Race conditions

 On April 15th, the Council of the Jockey Club gave the green light to a project for a series of big steeplechases backed by a group linked with Jo

The recommended way to get to Prague Velka Chuchle racecourse is by suburban train. On Sunday afternoons, trains leave Prague Main Station (Praha Hlavni nadrazi) at 20 minutes and 50 minutes after the hour. They stop at Smichovske nadrazi at 28 and 58 minutes past the hour, and arrive at Praha, Velka Chuchle railway station at 03 and 33 minutes after the hour.

The auction of the Mimon stud earlier this week produced no bidders. It is understood that the stud remains on the market. If it is not sold privately, it is expected to be presented for auction again in the near future, with a considerably lower reserve price. 

By far the most read article on this English-language website has reached 500 hits. Italian horseracing faces 2013. Old questions - will there be new answers? was posted on January 1st, and is still collecting hits. If you have not yet read it, click on to http://www.dostihovy-svet.cz/en/node/981.

The wintry weather continued over the weekend and is forecast to continue for at least another week, and as anticipated the first two meetings of the new season, at Slusovice and at Prague Velka Chuchle,  will not take place.

When I started thinking about the April newsletter, a week before the end of March, I imagined it might start “At long last, winter seems to be over, and spring is upon us …”. However, as of 29/3/2013, there is again snow on the ground in the western suburbs of Prague. Night frosts are forecast for the foreseeable future, and there is no mention of when the daily maximum temperature might reach double figures. This has been the coldest March in my 22 winters in the Czech Republic, but it is not altogether a bad thing.

Josef Vana jnr maintained his 100% record in all jumps races held in Madrid, when he again rode the winner in the second jumps race held there. He was again on Orlov, trained by Calleja.