Today [December 19th] the purchase was finalized of the majority shareholding in Turf Holding, which is the majority owner of Turf Praha a.s., the owner of Prague Velká Chuchle racecourse.
The horseracing season is rapidly coming to an end in the Czech Republic, though many of our trainers will continue to send their horses out to run abroad. Some trainers will keep certain horses in training until winter comes. One or two, most notably Josef Váňa, will in addition have some “winter horses” that are only starting their winter campaign in Italy and in France.
The end of September and the first half of October was a busy period for me, and the October Newsletter failed to appear – unless you consider a brief apology for its non-appearance to be a satisfactory replacement.
Each year, on the second Sunday in October, Czech Television puts on a remarkable day of horseracing, culminating in the Velka Pardubicka crosscountry steeplechase. The ČT sport channel shows the entire day of racing, beginning before 11 in the morning, and continuing until about 5.30 in the afternoon. The last hour and a half of the event is shown simultaneously on Czech Television’s Channel 1.
This was an outstanding renewal of the race, with the toughest horse winning. No Time To Lose found a bit extra after the second fence from home, and set out after Urgent de Gregain. At that point, the French-trained horse paid for pulling to the front with 11 obstacles to go, and put in a weary jump at the last fence. When No Time To Lose went into the lead, Urgent de Gregain tried to rally, but No Time To Lose was able to hold off his challenge quite easily.
VELKA PARDUBICKA RACEDAY
SUNDAY 8TH OCTOBER 2017
This year’s 127th running of the Velka Pardubicka with Česká pojišťovna attracted 700 000 more television viewers than last year’s race. The highpoint of the Czech steeplechasing season was watched by 3 000 000 viewers on Czech Television’s ČT1 and ČT Sport channels. Others watched the transmission on foreign channels and in PMU betting offices in 24 countries. Twenty-two thousand spectators watched the race at the course.
The Tipařův palec (Tipster’s Thumb) website has put together the odds offered on the Velka Pardubicka by the three main Czech betting companies, Tipsport, Fortuna, and Synottip. These odds are for win bets, and include the stake. For example, if you were to stake 100 crowns on Charme Look, you would receive 280 crowns plus your stake of 100 crowns if he wins, a total of 380 crowns.
The three French horses declared for the Velka are the most serious foreign-trained candidates that we have had for a few years. Presumably Virtus d’Estruval is the best of them. He has a good crosscountry racing record in France, including good recent form. His trainer, Guillaume Macaire is a top jumps trainer in France, and he will be ridden by Czech jockey Jan Faltejsek, who spent two years working for Macaire a few years ago. Jan Faltejsek has won 4 of the last 5 VPs, riding Orphée des Blins (2012/2014) and Charme Look (2016).
