In bright autumn conditions, Czech horses filled all the places at Wroclaw yesterday, when Jan Kratochvíl rode a textbook race on Gap Pierji to win from Molly Power, Irreverencieux running on late home to deny Beau Saonois third place.

The victory in the PLN 172,000 (€40,000) contest enables Josef Vana to leapfrog Partice Quinton into first place in the Crystal Cup leaderboard before the challenge oscillates toward western Europe for the remaining seven races.

Nine faced the starter in this 5,000m steeplechase, with the early running cut out by White Wood, with Go Canada and Gap Pierji handy. The other Vana runner, Beau Saonois, forced the pace at the third, but White Wood’s rider was having none of it, regaining the lead as they galloped through the water in front  of the stands.

Mistakes by Sophist, the only home-trained challenger, and Irony, at the bank, jumped just once in the race, put them out of contention, and Sophist was eventually pulled up.

Kratochvíl drove Gap Pierji into a 4l lead five out, extending this as they closed out the race. Pretty King ran on to close the gap to 4 1/2l, with the Veonika Lempochnerová – trained Irreverencieux running on strongly to outpoint Beau Saonois for fourth place.

The Polish race has shaken up the leaderboard, no French or British runner having ventured east. Josef Vana has established a 9pt lead over Patrice Quinton, with 37pts, but the pendulum is likely to swing back toward France or Ireland at Compiegne, destination for several of the recent winners.

The home-based Nitro, owned and trained by Elvira Porębna, has been withdrawn from Sunday’s Crystal Cup Steeplechase at Wroclaw, leaving just 9 to face the starter.

The withdrawal makes it almost a stone cold certainty that the PLN 172,000 (€40,000) prize will be won by a horse trained across the border in the Czech Republic. The only other Polish – trained runner is White Wood, held on Merano form by Gap Pierji, one of the two Vana runners for Scuderia Aichner. But there’s plenty of other talent lined up from the Czech Republic, including the 5 year old Pretty King, trained by Grzegorz W Wróblewski. Pretty King was bred by Eric Leray in France, himself no stranger to the cross country scene.

Vana must be fancying his chances of usurping Patrice Quinton at the top of the Crystal Cup leaderboard after this sixth leg. A win or second place from just one of his runners would be enough to leapfrog the Frenchman’s 28pt total, given that runners outside your own country earn double points. The Crystal Cup Challenge spans 12 races, with €50,000 of bonuses to be paid next Spring.

Nevertheless, the popular Wroclaw racecourse at Torpartynice is expecting a sizeable crowd for the penultimate fixture of its 12 day season. The racecourse, which first opened in 1907, offers free admission, in itself a guarantee of an inexpensive family day out. The first of 10 races is at 11am.

Ten entries make up the fifth leg of the Crystal Cup at Wroclow, hard on the heels of last Sunday’s Velka Pardubicka. The PLN 172,000 (€40,000) has attracted 8 candidates from across the border in the Czech Republic to complement two home-trained prospects.

Form on many of these is quite sporadic given the race programme across Poland, the Czech Republic and northern Italy. Nevertheless, the performance of Velka Pardubicka 6th Santa Klara gives a line on several of the runners.

Go Canada, Irreverencieux, White Wood, and Pretty King were behind Santa Klara at Wroclaw at the start of September, Pretty King the best of these 3l behind. The  G W Wroblewski – trained 5 year old has since run a respectable 9l third in a Grade I steeplechase at Merano at the end of September, and a repeat of that performance would have him go close.

Scuderia Aichner and Josef Vana Jnr teamed up last year to win the Crystal Cup, largely on the exploits of one horse, Gap Pierji. They are better-prepared this time around, with several horses running in their distinctive black and yellow. Two entries, Gap Pierji and Beau Saonois, represent the stable this time around.

Gap Pierji has been held back for this race, scratched from the far hotter Velka Pardubicka a week earlier, and this is a creditable chance to add a second win to his 2024 record, following a victory in a €30,000 chase at Merano in June. he travelled to France the following month to finish behind Ivresse d’Estruval, in itself no poor performance as the Lageneste & Macaire – trained gelding is no slouch. Most recently, he was pulled up behind Zubiena in the Merano leg of the Crystal Cup at the end of September.

French-bred Beau Saonois has been running creditably but in modest class races. His last three runs have all been at Merano, the most recent a 3/4l second to Zubiena, the Crystal Cup winner of 3 weeks ago. A good run by either, or both, would put Vana back in the driving seat in the Crystal Cup leaderboard, where he is languishing 9 pts behind Patrice Quinton.

Fresh from his dead-heat triumph at Pardubice, Török Dalibor fields Ironika, who comes here fresh from an 8l win over 4,600m at Pardubice in the third week of September. He has ground to make up on Gap Pierji based on the Merano run in June, in which Irreverencieux was pulled up.

Sophist and Go Canada represent the Poles yard in the Czech Republic, and of the pair, Go Canada has shown more consistent form, with a string of third-placed finishes that suggest a lack of finishing speed. Sophist had Go Canada behind when winning at Wroclaw in April, but that form has since been reversed this autumn.

Jan Faltejsek runs Molly Power, a 7 year old German-bred, but the gelding has a bit to find, and this distance will be well beyond anything he’s tried to date.

The 10 are completed by home-trained Nitro, handled by Eric Porębna, who comes here on the back of a 6l victory at Wroclaw at the start of September

There’s a strong international challenge among the 16 declared runners for this year’s 134th renewal of the €200,000 Velka Pardubicka, the most valuable of the 12 Crystal Cup races, to be run at Pardubice on October 13th.

Globe-trotter Gordon Elliott has entered the Gigginstown Stud owned Coko Beach, winner of five of his 25 chase starts, and 11th and 2nd in the last two runnings of the Aintree Grand National. He hasn’t been seen since finishing a 4 1/2l third to Singing Banjo in this Spring’s version of the La Touche Chase at Punchestown, now a leg of the Crystal Cup.

Elliott has form when it comes to international competition. Although he has never previously had a runner in this race, he has successfully plundered races in the US at Far Hills for the last couple of years, and Coko Beach is one to relish the quirks of the Crystal Cup. Keith Donoghue takes the ride on this highest-rated horse in the race.

Rated 32lb lower than Coko Beach, Streets of Doyen represents John McConnell, who has never been one to shy away from tilting at windmills, with notable success. Streets of Doyen unseated his rider in the Punchestown banks race in May behind Singing Banjo, and hasn’t yet been troubling the judge in runs since, including a 25l 5th behind Hang In There in Uttoxeter’s Summer Cup in June. Ben Harvey will be in the plate.

An interesting candidate will be the US – trained Jeremy Pass, from Maryland-based Joseph Davies, for whom a plan to run in this race was hatched way back in April, after his owner won the Maryland Hunt Cup with maiden Blackhall. Similarly rated to Streets of Doyen, Jeremy Pass has taken a hunter chase route to this race, winning at Ballinadenisk and Listowel in May and June, before transferring to Charlie Marshall’s in Dorset, UK for his European campaign. Amateur rider Teddy Davies picks up a plum ride.

Josef Vana Jnr initially entered Gap Pierji, pulled up in Merano last weekend, and Santa Klara, a recent winner at Wroclaw over 5,000m in the colours of Scuderia Aichner. Gap Pierji was scratched this week.

Another of the home-based team with multiple entries is Hana Kabelková. Nine year old Del Ray has yet to win over fences, whilst a successful outcome is more probable from Talent, a 5l second in 2023, or Star, a further length back in third.

A key form line runs through one of the qualifying races here at Pardubice in June, won by Godfrey, trained by Török Dalibor. Behind the 8 year old that day were fellow entries Star, Sexy Lord, Her Him, Argano, Dulcar de Sivola, the now scratched Kaiserwalzer and Lombargini, the last two of these 5th and 4th in this race in 2023, Lombargini under British rider James Best.

Dalibor also fields 7 year old High In The Sky, whose second in a qualifier here in the third week of September had Del Ray and Player behind.

James Best may been booked for the ride on Zataro, trained by Marián Štangel, who has form to make up on several others, based on a distant 7th in a qualifier here in June.