40801 129^th running of the VELKÁ PARDUBICKÁ CROSSCOUNTRY STEEPLECHASE
Stcc L - 6+ - 6900 m - 5 000 000 Kč, No. of entries: 23 / 23

The entries for the Velka Pardubicka were announced on May 9^th. Only 23 entries were made at this early date, which is disappointing, but not alarming. Firstly, supplementary entries are no longer prohibitively expensive, and any horses that show promise can be entered until September 26^th, for CZK 30 000. Secondly, the quality of the entries is good. The entries include the first 8 finishers in the 2018 running of the race, and the first 5 finishers in the 2017 running. Foreign-trained horses include Urgent de Gregaine, which finished 2^nd in the Velka Pardubicka in 2017, and Rathlin Rose, which won the Royal Artillery Gold Cup at Sandown Park, ridden by Guy Disney, the first amputee to win a race on a professional racecourse in the UK. English trainer David Pipe, who trains Rathlin Rose and also Van Gogh du Granit, trained 2008 Aintree Grand National winner Comply or Die.

As usual, trainer Josef Váňa senior (photo, in his lucky hat) has a strong set of entries: No Time to Lose won the VP in 2017; Mazhilis won the Gran Premio di Merano in 2016; Zarif has repeatedly finished in the prizemoney for the VP; Ange Guardian finished 2^nd in VP 2016, among other good performances, and Theophilos has twice won the First of May Chase at Lysá and showed up well in two of the VP qualification races in 2018.

The first of the four qualification races of the 2018 VP will be run at Pardubice on Saturday, May 25th. The Velka Pardubicka will be run on Sunday, October 13th.