There has been some useful rain in east Bohemia in recent weeks, and a rainy day preceded the August meeting at Pardubice. The second half of the afternoon of the raceday also turned rainy It is some years since this course has looked so green in August! The course was in good shape for the third of the four qualification races at Pardubice for the 2019 Velka Pardubicka. The qualification race was sponsored by Chládek a Tintěra.

The logo of Slavia pojišťovna, the newly-announced sponsor of the 2019 Velka Pardubicka, was prominently displayed at the racecourse. Slavia pojišťovna is a 150-year-old Czech-based insurance company.

The qualification race had a field of just 9 runners, seven of which had already met the qualification criteria. Happily, the other two, No Time To Lose and Templář, both got round safely, and are now also qualified. Player fell at the second fence, but the rest all got round, and produced a good-quality race. Bridgeur, as expected, set the pace, and was as much as 15 lengths clear by the time they emerged from behind the copse. Then, Jaroslav Myška gave him a breather, and the others gradually caught up. Meanwhile, Ange Guardian had been dropped in behind the rest, and remained in last place, in a compact field, until they reached the grass track, with three fences to go. Bridgeur seemed to appreciate the breather, and went clear again with five to go. He still had a useful lead over the last, but Ange Guardian and No Time To Lose overtook him quite easily, and Ange Guardian won quite comfortably. Bridgeur finished third, ahead of Stretton, Chicname de Cotte, Mahony, Ribelino and, finally, Templář. Ribelino, which has done so poorly ever since winning the VP in 2015 after the disqualification of Nikas, went quite nicely this time, and owner Lokotrans may decide that it is worth running him on October 13.

Chládek a Tintěra, Pardubice, a.s. Stakes – third qualification race for the 129th Velka Pardubicka steeplechase with Slavia pojišťovna
Steeplechase crosscountry, category: NL, 5800m, CZK 400 000
going: 3.5 (good)

Josef Váňa senior trains Ange Guardian and No Time To Lose, which was having his first race since last October. Váňa will clearly have a strong hand when VP day comes round, as usual. Earlier in the afternoon, Váňa-trained Theophilos, not yet qualified for the VP, won the Peruán Stakes, over 5 200 metres, in good style. However, the trainer’s other runner, Zarif, giving away weight to the other runners, finished down the field. Josef Váňa said that Theophilos had not run in the qualification race this time because it would not have been possible to find a good jockey for him. There is still time to qualify him.

Ange Guardian has now won each of the four VP qualification races that he has run in in 2018 and 2019. Each time with a different jockey on board! First, Jan Kratochvíl, then Jiří Kousek, then Marcel Novák, and now Lukáš Matuský. There is plenty of doubt about Ange Guardian's ability to stay the extra 1 100 metres of the Velka, and Jan Kratochvíl, who rode  No Time To Lose to victory in the VP in 2017, is expected to choose No Time To Lose again on October 13th.

Several jockeys took a knock in the course of the afternoon, with Jaroslav Myška and Marek Stromský both out of action in the later races. I hope these two, and also Jiří Kousek, will be back in action soon - we need them. Josef Bartoš is back after a broken arm, but was riding in France rather than at Pardubice. French jockey Thomas Boyer, who has been based in the Czech Republic for about seven years, rode three winners in the course of the afternoon.

The last of the four qualification races at Pardubice will be run on Saturday, September 9th, and the two-day Velka Pardubicka meeting is on October 12th and 13th.

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Photo of Josef Váňa senior, byPetr Guth.