July 2013 newsletter

In June 2013, the main issue has been the weather, the floods, and their impact on the Czech Derby. In my newsletter at the end of May, I wrote that it had been a bit wet, and that the sensationalist press was saying that the crop of hops, in Bohemia, and the crop of grapes, mainly in Moravia, were under threat.

Vana has six runners in the Vana Summer Cup race at Karlovy Vary

The first of the three Josef Vana Summer Cup classical steeplechases, each with prize money of just over CzK 1 million (EUR 40 000), will be run at Karlovy Vary on Sunday, June 30th. Karlovy Vary is Josef Vana’s home racecourse, and there can be no doubt that he wants to win as much as possible of the million crowns that he has persuaded sponsors to put up.

Mister Aviation wins the Czech Derby; Frantisek Holcak is all-time top Derby trainer

Despite the floods at the beginning of the month, which left Prague Velka Chuchle racecourse quite severely damaged, and also damaged Karlovy Vary racecourse, the Czech Derby took place on the originally-designated date at our third-choice racecourse. Congratulations to Petr Drahos and his TMM team, organizers of racing at Velka Chuchle, for putting the race on successfully at Most racecourse, 100 kilometres from Prague, while also dealing with the situation at Velka Chuchle.

Tiumen satisfactory, Trezor good, Orphee des Blins outstanding

Saturday May 22nd was a pleasantly warm afternoon, after heatwave conditions over the previous 5 days. The going was good to firm, and the course appeared to be in good condition. The afternoon featured a number of good performances by established horses, and including one very good performance and one that was truly impressive.

Wroclaw Partynice racecourse has new English-language web pages

Those of us who have been looking for information about events being held this year at Wroclaw Partynice racecourse need search no more. http://torpartynice.pl/english/race-conditions/ Partynice now has good and informative web pages in English language.

Twelve race meetings are planned this year. The big meeting of the season is on Saturday/Sunday, September 7th/8th, when the main event, the Wielka Wroclawska, with prize money of about EUR 40 000, will be supported by other major races. 

Sunday's Czech Derby is full of unknowns: Mister Westminster has been installed as favourite

On Wednesday morning, the odds offered on the Czech Derby, to be run at Most racecourse on Sunday June 23rd, reflected the extreme uncertainty about how good the horses are, whether they stay the Derby distance, whether they will take to Most racecourse, and last but not least, what will happen on the day.

A good day in Italy for some, painful for others

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.

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