Best 2-Year-Old Colt? ... Juvenile Series Decides Hegemony, 'Fantastic Kingdom' Wins 4th Gimhae Mayor's Cup

(From the third from the left) Jockey Seo Seung-woon, trainer Im Geum-man, owner of Mujigae Rent-a-Car, Hong Tae-yong Mayor of Gimhae, Assemblyman Kim Jeong-ho and his spouse.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] On the 6th, the 4th Gimhae Mayor’s Cup (L, 1200m, 2-year-old colts and fillies), the second stage of the ‘Juvenile’ series to determine the best 2-year-old horse of the year, was held at LetsRun Park Busan-Gyeongnam.

In this race with a total prize of 200 million KRW, the strongest contender, ‘Fantastic Kingdom,’ took the victory.

Starting from gate 2, Fantastic Kingdom took the lead comfortably. On both sides, number 7 ‘Choice Run’ and number 4 ‘Jeulgeoun Yeojeong’ closely followed. After passing the 4th corner and entering the home stretch, Jeulgeoun Yeojeong caught up with Fantastic Kingdom, but soon Fantastic Kingdom surged ahead again.

The two horses battled head-to-head until the end, and Fantastic Kingdom crossed the finish line by half a length. The race record was 1 minute 13.1 seconds.

Fantastic Kingdom also won the first stage of the Juvenile series, ‘Areumdawoon Jilju (L, 1200m),’ held in early October. Earlier, at the end of August, it won the 2-year-old special race ‘Rookie Stakes@Bukyeong,’ making it the most notable 2-year-old horse in Bukyeong. By winning this Gimhae Mayor’s Cup, Fantastic Kingdom has come one step closer to becoming the best 2-year-old horse.

At the awards ceremony that day, Kim Jeong-ho, member of the National Assembly, Hong Tae-yong, Mayor of Gimhae, and Ryu Myeong-yeol, Chairman of the Gimhae City Council, along with other Gimhae city officials, attended.

Song Dae-young, head of the Korea Racing Authority Busan-Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters, said, “Many people attended today to brighten the Gimhae Mayor’s Cup. Although this is only the 4th event this year, we will continue to strive for exchanges so that it can reach the 14th and 24th events in the future.”

The final stage of the Juvenile series, which determines the best 2-year-old horse, the ‘Breeders’ Cup (GⅡ, 1400m),’ will be held on December 4 at LetsRun Park Busan-Gyeongnam.

The top 2-year-old horses who competed in the first and second stages in Seoul and Bukyeong will gather in one place to compete fiercely. The series’ best horse (highest cumulative points) will also receive an additional incentive of 100 million KRW.

On the same day, at LetsRun Park Seoul, the second stage of Seoul’s Juvenile, the ‘Nonghyup Central Association President’s Cup,’ was held. The most likely winner, ‘Hangang Ace,’ stopped after the jockey fell off right after the start, and ‘Saenae Town’ won the race. Saenae Town’s record was 1 minute 13.6 seconds.

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