prize money 450 million KRW)’ was held, where Busan-Gyeongnam Race Park’s ‘Hit Yegam’ won the championship.

The ‘KRA Cup Mile’ stakes race is the first gateway of the ‘Triple Crown’ that determines the best 3-year-old horse of the year.

In this year’s KRA Cup Mile, sixteen domestic 3-year-old horses from Seoul and Busan competed fiercely.

As soon as the starting gate opened, the strong favorite number 9 ‘Hit Yegam’ shot forward like an arrow and took the lead.

Following behind were number 2 ‘Maha Titan’, number 10 ‘TK Boy’, number 12 ‘Winnersman’, and number 15 ‘Heung Baragi’.

From 300 meters before the finish line, ‘Heung Baragi’ surged forward, rising to second place and threatening the lead, but ‘Hit Yegam’ held the position and crossed the finish line first. ‘Hit Yegam’ recorded a race time of 1 minute 37.3 seconds.

With this victory, ‘Hit Yegam’ achieved a five-win streak. It also holds an astonishing winning rate of 88.9%. The upcoming Triple Crown races are drawing attention.

‘Winnersman’, who was also considered a strong contender along with ‘Hit Yegam’, persistently chased in second place until mid-race but showed signs of fatigue in the final stretch and finished fifth.

‘Heung Baragi’ and ‘Chief Indy’ showed potential by finishing second and third respectively.

Bang Dong-seok, trainer of ‘Hit Yegam’ from the 26th training group, said, “Since ‘Hit Yegam’ had always led the race until now, I was worried, but fortunately, he met expectations.”

Jockey Yoo Hyun-myung, who rode ‘Hit Yegam’, said, “Because he used a lot of energy leading early on, he seemed a bit tired in the latter part, but fortunately, the record came out well,” adding, “Going forward, ‘Hit Yegam’ will have to travel to Seoul, which is a long distance, and adapting to the Seoul environment will be key.”

The KRA Cup Mile race video can be enjoyed on the Korea Racing Authority website.

Busan-Gyeongnam Race Park operates with limited seating according to social distancing guidelines.

Reservations can be made the day before entry via the mobile app. Additional entry and same-day reservations are possible 14 days after completing vaccination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.