'Goodbye Winnersman', leaving a long lingering image in history
Oct 03, 2024
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Winnersman had a splendid and meaningful farewell ceremony on September 29 at the retirement event held at Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam (Director Eom Young-seok) with thousands of audiences gathered. Winnersman retired at the highest grade of racehorse retirement. This has the same meaning as being inducted into the 'Hall of Fame' in other sports.
At 2:30 p.m. after the fourth race in Pukyong, the Winnersman ran from the fourth corner to the finish line with rider Lee Hyo-sik, making it the last race track for a racehorse. The event was attended by a number of horse racing officials and fans, including Lee Kyung-hee of Winners Man, Choi Ki-hong, assistant teacher Kim Ji-min, manager Um Young-seok, head of the Busan-Gyeongnam regional division of the Korea Racing Association, Shin Woo-chul, president of the Korea Racing Association, and Min Ki-ki, president of the Association.
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In particular, Winnersman has given great comfort to those who are tired of the prolonged COVID pandemic. In the race in which he competes, he ran third or fourth, and after four corners 'Winnersman's Time' began. Winnersman's appearance of crossing the finish line first with extraordinary persistence and hindsight gave the audience great courage and vitality.
Winnersman has shown a unique appearance since his debut. He began to show his presence by winning his first stage in two months after joining the racetrack by a 15-horse race. The following year, he won his first Grand Prix with the Korea Derby in 2021, and won the Herald Business Cup, YTN Cup, and Busan Mayor's Cup races in succession in 2022, becoming the first Korean horse to be a three-way Stair Series horse.
In particular, he became the first Korean horse to win the 2022 Korea Cup, beating out prominent foreign racehorses, showing the prestige of domestic horses and relieving the resentment of domestic horse racing fans around the world. Winnersman won six consecutive games while participating in the Grand Prix in December, and was selected as the 2022 year representative.
In 2023, injuries and sluggishness continued, but he always failed to meet fans' expectations within the top three. By winning the KRA Cup Classic in October, he instantly dispelled doubts about his racing ability, and since then, he has won the presidential cup, becoming the first Korean horse to win all G1 horse races in Korea.
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Winnersman, who had been on a long vacation since the beginning of this year due to a leg injury, returned to the Korea Cup held on September 8, but was decided to retire after suffering from respiratory diseases due to the aftereffects of the surgery. At the retirement ceremony, Lee Kyung-hee of Winnersman said, `I don't think it will be easy to meet a famous horse like Winnersman again in my life"Wept. Choi Ki-hong, an assistant teacher, said "I want to encourage Winnersman that he has run well enough so far and that he has done a great job."."
The short but long Winnersman's racehorse life has just come to an end. Winnersman will live his second life at Winers Farm, located in Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si. Fans will now keep Winnersman's name on their chests and wait for the day his children, who inherited his fine pedigree, play on the racetrack.
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▶Winnersman (debut July 17, 2020, retirement September 8, 2024, 29 games 18/4/2, single win rate 62.1%, double win rate 75.9%, consecutive win rate 86.2%, rating 111, Korean number 6-year-old brown, booma:Moma:Winnersmarin, face: Lee Kyung-hee, assistant teacher: Choi Ki-hong)
▶ Grand Prix Race Victory (10 times): Korean Derby (G1, 2021), Herald Business Cup (L·G3, 2022 and 2023), YTN Cup (G3, 2022), Busan Metropolitan City Mayor's Cup (G2, 2022), Korea Cup (IG3, 2022), Grand Prix (G1, 2022 and 2023), KRA Cup Classic (G2, 2023), Presidential Cup (G1, 2023)
wman@sportschosun.com
