The Italian jumps season closed a few days ago with a meeting at Grosseto. The last race was won, symbolically, by Josef Bartoš, who in this way underlined his victory in the Italian jockeys championship over fences, with a total of 59 wins within one year. He beat his total as 2014 champion by twenty-seven winning rides, and he won the equivalent of 16 million crowns for his owners.

Josef Bartoš and I looked back over his successful year in Italy, and we also evaluated his season in the Czech Republic. Our conversation will also reveal how he is going to spend the end of the year, and what the new steeplechase season in Italy will have in store.

We talked in September, and you said you would like to break the Italian record, which would have meant 65 wins in a season. You “only” managed 59, but I imagine you must be very pleased with your season in Italy.

I didn’t get the record, but that doesn’t metter. This was the best season in my career. Working with Mr Favero brought me wins on high quality horses in all categories. I won 11 group races, and I’m very pleased about that.

How do you rate your season in the Czech Republic?

I’m also happy, though I don’t deny that I wanted to win the championship. However, in the summer months I had a two-month spell without any wins here. At that time, Honza Kratochvíl was injured and was not riding. I had a chance to catch him, but it didn’t work out. Towards the end of the season I had some good results in big races, for example third place on Zarif in the Velka Pardubicka. After the injury on Zulejka at the Taxis in 2014, it was important to me to get over the Taxis without any problems and get my self-confidence back, which I did. I’m also very glad that I didn’t get any major injuries this year. The whole season went smoothly.

Let us go back to the Italian steeplechasing scene. I’d like to ask how many horses Paolo Favero, with whom you collaborate closely, currently has in training.

He has 72 horses in training, and he told me that he’s expecting 5 new horses.

Raffaele Romano [who was for several years Paolo Favero’s no. 1 jockey] is now in his second year as a trainer, and it seems to me that he has begun to have more success. Do you think he will become a bigger rival for Paolo Favero with his horses?

Raffaele Romano has about 20 horses in training, and every beginning is hard. He began with worse horses, and it took some time before new purchases came to his yard. I think he didn’t do badly, even in his first year as a trainer. I’d be happy to begin my career as a trainer like that. I think it’s a very good thing that he’s begun training and is offering some competition. It’s having a positive influence on the whole of steeplechasing racing over there. However, although owners have a lot of faith in him, I don’t think he can threaten Paolo Favero’s position. I think that, with time, he’ll have a problem with finding riders. All his owners want him to ride their horses in their races, and if for some reason he can’t, he doesn’t have a no. 1 jockey in the yard. Pepa Váňa [Josef jnr.] sometimes rides for him, but he isn’t always available.

In our last conversation, you mentioned that the Italians were a few months behind in paying your percentage and your fee. What is the current payment morale in Italy?

Unfortunately, it’s got worse. In the summer, they were paying three months in arrears, and now the delay is about six months. The delay has been getting longer. The situation now is that payments come every two or three months. The important thing is that the money goes into a bank account.

What should the winter chasing season in Italy be like? Can you tell us something about the prizemoney?

In January, there should be racing at Pisa. After that, there is Treviso, then Milan, and, after that, Merano. So the steeplechase season in Italy will be the same as last year. And the prizemoney should stay on the same level as this year.

You did an awful lot of travelling this year. I hope there will be calmer times at the end of the year.

Yes, and I’m looking forward to it a lot. I’ll be in the Czech Republic until January 10th, and I’ll be taking a rest from travelling and racing. I’ll take a rest and switch off. Of course, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family. They’ve been supporting me and cheering for me. Now I want to pay them back.

 
What is new in your family training centre in Nebužely [Josef Bartoš’s father, Josef snr is a trainer and a former jockey]?

The horses in the yard are more or less the same, but we’re breaking in a couple of yearlings. I’ve also started working with trainer [Ludvig] Haris. Lysá nad Labem is only 20 kilometres from us, and they have three yearlings to saddle.

And what are your wishes for the new year?

I have to admit I don’t have any right now. I just want to switch off and not plan anything. I just want to enjoy a splendid Christmas with my family. 

*** 

This is a translation of an interview, made by Michaela Zemanová, which appeared in the Dostihový svět Czech language pages.