Legendary Greek jockey Panagiotis Dimitsanis, who has won over 4 000 races in his career, including a famous day when he won all 7 races on a raceday in Athens in 2014, accepted an invitation to come to Prague for a second time for EJC 2018. This time, he brought his wife, Christina Gioni Dimitsani – the other half of a highly-professional horseracing power couple in Greek horseracing. Christina answered a few questions:

Everyone connected with EJC day is happy that Panagiotis came to Prague again this year, and that he brought his wife this time! Panagiotis is clearly a highly professional jockey. You don’t ride over 4 000 winners without a lot of dedication and hard work. But you too are a distinguished horseracing professional. Please tell our readers about yourself and your links with horseracing. I know that you have a university degree in equine studies from England.

Panagiotis was also happy to come to Prague again to ride in the EJC. It’s an interesting race meeting and an opportunity for jockeys to compete internationally. There is no doubt that Panagiotis is a top professional, he has proved himself over the years… the secret being that he enjoys his job and loves horses! In fact in our family we all love horses and are “equine related”. I myself have a BA (Hons) in Equine Studies. I was awarded the National Stud Diploma* and the Tim Dunlop Memorial Scholarship** in the UK. I have a permit to train racehorses in Greece, and I’m a level 1 FEI riding instructor. 

It’s impressive – Czech girls should be ambitious and follow in your footsteps! But I’d like to ask another question about Panagiotis. Links between Czech and Greek horseracing were very limited until he came here last year, and even the name of the most famous Greek jockey was not widely known here.

It’s true that although Panagiotis rides abroad quite often, he’d never come to ride in the Czech Republic until now. The opportunity arose with the invitation for the EJC in 2017. This is a very interesting race meeting.

And finally some words about Prague, and about the European Jockeys’ Cup day at Prague Velká Chuchle racecourse.

Prague is a city out of a fairytale... it's a must-see destination in someone's life. As I mentioned before, the EJC is a very interesting race meeting. It gives a chance to jockeys from very different countries to compete with each other. Velka Chuchle racecourse is very cosy and the whole atmosphere is very friendly and easygoing. It has been an enjoyable experience and we would like to come again next time! Thank you, Ευχαριστώ πολύ.

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*The National Stud Diploma https://www.nationalstud.co.uk/training-courses/full-time-courses/diploma-stud-practice-management/  This prestigious 6-month full-time programme in stud management in Newmarket is currently free-of-charge for UK and EU students. Full accommodation and board fees are supported by a grant from the Wavertree Charitable Trust.