Turf Gala at Bratislava

 The Turf Gala meeting at Bratislava is just about the top flat race meeting of the year in Central Europe, certainly comparable with the Derby days in the various central European countries. Last year Overdose came and conquered, but there will be no such international star this year. There are nine races, first race at 2.25 pm. The two Graded 1 races have attracted top Central European horses. De Roberto and Dick Morris, both owned by Jiri Charvat and trained by Frantisek Holcak, are strong Czech contenders for the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture's Prize (1200 m., 29 000 Euro). In the Postova banka Grand Prix (2400 m., 30 000 Euro), the 4-y-o mares Vadeona and Determinacja are just about the best that Czech trainers have over the distance, but the winner is likely to come from the Slovak representatives Ryan, Camill, Tempeltaenzer and Proud Boris, which have regularly beaten the Czechs in recent years. There are strong Czech-trained contenders in each of the three Listed races, including our best miler of last year, Blue Coral.