I. Qualification for the 119th VP 2008-01-05

With the winners of all four of the 2008 VP qualifying races running in the Town of Pardubice Prize, the first qualifying race for the 2009 Velka Pardubicka, sponsored by Česká pojišťovna insurance company, there were high hopes of an exciting race on May 23rd at Pardubice. It was a fine afternoon, but unfortunately most of the rain that had lashed Bohemiathe day before, including much of the Pardubice region, bypassed the racecourse. The going was distinctly hard for steeplechasing, though it was officially given as 3.9, i.e., good. All went fine until the Havel Fence, fourth from home. Moning Let had set a reasonable pace. Juventus and Amant Gris did not go particularly well, but they were still there. Jan Fatejsek on Moning Let attacked the Havel Jump, but was unseated, interfering with Derby Sharp and Juventus. which also lost their riders. Moning Let then made his way off to the right, and soon ended up in the ditch that runs across the course, where the water jumps are. He stumbled in, broke a leg, and later had to be put down.

When such a star as Moning Let meets with disaster, there is of course plenty of criticism of the jockey and of the course. Jan Faltejsek had three wins in the course of the afternoon, a heavy fall on Red Dancer and he pulled Moneymaker up. Some expressed the view that he paid insufficient respect to the fences, while others opined that the fences have got easier but the races are run faster, resulting in plenty of nasty accidents. More about this in the monthly newsletter later this week.

Back to the qualifying race. There was a well-fought finish, in which the half-bred Tomis, winner of the Labe Prize on Velka Pardubicka day 2008, won by half a length from Mandarino, double winner of the May the First Prize at Lysa-nad-Labem, which made a very good first appearance over the Pardubice crosscountry course. Third place went to Pocci, winner of the September qualifying race in 2008. The other finishers were Lakreg, Florestano, Amant Gris and Shirley. Amant Gris was far from his best, and appeared to be ridden very cautiously by Petr Tuma, who was subsitituting for Marek Stromsky. Marek, who rode Amant Gris when he was disqualified in the 2008 VP after being first past the post, is expected to ride the horse again this year, but he was serving a suspension on Saturday. Juventus, Moning Let, Derby Sharp and Lirain did not get round, and did not qualify for the 119th Ceska Pojistovna Velka Pardubicka.