Almost three years ago, president of the Czech Jockey Club Dr Jiří Charvát purchased the DS Dvorce yard, where Pavel Tůma was already training. Before that time, horses running in the colours of Jiří Charvát and his wife Diana Charvátová were distributed over a number trainers, and could be moved around when the owner thought they needed a change of scenery, or when his expectations were not met.

Nowadays, most of the Charvát horses are trained by Pavel Tůma at DS Dvorce, which is in the highlands (550 metres above sea level) half way between Olomouc and Opava. I think there are a few Charvát-owned horses in training in France, and at least one horse is with another Czech trainer. Anaking, rated-fifth best among Czech-trained chasers in 2016, is with Štepanka Mýšková. Charvát-owned horses have won all but one of our major races, but the exception is the Czech Derby.

One of the stable’s big hopes for the 2017 classics is Hessoesse. At the end of September 2016, this filly was first past the post in the Winter Queen Stakes at Karlovy Vary the top race of the year for 2-y-o fillies. However, the race was subsequently annulled because one of the starting gates did not open correctly.

Unfortunately, under our rules, this situation leads automatically to the race being annulled. On this occasion, as a video of the race showed, the horse that passed the post in fourth place did lose a length or two at the start. However, in my opinion, much worse things than that happen without races being annulled, and our rule needs to be modified.

The other horse mentioned in the following interview is the stable’s long-term champion, Trip to Rhodos, now 8 years old, which has been a European level stayer since the age of 4, running at distances of 3 000 metres and more, and winning good races in France, Italy, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

It is no routine matter for a Czech-trained horse to be entered for a classic race in one of the most advanced horseracing countries. The ambitions for Hessoesse, first past the post in last year’s Winter Queen Stakes, will therefore be put under the microscope here. This filly trained by Pavel Tůma, from the stable of Jockey Club of the Czech Republic president Dr. Charvát, is one of 190 fillies entered for this year’s French Oaks, the Prix de Diane Longines, 2 100 metres. The race will be run at Chantilly on June 18th, for a winner’s prize of EUR 571 400. But how likely does it seem at the moment that the Czech-trained filly will go to the post for the most popular of the French classics?

“I really can’t say right now,” says trainer Pavel Tůma. “It will depend on how we are able to work with her, and how she progresses. As a 2-y-o, she certainly showed that there’s something in her. She’s a high-quality filly, but we haven’t yet got far with our work on the horses for this year’s classics. This winter was something special. Here and hereabouts it has often been frozen up, and it’s been difficult to do much with the horses outside,” says Tůma, in the awareness that the classic season for some horses, including the fillies, is knocking on the door.

“It’s often said that the season’s long, but for 3-y-os with plans for the classics, the opposite is the case,” he adds. “Our horses have been entered for a number of classics, but managing to get ready mainly for the spring classics can be quite a tough battle. Especially after a winter like this one, when it wasn’t possible to do a lot outside.”

He cannot be more specific than that about the plans for the filly, who could make a trip to France in June. “I have a number of horses in the yard that should be good, but they have yet to prove it. I believe that we’ll get things ready for the season. We have high-quality horses and high-quality people, and all we need now is some favorable weather,” Pavel Tůma considers. The entry for the French Oaks was the owner’s wish, but the trainer admits that his yard is also ambitious to send horses for other races abroad. The ambitions include races for keenly-followed veteran Trip To Rhodos. “I’m not too worried about him not having done so much work. He can practically look after himself. There are no problems with him,” says Tůma, adding that the beginning of the season for Trip To Rhodos should be the same as last year. But the next few weeks will determine how it will be with the horses for the classics.

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This interview first appeared on February 28th on the Czech-language pages of Dostihový svět. Written by Petr Guth, translation and additional text by Robin Healey