Filly Rookie Showdown ... 'Gwacheon Mayor's Cup' and 'Gyeongnam Domin Ilbo Cup' Return After 3 Years

Furiosa, the horse competing in the Gwacheon Mayor's Cup.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] On the 20th, 2-year-old fillies will compete head-to-head for a prize of 200 million won.

At LetsRun Park Seoul and Busan·Gyeongnam, the ‘16th Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup’ and the ‘15th Gyeongnam Domin Ilbo Cup’ will be held for the first time in three years on the 20th.

While the ‘Juvenile Series,’ which selects the best 2-year-old horses, limits participation to domestic horses, foreign horses can also join the competition in this event.

The ‘16th Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup (L, 1200m, Mixed OPEN, 2-year-old, Filly),’ held as the 8th race in Seoul, features 7 domestic horses and 3 foreign horses competing for the title of the strongest 2-year-old filly.

Fire Girl (filly, USA, 2 years old, rating 57, owner SG Construction, trainer Park Jae-woo), participating in the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup, is the most outstanding foreign horse in terms of ability.

Since debuting in August, she has only raced twice but won both comfortably.

In her debut race over 1200m, she won wire-to-wire, widening the gap from the following horses in the final stretch and crossing the finish line by 3 lengths.

In the October race, despite a late start, she surged at the end to claim a come-from-behind victory by 5 lengths.

She shares the same sire as ‘American Pharoah,’ the Triple Crown winner born in the USA in 2015 after 37 years, and ‘Munhak Chief,’ Korea’s Horse of the Year in 2019.

Raon Giant (filly, Korea, rating 44, owner Son Kwang-seop, trainer Park Jong-gon) has shown good results in all three races so far, partnering with jockey Park Tae-jong.

After winning her debut race in July, in her second race last August, she started from an outside post, failed to take the early lead, and could not find a breakthrough, finishing 4th.

However, in the most recent 1200m filly-only race, she never relinquished the lead from start to finish, winning by a large margin of 14 lengths.

Her winning time was 1 minute 12.8 seconds, the best record compared to the other entrants.

In terms of pedigree, she is a daughter of ‘Musketman’ and a half-sister to ‘Raon First,’ the 2019 Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup (L) winner. ‘Raon First’ recently claimed the filly’s first-ever victory in the President’s Cup (GⅠ) last week.

Furiosa (filly, Korea, rating 39, owner Hwang Kyung-ho, trainer Lee Shin-young) stood out with an overwhelming first-place finish in her debut.

She has gained solid experience by participating in the special ‘Rookie Stakes@Seoul’ in August and the ‘Munhwa Ilbo Cup (L)’ in October. Among the entrants, she is the only one with records in graded and special races and has the most experience over 1200m.

However, in the August special race, her speed dropped at the end, finishing 3rd, and in her first challenge in the ‘Juvenile Series’ first stage in October, she was highly anticipated but finished 11th out of 14 horses.

The 6th race at Busan-Gyeongnam hosts the ‘15th Gyeongnam Domin Ilbo Cup (L, 1200m, Mixed OPEN, 2-year-old, Filly).’

The event features 14 2-year-old fillies: 8 domestic and 6 foreign horses. Some have already raced 5 times, while 4 horses will be making their debut in this race.

Atlas (filly, Korea, 2 years old, rating 32, owner Kim Dong-hoon, trainer Kang Eun-seok) was the only filly to participate in the ‘Beautiful Run Stakes’ last October and proudly finished 3rd.

Doctor Oscar (filly, Korea, 2 years old, rating 40, owner Kwon Hyuk-hee, trainer Baek Kwang-yeol) has placed within the top 3 in all 4 races so far, maintaining a 100% in-the-money rate.

In the ‘Rookie Stakes@Busan-Gyeongnam’ last August, she finished 3rd behind ‘Fantastic Kingdom’ and ‘Joyful Journey,’ and in the previous race, she won comfortably by 6 lengths.

She is also a progeny of ‘Old Fashioned,’ who produced ‘Captain Yankee,’ the confirmed Best 3-year-old of this year.

Dream of Queen (filly, Korea, 2 years old, rating 37, owner Ryu Ju-young, trainer Woolzley) demonstrated excellent running ability in the trial and debut race, finishing 1st.

Weighing 510 kg, she is considerably large among the entrants, giving her an advantage in early positioning battles.

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