The well-travelled Richard Kingscote is looking forward to adding another country to his international riding resume when he rides in South Korea for the first time, linking with Danny Shum’s Gorgeous Win in the G3 Korea Sprint (1200m, sand) at Seoul on Sunday (6 September).

An Epsom Derby-winning jockey, Kingscote has also won Group 1 races in Ireland and has ridden in Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, France and Bahrain among other jurisdictions prior to completing his first full season based in Hong Kong in 2025/26.

Kingscote said: “I’m looking forward to it. It’s nice to be asked – it’s a place I’ve not been to ride yet, and I’ve been lucky to ride in a lot of places. The horse goes on the dirt here. It’s a different surface for him in South Korea, but he’s a nice, big powerful horse.”

Gorgeous Win is the least credentialed of Hong Kong’s three-pronged assault on South Korea’s most-lucrative dash, which also comprises Group 3 winner Beauty Waves and last year’s triumphant Self Improvement – the second Hong Kong-trained horse to capture the contest after Super Jockey ran away with the inaugural edition in 2016.

Gorgeous Win, an 86-rated Press Statement gelding, is a Class 2 winner in Hong Kong on both turf and dirt, with six wins from 36 starts overall. He has made only two dirt course appearances at Sha Tin, topped by a quality success last December.

The six-year-old was ninth in a barrier trial on rain-affected dirt in preparation for his travels, clocking a comfortable 1m 13.42s under Kingscote at Sha Tin on 21 August.

“I’ve done a bit of trackwork with him – he’s very well within himself. He’ll come forward for that trial; as we know with all of the rain here the track probably wasn’t to his liking that day, but he’s fresh. I’ve seen videos of him in South Korea and they’re happy with him,” Kingscote said. “Fingers crossed for a solid run.”

Gorgeous Win faces several new obstacles in his Korea Sprint assault, including Seoul’s sandy beach-like surface, the relentless kickback and racing left-handed.

“There’s lots of unknowns for a horse like him – he wouldn’t have travelled a great deal, he’s on a new surface and he’s racing in the opposite direction, but he’s a hardy horse and Danny obviously knows what it takes to travel a horse, and he feels that he’s the sort of horse who can do it – it’s a nice opportunity,” Kingscote said.

Japanese runners Dragon Welds and American Stage complete the international representation in the Korea Sprint against the home contingent. American Stage brings global experience, having finished fourth in the 2025 G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (1200m, dirt) and sixth in the 2025 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m, dirt).

Vincero Cavallo, a 12-time winner, along with the front-running Born Dia and Winner Clear, appear to lead the Korean challenge. The trio filled the first three in the KOR G2 SROA Chairman’s Sprint (1200m, sand) on 17 May at Seoul, with outsider Born Dia scoring an upset victory over Winner Clear and Vincero Cavallo, respectively.

The G3 Korea Sprint (1200m, sand) will be simulcast in Hong Kong on Sunday (6 September) at 3.20pm (Hong Kong time).

By: Declan Schuster

Photo: HKJC