Race days at Pardubice have had a habit of coinciding with very hot weather in recent years, and last Saturday was no exception. It was a bit testing for us racegoers, tough for the horses, and probably worst of all for our top jockeys. There were nine races on the card. That is a lot of riding when it is well over 30°C in the shade, and there is not a lot of shade out on the racecourse. Several of the jockeys suffered severely from heat exhaustion, during the race or after the race, and by the end of the afternoon the list of jockey changes was lengthening race by race.

Nevertheless, Josef Bartoš, Marek Stromský, Sertash Ferhanov and Jan Kratochvíl drove for six hours to ride on the next afternoon in Merano, northern Italy, where Bartoš rode two winners and Kratochvíl rode one. Jan Kratochvíl’s win was on Váňa-trained Dusigrosz in a Graded 2 hurdles race.

The main race at Pardubice was the second Velka Pardubicka qualification race. Of the ten runners, eight got round and qualified for the big race on October 8th. However, apart from the first two, they all finished very far apart!

Goscater, winner of the August 2016 qualification race, made more or less all the running. Hegnus put in a challenge between the last two fences, and the two horses fought a long battle down the run in. Marcel Novák made every effort to get on terms on Hegnus, but Jaroslav Myška was equally determined. In the end, Goscater held on by three-quarters of a length. Vána-trained Wild Danger and Theophilos were a distance away in third and fourth place. The remaining four finishers were Universe of Gracie, Vale de Guye, Krocoleon and finally Un Tiep. The non-finishers were Jantar, pulled up, and Modena, which unseated her rider. This was Modena’s second unsuccessful attempt to qualify for this year’s VP.

Goscater is clearly a VP prospect, but he is not very sound. This was only his fourth race in almost three years, and trainer Štěpánka Myškova and her husband, Jaroslav Myška, hope they can get him to the course in good shape on October 8th. Hegnus has been a Velka prospect since he first started jumping. Wild Danger and Theophilos are Vána-trained, and 7-y-o Theophilos, is beginning to excite the members of the big syndicate that owns him.

Three of the minor races were won by horses owned by Jiří Charvát and trained by Pavel Tůma. The same combination are the connections of Joseph, which won the Czech Derby at Prague Velká Chuchle on the following day, and also Hessoesse, the winner of the Oaks trial half an hour after the Derby. President of the Czech Jockey Club Dr Jiří Charvát has been due a bit of luck and success with his horses.

The final race of the afternoon was won by Veronika Řezáčová, on Lady Bach. This was her second winner, following a win on Imphal at Mimoň earlier in the season. I think Barbora Málková, at present on the injured list, is the only other currently active lady rider that has ridden more than one winner over fences.