From Popular Jockeys to Trainers... Pukyong's Im Seongsil and Seoul's Ham Wansik Make Their Debut as Trainers

Jockeys Im Seong-sil from Bukyeong and Ham Wan-sik from Seoul, who have long delighted fans as jockeys, will once again greet fans as trainers.

Trainer Im Seong-sil is in charge of the 7th stable at LetsRun Park Busan·Gyeongnam.

During her jockey career, Trainer Im showed a fantastic synergy with the famous horse ‘Triple Nine,’ who won the President’s Cup four years in a row and was awarded Horse of the Year three times.

Jockey Im Seong-sil, who participated in a total of 2,714 races and won 358 times, claimed nineteen major race victories, including two Grand Prix wins and four President’s Cup titles.

Trainer Im’s debut race on the 7th, partnering with the racehorse ‘I Will Be Free’ and racing queen Kim Hye-seon, ended with a disappointing 9th place out of 11 horses, but in the three races on the 16th, she showed quick adaptability and performance by finishing 4th, 3rd, and 2nd.

Trainer Im said, “Based on my experience working with not only Triple Nine but also Bukyeong’s top racehorses, I plan to implement customized training tailored to each horse to maximize their strengths.”

She added, “With new attempts and challenges that others have not tried, I aim to lead Korean horse racing as part 1 and become a trainer who guides South Korea to become a horse racing powerhouse.”

Triple Nine, the winner of the 2017 Presidential Cup, and trainer Im Seong-sil (left) are taking a commemorative photo.

‘The Gentleman of the Racetrack,’ jockey Ham Wan-sik, who ended his jockey career after participating in the YTN Cup major race on May 21, has newly welcomed horse racing fans as a trainer at Seoul Race Park.

Trainer Ham Wan-sik, who debuted as a jockey in 1998, recorded 806 wins out of 6,381 races over 26 years. He won eleven major races in total and was selected as an ‘Honorary Jockey’ in 2015 for his exceptional fair play spirit.

Now serving as the head of the 28th stable, Trainer Ham Wan-sik made his debut on the 9th in the 5th race at Seoul. On that day, the racehorse ‘Black Vermi,’ managed by Trainer Ham, finished 5th. Although the ranking was somewhat disappointing, ‘Black Vermi’ broke its previous record by shortening the time by 3.8 seconds, setting a new all-time shortest record.

On the 16th, ‘Global Changa’ participated in a 1200m general race and finished 3rd, showing stable performance for two consecutive weeks. Both horses were directly ridden and trained by Trainer Ham.

Trainer Ham Wan-sik said, “I believe my greatest asset is being able to ride the racehorses myself to understand their strengths and weaknesses and characteristics, and prepare strategies accordingly,” adding, “I will be a trainer who competes to win.”

Trainer Ham Wansik.

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