More reflections on the 2012 Velka Pardubicka

Submitted by Robin on 22. October 2012 - 17:23


  • With the passage of time, Orphee des Blins' performance seems even more stunning. The 55:1 outsider took a good field apart to such an extent that the horses that attempted to follow her exhausted themselves, and all the top finishers came from the group of horses that had kept their powder dry towards the back of the field.

  • Did not Orphee des Blins jump well! She was slightly slowly over the Irish Bank, where she was headed for the only time in the race, but at each of the other fences she was foot-perfect and raced away from the obstacle in a way that made her pursuers despair.

  • Trainer Greg Wroblewski is still considering what he will recommend to the owner about her next race. The horse is in fine form after the race, and she should be able to take on at least one more race this year.

  • The official handicapper gave Orphee des Blins the highest rating given to a Czech steeplechaser since Peruan was in his prime.

  • Orphee des Blins was selected as Best Turned Out by Diane Hill before the race, but Diane omitted to have a bet on her.   

  • Sixteen was pulled up because she did not like the deep ploughed fields. It was not her day. At the age of 12, she has presumably run her last race.

  • Bremen Plan may also have run his last race. He was OK after he unseated his rider at the Taxis, but the horse has been suffering from his joints. He will be given a rest over the winter, and then a decision will be made on whether to bring him back into training.

  • Tiumen and Josef Vana "only" finished 3rd. They were never able to get on terms with the winner. Vana has not retired. He says he gets a tremendous buzz out of riding in the Velka Pardubicka, and will be back if he is fit, and if there is an owner of a suitable horse who wants Vana to be the jockey. Tiumen and Vana again in 2013 must be a possibility.

  • The betting turnover on Velka Pardubicka day was a record for Betino. Betino offered fairly generous odds (extremely generous odds by Betino standards) in the middle of the week before the race, when the Fortuna betting shops were accepting bets. Most of the betting was done on the course on the day of the race, by which time considerably less generous odds were on offer.

  • A few British bookmakers offered odds on the race, including Stan James and Betfair. Betino claimed to have offered better odds than the British bookies on the race, but only by comparing their ante-post prices with the British bookies' prices on the day of the race.

  • At the final meeting of the season at Pardubice, on Saturday October 27th, the main race will be the Orphee des Blins Final Steeplechase, raditionally named after the VP winner, This is an opportunity for one of the early fallers in the Velka to make amends. There were not too many early fallers this year, and only Imbir will run on October 27th.

  • Winning Velka Pardubicka jockey Jan Faltejsek is planning to spend the winter in France.        
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