Polish-born trainer Grzegorz Witold Wroblewski’s diary contains the name of a single horse in the list of 61 entries for the Velka Pardubicka with Česká Pojišťovna. Nevertheless, Greg’s is perhaps the most interesting name for this year’s 124th running of the race. The reason is simple – in his yard at Zhoř u Jihlavy, Wroblewski trains Orphée des Blins, the outstanding winner of the last two runnings of the Velka. Neither he nor DS Pegas, for whom Greg works at Zhoř, has entered any other horse for the Velka. They simply have no other horse available that can come near to the mare’s crosscountry racing skills …

 “Sixty-one horses? That’s a good number of entries,” he says, looking through the list of potential runners that was published on May 15^th.  “There are plenty of interesting horses that have their chances, and I am glad that it seems we can look forward to a good field this year. We will be preparing for the race calmly and quietly. There’s no need to get fussed or to be nervous,” he comments, explaining that this year the mare is in a quite new situation as regards the Velka.

 “Two years ago, the position was that we wanted to win – we had a very good horse, and nobody expected much from us. We sprung a surprise, and then last year I was nervous. Everybody said it was a freak result, that the mare was not that good, and we were under pressure. I was very happy when we silenced all of those voices. However, this year we have nothing to prove. Everybody has seen that the mare is good. It’s just that I would like to win the Velka again,” says Wroblewski at the beginning of this year’s Czech crosscountry season.

 “I’ll certainly be happy if it is a high-quality race. We like running in that kind of race,” he adds, referring to the impressive list of entries. Unlike last year, he has decided that the mare will be his only entry. Why? “That’s simple. I don’t have a second horse good enough to compare with her. Broker showed last year that he needs more time. I’d prefer to wait another year with him for the Velka. Orphée des Blins has the advantage that she does not need any help, so there is no need to have another runner to support her,” Wroblewski adds, referring to the fact that the mare usually sets the pace for the Velka right from the start, and there is no need for her to have a pacemaker…

 “If the season goes according to our plan, we’ll have everything for the Velka in our own hands. Then it will just be a matter of looking forward to meeting these 60 other contenders, and believing that the best horse will win.” Unlike his professional colleagues, Greg Wroblewski has his entry already qualified for this year’s race: as the winner of last year’s race, Orphée des Blins has already fulfilled the qualification requirements for the 2014 race …

 Press release issued by Agrofert Park (Pardubice racecourse)