Two Czech-trained horses are being prepared to race on the ice at St Moritz. They will be the first Czech runners on the White Turf for several years. The entries for the 2 700 metres race over hurdles include Cruel Mole Joe and Khalshani, both trained by Pavel Tůma, alongside 10 other entries from the UK, Poland and Switzerland.

“The hurdles races at St Moritz attracted us,” the trainer said. Originally the plan was to send only Cruel Mole Joe. However, Khalshani showed such good form in Italy in late autumn, although the track at Pisa was not really suitable for him, that we started thinking about sending him to Switzerland, too. 

“We are preparing both horses,” Tůma confirms. “Though we have not had much snow here, or even much frost, so we have been able to do plenty of work with both horses, almost without any problems.”   

“We are organizing the carnets, and getting information about how to shoe the horses,” Tůma adds.

Since there have been no hurdles races at St Moritz in recent years, the trainer will be watching closely what happens in the first meeting on Sunday, which includes a race over hurdles. The opening meeting at St Moritz begins on Friday, with three night races, in which Czech jockey Milan Zatloukal will be one of the riders. On Sunday, Zatloukal will also ride in the hurdles race, and German-based Czech rider Filip Minařík will ride on the flat. 

(translated from the Czech language web pages of Dostihový svět)