The second of the four qualification races for the Velka Pardubicka was run on good ground at Pardubice on June 27^th. Seventeen horses went to the start, and 16 of them finished and therefore qualified for the Velka, which will be run on Sunday, October 11th. It was a cool afternoon for the end of June, with an overcast sky but only a few spots of rain.

The favourite was Zarif, running in the Köi Dent colours that had been carried by Tiumen. Trezor, winner of his last five starts in qualification races, drifted out in the market. Throughout the race, the most prominent runners were Hipo Jape and Kasim. Zarif was kept in a handy position, but Trezor had to be pushed along from time to time. Hipo Jape led them in to the last fence, and Josef Bartoš had to ride a finish on Zarif to win the race.

The first four home, Zarif, Hipo Jape, Kasim and Modena pulled well clear of the rest. Ondřej Velek finally got going Trezor going in the finishing straight, and he got up to finish in fifth place, just ahead of Al Jaz, which had had a problem at one of the fences early in the race. Peintre Abstrait, Goscater, Puntarenas, Sherardo and Sun Belina finished off the pace, while Orix, Klaus, Bodyguard, Oriental Lion and Thalliumwere tailed off. The only non-finisher was Mlýn, which was pulled up after the final fence. Mlýn, however, had already qualified for the VP by finishing 16^th in the May qualification race. The first two past the post are both trained by Josef Váňa.

It appeared from the television recording that most of the horses got a comparatively clear run, though Ondřej Velek said that Trezor took a couple of bumps. He reported that Trezor, now 11 years old, was lethargic, and did not want to go to the front of the field – not like his old self.

The situation is that 16 horses qualified for the VP in this race, and a further 16 had qualified in the May qualification race. The two non-finishers in the May race, Al Jaz and Modena, rectified the situation this time. There are two more qualification races at Pardubice, in August and in September, and a considerable number of races over 3 miles or more in France, Ireland and the UK, plus the races in the Crystal Cup crosscountry series. It is already clear to see that not all qualified horses will be able to run in the VP, which is limited to 25 runners. Elimination will be based on horses’ handicap ratings. However, the VP is run at level weights, and the eliminated horses are sure to be rated a long way behind the main contenders.

Congratulations to Josef Bartoš, who rode four winners in the course of the afternoon, including Zarif. He is very well placed to retain his Italian jumps jockeys’ championship this year, and is second, behind Jan Kratochvil, in the Czech championship.    

Congratulations to the ground staff at Pardubice. The course has been carefully improved and tended, and real efforts have been made to keep many of the traditional features the course, while quietly making it less dangerous.