Robin Healey´s August Newsletter
August 2009 newsletter
In July we had plenty of sunny but not too hot summer weather, but also an extraordinary number of storms. Plenty of places have suffered from severe local flooding or major hailstorms, often more than once in the same village, and we have almost got used to our television screens showing blocked roads and railway lines, devastated forests and power lines being repaired. As usual, Prague has been little impacted, as the city is well protected from all but very major floods, and we have had just one big thunderstorm here recently.
Those of you who bet correctly that I would not get to the race meeting at Svetla Hora, and then decided to double up with the prediction that I would also not get to Albertovec on July 15th, lose their money. I took the train from Prague to Ostrava Svinov, changed for Opava Vychod, went for an early lunch in Opava, then caught the little train to Kravare and changed on to the even littler train to Bolatice.
Congratulations to Czech rail on providing such a smooth, enjoyable and inexpensive ride. Next time, I will not have lunch in Opava, as the catering at Albertovec looked pretty good. Arriving at Bolatice, I could see what was clearly the Albertovec stud, and it was a 600 metre walk to the entrance to the course. The sun was out, the grass was emerald green, and everything looked grand. Quite soon we had a heavy shower, and the whole afternoon alternated showers and bright periods. I was grateful to the local Radegast brewery for providing enough shelter and plenty of beer.
What a wonderful effort Albertovec had put on. The course may be tiny - in the race over 2200 metres on the flat, the horses came down the finishing straight three times - but everything was well turned out. It was a racing and equestrian day, with pony races (a tiny girl fell off her tiny pony, but was put back in the saddle and finished proudly), western riding and country dancing, voltige (acrobatics on horseback), and horse driving. There was an art exhibition, and a statue of Mor was unveiled. In the 1970s, Albertovec-based Mor twice won the Velka Pardubicka and twice finished 2nd and twice 3rd. He also won the Albertovska Crosscountry in 1973 and 1975. Other events were the christening of two foals, and after the final race the stud*s mares and foals were to be turned out on the infield. By that time, however, yet another sharp shower had persuaded me not to miss the next train to Kravare, and from there on to Opava and Ostrava.
Before the first race, there was a parade down the course, headed by the mayor of Stepankovice and Julius Hajek, jnr. and rounded up by Josef Vana snr and Frantisek Holcak, in a carriage, followed by Amant Gris and Marek Stromsky.
Last but not least, a pretty good day*s racing had been organized.
The feature race, the Albertovska Crosscountry, had attracted a good field. This was not surprising, as the prize money of 250 000 crowns, near enough Euro 10 000, must be by some way the largest prize ever offered at a Category C racecourse in the Czech Republic. Josef Vana snr had driven the width of the country to have his first ride since he last announced his retirement, on Velka Pardubicka day 2008. Vana was on Welldancer. Cestmir Olehla had taken Ignacio there. Mr Land was regrettably withdrawn at the last moment because his trainer/rider Pavel Slozil was indisposed and was not able to find a satisfactory replacement rider. Well, Mr Land is being aimed at the Velka Pardubicka, so it is understandable that the connections did not want to take a chance with him. Welldancer and his jockey also have an important date at Pardubice on October 11th, and the horse may not have been given a hard race. He was last of the seven finishers. Ignacio fell. The race went to Valldemoso, from Montgomery and Isar.
Valldemoso is just 5 years old, so he is too young for the 2009 VP. He won two small races at Pardubice early in his 4-y-o season, and had finished a reasonable 2nd to Mastman at Pardubice in June 2009. I expect we will see him in one of the support races at Pardubice on October 11th. He is trained locally by Jiri Uhl and was ridden by Miroslav Stancik, a veteran Slovak rider, whose biggest ever win this was.
The Albertovska Crosscountry features the Borec jump, over a large log at the bottom of the local sandpit. This jump is taken only once each year, and is way out of sight of stands, so I look forward to watching it on television on Tuesday at 5 pm. You can see it too, I hope, on http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/209471290530009-turf/
The Albertovec stud farm has a fine web site, www.albertovec.cz, but it is only in Czech language. When I get round to it, I will translate parts of it into English. I have already promised to translate parts of the Slusovice racecourse website into English. All the racecourses in Moravia, the eastern part of the country, are being kept healthy by very dedicated local enthusiasts http://www.dostihy.webz.cz/domu.html.
The fine programme at Albertovec gave the history of the Albertovska Crosscountry. The race was run from 1969 until 1989, and was considered as a major Velka Pardubicka trial. Every single winner of the race in this period went on the run in the VP, and Korok, Mor, Limit, Simon and Sagar won both races. After 1989, the Albertovec estate and stud farm was sold in the Coupon Privatisation, otherwise known as Voucher Privatisation or the Fraud of the Century, www.ssees.ac.uk/met-network/papers/mmyant.htm, to people who let it go to rack and ruin, probably hoping they would be able to sell it off with a permit to build a hundred villas there. In 2005, Josef Hajek bought Albertovec and invested a large amount of money in restoring the buildings and breeding stock. In 2006, the course was reopened, and the Albertovska Crosscountry was revived.
Josef Hajek was in failing health, and died on Velka Pardubicka day 2008, after his horse Amant Gris, sporting the famous Albertovec colours that he had revived, was first past the post in the VP, but was disqualified for missing a marker. In the same race, also in Albertovec colours, Klip broke a leg. A year earlier, when Josef Hajek was already very ill, Jiri Charvat leased him his good horse Cieszymir to run in Albertovec colours. The horse fell and broke a leg at the Taxis. Josef Hajek jnr is now in charge at Albertovec, and is committed to continuing his father*s work. This year*s race day was held on July 25th, his father*s birthday. The Albertovec stud has three entries for the 2009
VP: Amant Gris, trained by Milan Theimer; Rooseveldt, trained by Frantisek Holcak; and Shirley, trained by Radek Holcak. A victory for Amant Gris would be a very popular outcome, or, of course, a win for Josef Vana snr on Wellldancer.
I could also write about an enjoyable trip to Bratislava a week earlier. Czech Two Thousand Guineas and Derby winner Age of Jape won the Slovak Derby well, but the second placed horse, Mariydi, expensively purchased in Ireland earlier this year, finally showed some form. He may well prevent Age of Jape completing his bid for the Czech triple crown in the Czech St Leger at Velka Chuchle at the end of August.
The splendid meeting at Albertovec clashed with Oaks and Velka Mostecka day at Most on July 25th. This was certainly the only day in the history of Czech racing when two races worth 250 000 crowns and 300 000 crowns have been run at different racecourses. Florestano, the only 6-y-o entered for the VP, won the Velka Mostecka from Duero and Nikodem.
Florestano is owned by EZ Praha, trained by Jaroslav Votava and was ridden by Marcel Novak, who said on TV that the horse will now be aimed for the VP. The Oaks was won easily by British-bred Rabbit Zamindar, by
Zamindar(USA) out of an El Maamul mare. She is owned by Rabbit Trhovy Stepanov, trained by Greg Wroblewsky and was ridden by Dusan Andres.
Rabbit Zamindar benefited from a scrimmage in which champion jockey Vaclav Janacek was knocked off the favourite, Princess of Gracie, on the last bend.
Janacek fortunately received only a few bumps and bruises, and rode two winners at Most and two on Sunday at Kolesa. He has now ridden 41 winners, and the season still has three months to run. The record of 48 winners in a season, shared by Vlastimil Smolik and Vaclav Janacek seems sure to be shattered. Another notable performance was at Albertovec, by local trainer and amateur rider Lenka Syslova. She rode two winners, for the first time in her life. She trains just 5 horses, and 4 of them ran at Albertovec on July 25th (two winners, one second).
A month from now, the third VP qualifying race will have been run at Pardubice, and also the Czech St Leger at Velka Chuchle. The autumn season at the headquarters of Czech steeplechasing and flat racing will have begun. The summer season out on the provincial courses is all too short.