After Velka Pardubicka weekend, the Czech horseracing season comes to an end rather abruptly. Within four weeks it is all over.

It is quite risky for an organizer at one of the small racecourses, where there is not much shelter, to announce a race meeting at the end of October or in November. However, this year, like in recent seasons, the late October and early November weather was mild, and the meetings went really well. The last three meetings, at Slušovice on the October 28^th national holiday, at Benešov on the last Saturday in October, and a week later at Kolesa, were run on good-to-soft ground, and very good crowds enjoyed the dramatic autumn colours.

The racing day at Benešov was the only meeting held at the course this season. Our flat riders will not have enjoyed it as much as the spectators. In six flat races, six riders were parted from their horses, in six separate incidents. Although, or perhaps because, sand had been put down, the notorious hairpin bend 400 metres from the winning post caused most of the trouble. However, two of the slip-ups were on the bend just beyond the winning post, one of them after the race was over. Most of our top flat riders take a dim view of Benešov, and had ensured that they were unavailable to ride. Veteran jockey Dušan Andrés, famous for his mastery of our 1400-metre circuit upcountry racecourses, got round safely in each of the six flat races. However, the television coverage showed that he approached the hairpin very cautiously, and took it pretty wide. In each of the races he was beaten by at least one bolder, younger rider.

There were more major races than usual in late October. The main race at the final meeting at Pardubice was won by Ter Mill, which had come down at the Popkovice Turn in the Velka. A strange incident happened before the opening race. In the Czech Republic, in jumps racing, horses are required to take a trial jump before the race, and if they fail to take it successfully the horse is not allowed to run in the race. On this occasion, three horses contrived to collide with each other at the trial hurdle, and jockey Josef Váňa, jnr. took a nasty-looking fall.

The last meeting of the season at Prague Velká Chuchle brought in a very good crowd. The President of the Republic’s Prize, over 3200 metres flat, had quite good prizemoney, and attracted a big field, including several of the numerous good-quality stayers that we had in 2015. The race was won for the second year in succession by 4-y-o Czech-bred Aztek, by Moonjaz. An attractive innovation on this last day at Velká Chuchle was the first running of the Josef Váňa Cup, oval-track steeplechase, for prizemoney of one million crowns (€36 000). The race attracted a couple of German-trained horses, and one from Sweden, as well as four good Czech contenders. The race was won very easily by Fafintadenient, our best oval track chaser. The horse is trained by Josef Váňa, snr., and the trainer’s son, injured the day before at Pardubice, was unfortunate enough to miss not only this very nice armchair ride, but also the easy winner of the hurdles race at the beginning of the afternoon. The Swedish-trained horse, Moss Cloud, would have run Fafintadenient a lot closer if he had not jumped rather sharply to the left at each of the fences.

The following Wednesday, Josef Váňa, jnr., who had received multiple cuts, lacerations and bruises four days earlier, was declared to ride in a couple of races at distant Slušovice. However, he was unable to make the weight, and was fined for this. I am glad to say that the fine was rescinded almost as soon as it was announced. The 33^rd running of the Velká Slušovická, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, was the richest race run in Moravia this year (CzK 300 000). The field included Trezor, and several of the non-finishers in the Velka Pardubicka, but the race was won by Sztorm, trained by Pavel Poles, which has been running with success, mainly at Wroclaw. The winning rider was young Pavel Složil, jnr., who finished the season as the leading amateur jumps rider, with five wins.