Gelding with fine family wins in style at Seoul

When Hidden Lake Farm LLC and Gary F. Mottola bred Shannon Memories in New York, they probably had visions of the blue-blood colt drawing off to win in the stretch at Belmont Park or Saratoga.

Seoul, Korea, probably never crossed their minds.

But on Sunday at Seoul, the now-gelded chestnut son of Yes It's True-Charleston, by High Yield, trained by Hong Dae You and ridden by Park Tae Jong, hammered a Class IV field by eight lengths to clear the maiden hurdle in his fourth lifetime start. He's earned about $22,234 since being shipped to Korea in October at age 2 after failing to sell on a $32,000 top bid at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training at Timonium, Md.

I shortlisted the prospect at that May Maryland sale on a 48-horse list prepared for a bargain-seeking client. I listed Hip 66, the Yes It's True-Charleston colt, as a Priority 2 prospect based on his dam's status as a half-sister to G3 millionaire WEST VIRGINIA, and despite a topline that dipped rather more than I'd like and a 23-flat breeze that wasn't awe-inspiring.

Despite some flaws, the horse was athletic, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the winner's circle again at Seoul, particularly after an eight-length score.

With the win, Shannon Memories becomes the 111th prospect to break maiden from the 187 I recommended on this blog from selected 2-year-old sales of 2010. That's 59.4 percent.

Click here and scroll to view their updated stats.