The current leader in the Czech jumps jockeys’ championship, prior to the meeting at Pardubice on Saturday, is Marcel Novák. In the Velka Pardubicka qualification race he will ride Kasim, with whom he won last year’s renewal of the race. The horse is trained by Přemek Kejzlar, and he missed last year’s Velka Pardubicka, so there is a big question mark over his current form. However, Marcel Novák takes an optimistic view of his chances.

“Of course, the qualification race is full of high-quality horses, and some of them have already had an outing this year. So it won’t be easy,” he says. “As far as Kasim is concerned, I’m in contact with the trainer, and I believe that he is well prepared for the race, and should be OK. There’s some great competition. In comparison with last year’s race, there is Charme Look in the race, in addition to all the others. On the other hand, for example, Rabbit Well will not be there this time. The question is whether it’ll help some of the others that they’ve already been out this year. It could be a real advantage for some of them,” Marcel Novák considers.

Marcel is very pleased with the way the season has gone so far. “It’s started very well for me, and I just hope things will carry on the same way for a while,” he says. So far, he has been successful both in the Czech Republic and abroad. This weekend, he faces a rich programme of races at Pardubice and also at Merano, in northern Italy. [After riding in up to 8 races at Pardubice on Saturday, several of our top jumps jockeys will drive for 6 hours, and then ride at Merano on Sunday afternoon. They do the journey from Pardubice to Merano en masse maybe 6 times a year, while individual jockeys quite often undertake even more spectacular journeys to ride, for example at Strömsholm or in France]. “It’d be nice to have another winner or two, and I think we have reasonable prospects this time,” he adds.

He will have six rides at Pardubice, including Kasim in the qualification race, and he thinks he can get some interesting placings. “Modřín, trained by Mrs Junková could be an interesting horse. Her horses are in good shape, and he could do well in his race,” he says. “I’m also looking forward to riding Nick, which we train ourselves [with his partner, Lenka Kapilová], though he’ll have some strong competition and we’ll see how he gets on. Eliáš is also an interesting horse,” Marcel Novák says, adding that he is looking forward to heading to Saturday’s meeting at Pardubice as the current leader in the Czech jumps jockeys’ championship. “Of course, the main thing is to get the horses to the finishing post in good order, but there are also a few chances to get some good results.”

 ***