Mild, sunny spring weather in Bohemia began precisely on Easter Monday, the day when our horseracing season began at Lysá, and it has continued until the present time. The meetings at Most and at Prague Velká Chuchle last weekend were held in pleasant conditions, though there was some bite in the wind on top of the huge expertly revitalized slag heap where Most racecourse is located.

Delight My Fire, trained by Radim Bodlák and ridden by Niklas Lovén, was beaten into eighth place in her season-opening outing in the Crystal Cup race at Fontainebleu on April 4th. She finished 35 lengths behind the winner, Virtus d'Estruval, trained by Guillaume Macaire and ridden by James Reaveley. Virtus d'Estruval was to have run in the 2017 Velka Pardubicka, but was withdrawn from the race when engaged jockey Jan Faltejsek was unable to ride due to severe back pains, and no replacement jockey satisfactory to the trainer was available to replace him.

The Czech horseracing season got off to a good start on the Easter Monday public holiday at Lysá

The 2018 Czech horseracing season is due to start on Easter Monday at Lysá-nad-Labem, 30 km east of Prague.

Czech-trained crosscounty chasers have participated only sporadically in the Crystal Cup international series of crosscountry races. They have run in the Crystal Cup races at Merano and at Pardubice (the Velka Pardubicka counts as a Crystal Cup race), and in last-year’s first Crystal Cup race at Wroclaw. These courses are nowadays fully integrated into the programmes of our leading trainers over fences.

(Luka Racing press release)

Less than five weeks before the beginning of our racing season, it would be reasonable to assume that preparations are under way and excitement is building. However, February has been a really cold month here this year, as it has been over a large part of Europe. Very cold, but cloudless for the last three weeks, so we have been spared snow and ice here in Prague.

A few years ago, Eliška Kubinová went abroad as an almost unknown graduate of the School for Apprentices at Prague Velká Chuchle. It was some time before she got a licence to ride in the USA, but when she started riding in Oregon she very soon developed into a massively successful jockey. Many Czech girl riders dream of following in her footsteps. Lenka Helmecká is just starting out.

As was reported here in mid-December, http://www.dostihovy-sv