Star will not twinkle in the qualification race next Sunday

The decision to change the dates for the race meeting at Pardubice (due to the threat of an extreme weather event) has been widely accepted and understood by most of the people involved.  Nevertheless, moving the last qualification race for the Velka Pardubicka to next Sunday means that the runners and riders will not be the same as they would have been if the race had been run this Saturday. Since the race will be taking place only three weeks before the Velka, running at Pardubice on September 22^nd and then running again in the high point of our horseracing season on Sunday, October 13^th would be an excessively demanding pair of tasks.

These considerations are being weighed up by trainer Hana Kabelková, who has two of her horses already qualified for the Velka, and a third contender that still needs to meet the qualification requirements.

“At this moment it is clear to me that Star won’t run in the qualification race. He’s already qualified for the Velka, and the new date would be too soon before the Velka. In the case of Del Rey, we’ll reach a decision tomorrow with the owner. One option would be for him to run in the qualification race, and that would be the end of the season for him. Another option is for him to miss out on the qualification race and be entered for the Labe Stakes on October 13th, because he wouldn’t be qualified for the Velka. It depends on the owner’s decision.” says Hana Kabelková.

Hana Kabelková and other trainers and people involved in horseracing understand why the organisers decided to postpone the races on Saturday. “I fully respect the decision. I understand the danger that the track could be damaged and the threat to the proper running of the race. Racing this Saturday really wouldn’t have made sense,” the trainer says, but she adds “The question arises whether in the future the last qualification race might not be run five weeks before the Velka.”

In the present situation, she would like to send two of her horses to run in the Velka, with Star again being ridden by Ondřej Velek, who was to have ridden him in the final qualification race. Kabelková also has another veteran, 13-y-o Talent, in her yard. He won the Velka in 2021 and finished 2^nd in 2022 and 2023, and he has already fulfilled the qualification conditions for this year. “He seems to be fine at the present time. After the first qualification race he had major problems, but more recently he’s been looking good. We’ve been making every effort to ensure that Talent puts in a good run in his last Velka. We’ve been swimming with him intensively and giving him his alternative preparation,” says his trainer. Talent’s good qualities have been combined with persistent health problems.

The team believes that Talent is on the way to running in the Velka, but the trainer warns that any further portion of bad luck would put an end to these hopes. “We’ll wait and see. If he’s to go down to the start, he’ll have to be in good shape and feeling fine,” she says, adding that she has not yet dealt with the question of a jockey for Talent. The only thing that is certain is that he will not be ridden by Pavel Složil jnr., who is no longer riding.

(This article by our editor-in-chief Petr Guth first appeared in our Czech language pages)