Sixteen impresses

The Skanska Grand Prix, third of the four qualification races for the the Velka Pardubicka, which will be run on October 11th, produced a winner with all the credentials to win the big race. Though Sixteen won the VP in 2007 and 2008, she has generally been considered a less than great champion. In 2007, she did not beat much, and in 2008 she only won on the disqualification of a better horse, Amant Gris, and in general she has a good rather than an excellent record. This time, however, she was formidable. She took the lead as early as the Snake Ditch and never looked like being headed. In the finishing straight she pulled away very impressively.

Mandarino was a creditable second. He has been second in all his four starts this year, twice on the crosscountry course at Pardubice, in the June and August qualification races, and twice in park track chases, on May 1st at Lysa and at the end of June at Pardubice, where he chased Royal Mougins home.

Twenty six of the Czech entries for the VP have now qualified, but Wrbna Racing and trainer Cestmir Olehla are still without a runner. Baggio fell at Havel's jump. It is hard to imagine Wrbna Racing having no runner in the VP for a second year, and they will no doubt have at least one runner in the final qualifying race, on Saturday September 12th.

Another non-qualfiier was Numero Due, which finished 4th in VP 2008. For the third time at Pardubice this year, he unseated his rider.

According to the Czech language pages of Paddock Revue, Josef Vana snr plans to have three or four runners in the VP. Juventus, which has had a setback, will not be among them. Vana is also not reckoning with Welldancer, which Vana himself had been intending to ride on October 11th. Vana's runners are likely to be Sixteen, Del Sole, Pocci. and Tiumen, which finished 4th in the August qualification race last Saturday.

British-trained Super Lord was a non-runner.

There is a deadline for supplementary entries for the Velka Pardubicka on Thursday, August 27th.  

A new jockey: Lubos Urbanek

Lubos Urbanek, who had earler taken yet another tumble on Numero Due, had his 50th career winner in the final race at Pardubice on Saturday, on Nikan. At the final hurdle, at 100 metres from home and even at 10 metres from home he had no chance, but Nikan came from nowhere like an express train. Urbanek has never had more than 6 winners in a season. This has been a hard-earned honour for him. He says he is happy that he has lost his 1.5 kg allowance, because he will now not have to watch his weight quite so hard.

The big guns, Josef Bartos and Jaroslav Myska, have finally started their challenge for the 2009 jockeys' championship over fences. Josef Bartos had two winners at Pardubice, and will probably think he should not have let Urbanek beat him in the last race of the day. Bartos also had two winners at Merano, on Paracchini and Major General. While most of the top jockeys drove half the night to get to Merano for the races on Sunday, Jaroslav Myska went to Most, where he rode the winners of both the chases.

There were several heavy falls at Pardubice on Saturday. Josef Vana jnr had to miss some rides after hurting his elbow. Jan Faltejsek could scarcely walk into the paddock for the last race, and looked even less comfortable when seated in the saddle. However, he made his way on to Merano and rode there on Sunday.