I particularly want to finish the June newsletter on time, before the end of May, for two reasons. Firstly, the last two newsletters have been delayed, it is good to restore a bit of self-discipline. Secondly, the main trial for the Czech Derby will be run at Prague Velká Chuchle on May 31^st, and I do not want to write about that race here.

As I write, on May 29^th, we have very limited information about the runners in our Derby. Most of them have not yet run over more than a mile, and are only now establishing their names and reputations. In my opinion, it is a great pity that the greatest race of their lives will be run while they are still young, inexperienced and have not reached their full strength. We do not offer anything comparable over the mile-and-a-half distance, either in the autumn, when they will be a lot more mature, or in future years, when they will reach their best. Nothing against the Derby, but we need a couple of even greater races, in which the real all-age champion can step forward. Why should our one and only big race be restricted to 3-y-os, and be run in June? Because it is a tradition, of course, and because it allows the connections even of a horse that will never be much good to have a dream of glory.

Martin Cáp has written a Derby Dairy, and has published it on-line, for many years, since he was a teenager. He told me that he will write a report on Sunday’s Derby trial, and on the prospects for the Derby, and that I can translate it into English and publish it here on Dostihový svět. By the way, Martin tells me that he considers this year’s Czech Derby field to be distinctly promising. Czech jockey Tomáš Lukášek, who rides frequently in Warsaw, and also gets to Bratislava and Budapest, has also expressed the opinion that the Czech-trained horses are the best in the four Visegrad countries. I look forward to the trial race, and to Martin’s report, and to sharing them with you next week.

May has been another month of sensible weather – not too hot, not too dry, not too wet, no extreme events. The grass is green and growing strongly. Conditions for horseracing have been pretty good.

The big talking point of the month has been about the race conditions for jumps racing here. These were adjusted in the winter, together with the conditions for flat races. However, those of us who do not read the minutes of committee meetings did not note the impacts of the changes until racing at Pardubice began (on May 8^th). Then we became aware that the penalties incurred by horses winning prize money had been changed – though these changes had in fact been published much earlier. As of this year, penalties incurred in hurdles races and classical steeplechases are separated from penalties incurred in crosscountry races. This means that a top steeplechaser can run without a penalty in a Category IV crosscountry race. And at the most recent meeting at Pardubice, predictably, Category IV crosscountry races were won by Khalshani and by Rabbit Well, which are both very highly-rated and very successful classical chasers.

The majority of our small jumps trainers have a yard full of Category IV horses, whose owners nevertheless hope to stand in the winner’s enclosure. Martina Růžičková and Pavel Složil led a belated protest, and demanded that the conditions be changed without delay. Martina and Pavel are by no means our smallest trainers, but they certainly know what it means to train Category IV horses, and to ride them. Both have dedicated their lives to the sport, and have taken plenty of knocks, and they claim to speak for the ‘silent majority’.

Translations of a couple of open letters from Martina, and a reply to her in the form of an open letter from a representative of the Association of Czech Trainers and Riders, have been put up on this web site. The reply took the ‘put up or shut up’ view. In other words, if you want to change things, get yourself elected to the committee, and if you don’t do that you have nothing to say.

Well, it is true that the silent majority needs to be more active, if it wants to influence what happens. On the other hand, those who take power and leadership roles should expect to be loved and respected only if they use their power wisely and offer good leadership.

A letter from trainer Čestmír Olehla, president of the Czech Steeplechase Association, which appeared on the web pages of the Czech Jockey Club, under the title Many Changes in Jumps Racing http://www.dostihy.cz/zpravy/domaci/mnoho-zmen-v-prekazkovem-sportu/, provideda detailed explanation of the issues in organizing the system of racing and race conditions in the Czech Republic. Dr Olehla trained multiple Velka Pardubicka winners Železník and Registana, and also Gran Premio Merano winners Masini and Kolorado. He heads the group that organizes the racing day at Světlá Hora each year in July, and makes great efforts travel from distant Světlá Hora to participate in committees and commissions, as well as writing expert articles on veterinary aspects of training racehorses. He explained that, when the new leadership took over the Jockey Club, it wanted to take a new look at race conditions. There was excessive centralization of decision-making on race conditions, and not enough flexibility. He points out that penalties in conditions races are specifically penalties for success. They mean that it can be very difficult to find a suitable race for a horse that has achieved just a minor success.

The Czech Republic has a situation that is unique in the racing world – because of the prestige of the Velka Pardubicka, about 40% of our jumps races are crosscountry events. At Pardubice, about three-quarters of the races are crosscountry. A feature of Czech crosscountry racing is that the higher category races contain a wide range of tougher obstacles, and are often over a longer distance, than lower category races. If a good classical chaser has to carry his steeplechase penalties over to crosscountry races, he will have to make his crosscountry debut in a very tough, long, high-category race against experienced Velka Pardubicka contenders. The new conditions were intended to ease good steeplechasers into crosscountry. As Dr Olehla explains, Category V races have been reintroduced for what used to be considered Category IV horses.

A key consideration is that Czech horseracing offers only about 160/170 jumps races in a season. There are races over hurdles, over steeplechase fences and crosscountry; races in five categories, plus Listed races; races over various distances; handicap races and conditions races; races for 3-y-o hurdlers and for 4-y-o crosscountry horses; races for amateur riders and for ‘young riders’; even one or two races for mares and for greys. It is not possible to provide a good choice of suitable races for every type of horse – even if we add in the limited number of races over fences offered in Italy, Slovakia, Poland and Germany.

A seemingly simple solution would be to have more handicap races for low-category horses. However, it is necessary to have completed a couple of races, fairly recently, before a handicap rating is given (as from this year, for the first time, our horses can also be rated on their performances in Poland, Slovakia and Germany). The problem is that quite a few horses do not have a rating. In addition, for one reason or another handicap races over jumps are not popular with our owners and trainers. These races produce small fields, and the racecourses do not like to put them on.   

Dr Olehla says that people have been quick to complain about good and experienced classical chasers easily winning Category IV crosscountry chases, but have forgotten to express their satisfaction with his committee’s successful innovation – the introduction of races for young riders in the last couple of years. Anyone who has ridden fewer than 50 winners qualifies as a ‘young rider’. No-one should begrudge the opportunities that have been given to some less young riders. After 20 years as a journeyman rider, Martin Liška was suddenly reborn last year as a very useful and reliable rider. Some genuinely young riders are coming through well, most notably Jan Kratochvil and Jakub Spáčil. Jan has already had 4 winners here this year, plus 3 in Italy and one in Slovakia. Jakub has not only ridden two winners here this year over fences, but also 6 winners in Slovakia (4 of them on the flat).

I hope that some minor but important adjustments to race conditions will be made, sooner rather than later, to keep Category I horses out of Category IV and Category V races as far as possible. Conditions exist not exactly to punish success, but rather to produce competitive racing and give some kind of a chance, from time to time, even to moderate horses. It is in the nature of successful owners and trainers to want to win everything, and they will happily grab Category IV prizes with Category I horses – if they are given a chance!

The coming month will offer plenty of good racing, featuring the Czech Derby, at Prague Velká Chuchle on Sunday June 21st, first race at  2 p.m. There will also be an interesting Greek and Cypriot afternoon at Prague Velká Chuchle on Sunday June 7th, when the entertainment will begin at 11 a.m., with the first race at 2 p.m. www.dostihovy-svet.cz/en/node/5174