Derby Day, the best flat racing day of the Czech season, will be held at Most racecourse, 80 km north of Prague, on Sunday, June 23^rd, first race at 2 p.m. There will also be a major racing day over fences at Pardubice on Saturday, June 22^nd, featuring  the second of the four Velka Pardubicka qualification races. There will also be a minor meeting at Pardubice on Friday evening, featuring bumpers, hurdles races, and a couple of extra flat races to compensate for races lost due to the recent floods.

The high waters have subsided, though an awful lot of cleaning up remains to be done, not least at Prague Velka Chuchle racecourse, all of which was under water for several days. The buildings were less severely flooded than in 2002, but the turf, especially the more low-lying parts along the back straight, will take some time to recover. The target will be to reopen the course for the next scheduled racing day, August 24^th, for the Czech St Leger meeting.

 I was surprised to hear that at least one of the trainers at Velka Chuchle has already moved his horses back. Home is home, of course, but it will surely be some time before the horses can do any serious work at the racecourse.

The preparations for the Czech Derby were disrupted by the floods. Most of the contenders missed their Derby trial due to the cancellation of recent meetings at Prague Velka Chuchle. Several hopefuls missed their last chance to qualify for a place in the 16-horse field. This year’s Derby has come round less than three months after the end of a long cold winter, and trainers have been scrambling more than usual to get their horses ready for the big event.  

Most racecourse adds an extra unknown. It was built as part of a major and well-funded reclamation project on the site of a massive open-cast mining area above the town of Most.  Unfortunately, the designers made a non-standard course with strange slopes, cambers and parameters, and it is not ideal for championship races. Most has a very good watering system, and the going should not be too firm, in spite of the forecast heatwave conditions.

Trainer Vaclav Luka has three well-fancied Derby runners: 2000 Guineas winner Talar, and also the fillies, Ley Percy and Beryaska. Jiri Charvat will be hoping to win the Czech Derby at last, with Master Quercus or with his recent acquisition from Ireland, Reglisse. His wife’s Feraclos is first reserve. None of the above-mentioned has shown that it can stay 2400 metres. There are also four other Category I races at Most on Sunday, and this will be a special day.

Four of the entries for the qualification race at Pardubice on Saturday are established serious contenders for the big race in October. Triple VP winner Tiumen will make his first appearance of the season, as will Trezor, winner of two of the qualification races in 2012, and Ronino, which took second place in the 2012 Velka Pardubicka. The consistently good Valldemoso finished safely in  6^th place in the May qualification race and already qualified for the VP. Some of the other runners could establish themselves as potential VP contenders on Saturday.

In other races on the card, outstanding VP 2012 winner Orphee des Blins makes her debut for the season, in a 3200-metre crosscountry “sprint”. Cardam and Ursan are the main threats to the inconsistent Orphee. 2009 Czech triple crown winner Age of Jape runs in a Category III cross-country race. His target is this year’s Velka Pardubicka, but let him first show what he can do at Category III level.