The race meeting at Pardubice on August 22nd offered nine races, each with a good-sized field, on a mild late summer afternoon, on a remarkably well turned-out racecourse. The whole rcecourse area was green and well tended.The going appeared to be good, thanks to three days of very steady rain in the first part of the week, followed by mild, dry weather. The rain got right into the ground, no doubt with the help of men with forks dealing with the pools that will have formed, especially on the ploughed fields. The work done by Jiří Janda and his staff, and by their equipment, was appreciated by those who remember the state of the course a few years ago.

A good crowd enjoyed nine races, most of which produced competitive racing. Plenty of our leading chasers appeared, many of them aiming to qualify for the Velka, or to improve their rating and get into the field for the Velka, or to have a trial race for the Velka meeting (the second weekend in October).

The biggest questions surrounded Rabbit Well. Would he consent to start? Would he take to the Pardubice crosscountry course? Would he stay the distance of 5 800 metres? And would his jockey, Josef Váňa jnr., whose ankle should still have been immobilized in a cast, be OK? The answers to these questions were yes, yes, yes and yes, and we now have a third very well-fanciedVáňa-trained contender for the VP.

Four of the nine races had VP entries running in them. Lorain and Kindly Boy finished first and second in a Category IV crosscountry chase. Both are qualified for the VP, but would probably need a higher rating to get into the race on October 12th. One of the other races on VP day would be a better option for both of these horses.

Borderland, Peintre Abstrait, Amaragon, Puntarenas  and Ter Mill  all appeared in the Category II crosscountry over 5 200 metres, run as a handicap this year. Borderland finished 4th, Peintre Abstrait 5th, Amaragon 8th, Puntarenas 10th, and Ter Mill was pulled up. Of these, only Borderland, and probably Ter Mill, will get an adequate handicap racing. Peintre Abstrait, which finished 5th in VP 2013, may also get into the field. However, none of them appears to have much of a chance on October 12th.

The seventh race on the card was the Chládek a Tintěra, Pardubice, a.s. Third Qualification Race for the 125th running of the Velka Pardubicka, with 16 runners. Most were already qualified for the VP, though some needed a good performance to improve their handicap rating. Apart from the questions about Rabbit Well, there were also questions about Trezor, winner of five qualification races in the past, which had run without any spark when finishing 5th in the June qualification race, has had problems with a hoof, and is now 11 years old.

Lukáš Matuský was riding him for the first time, and let the horse go along in front. He led for almost the whole race, at times with Hipo Jape alongside him. However, Rabbit Well made good progress over the ploughed field after the fifth from home, and led into the turn on to the grass track with 800 metres to go. Rabbit Well went on to win really impressively by 7 lengths from Trezor, which finished 4 lengths ahead of Modena, and these were followed home by Broker, Sherardo, Kasim, Hipo Jape and Orix. Goscater, Lingarry, Templář and Mr Angel lost their riders, and Nikas, Bodyguard, Al Jaz and Sheron were pulled up. Lingarry, Mr Angel and Sheron failed to qualify for the VP, and should probably aim at something less ambitious on VP day. The others had already qualified in the spring qualification races. Nikas, second in VP 2013, was wisely pulled up after nearly coming down at the Big Water Jump. I hope he is OK.

Only two horses not previously qualified added their names to the list on August 22nd: Rabbit Well, the highly impressive winner, and Broker, who ran very well to ensure that Jiří Travníček, owner of Orphée des Blin, which is no longer racing, has a horse that just might do well in the VP.

In the eighth race, the hot favourite was Universe of Gracie, winner of the May qualification race. His connections had used the loophole allowing top hurdlers and oval-track chasers to run without penalties in crosscountry races, and vice versa. Universe of Gracie won very good money for his fourth place in VP 2014, and again for his win in the May qualification race, but here he was as a red-hot favourite on a low weight in a Category IV classical steeplechase. Jan Faltejsek led on him all the way round, and the horse duly won, but unimpressively.

There were plenty of pleasing things in the afternoon. Three of the races were won by the offspring of mares that we remember racing here. The Category II handicap was won by Reaper, the 6-y-o son, by Sholokhov, of Registana. Reaper made all the running, won well, and will presumably be aimed at the VP in due course.

Reaper was ridden by Jaroslav Myška, who has been having a very poor season. It was good to see him win twice on Saturday. His other win was on Lorain, for the yard run by his wife Štepanka and him, for Staj Jeso, the owner of their yard at Valy u Prelouče, just a few kilometres away from Pardubice racecourse.

It was also good to see Natalie win the race for mares. She is by Tribal Instinct, out of Nostalgia, both of which ran with distinction in the colours of her owner, Jiří Charvát. The  Charvát group is listed as Natalie’s breeder.

Next, it is good to be able to record that UK jockey Felix de Giles, on his first visit to Pardubice, has made a start on repairing UK jockeys’ well-earned reputation for being unlikely to get a horse round the Pardubice crosscountry course. First, he rode the outsider Nana Angela to victory in the 3-y-o hurdles race, then he rode Dorotka to a good third place behind Natalie. Finally, he rode Broker into a good fourth place, behind Rabbit Well, in the qualification race. The owner af all these three horses, Jiří Travníček, bred both Nana Angela and Dorotka, and now has a horse qualified to run in the race dominated in the last three years by his mare, Orphée des Blins. The owner should be more than pleased with Felix’s efforts.

Last but not least, there is the eternal question: “Will Josef Váňa snr ride in the VP?” We had all looked carefully at the runners and riders announced last Tuesday, and had noted thatVáňa’s name was missing from the list. Nevertheless, the great man is clearly keeping himself in shape. There are five Váňa-trained horses qualified for the race, though Thallium and Wild Danger do not seem likely to have a high enough rating. Josef Váňa snr has not ridden in a race this year … yet. Váňa will find a variety of ways of saying “maybe” and “maybe not” in the next month and a half.