Myung Kwon Cho is holding all the cards in his very envious position as breeder, owner, and trainer of an ace in his hand, Street Hero - Street Cry's latest Grade One winner. In Cho’s biggest win to date and his colt’s first ever victory, the G1 Norfolk gave them a deserving pass to the Bessemer Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, in which he ran third.
As if walking on air for the last three weeks, everyday for Cho has been a “happy day” since Street Hero and journeyman Alex Solis entered the starting gate for Oak Tree’s Grade One Norfolk Stakes. After placing in each of his four previous starts, Solis suggested the addition of blinkers following a brave run at Midshipman in the seven-furlong G1 Del Mar Futurity. A mere three-quarters-of a length separated them for the win at the seaside track, the effort gained Cho and Solis third money, but more importantly, an indication of the colt’s progressive scope.
In the Norfolk, Street Hero broke with greater intention. Assertively ridden, he stalked the front-runners while saving ground along the rail. The short route has its hazards and they found themselves in tight quarters when gearing up for their final ascent approaching the quarter pole. A bit more patience and impeccable timing; Solis sensed a centrifugal parting of Del Conte and Regal Ransom off the turn and gunned his horse for the expected hole between them. Street Hero responded with big strides, splitting his rivals and under Solis’ urging, he held off his nemesis Midshipman in a heart-pounding victory. He traveled the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.12.
Cho was born in North Korea but his family moved to Seoul, South Korea when he was quite young. In his thirties, Cho embarked on a life in the United States with the determination and dreams of the American ideal and found success as a clothing export businessman in Los Angeles. He became an instant fan of racing, influenced by Affirmed’s quest of the 1978 Triple Crown and eventually purchased his own thoroughbred in 1989. Within three years, the enjoyment of the morning atmosphere at the track combined with the challenge of entering a new field compelled him to study for his trainer’s test and try his hand at conditioning his own horses. Cho has maintained a small private racing stable for the last 17 years. Besides Street Hero, his current four horses includes Palacio de Amor, a filly by Dixieland Band, who only one day before the Norfolk raced second in the G1 Oak Leaf Stakes and lined up in the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on the BC Ladies' Day card.
In 1990, Cho finished second in the Santa Anita Derby and fourth in the Kentucky Derby with the well-bred Video Ranger, a horse that he claimed for $40,000. Video Ranger’s son Nationalore led him back to Kentucky in an attempt to become the first maiden since Broker’s Tip in 1933 to win the prestigious Derby. The previous year, Nationalore raced third to Favorite Trick in the BC Juvenile. Hard-knocking Nationalore ran second and third 14 times to earn $318,227 and give him the unusual distinction of America’s richest maiden. Critical Factor, a filly he purchased at Keeneland finished third in the 1996 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies S.
Cho aims high. He takes pride and enjoyment in proving his own beliefs and philosophies, not only as a trainer, but also as an owner and as a breeder. Thus, the Norfolk was a defining moment for him. Due to his confidence in Street Hero’s talents, the win did not come as a complete surprise, but it was indeed his most exciting moment in racing.
Cho believes: “There is no champion without desperate effort.” He likes to keep the balance with hard training while keeping his horses sound. He admits what most trainers know, it is often a very difficult job to keep the balance. Cho rarely ships a horse to the east coast, preferring to enter at a higher level or against tougher competition at the Los Angeles tracks rather than shipping around the country for the ‘easy spot’. Cho has naturally entertained thoughts of Street Hero running on the Derby trail and hopefully having a bid toward the Triple Crown. He will take it one race at a time.
For the last eight years Cho has built a relationship with bloodstock agent Jun H. Park of Lexington, KY. Cho’s three broodmares including Street Hero’s dam Squall Linda reside at Robbie Lyons’ Hartwell Farm, where Park previously worked. The Summer Squall daughter was purchased at Keeneland September for $62,000. From seventeen starts, she rewarded Cho with three wins, a second in the Monrovia H., $154,727 in purse money, and now three winning foals who have tallied $351,592.
Park had a hand in the planned matings of Cho’s mares. As an employee of veterinarian David Lambert, B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S., who specializes in equine echocardiography, Park and Lambert recommended Street Cry as a possible mate for Squall Linda based on physical inspection and ultrasound results of Street Cry’s first crop of yearlings which were rather impressive and an early testament to his American and Australian stature as leading third-crop Sire.
Mr. Cho in turn, liked the hypothetical mating of Street Cry to Squall Linda which presented E. P. Taylor’s foundation mare Natalma twice within five generations. Natalma is dam to Northern Dancer and Raise the Standard, the second dam of Street Cry’s sire Machevallian. A similar pattern, the Machevallian–Storm Bird nick, has previously produced a European Champion in Medicean, a multiple Group One winner at best from eight to ten furlongs.
As early as one week old, Park said Street Hero was a beautiful foal. Hartwell Farm also sent word to Cho predicting a bright future for his new colt. Park arranged for Street Hero’s early lessons last year at Starting Point Farm in Ocala, FL before sending him west to Cho this past March. Right before summer, Cho confided in Park, ”This is a very exceptional horse and I need to take him to Del Mar to race.” Located 100 miles south of his home in Rolling Hills, Del Mar was a meet Cho normally did not attend.
In August, an earthquake shook southern California. The epicenter was close to Santa Anita, but the seismic waves were felt as far south as Del Mar. Cho immediately checked on his horses. Most of the high-strung thoroughbreds were going crazy, whinnying and bucking in reaction to the shake. Street Hero, who stands about 16.1 hands, put his head out the stall door to have a look, then turned back around and lay down to have a sleep. Cho said: “He is so brave; he has so much class.”
In addition to Street Hero, Street Cry’s runners carrying the bloodlines of the great Northern Dancer on the dam side of the pedigree have excelled on at least four continents. Stateside, G1 BC Juvenile and Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and G3 winner Summer Doldrums carry a vein through Dixieland Band. In England, Majestic Roi upset an esteemed field of fillies over eight furlongs in the G1 Sun Chariot S. Kentucky-bred Tomcito scored twice in Grade One competition in Peru before returning to the US to test the waters. He rallied late for third, while in pursuit of Big Brown in the G1 Florida Derby. Street Cry's success extends Down Under, too, where Caulfield Guineas winner Whobegotyou and Predatory Pricer are the rising stars of his southern hemisphere-bred crops.
