The names of fifteen horses appear on the list of declared runners for the 121st Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka. The most important race of the season over fences, which will like last year be the most richly sponsored race in the Crystal Cup 2011 international  crosscountry steeplechase series, will be run on Sunday, October 9th. The list published on September 30th contains only horses trained in the Czech Republic. It includes the names of the winners of the last four renewals of the race, double winners Sixteen and Tiumen. Tiumen will be going for a hat trick of wins, having succeeded in 2009 and 2010, and Sixteen will also be going for her third win in the race.

“The Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka is the most demanding race of the season. Every owner considers carefully whether to send his or her horse for the race. In addition, some horses have been injured in the course of the season. That is why there are fifteen in the list,ˮ says Jan Němec, president of the board of Dostihový spolek a.s. Pardubice.

As expected, trainer Josef Váňa senior has the largest number of representatives in the list of runners, as in previous years. His horses have won the last five renewals of the Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka. This year he will saddle three of his charges. The seven-time winner as a jockey will be in the saddle of Tiumen, on which he won last year and the year before. “Tiumen is everybody’s favourite. He’s the horse that stands out from the rest,ˮ says jockey Jan Faltejsek, who will only be a spectator this year because of a recent injury.

In addition to Tiumen, Josef Váňa senior will be saddling Lirain and 2007 and 2008 race winner Sixteen. Sixteen has not yet shown the same form this year as in previous seasons. “Her regular jockey Josef Bartoš has been saying that she is no longer what she was. But she is an old lady, and  she knows well enough when the important race is. On Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka day, everything could be different. You certainly can’t write her off. Every horse can appear in a completely different light than in the rest of the season. Mr Váňa and, for that matter, Holčák senior and Holčák junior know how to prepare a horse for the high point of the season,ˮ says Jan Faltejsek.

Three trainers each have two runners in the list – Radek Holčák (Amant Gris, Bremen Plan), František Holčák (Karlsbad, Flambion) and Jiří Janda (Teviot, Aspirant). Six other trainers have one each.

A total of 29 of the entered horses qualified for the 121st Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka – 24 of them trained in the Czech Republic and 5 candidates from abroad. Fifteen names have finally appeared in the list of declared runners.

They include the first seven to finish in last year’s race – Tiumen, Amant Gris, Sixteen, Mandarino, Teviot, Lirain and Aspirant. Two others, Valldemoso and Bremen Plan, did not get round last year.

“This year’s race with be a contest between young horses and the old guard. There are a number of experienced horses, headed by Tiumen, Sixteen, Amant Gris and Mandarino. Alongside them are some ambitious young horses that do not have so much experience, but they’re good. From among them, I’d pick Valldemoso, the winner of the last qualification race, Trezor and Wavelight Laser. And we shouldn’t forget  Klaus, which has been supplemented. This year he’s shown that he’s fine,ˮ says Jan Faltejsek. “This year’s Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka should be very interesting. After the favourite, Tiumen, there’s not much to choose between them and basically it could turn out any way,ˮ the experienced jockey adds.

This year’s 121st Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka will be an internal affair. Out of the six entries from abroad, four horses from Ireland and one from Switzerland fulfilled the qualification conditions. However, none of them will be appearing at Pardubice racecourse on the second Sunday in October. The rest of the world will be represented only by the French jockey Julien Lemée, who is going to ride Aspirant.

“Unfotunately, some horses are unable to run due to health problems. At the last moment we were negotiating about the supplementary entry of a horse trained in France by Jérome Follain, who was the overall winner of the Crystal Cup last year and is leading again this year. In the end it did not work out,ˮ says Jan Němec.

“It’s a pity. A contest with horses from abroad adds some interesting colour, even if they have not done very well in recent years,ˮ adds Jan Faltejsek.

The 121st Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka will be run on Sunday, October 9th. By tradition, it will be the main event in the most prestigious horserace meeting of the year. The first race will be run at 11.45 a.m. The start of the Česká pojišťovna Velka Pardubicka will be at 4.25 p.m.