Horses

The best horse on the day won the race. Nikas broke the course record by a considerable margin, and none of the others was able to challenge him in the run in. Second-placed Ribelino ran a thoroughly good race, and his jockey gave him every chance. Third-placed Zarif was given an excellent ride by Josef Bartoš, and was positioned to challenge Nikas before the 3rd last fence and again at the final fence, but the horse did not find any more. Universe of Gracie set the pace all the way round. Once he was headed, after the 4th last fence, there was no way back for him, though he kept staying on and held on to 4th place. The only one that might have finished close to Nikas was 5th-placed favourite Rabbit Well. He made a mistake at the Big Water Jump, and dropped back to almost last place. He never caught up with the leading group, but ran on at the end of the race to take 5th place. Kasim went into 2nd place after the 6th from home, but was unable to stay with the leaders, finishing 6th. Lorain did well to take the prizemoney for 7th place, having never featured much. The other four finishers were well off the pace: Modena, Templář, Pasquini Rouge (which had featured prominently in the middle of the race, and was in 2nd place with 5 to jump, but ran out of steam well before the end) and Klaus, which also ran out of steam at the end of the race.

All horses cleared the first three obstacles. At the Taxis, Nebrius fell at the rear of the field. Pareto was tailgating him, and was brought down. Twenty horses approaching the 6th fence, the Popkovice Turn, is always going to be far too many. There were three fallers, I think in separate incidents. Sokol fell, then Ter Mill, and then Al Jaz was brought down as he ran into horses that were making a right turn. From this point on, there were always a few loose horses threatening to interfere with the race. The worst loose horse incident was just after the Turn, when a riderless horse coming out of the copse knocked right into Peintre Abstrait. Behind the copse, Sherardo and Amaragon both fell, and with only 8 fences jumped, we had lost 8 of the 22 runners and loose horses were leaving and rejoining the race erratically, particularly the easily distinguished grey, Ter Mill. The spectacular departure of Gauner Danon at the drop deserves a separate mention, later, in a section of his own. The only non-finishers in the later stages of the race were Hipo Jape and Orix, which were pulled up when it was clear that they were beaten.

Riders

Everyone was happy that 41-year-old Marek Stromský finally won the Velka. He had twice lost the race in an unfortunate manner on Amant Gris, once when they were correctly disqualified for missing a marker, and the other time when he was beaten by a nose and was considered by some (though not by me) unlucky not to have been awarded the race when a protest was lodged against the winner, Tiumen, for crossing.  Marek is a very popular and good rider, who thoroughly deserves his triumph. In the same way as we see at Aintree and at Cheltenham, the other jockeys in the Velka Pardubicka are always generous in their congratulations to the winning jockey. The congratulations were particularly warm this time. Second finisher Pavel Kašný seemed to be even more thrilled with Stromský’s win than he would have been if he had won the race himself. At the age of 46, Kašný has probably missed his own chance to win the race.

The seven riders who lined up for prizes for finishing in the first seven places were just about our seven best jockeys, and as good a group of personalities as one could wish to see on a podium: Marek Stromský, Pavel Kašný, Josef Bartoš, Jan Faltejsek, Josef Váňa jnr, Marcel Novak and Jaroslav Mýška.

Dušan Andrés finished 8th on Modena. He was the unlucky one, as he had twice ridden Nikas in the Velka Pardubicka before, finishing 2nd on him in 2013. This time, he rode Modena, which was trainer Stanislav Popelka’s slightly more favoured runner in the race. However, it was Nikas’ owner who had decided that the ride should go to Marek Stromský. By the way, collectors of trivia may want to know that Dušan Andrés has now finished in each of the first nine positions in the Velka Pardubicka: 1st, 2007, on Sixteen; 2nd, 2013, on Nikas, and 2002, on Decent Fellow; 3rd, 2000, on Czanka and 2011, on Valldemoso; 4th, 2004; 5th, 1992 and 2012; 6th, 2005; 7th, 2003; 8th, 2015; and 9th, 1995 and 1997.

With 22 runners in the Velka, we were extremely short of riders, especially since three of our best young riders were injured and unavailable: Jan Kratochvíl, Lukáš Matuský and Michal Kubík. And Michal Köhl, whose funeral was held in Pardubice on the Friday before the Velka, would also have had a ride in the race.

Several jockeys had a series of falls earlier in the afternoon on Velka Pardubicka day, but all dusted themselves off and rode in the big race.

Gauner Danon unseats his rider

Before the race, television viewers were shown the remarkable effort made by the young Czech-based Bulgarian rider, Sertash Ferhanov, to get back into the saddle when riding Barateus at Pardubice in June. The horse hit the second-last fence hard, leaving his rider hanging on the underside of his neck. Remarkably, the strong young man pulled himself back on to the horse’s back and managed to negotiate the last fence and finish the race in second place. The same Sertash Ferhanov was riding Gauner Danon at the rear of the field when they came to the Drop in the Velka Pardubicka. Again, Sertash found himself clinging to the underside of his partner’s neck. He hung on and hung on and hung on again, but this time weariness and the force of gravity won, and the rider came off. Very likely, we will hear more of Sertash Ferhanov in years to come.      

Josef Váňa

In the last thirty years, Josef Váňa had only twice missed riding in the Velka. He has not definitively called an end to his race-riding career, but says he will only ride in the race again if he is fit enough, and if there is a suitable horse for him to ride. He will be 63 within the next few days, and the probability is that he will from now concentrate on other roles at which he also excels: as a trainer, as a publicist for the race, as a giver of interviews and signatures, as a deputy mayor, and as a versatile and popular personality.

The racecourse

For the last couple of years, the maintenance of the racetrack at Pardubice has been very much improved. Jiří Janda and his team have worked hard and skilfully, and money has been spent on irrigation equipment.

However, it is now time to improve the conditions for spectators. The Town Stand, opened in 1998, is still OK, but the old stands are shoddy. They face north and are not glazed in. They are freezing cold on a day like VP day 2015, and the view of the racing is very poor in parts of the ill-designed stands. Refurbishing is probably not enough. Demolition and a new start would be a much better option. However, it is hard to imagine the majority owner, the Town of Pardubice, finding the necessary money. At the same time, a private investor would not want to pour millions into a facility that she or he does not own.

The Velka Pardubicka is an extremely important event in the Czech social calendar, and the present grandstand facilities are inadequate. In fact, the Town Stand and the small number of decent parts of the old stands could be sold several times over. And if you are not in them, there is no point suffering in one of the low-grade seats.

The other races on VP day

The other races on VP day are all Czech championship races, as are the two major hurdles races which were this year run on the day before the big day. The 3-y-o hurdles championship race went to Kifaaya, which had run in the Czech Derby in June. Three former winners of the 3-y-o hurdles race won on Velka Day this year (Nikas, Hegnus and Marmiton), and Kifaaya could also become a good chaser. Čáriray won the hurdles race for older horses, but this race was far from being an advertisement for Czech hurdles racing.

On the Sunday, there were some innovations. The first three to finish in the new championship race for mares are useful:Arcione, Delight My Fire (winner of this year’s Wielka Wroclawska) and Natalie. Two separate races were held this year, for 4-y-o and 5-y-o crosscountry chasers. Marmiton won the 4-y-o race, and confirmed that he is promising. Stretton, winner of the 5-y-o race, is also worth remembering. The Popler Memorial, a 3200-metre crosscountry sprint, was won for the third successive year by the handsome grey, Shaman. The Labe Stakes, regarded as a trial for next year’s Velka, was won in style by 7-y-o Hegnus. Hegnus had won the September VP qualification race recently, and had also won the 3-y-o hurdle race on VP day in 2011. He is clearly back to fitness, and could very well be a VP contender next year and for some years to come.

The final race before the Velka was the championship race on the classical steeplechase course. The race was won very easily by Khalshani. Mazhilis might have got close to him if he had not blundered at the last fence. A small, weak field for this race, not for the first time, was a disappointment.

Ladies triumph

There is a long tradition of lady riders in Czech steeplechasing. Countess Lata Brandisova won the Velka Pardubicka on Norma in 1937. In recent years, however, female riders over fences have become scarce. Since Martina Ružíčková retired after finally getting round the VP course successfully, Barbora Malková has been the only girl to race on a more or less regular basis over fences. Barbora works in Martina Ružíčková’s yard, and when she was riding, the jockeys, I am told, would call out to each other “Watch out, boys, Barbora’s riding!” They should be more respectful from now on, and I think they will. Not all of them have won a Listed race, and she has. 

At the September meeting at Pardubice, Barbora Malková won a small race for young jockeys on 8-y-o Charme Look. For the Vltava Stakes, Mrs Dufkova, the owner, and Martina Ružíčková, the trainer, agreed that Barbora should retain the ride on this good chaser. They made all the running, and their victory was a great achievement. Barbora Malková is no stylist, but she and Charme Look have formed a strong partnership. After the race, owner and trainer were talking about training Charme Look for the Velka Pardubicka, with Barbora Malková to ride him.

Next year

The Velka Pardubicka is run on the second Sunday in October, so the next renewal will be on Sunday, October 9th, 2016.