When I find an interview with one of our established jockeys, or with one of our apprentices, I try to make time to translate it. Now, it is Martin Laube’s turn. At the age of 19 years 191 days, Martin took the record as the youngest Czech rider ever to reach 50 winners and to earn the title of “jockey”. In the raceday programme, his name is therefore preceded by “ž.” However, that record probably will not last much longer,  as David Liška now threatens to break it by quite a margin.

 In 2010, as an apprentice who could ride at 48 kg, Martin Laube soon started picking up rides and winners. Born in Karlovy Vary, Martin did internships with Josef Váňa, who trains near his home town. By the end of the 2014 season, he reached the 50 winners mark. Since then, he has continued to get plenty of rides, and by the end of the 2017 season he reached the 100 winners mark. Last year, he rode 16 winners here, and finished 6th in our championship. He also rode 5 winners in Slovakia, and finished 9th in their championship.

His career is going OK, and he is certainly one of our leading jockeys. However, it is a year since he last rode at less than 55 kg, and his fans are still waiting for him to move up a gear and to establish himself at international level. He has already ridden three winners this season, all of  them in Category I races - two of them at Budapest and one winner, Alzarb, last Sunday in the 60th running of the Category I April Grand Prix at Prague Velká Chuchle, for trainer Arslangirej Šavujev.

This interview was conducted by Jana Šejnohová, and first appeared recently in the Czech language pages of Dostihový svět

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In the April Grand Prix, Duke of Darhorse set off at a fast pace and established a big lead. Weren’t you worried that you wouldn’t catch him? 

I kept calm, and I enjoyed the ride, because Aldzarb didn’t pull. He often has to make the running himself, and then some horse comes along with a good finish, especially when there’s a long run in like at Chuchle, and catches him. But Aldzarb is an honest horse, though he seems to be better suited by races at Bratislava, where the pace is faster and there is less tactical riding.

Before the Derby in 2015, Bauyrzhan Murzabayev admitted that Aldzarb was not exactly his favourite, because he was hard to control!

Yes, that’s his reputation, but on Sunday there was no problem, not during the race, and not before the start. Paradoxically, my biggest problem was to stop him after the race.

Since the beginning of the season, you’ve been appearing regularly on horses trained by Arslangirej Šavujev. Do you have some kind of agreement with him? 
We have a spoken agreement that I will give priority to his horses for this season. Apart from that, I’m a free agent.

How do you like being a freelance jockey? 
There’s a lot of travelling. On Mondays, I go to Krabčice to ride work for Mr Šavujev. Then on two days I go to trainer (Radim) Bodlák, and then I go to Slovakia, to trainer Tomek. Each of these is about an hour’s drive for me. I live with my girlfriend, and I have to thank everybody for reaching out to me. I’m glad that everything works out.

In Prague this weekend, there’s the trial for the Czech Two Thousand Guineas and the Jaroslav Mašek Memorial for sprinters. But you are going to miss both of these races!
Yes, I’ll be in Bratislava, where there are some trial races. Hungarian trainer Gábor Maronka wants me for a good filly that won by half the length of the finishing straight and then confirmed her quality in a listed race at Hannover, in Germany. I’m looking forward to riding her.

You know trainer Šavujev horses from races and from work. Which of his 3-y-os has made the biggest impression on you? 
They’re still children, and it’s hard to select one that might become a star. I have a certain feeling, but you know how it goes. You have a feeling in the spring, and then it turns out quite differently when the classics come round! So I prefer to keep my tip to myself.

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