The 27^th running of the Town of Pardubice Grand Prix, supported by the Pardubice Public Transport Company, is the main race on Saturday, May 25^th. This is the first of the four Velka Pardubicka qualification races to be run at Pardubice racecourse, in May, June, August and September.

Ten horses have been declared to run in the race, and several of them are serious contenders for the Velka, which will be run on Sunday, October 13^th. The first three finishers in VP 2018 are in the field: Tzigane du Berlais, Hegnus and Stretton. Theophilos, trained by Josef Váňa senior, is another well-fancied runner. 7-y-o Player is not yet entered for the VP, but he has shown plenty of promise over the Pardubice fences. Ribelino was pronounced the winner of the 2015 Velka Pardubicka, after the disqualification of Nikas. However, his form has fallen away disastrously since then. A good performance by Ribelino would be long overdue. The two oldest horses in the field, Ter Mill and Eldorado, do not seem to have much of a chance. 6-y-o Dulcar de Sivola came to the Czech Republic last year and turned in a couple of reasonable performances. Before that, he had run in France. 7-y-o Chicname de Cotte arrived from France more recently, and this will be his first race in the Czech Republic. He has some useful form at Pau.

Two jockeys from abroad will be riding in the qualification race, and both will be riding at Pardubice for the second time this month. Veteran Swedish jockey Niklas Lovén has been riding for owner Nýznerov, and will be on Stretton.  British jockey Andrew Glassonbury will again be riding for owner Lokotrans. He will be on Ribelino in the main race - this pairing will surely do better this time than on May 8th.

The qualification race will be run at 6.40 p.m., and is the last of nine races on the card. The first race is at 2 p.m. There is a flat race meeting at Most on Sunday.

Horses can qualify for the Velka Pardubicka by successfully completing the course in one of the four qualification races at Pardubice, or by completing the course in one of the races in the Crystal Cup series, or by completing the course in a race over three miles or more in France, Ireland or the UK. Last year’s winner, Tzigane du Berlais, is exempted from the need to qualify.

***

photo: Lokotrans colours