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Global Hit stuck to the rail and the tiny colt inked his name into Korea racing history by winning the Korean Derby (1800M KOR-G1) at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.
On his back, Kim Hye-sun wrote another chapter of firsts in her storied career.
He may have drawn the plum inside gate but having not taken part in the first leg of the Triple Crown, Global Hit, not a big horse to begin with, weighed in having lost 13kg since his last outing, the second lightest of the sixteen-strong field. Accordingly, he was sent off as a 25/1 outsider for the premier jewel in the crown.
It was a case of taking full advantage of that inside draw. Global Hit settled handy and stuck to the fence throughout before accelerating away in the home straight leaving pre-race favorite Naol Sniper in his wake, while the heavily fancied closer Nut Play finished strongly but too late. and could only manage 3rd.
"I am so happy; I am overwhelmed really" winning jockey Kim Hye-sun told in-house broadcaster KRBC. "I am surprised and happy at the same time. I wanted him to run in this race, but I didn't expect him to win."
She was fully appreciative of her apparently fragile mount: "(Global Hit) has weak legs so my only priority was to race safely. And this was his first time at 1800M. I was worried about everything, the distance, the weight. But I wasn't worried about his ability, and he ran really well."
It was a career Triple Crown for both owner Kim Joon-hyun and trainer Bang Dong-suk, who combined with Hit Yegam in 2021 to claim the KRA Cup Mile and the Minister's Cup but missed out when 2nd to Winner's Man in that year's Derby.
It is almost unseemly in this day and age to talk about "first woman to…" and Kim Hye-sun herself certainly doesn't want the narrative about her career to be defined by that. As she always points out, she is just another jockey doing what jockeys do. But just like American trainer Jena Antonucci sending out Arcangelo to win the Belmont Stakes this weekend, she is smashing glass ceilings and that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated.
Kim Hye-sun debuted at Seoul in 2009 and quickly started winning. The highlight of her career prior to this Derby came in 2017 when she accompanied the filly Jejui Haneul to Busan and won the Korean Oaks at odds of 55/1. She gave birth to a son (with her husband, fellow jockey Park Jae-i) in 2020 and returned to race riding ten-months later quickly picking up where she left off, booting home three winners on International Day at Busan last year.
"I know people were worried when I came back after I had my son, but really my son is a treasure to me, and he gives luck to me when I ride."
"I would like to thank my husband also; did he finish last? (Press Corp: "second last!"). "Ha!, Also, thanks to the owner for giving me the chance and the stable hands for preparing him so well. They earned this win."
The final leg of the 2023 Korea Triple Crown is the Minister's Cup over 2000M on July 22nd.
Race Video: https://youtu.be/B9FQ4qRtlS0
