On May 16th, Czech owners, trainers and jockeys had very mixed fortunes in Italy. The good news is that Chardonney Tcheque, our 2000 Guineas winner in 2010, won a group race in Italy for owner Jiri Charvat and trainer Tomas Satra. Josef Vana senior also had an excellent day at Merano, winning three races with three runners. His son, Josef junior, rode three winners, two of them for his father.
The meeting at Pardubice on June 8th was held on a mild, sunny day that was all the more pleasant for being a rarity so far this year. The going was good to soft, after the heavy rains that have fallen recently.
The Czech Jockey Club has moved swiftly to provide races to replace the three meetings at Prague Velka Chuchle that will be lost in June, and also the meeting at Karlovy Vary.
The Derby meeting on Sunday, June 23rd has been moved to Most racecourse. The event will be organised by TMM, organisers of events at Velka Chuchle.
It has been announced that the Czech Derby will be run at Most racecourse on Sunday, June 23rd. This is the originally planned date for the race. Many of the contenders have missed a preparatory race or had their training interrupted due to the widespread flooding in Bohemia.
Most articles on this English language website do well to reach 100 readers, but two have done particularly well. Both were written by Giancarlo Fochesato 'our man in italy' at the beginning of this year, giving an interesting insight into issues in Italian racing, especially at Merano racecourse. The article that you can click on to below has currently had 995 readers, and is about the issue of who would take over the management of Merano racecourse for the 2013 season http://www.dostihovy-svet.cz/en/node/1002
Prague Velka Chuchle racecourse is entirely covered with muddy water, and it is clear that the last two meetings before the summer break cannot be held there. Karlovy Vary racecourse, which is the best available alternative for the Czech Derby, is also not in a fit state. The Czech Derby was scheduled for June 23rd at Prague Velka Chuchle. Discussions are taking place about what to do, and an announcement is expected today. (The only realistic options are Most racecourse, or postponement, or both)
Prague Velka Chuchle racecourse is now completely under water, and the horses that are trained at the racecourse have been moved out. See the latest pictures from the racecourse webcam. http://www.dostihyjc.cz/mapy.php?ID=1.
