After two disappointing runs, Subsidy was back on form in the feature handicap. The eight year old son of Mr Prospector took his 18th career win, but like in the earlier Ilgan Sports, it went to a photograph. Subsidy, under Moon Se Young was well placed throughout and hit the front on the line to win by a nose from favourite Dongbanui Gangja. Owner’s Association Trophy winner and second favoruite, Saerounbisul was back in fourth.

Down at Busan Race Park, South African jockey Deryl Daniels continued his impressive start to his Korean stint. Daniels guided second favourite Dangdae Star to victory in the day’s big handicap.  The New Zealand bred gelding took his first win of 2008 by a length and a half from Seonbaljein (7.4).  It was Daniels’ second win in Korea and he added another placing finishing third on outsider Sinsan (75.9) in race 1.

On Saturday, Shaving Points made his first since May following an injury. Things did not look right, however, as the three year old faded badly finishing last of 10.  Saturday’s big race was won by long odds-on favaourite Secret Weapon.

On a low key day of racing at Seoul, K J Khan went down to another defeat. Starting favourite, the Japanese import was among the leaders for most of the 1800 metre race 11, but faded in the straight as Moon Se Young brought Seongpacheonha (14.6) right from the back of the field to land the race by three quarters of a length from Cash Parade.

The rain held off for the entire twelve race card and the pleasant temperatures brought out a higher than average Saturday crowd. Racing is back at 11:20 tomorrow at Seoul and 12:40 at Busan.

It was not a good day for favourites. In race 9, six year old Galsaem suffered another setback, going down to Hongji for the second time this year. Galsaem, sent off 1.6 favourite, jumped out of the gate and led through all four corners but as they wound up the sprint, first Nujindo (7.8 ) and then Hongji (4.1) went past, Hongji ultimately the quickest by just over a length. Galsaem is still without victory since her last outing of 2007 and it was Hongji’s first win since the pair faced each other in February.

By this stage many punters had already taken a batttering after highly fancied Captain Cugat (1.4) went down to Royal Missile (4.2) in race 7, however, there was some relief as the fast improving Hera (1.9) came home four lengths clear in race 8.

On a day when one unbeaten record was broken, maybe another one began as the New Zealand bred gelding Coleraine made his first appearance on the track since arriving in Korea at the end of May. He was sent off slight favourite at 3.1 but it’s unlikely the odds will be so generous next time as he bounced out of the gate and never looked back, the rest of the field trailing in seven lengths behind at the end of the 1000 metre race 5. Coleraine’s time of 59.1 seconds just half a second off the course record.

At Busan, there was a six race program and the Japanese bred Jilju Hara kept up her 100% record (1.4) with an astonishing fifteen length win in race 4. The three year old filly, by Dehere and out of Super Innocent, won her first race back in June by eleven lengths and surely has a interesting future ahead. Busan’s feature came down to a three way final furlong battle and it was Toshio Uchida on Distance Runner (4.9) who just got the better of Annika Queen (4.8 ) and Milliondollar (21.0). There was disappointment in the last as The Bee Keeper, likely to be hot favourite was withdrawn through injury. In his absence, Winter Invitation (4.6) took a narrow win from Honor Day (2.3).

YTN Cup Cat.2 (Handicap) – 1900M – Seoul Race Park, 17:30

1. Vicar Love (US) [Vicar - Canberra (Silver Hawk)] – 56kg – Shim Seung Tae
2. Serendipper (Aus) [Danewin - Coppelius (Pleasant Colony)] – 54kg – Cho Kyoung Ho
3. Milwaukee Special (Can) [Milwaukee Brew - A Bit Special (Rahy)] – 57kg – Ham Wan Sik
Distances: 5 lengths, 3/4 length

The foreign bred race saw a closer finish as second favourite Baekjeonmupae (2.5) took a half length win from slight favourite Dongbanui Gangja (2.3). Dirt King (7.1) led the field through the back straight but Ikuyasu Kurakane brought the New Zealand bred Baekjeonmupae into contention as they turned for home, hitting the front with 100 metres to go. Obaek Yechan (9.9) ran on for third.

Earlier, race 5 brought together some of Seoul’s more promising three year olds in a race over 1300 metres. Royal Taichi was sent off the 2.2 favourite, but never figured as Seven Card (3.0) took a wire to wire victory by an impressive seven lengths. The Yoo Seung Wan ridden colt recorded his second win from four outings with the rest of the field led in by Jeil Beonjjeok (5.6) and Galmasan (13.8 ).

Yoo Seung Wan would go on to record a second wire to wire win with Namchon Party (1.3) dominating the 1700 metre race 8, winning by six lengths. The three year old colt now has three wins from seven outings and has only been unplaced once. Another impressive performance came from the US bred gelding Storm Feet who made it four from seven in race 9. Sent off 2.0 favourite after main rival Happy Box was withdrawn, Storm Feet beat out Thermopolis (3.7) by three lengths. Storm Feet was the first half of a double for Moon Se Young. In addition to Moon and Yoo, Kim Hyo Seob also scored two winners.

In stark contrast to recent race-days, today was unseasonably cool with temperatures around 22 degrees – a full 10 degrees cooler than last week. Persistant drizzle made the track wet and similar conditions are expected tomorrow – although experience says never trust weather predictions for Seoul. Tomorrow’s card gets underway at 11:20 and a cracking card is topped off by the YTN Cup at 17:30. busan Race Park also holds a card with the first race at 12:40.

In other races, there was a handicap win for three year old Super Goliath (4.5) scoring a tight win by a neck over hot favourite Sinheung Gangja (1.8 ) after the two had a back and forth battle in the final two furlongs with the rest of the field comfortably beaten.

The holiday meant a slightly larger than usual Friday crowd at Busan. Racing returns to the South Gyeongsang province track on Sunday with the first of six races off at 12:40.

Tarpins in the mounting yard

Tarpins started off a fresh campaign with a run over 1400 metres at Bendigo yesterday.

Hopes weren’t too high – he’s being trained for 2000+ metres later in the spring, and it was a pretty strong Class 2 field.

He came in second last (10th of 11) but was only around 6 lengths from the winner and hit the line fairly strongly, which was what we had hoped.

We were fortunate enough to have gun jockey Brad Rawiller on board, fresh from his big win on Weekend Hussler on Saturday. I was very impressed with Brad – he conducted himself with the uiltimate professionalism, doing the meet and greet before the race then providing a detailed debrief after the race.

Next stop for Tarpins will probably be a 1700 metre race at Warrnambool on 23 September. Stay tuned.

Trainer Jamie Edwards and Jockey Brad Rawille

An advantage of searching the Internet for racing games com is that you will find horse racing games that offer you the option to simply view the races as a guest until you make up your mind whether this is a type of race you could become passionate about. However, if you start your own stable you will find out just how entertaining horse racing games can be.

Games like StableKing pay attention to every detail of horse racing, starting with the horse being born. Once you start your own stable you can buy a horse if you find one that you like listed in the “used and new horse ads” or you can breed a horse of your own. Anyway, as soon as the horse is alive and kicking you get to do all the things a real horse owner does at no cost at all. You can buy everything your virtual horse needs: blankets, saddle, trailer, food and medication, you can choose which training method is most appropriate for it and which of the 35 trainers provided by the game is more suitable to do the job. Finally, when the horse is ready you get to place your bet, race your horse to the finish line and collect on your virtual winnings.
If you never played a horse racing game before give it a try! It’s sure to end up on your list of favorites. You can find a complete list of horse racing games on the Internet if you search for racing games.

All over the world people are trying to beat the races and make money at something they love, but it is very difficult. I’ve been at it for many years and can offer some advice, but no one on earth can make you successful, but you. Like all free advice, take this with a grain of salt, think about it for a while, and see if it makes sense to you. Then use the parts you like and discard the rest.

Though you may have your own personality and life style, there are some things that almost all of us have in common. First of all, most of us aren’t independently wealthy and if we gamble, it has to be within limits or it is going to cause major problems in life. My advice is that you treat wagering on the races like any other hobby or diversion, even if you do it with the intention of making a living or supplementing your income, don’t let it take over your life. Set limits and stick to them.

Personal financial needs not withstanding, you probably started playing the ponies because it was fun. If it ever stops being enjoyable, that is a big warning sign. Don’t let it become an obsession. In other words, if it isn’t enjoyable why do it?

Secondly, have a system that works for you. Don’t you have a methodical way of doing things in your life that you have to do over and over again? For instance, don’t you usually balance your checkbook the same way? Find a good system that you can adapt and keep refining to suit your own individual tastes and needs.

One of the things I often tell people is that they know their own tastes, likes and dislikes, better than anyone else. So think about yourself and what you want out of life and adapt your horse racing betting around that. It shouldn’t be the other way around. Shop around and look at how other people handicap and play the races. Find a way that appeals to you and then tweak it a little so it is your very own system and style.

From its inauguration, the Cox Plate has been acknowledged as one of the classic events in international horse racing. Almost every winner has been an outstanding horse – Phar Lap, Kingston Town, Rising Fast, Dulcify, Gunsynd, Super Impose, Octagonal, Might and Power, and Sunline’s double-header in 1999 and 2000. The list of winners reads like a Who Who’s of the Australian turf.

And since 1999, the Cox Plate is the only southern hemisphere race to be included in the World Series. The World Series is horse racing’s Grand Prix circuit, spanning both hemispheres and four continents.

As Australasia’s most prestigious race, the Cox Plate inclusion in the series in 1999 sees it listed with the world’s greatest races including the Japan Cup (Japan), the Hong Kong International Cup (HK), Arlington Million (USA), Canadian International (Canada), Breeders Cup Turf and Breeders Cup Classic (USA), Irish Champion Stakes (Ireland), Grosser Preis Von Baden (Germany), and the Kind George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot (UK).

No wonder the Cox Plate is called the ‘greatest two minutes in sport’ and its prizemoney has reacted accordingly rising to over AUD$3 million.

The Caulfield Cup, a group one race, is one of Australia’s toughest handicap races. It is run over 2400 meters and is an important lead up race to the Melbourne Cup. The race prize money is worth over 2 million dollars.

It is a race which has been won by some of the best horses in Australia and has long been the first “leg” of Australia’s most popular betting double, linking with the Melbourne Cup.

Find below other interesting facts about the great race, The Caulfield Cup….

MOST SUCCESSFUL JOCKEY IN THE CAULFIELD CUP : 
Scobie Breasley, 5 wins 
Damien Oliver, 4 four wins 
Frank Demsey, 3 wins 
Neville Sellwood, 3 wins 
Mick Mallyon, 3 wins

MOST SUCCESSFUL FEMALE TRAINERS IN THE CAULFIELD CUP: 
1998 Lady Herries – Taufan’s Melody 
2001 Sheila Laxon – Ethereal

MOST SUCCESSFUL TRAINER IN THE CAULFIELD CUP: 
Bart Cummings, 6 wins 
Tommy Smith, 4 wins 
Jack Holt, 3 wins 
CT Godby, 3 wins 
H McCalman, 3 wins

LONGEST PRICED WINNERS IN THE CAULFIELD CUP: 
1884 Blink Bonny  50-1 
1902 Lieutenant Bill  40-1 
1936 Northwind  66-1 
1943 Saint Warden  100-1 
1988 Imposera  50-1 
1998 Taufan’s Melody  66-1

SHORTEST PRICED FAVORITES IN THE CAULFIELD CUP: 
ran 6th: 8-11 Tobin Bronze 
first : 4-6 Tulloch 
first : 5-4 Manfred 
first : 7-4 Eurythmic 
first : 7-4 Rising Fast 
ran 3rd: 7-4 Comic Court 
ran 3rd: 7-4 Sir Simpe 
ran 8th: 7-4 Pink Un

FALLS IN THE CAULFIELD CUP: 
1885 17 of 44 horses fell at the turn into the straight, resulting in the death of jockey Donald Nicholson (considered Australia’s worst race fall) 
1906  7 horses

PROTESTS IN THE CAULFIELD CUP:
1893 Tim Swiveller won, but was disqualified for pushing another horse out of the race (name of that horse was boring) 1969 Nausori came in first, a protest by jockey Roy Higgins on Big Filou for interference at the furlong pole (200m) was upheld.