Nejsledovanější český dostih vyhrál v roce 2023 favorizovaný Sacamiro
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Although only 6 of the 20 runners got round in the 2013 Velka Pardubicka can, there can be no doubt that the best horse won the race, nor that several of the non-finishers would have finished between Orphee des Blins and second-placed Nikas, if misfortune had not befallen them.
"I’ve learnt that the time to celebrate is after the race"
For the second year in succession, Orphee des Blins won the Velka Pardubicka brilliantly and very easily. As far as she was concerned, the race went very much the way it went 12 months earlier. Again, she went straight into the lead, and jumped every fence perfectly, again with the exception of the Irish Bank, where she was a bit hesitant.
Shalimar Fromentro had a minor mishap on the course at Pardubice, losing a plate when trying out the ploughed fields. It is hoped that the vet will pass him fit to run in the Velka Pardubicka.
There was steady rain in Pardubice on Friday evening, and it began to rain again on Saturday evening. On Saturday afternoon, the going on the crosscountry course was good/good to soft. The ploughed fields appeared not to be deep.
It seems that 6-y-o Broker, owned by Pegas and trained by Greg Wroblewski, has had a minor setback and will not run in the Velka Pardubicka. He was at about 11 to 1 in the betting, and on the basis of his good second place in the August qualification race he would have had a good chance of being placed on Sunday. Fortunately, the connections have another horse in the race, Orphee des Blins, and the Pegas colours will be prominent in several of the other races at the Pardubice meeting..
It has been clear for several years that the number of Czech jumps jockeys has been dwindling. This has led to a growing problem of finding a good race rider, or any rider at all. Another problem, no less acute, is the problem of finding a work rider who is able to teach horses to jump effectively. Poorly-schooled and almost unschooled novices are a common sight. Only a few yards consistently turn out well-prepared young jumpers. Plenty of smaller trainers are poorly equipped and poorly staffed for this job.
Betino, Czech racing’s monopoly bookmaker, has not yet changed its odds substantially. What changes have been made have been slight shortenings of their odds. This presumably reflects some medium-size bets on certain horses. Orphee des Blins remains the 6 to 4 favourite, with Trezor at 5 to 2. Tiumen has come in slightly to 3 to 1, and both Klaus and Budapest are currently at 9 to 1.
Saturday flat race meeting, first race at 12 midday
When a British princess came to the Velka Pardubicka not many years ago, those wives and mistresses of the Czech elite who were invited to the Town Stand spent a fortune (or what we little people think of as a fortune) on millinery and on high-heeled shoes. The princess, being a horsewoman, dressed warmly, wore no hat and had sensible shoes on.
Diane Hill is again going to judge the best turned-out horse in each of the races on Velka Pardubicka day, and is offering prizes for the people who prepared the winning horses. For the Velka Pardubicka, Diane will be accompanied in the judging by Chris Collins, who is returning to Pardubice for the 40th anniversary of his winning ride on Stephen's Society in the race in 1973.
Diane HIll selected 55:1 outsider Orphee des Blins as Best Turned Out in the 2012 Velka Pardubicka.
