Taro gets his nose in front in the St Leger

The autumn season at Prague Velka Chuchle Auto Hase Park began on August 29th the with St Leger meeting. The going was good and the afternoon was cool. The main race, the 65th Czech St Leger, 2800 metres, Listed, prize money 800 000 crowns, was sponsored by Tattersalls.  Malona briefly set a modest pace, but champion jockey Vaclav Janacek took over on Makler, and ensured that the pace continued to be moderate. In the run in, Makler and Taro drew away from the field and went head to head in a driving finish (both jockeys were punished for overuse of the whip). According to the camera, Taro had his nose in front at the crucial moment. Taro is Polish-bred, by Jape like 2009 St Leger winner Age of Jape. He is owned by Viktor Komarek, trained by Josef Vana and was ridden by Tomas Lukasek. Ulan took third place, 5 lengths behind. A moderate pace did not appear to suit him, and owner Jiri Charvat, never a shoulder-shrugging loser, was perhaps justified in complaining that Malona, also owned by him, had not set a pace in accordance with his instructions. According to the Paddock Revue Czech-language pages, Josef Vana expects Taro to continue running on the flat until the end of this season. The Slovak St Leger and/or the Pardubice St Leger are likely targets.