Josef Váňa is an 8-time winning jockey in the Velka Pardubicka. For most Czechs, it is as a jockey that he is still recognized, although he has been a top trainer since the early 1990s. He trains at Mlýncíce, in the Karlovy Vary region (northwest Bohemia), and he last rode in a race in September 2016, on Rabbit Hawk Wing at Pardubice. However, there is one thing that Josef Váňa never achieved as a jockey: he has never ridden an official winner on the flat. We cannot count here the unofficial races that he has had against four-time winner of the VP Václav Chaloupka, who is also still active as a trainer.

Now the 65-year-old legend has received an unexpected opportunity to fill one of the few gaps in his record of successes. He is preparing for a unique race for racehorse trainers, which will be run on September 22^nd at Prague Velká Chuchle within the framework of the European Jockeys Cup race day. This highpoint of the autumn part of the Czech flat racing season will offer not just a competition among leading present-day jockeys from all over Europe but also a race for champions of the recent past.

The race for trainers will feature Josef Váňa and also Pavel Složil, Martina Růžičková, Václav Luka junior, Allan Petrlík, Ivan Kub, Luboš Urbánek, Ludvík Haris, Ilona Hronová, Ladislav Hanousek and Pavel Hanáček. However, this will not be an exhibition event, it will be a race for 4-y-o and older horses over 1 400 metres, on thoroughbreds that are active racehorses. Prague Velká Chuchle is thus returning to an old tradition, when similar races for legends were held during the first Czechoslovak Republic, between the two world wars, and also after the second world war. Some famous trainers in the history of Velká Chuchle, for example František Hurban, won these races when approaching retirement age. A week ago, Baden Baden racecourse in Germany held a similar race in honour of its legends from the past. Unofficial races of trainers were also held in the Czech Republic after 1989 at Benešov racecourse. A frequent winner of these races, interestingly, was Váňa’s wife, Pavla.

Josef Váňa rode in about a thousand races over fences, but has only two recorded rides in official races on the flat. His most recent flat race was at Bratislava on June 5^th, 1993, where he finished second behind the late Jiří Hurt. Jockeys over fences do not usually get a chance to ride in official races because of the need to ride at a weight between 50 and 60 kg. In the race for trainers in September, the basic weight to be carried will be 75 kg.

Several of Váňa’s rivals from his active riding career still have some accounts to settle. For example, Pavel Složil senior was beaten by just half a length in the VP on Marketplace 21 years ago, by Váňa on Vronsky. Váňa and Martina Růžičková were great rivals in the past. When she finally fulfilled her dream of completing the course of the Velka Pardubicka, on Rubín, in 15^th place, in 2014, she was followed home in 16^th place by Váňa on Tiumen. Long-term rivals of Váňa from a younger generation at Pardubice were Václav Luka junior and Luboš Urbánek, who are now leading trainers gathering winners in the Czech Republic and also elsewhere in Europe.

These former jumps jockey will have to look out for a number of former specialist flat jockeys, who will be on home ground over a distance of 2200 metres at Velká Chuchle. Allan Petrlík was a top jockey over a period of a quarter of a century, and was famous for his offensive pace-setting style of riding. Ivan Kub was also a good judge of the pace of a race, and was the stable jockey for Václav Chaloupka and for František Vítek. Ilona Hronová was one of our best women jockeys in recent history.

If Josef Váňa manages to beat all these star riders of the past, it is thought that he will be the oldest winning jockey on the flat in the history of flat racing in the Czech Republic and in Czechoslovakia. However, he will not be the oldest participant in a flat race here. That distinction will remain with Hungarian jockey Pál Kállai, who rode at Velká Chuchle twenty years ago, at the age of 73.

The race for trainers will be one of many attractions on offer at the 4^th European Jockeys Championship day on September 22^nd. Horses from the Czech Republic, the UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain are still in the field for the top race of the day, the EJC Leram Million. The biggest star that is still entered for the race is 10-y-o Irish-trained sprinter Gordon Lord Byron.

Nominated jockeys for the trainers’ race:

Václav Luka jnr.

Josef Váňa snr.

Martina Růžičková

Luboš Urbánek

Ludvík Haris

Ilona Hronová

Ladislav Hanousek

Pavel Hanáček

Pavel Složil snr.

Ivan Kub

Allan Petrlík