Garner relishing chance to be first Briton to land famous Czech chase since 1995

Sunday: 3.00 Pardubice
132nd Velka Pardubicka With Slavia Insurance (Listed Cross Country Race) | 4m2½f | 6yo+ | YouTube

The allure of one of Europe’s most famous chases has prompted jockey Tom Garner to engage in a hectic weekend of transatlantic travel to participate in the 132nd Velka Pardubicka on Sunday.

Garner, who is based in America, has been booked to ride Stretton in the 4m2½f chase in which the runners cross ploughed fields and a range of obstacles, including the famed Taxis fence, known for the large hedge and ditch the runners have to cross during the race.

After riding at Middleburg racecourse in Virginia on Saturday, Garner is set to dash to nearby Washington Dulles airport and fly to Paris before heading to the Czech Republic to take part in the race.

The last British rider to land the Velka Pardubicka was Charlie Mann in 1995 on Its A Snip, who he also trained, and the chance to add his name to the list of winners was too much for Garner to turn down.

"It’s always been a race I’ve wanted to win and I’ve come close to doing so in the past, so I’m looking forward to it," Garner said. "They asked me six months ago to ride in the big race and I said I’d let them know. In the last ten days it’s come together and I said I’d love to do so.

"I might not ride in the race again – I haven’t been there since Covid – and I wanted to make sure I gave myself every chance to do so. Put it this way, if he’d have won the race and I’d not made the effort to go and ride him, I’d be quite upset."

Garner has come close to landing the race before having finished second on the Stanislav Popelka-trained Stretton in 2019, losing out by a length and a quarter to Theophilos, trained by race legend Josef Vana.

While looking forward to the prospect of the race, Garner will not be hanging around in Europe with the rider needing to prepare for next weekend’s American Grand National at Far Hills.

"I’m relishing the chance to get back on Stretton," he said. "I jumped to the front at the last in the race in 2019 and he just idled a bit. I’ve not ridden him since but it’s exciting.

"I’d love to come back to Britain for a few days afterwards, but I’m flying back on Monday as it’s the US Grand National next weekend and it’s going to be a busy week preparing for that."

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