This weekend there are two race meetings in the Czech Republic. The meeting at Pardubice on Saturday features the third Velka Pardubicka qualification race, over 5 800 metres.

Thanks to prolonged heavy rain at the beginning of the week, the conditions should be fine for this race. There are 16 entries, and most of the more fancied runners are already qualified for the big race on October 11^th.  Trezor has long been the King of the Qualification races, but finished only fifth in the June race. Al Jaz, which ran a superb race to finish 2^nd in VP 2014, ran without distinction in both of the earlier qualification races. Rabbit Well, just about our best oval track chaser this year, does not have a lot of crosscountry experience – his performance on Saturday will be followed with interest. He is to be ridden by Josef Váňa jnr, who has barely revoered from a broken ankle.

There are plenty of other decent horses in the qualification race, including the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 6^th (Modena, Goscater, Sheron, Templář and Orix) in the Labe Prize on Velka Pardubicka day 2014. That race is generally regarded as a preparatory race for the following year’s VP.

There are nine races on the card at Pardubice on Saturday, first race at 1 p.m.

On Sunday, there is a mixed meeting at Netolice, in South Bohemia, one of our most beautiful and most modest racecourses. The first race is at 1.30 p.m.