What appeared a meagre field on paper produced a splendid race to savour at Merano for the third leg of the Crystal Cup, and has asserted a change in the leaderboard in favour of Eastern Europe, just a fortnight ahead of the Czech Republic’s most famous steeplechase.

This is a weekend of great importance to the Vana – Aichner axis of supremacy in Czech racing. Last year they came away with multiple winners across the weekend, and again are represented in the big events on Sunday for which the Gran Premio Dell Nazione – Memorial Marco Rocca is merely an aperitif.

Younes has the edge in the Crystal Cup cross country at Merano

But what an aperitif.

Josef Bartos sent Almost Human off from the off, with an exhuberant leap of the first that told of a race where jumping prowess would hold sway. The two Aichner runners were in close order together with Younes, the youngster in the race – Vesuvio – in rear. But for the first two-thirds of this 6,000m race, no more than 5l separated first from last.

Laldann’s jumping frequently took him up to challenge, but Alessio Pollioni had clearly been told to hold him up. 1,200m from home, Vesuvio made his move under Ondrej Velek, taking closer order, whilst Younes bided his time, catching breathers but now in rear.

Retirning the reverse route over the Passage of Liverpool, which bears no resemblance to any fence at Aintree, sadly, Vesuvio took up the running, headed for home. A clumsy jump 3 out hindered his chance, but they were queuing up behind, except Almost Human, who dropped away.

Grand de Thaix had the advantage at the last, Younes upsides, and with the rail to help him, Jan Faltejsek made it count, the winning margin 1 1/4l. laldann ran on one-paced to finish a 9l third, a half length ahead of Vesuvio. Don’t rule him out of further longer distance races; he showed good speed and will learn from the experience.

The domination of Czech runners in Italy inevitably shapes the early stages of the Crystal Cup, and Vana’s four runners leapfrog him into pole position in the leaderboard with 28pts to Patrice Quinton’s 19. Vana has a chance to improve on that in next month’s Velka Pardubicka, before the pendulum swings back toward France for Compiegne.

His leading patron the Aichner family, bereft of their leading light following the death of Josef Aichner in July, regains the top of the Owners’ leaderboard, requiring  David Cottin, Patrice Quinton or even Gavin Cromwell to travel to Cheltenham to reel in the lead. Cottin and his sporting octogenarian owner Caroline Tisdall certainly have ambitions in that regard.

For the full result click here.

Merano’s efforts to grow runners for their prestige cross country race, the 82nd running of the Premio Delle Nazioni – Memorial Marco Rocca, have unhappily not been rewarded, with just 5 runners declared for this €45,000 third leg of the Crystal Cup, ensuring that Josef Vana will leapfrog Patrice Quinton to the head of the Crystal Cup leaderboard.

Of the five, only Younes, trained by Zdenek Semenka, does not come from the Vana stable.

Nevertheless, favourite and last year’s winner, Laldann, is not necessarily a shoo-in. The 11 year old had enjoyed a productive summer at Merano, racking up victories over Almost Human in May over a shorter distance, and over Younes, both in May before failing by 5l to White Wood in August, the winner having something in hand. However, he is not the choice of stable rider Josef Bartos, which may be revealing in itself.

Bartos is jocked up against Almost Human, 4l second to Younes in his most recent run over a shorter distance here in early August. The Grand Steeplechase di Roma in mid-May gives a line on all three of these runners, Almost Human finishing 8 1/4l fourth to Laldann, Younes in second. The only reason to suspect that form is the extra 1,000m of this race, but the typical twists and turns of a cross country race do not make this representative of a true stayers’ race necessarily.

The third Vana runner, Grand du Thaix, has plenty to find against Laldann and Younes. He finished a distant fifth to Speed Emile here back in May, but Speed Emile is no slouch at Merano, unbeaten here since in 4 runs since 2024.

The unknown in the pack is five year old Vesuvio, who hasn’t won since Pisa in February ’25, but has rarely finished out of the frame since. It should be assumed he is still on the upgrade, although he’s never been tried over this extended 6,000m. Ondřej Velek takes the ride.

With a small field, a false pace is likely in the absence of a pacemaker, so this may turn into a waiting race. With that in mind, Younes is fancied to put a stop to Laldann’s run of success, and deny the Vana stable a clean sweep.

For a full list of runners, click here.

Leading European horse feeds manufacturer, Baileys, will support the Crystal Cup for the 2026-27 series, collaborating to encourage overseas runners in the 12 race series.

Built around title to the Leading trainer award, which offers a  €15,000 bonus to the trainer accumulating most points from runners in the selected races, Baileys will underwrite travel costs for owners of British, Irish, Czech, Polish and Italian horses running outside their own jurisdiction (French trainers already receive travel reimbursements from France Galop).

Irish and Czech trainers have been notably successful in the pan-European Series this past 12 months, with Roi Mage winning at Craon, Stumptown at Pardubice, and Gap Pierji in Merano and Wroclaw.

Hugues Crosnier, President of the Crystal Cup Association, remarked, “We’re delighted to welcome Baileys Horse Feeds as a partner of the Crystal Cup. We share similar attributes in the pursuit of excellence, and I hope together we can accelerate overseas participation in this unique series.”

Mark Buchan, Exports Manager for Baileys Horse Feeds, added, “The Crystal Cup offers an imaginative way for our European distributors to engage their current and prospective racing clients. We’re delighted to be playing our part toward the Entente Cordiale among nations that practise jump racing across Europe, and look forward to making new friends and customers across the piece.”

King of the Cheltenham Cross Country, Gavin Cromwell, has never been afraid to spread his wings internationally. A string of good cross country winners at Cheltenham have shifted the balance of power in this particular genre of the sport away from Enda Bolger, for so long the only man to follow over the banks.

Cromwell has an outstanding record over Cheltenham’s cross country races through horses like Stumptown, and more recently Final Orders, winner in January and March. Stumptown was imaginatively sent to the Czech Republic for the Velka Pardubice last year, and ran out a 1 3/4l winner of the 4m 2f marathon – the first ever Irish winner.

Speaking to sponsors William Hill, Cromwell reported, “We’re planning to head back to Pardubice this year with Final Orders. It looks like there will be a good chance of getting proper good ground there and we know he enjoys that. He has proven himself on the cross-country circuit, so he deserves his chance at this.

“Stumptown is in good form at home but we’ve been there and done it with him, so we’ll take a different route with him this year.”

An international flavour is a major fillip for the Czech steeplechase on October 11th, which is bucking the trend of small fields for Jump racing. The race has been the domain of Czech trainers until last October with the gallant Gentleman de Reve also prominent for some time, now under the tutelage of Peter Maher.

There was no disguising the joy among connections of Sweet David, who held off Klitcho de Belair in a rousing finish to the centrepiece event of les Trois Glorieuses at Craon, the Grand Cross Super-U, led by an ebullient Gabriel Leenders.

Sweet David passes the post ahead of Klitchko de Belair under Theo Demouch © Adrien Seite

The six runners all represented live chances for this memorable contest that is much revered among those that send runners to France’s 200 or so cross country steeplechases: Sweet David and Klitchko de Belair looking to stamp their authority on the genre; Roi Mage hoping his 14 years would see no loss of appetite for the fight; Caroline Tisdall seeking a Grand National candidate and a second Crystal Cup success within a week after her Waregem success; Gemini d’Ax looking to lose the perpetual bridesmaid tag.

In sweltering heat, the penetrometer going description of Tres Souple belied good ground, but this is a perfectly maintained racecourse, all the better for the current president’s achievement in persuading the town to divert the road into Craon to avoid the two road crossings. Fifty years on, the verdant green of Craon’s running surface is now uninterrupted by vehicle crossings and is all the better for it.

Roi Mage gave notice that a hat-trick was not to be on the cards at the start. A regular front-runner, he planted as the starter called them in, but with assistance from fellow rider Felix de Giles to lead him in, he led the field to the first at a pedestrian pace, stood off too early and gave himself and James Reveley a fright. With ears pricked heading for the second, he ignored Reveley’s urging as he refused at the open ditch – and dumped Reveley out the front door: no dream third year here, alas.

Klitchko de Belair took up the running with Iceo Madrik in close attendance under a false pace, even for a 3m5f race, the lead changing again up the hill to the sixth as Jean-Yves Toussaint sent Gemini d’Ax on.

At halfway, as the runners passed the stands to applause more commonly restricted to Cheltenham and Aintree, there was little change, Gemini d’Ax and Iceo Madrik leading, the pretenders Sweet David and Klitchko de Belair stalking the front pair, Pepite Bleu the back marker.

As they crossed the talus, fence 21, Theo Demouch on Sweet David had dropped to the rear, but he’d made ground again by the contre-haut (26) with little more than a mile to run. Gemini d’Ax cried enough as Klitchko de Belair and Iceo Madrik made their way home.

It pays to know this course, with its twists and turns, and Iceo Madrik did himself no favours in running wide after the 27th of the 31 fences, allowing Sweet David and Klitcko de Belair several lengths. Kilian Dubourg had the advantage turning in by 3l, and as both leaders came across to the stands rail, Dumouch switched to the outer, making up ground over the last and in the final stages to snatch a 1 3/4l success.

This success was all the sweeter for Sweet David having been a 7l second to Roi Mage 12 months earlier. If that was the dress rehearsal, this was merely an act in a play that has plenty to run. Leenders cleverly skirted his domestic peers last November to put the English and Irish in their place in Cheltenham’s cross country, and it begs a question of whether to return with a decent handicap mark for a tilt in March. Neither he nor runner-up Klitchko de Belair would be underestimated in the Cotswolds after this thrilling effort. Neither horse will be short of options back home either.

This was also a rare breeding success amidst this genre of race for a British breeder. Bred in England by David Futter at Yorton Farm, the son of Clovis de Berlais is a product of the British breeding scene that was sold to France, not the other way around.

Happy connections of Sweet David go one better than their runner-up berth in 2025 © Adrien Seite

But this also felt like a passing of the baton to a younger generation of horses who will carry the torch for cross country racing. Two seven years olds fought out the finish, and the older generation bowed out.

See full result here