Trainer Josef Váňa is sending four horses to run in Sunday’s Gran Premio at Merano. However, Alpha Two, Fafintadenient, Mazhilis and Alcydon Fan will not be among the most fancied horses for Italy’s top steeplechase. Both Josef Váňa snr, who has been preparing the horses for the race, and his son, Josef Váňa jnr, who will also be riding Alpha Two in the race, are aware of this. Josef Váňa jnr will be on Alpha Two, on which he won this race in 2013 and 2014, but he does not want to say too much about the possibility of making it a hat trick this time round.

“The competition is very good this year,” says Váňa junior. “Trainer Macaire has decided not to bring the horse that he had entered and that was the best on paper, but is now said to be injured. Nevertheless, one of his horses will be the favourite. James Reveley is riding, and he is leading the jockeys’ championship in France, so the quality can be relied on. The second French horse is the Carberrys’ horse. He may be a bit weaker, but he will still be a classy horse. Then there is trainer Mullins from Ireland. The question there is how well they will manage on the Merano course. The obstables are a bit different from Cheltenham and Punchestown, and last year they did not achieve much,” says Váňa jnr., and his father adds, “If it weren’t for these three, I’d say that ours stand a chance of winning. The Italian horses are not very high-quality this year.”

If we compare the credentials of the four Váňa-trained horses, none of them stands out. “Mazhilis might be the best of them, and he has some races in his legs,” says Váňa snr. “All four are horses that have earned their place in the Gran Premio, but the extra metres in Mazhilis’s legs against Italian horses can only help him”. His son has chosen to ride Alpha Two, but not because he thinks that this horse making a comeback is in better form that the other Váňa-trained horses, which he knows from the training track. “The question with Alpha Two is whether he can come back. His first outing after the injury was poor, but he needed the race, and we’ll see how well he’ll do now. The choice was between him and Fafinta [Fafintadenient], and in the end I chose him. He has given me the best moments in my career at Merano, and now it is my turn to try to give something back.”

As for Fafintadenient, despite his latest result, he is probably to classiest of the Váňa horses. “He and Jarda Myška got on with each other last year, and I think they can build on that,” says Váňa jnr. And Jarda Myška has been in such good form in recent weeks that he could win races on a frightened pig. Let’s hope he can bring that form to Merano.”

Although the Gran Premio at Merano is clearly the highpoint of their weekend, the Váňas will also be taking a lot of interest in Saturday’s flat races at Prague Velká Chuchle. They are sending Tamarind Cove and Father Frost for two of the major races. “Tamarind has had two poor runs recently, and it is time he showed again what he can do,” says Váňa jnr., and his father adds “We don’t know why his last two runs have been failures, and it’s time he showed what he’s capable of. With Father Frost, over 1400 metres, we don’t have a good draw, but Václav Janáček is in the saddle, and he’ll be doing his best. I think he has quite a good chance,” says Josef Váňa snr, as he looks forward to a big weekend of horseracing.

Translated from the Czech language pages of the Dostihový svět web pages. Interview by Petr Guth, translation by Robin Healey.