Big Czech successes at Merano: Paracchini defeats Royal Mougins again

As usual, Robin anticipated me and was first this morning in reporting on yesterday's dual Czech win at Meran. The logical conclusion to draw from that, seems therefore to be that your Italian correspondent fom now on should get up earlier on Monday morning, and so report on Sunday's races before Robin from Prague does !

 Yesterday's Meran meeting centred on the duel opposing Vana-trained Paracchini against Holcak-trained Royal Mougins, in the feature race -a 'corsa siepi (hurdle race or proutene prekazky) over 3,500 metres.

Paracchini ridden by Bartos took the lead when the group run in front of the Grand Stand and when some six furlongs and five jumps were still left before home.

As Vana explained at the unsaddling, the strategy to attack at so early a stage was adopted considering that : the overall distance was quite short; both Royal Mougins and Luka-trained Gilmour (who was also among the starters) have rather devastating a finish;  Paracchini was in a fresh enough condition, having not run since mid-June (when he captured a Gr. 1 race, again at Meran and again over hurdles).

Royal Mougins' attack was brilliant, and after the final jump he almost succeeded in heading the rival. Paracchini, however, was quick in reacting and at the finishing post two lenghts distanced him and Royal Mougins. The only thing that trainer Holcak and jockey Kousek can possibly reproach themselves for Royal Mougins' second place, is that the horse's attack proved a little too late.  At the final turn, the followers-up of Paracchini were a consistent group of six horses, and space in the finishing stretch was a problem for some of them.

By all accounts, a new Paracchini-Royal Mougins duel will take place on September 13th, when the 55th Corsa Siepi Gr. 1 race is run at Meran. September will be a golden  month for Italy's steeple chasing capital, offering each Sunday a Gr. race. 

(Another important innovation is that racing at Meran will be on for the first year until mid-October. Saturday October 3rd and 17th are the dates of the final two meetings, whose feature races are a Gr. 2 cross country and a Gr. 1 hurdle race, respectively.

Note that the 2nd week-end of October is no race day at Meran. That was decided mainly as a result of the successful lobbying conducted by trainer Paolo Favero vis-à-vis the Meran racing society. With horses trained by him entered for the second running year for the Velkà, Paolo Favero is personally and particularly concerned with the necessity to avoid clashing dates between Meran and Pardubice. And yet, he acted as a virtual spokesman for the large group of Czech trainers and jockeys who would normally commute on race days to and from and Meran.

It is a well-accepted fact that without Czech jump jockeys riding here, steeple chasing in Italy would virtually come to an end for lack of riders. And the regular inclusion of Czech-trained horses among the starters at Meran, Milan, Rome, Pisa and Treviso, resulted in our races gaining an extra plus.

Having frequently expressed criticism against racing at Meran (and in Italy, in general) during the hottest summer months ; I, of course, much welcome the new trend inaugurated by the 2009 Meran racing calendar. And strongly hope that the next step will be to organize meetings in the second half of October  too.

Racing in July or August in Italy, means having horses run with temperatures of 30 to 35 C; and the necessity to start racing at mid-afternoon. Summer -our hot Italian summers- is no ideal racing time. Autumn and winter surely are. Now, I would advocate that racing at Meran would progressively swift  from Summer to Fall and Winter (thought, of course, in a way to avoid any concurrence with the Rome and Pisa winter meetings.

Meran, after all, flourished as a tourist destination before WWI out of its mild winter climate. And until a few decades ago, it was the traditional place together with Pisa-San Rossore, where to staable and winter race horses.

Prolonging the racing season until late October -early November in Pardubice too, is something  I have been since long advocating in private conversations with my friends invested with managing responsibility at dostihivy spolek.

Who among us VP enthusiasts, doesn't know that the early editions of the race took place in November ?  (The Velkà marked the end of the hunting season and the very second edition of the race in year 1875 was not run due to the frozen going !) 

Anyone would comment my proposals as above ?

Back to yesterday's Meran results, it must be emphasized that Paracchini's win in the feature race was not the only good performance of the day of the Vana-Bartos duo.

They also put their seal on a steeple chase where Bartos took full advantage of Major General's superior final rush and comfortably preceded in the finish Favero-trained Racconigi ridden by Kousek.

Giancarlo