Kaiserwalzer wins the 4th qualification race for the Velka Pardubicka

The last of the four qualification races for the 131st running of the Velka Pardubicka was run at Pardubice racecourse on Saturday, September 4th. This year’s September meeting at Pardubice was held 36 days before the big race (Sunday, October 10th). The going was 3.5 (good), it was a mild afternoon, and the course was in good order. Several owners and trainers decided that this would be a good day to give their Velka Pardubicka horses a preparatory race. However, in most cases the connections of horses that had already qualified chose another option, and not the qualification race. There was an interesting afternoon of races, even though the main event, the qualification race, attracted only a small field of six runners, only one of which seemed to be a potential contender for the big race in October.  

 

The best performance of the afternoon came from No Time to Lose. He ran against our best two-mile crosscountry chasers, and beat them all convincingly. No Time to Lose, winner of the VP in 2017, had also won his only other race this year, which was the May qualification race. 12-y-o No Time to Lose, trained by Josef Váňa senior, was ridden by Ondřej Velek, who will ride the horse again in the Velka.

 

Player, which finished second in the 2020 VP, took second place in a Category II race over 4 500 metres, ridden by Marcel Novák. The winner was Chelmsford, a very promising 5-y-o crosscountry chaser, trained by Josef Váňa senior and ridden by Josef Bartoš. Player was beaten by 16 lengths, but he appeared to have a safe and satisfactory warm-up run.

 

Several horses already qualified for the VP and not without a chance of doing well again this year - Stretton, Casper, Mazhilis  and Talent - all went for the Category II race over 5 200 metres. However, the race was won by the improving Sacimiro, and Casper, in fourth place, was the best achiever among the potential runners in the VP on October 10th. None of the VP contenders impressed, and Mazhilis was well beaten before he was pulled up.

 

The most interesting choice of a  preparatory race (if  that is what it was intended to be) was for Lodgian Whistle. The 8-y-o, which won one of the VP qualification races in 2020, was sent to Merano to run in a Graded 3 steeplechase over 3900 metres. He finished second behind Al Bustan, and picked up some nice prizemoney. Lodgian Whistle is nowadays trained by Josef Váňa senior, whose perennial problem is that he has numerous potential contenders for the Velka, and it is difficult even for him to find more than a few good jockeys for his horses on VP day. Lodgian Whistle has already run 5 times this year, and only once at Pardubice, which suggests that Josef Váňa may not be counting on him for the VP. Josef Váňa senior has six horses qualified for the VP,

 

The 6 runners for the qualification race were headed by 2019 VP winner, Theophilos, trained by Josef Váňa senior and ridden by Josef Bartoš. 6-y-o Váňa-trained Mahe King was supplemented for the qualification race, perhaps more because of the opportunity to scoop up the prizemoney for second place than in an attempt to qualify for this year’s  VP.

 

The race was not interesting at all. Theophilos took the lead from the beginning, but set only a slow pace. The others were able to keep up until the last kilometre. Then Beau Rochelais dropped back. Star and Taste of Rock showed signs of being beaten, well before the end  of the race. Theophilos appeared likely to win from Kaiserwalzer or Mahe King. However, when Kaiserwalzer put in a challenge in the run in, Theophilos did not fight back. Kaiserwalzer won by two lengths, with Mahe King three and a half lengths further behind in third place. 8-y-o Kaiserwalzer is trained in Slovakia by Jaroslav Brečka and was ridden by Slovak jockey Lukáš Matuský, who rode last year’s VP winner, Hegnus. Jaroslav Brečka rode Quirinus to victory in the VP almost 30 years ago, and then rode the horse in the Liverpool Grand National. The other three runners, Star, running his first crosscountry race at theage of 10, and the moderate Taste of Rock and Beau Rochelais were predicatbly outdistanced

 

11-y-o Theophilos, owned by a big consortium of so-called ordinary racing fans (which is unusual in Czech racing), can do much better than this, if it is his day. The horse is a big favourite of his owners, and of jockey Josef Bartoš, who won the VP on him in 2019. Most famously, he is a great favourite of Pavla Váňová, wife of Josef Váňa senior. Only she is able to get the horse into the right frame of mind to win a big race: if anyone can gee Theophilos up in the next five weeks, it is Pavla! 

Town of Pardubice Grand Prix - EURO EQUUS – 4th qualification race for the 131st running of the Velka Pardubicka with Slavia Insurance
Crosscountry steeplechase, category: National Listed, 5800 metres, CZK 200 000
going: 3.5 (good)

1.

4

KAISERWALZER(GER), 8

70,0

ž. Lukáš Matuský

JISTĚ

 

2.

5

THEOPHILOS(FR), 11

70,0

ž. Josef Bartoš

2

 

3.

1

MAHE KING(GER), 6

70,0

ž. Ondřej Velek

3 1/2

 

4.

6

STAR(GER), 10

70,0

ž. Pavel Složil ml.

daleko

 

5.

2

TASTE OF ROCK(FR), 7

70,0

ž. Jaroslav Myška

8

 

6.

3

BEAU ROCHELAIS(FR), 10

70,0

ž. Martin Liška

daleko

 

Time: 7 minutes 37.84 seconds:
Owner: DS Millennium (Slovakia), Trainer: Jaroslav Brečka (KAISERWALZER(GER))

 

Entries for the VP close on Thursday, September 23rd, at midday. Thirty Czech- and Slovak-trained horses are qualified for the race via the Pardubice qualification race route. 

 

 

Horses qualified for the Velka Pardubicka via the 4 qualification races run at Pardubice racecourse (in May, June, August and September)

 

AENEAS(IRE), 7

Váňa st. Josef

Statek Blata Český ráj

07.08.2021

BEAU ROCHELAIS(FR), 10

Křídlová Tamara

Stáj Habich

04.09.2021

BUGSIE MALONE(IRE), 11 b

Holčák Radek

AGA - Vlachovice

22.05.2021

CASPER(FR), 9 A 1/2

Török Dalibor

DS Pegas

22.05.2021

DIRECT LAGRANGE(FR), 8

Holčák Radek

B & M Horse

07.08.2021

DULCAR DE SIVOLA(FR), 8

Kovář Stanislav

DiJana Dobšice

22.05.2021

EVŽEN(GB), 7

Myšková Štěpánka

Englicovi a Kulhánkovi

22.05.2021, 26.06.2021

GONTCHAR(FR), 8

Bodlák Radim

DS Radim Bodlák

26.06.2021

HEGNUS, 13

Holčák Radek

Ševců

11.10.2020, 26.06.2021

IMPHAL(POL), 8

Popelka Stanislav

Quartis - Zámecký vrch

26.06.2021, 07.08.2021

KAISERWALZER(GER), 8

Brečka Jaroslav (Slovakia)

DS Millennium (SVK)

04.09.2021

LODGIAN WHISTLE, 8

Váňa st. Josef

Statek Chyše - Váňa

09.05.2021 Itálie, 07.08.2021

LOMBARGINI(GER*), 10

Popelka Stanislav

EŽ Praha

07.08.2021

MAHE KING(GER), 6

Váňa st. Josef

Statek Blata Český ráj

04.09.2021

MAHONY, 9

Popelka Stanislav

Quartis - Zámecký vrch

22.05.2021

MAZHILIS(FR), 12

Váňa st. Josef

Köi Dent

26.06.2021

MR SPEX(GER), 7

Urbánek Luboš

Lokotrans

22.05.2021,07.08.2021

MUSTAMIR(IRE), 10

Holčák František

Ray Racing

26.06.2021

NO TIME TO LOSE(GB), 12 j

Váňa st. Josef

Paragan Horsesboxes s.r.o.

22.05.2021

PARIS EIFFEL(IRE), 8

Cagáň Ján

Lokotrans Slovakia

22.05.2021

PLAYER, 9

Kvapilová Lenka

Nýznerov

22.05.2021

RUI FALEIRO(USA), 10

Brečka Jaroslav (Slovakia)

HWS Tellus Equinus (SVK)

07.08.2021

STAR(GER), 10

Brečka Jaroslav(Slovakia)

MPL Racing (SVK)

04.09.2021

STRETTON, 11

Popelka Stanislav

Nýznerov

26.06.2021

SZTORM(POL), 12

Wroblewski Grzegorz

Nýznerov

22.05.2021

TALENT, 10

Kabelková Hana

DS Kabelkovi

22.05.2021

TASTE OF ROCK(FR), 7

Myšková Štěpánka

Zbyněk Englic

04.09.2021

THEOPHILOS(FR), 11 b

Váňa st. Josef

Dostihový klub iSport - Váňa

22.05.2021, 04.09.2021

TZIGANE DU BERLAIS(FR), 10

Tůma Pavel

Dr. Charvát

22.05.2021

VANDUAL(SVK), 13

Štangel Marián (Slovakia)

VADUAL

22.05.2021, 07.08.2021