'He was bought for nothing else except this race' - can Velka Pardubicka plan pay off for Irish trainer?

While Gavin Cromwell's Cheltenham Festival winner Stumptown leads the Irish charge for the 135th running of the Velka Pardubicka in the Czech Republic on Sunday, Peter Maher will run Cavalry Master in a race the trainer has always wanted to win.

Famous names such as Ruby Walsh, Richard Dunwoody, and Patrick Mullins have ridden in the prestigious cross-country race, in which horses must negotiate 31 obstacles, including the notorious Taxis ditch, which consists of a five-metre long ditch with a 1.45m hedge.

• Patrick Mullins: 'I want to be sick. I want to cry. I want to punch something. My golden opportunity has evaporated' 

No British or Irish trainer has won the contest since Charlie Mann saddled Its A Snip, whom he also rode, to victory in 1995.

Maher first had runners in the race in 2023, and while he is under no illusions as to the task facing his representative, he has been training him with this race in mind and has his doubts as to the timing for Stumptown, who will be having his first run of the season.

“It's a race I’ve always wanted to win,” said Maher. “It is one of the last frontiers since they messed up the Aintree Grand National, I know they kind of had to, but still. It is the last great race – 135 years running.

“I know Gavin’s horse is probably far superior to my one, but it is the wrong time of year and I have been running mine once per month for two months with this race in mind. He was bought for nothing else except this race. It's still a race of chance and anything can happen, you never know.”

Stumptown (nearest): one of two Irish-trained runners in the Velka PardubickaCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Maher says participants from these shores underestimate the Czech competitors at their peril and he has found the track conditions to be one of a kind.

“They are no daws over there,” he said. “They would cut you in two for a win. They don’t have a lot of money so they need to be making prize-money, not training fees. Their horses are unbelievably fit and well schooled.

“At home, we have maybe four furlongs and a hill, but they could have a field that is 150 acres. It’s the most amazing track I’ve ever seen in my life. It is ten times better than Cheltenham, you could be playing golf on it rather than running horses."

Maher added: “They put all the money into the track, and then probably less into the stands. It is a bit like going to a point-to-point from that point of view."

While Maher believes Cavalry Master will outrun his odds under Sean O’Keeffe, he has a sneaking suspicion for another in the race.

“I like the French horse, Gentleman De Reve,” he said. “He has good form and should benefit for the extra mile. I would be happy if Cavalry Master could place, but whatever happens, I know it will be a great race.”

Velka Pardubicka (2.30 Pardubice, Sunday)
Paddy Power: 13-8 Stumptown, 7-2 Sexy Lord, 4 Chelmsford, 8 Dulcar De Sivola, 14 Gentleman De Reve, Klarc Kent, 16 Cuwall, Ztracenka, 20 Araucarias, High In The Sky, 25 Caryjape, Dumon Roclay, Zarate, 33 Cavalry Master, 66 Stormmy.

Read these next:

Cheltenham Festival ace Stumptown set for daunting Velka Pardubicka challenge: 'It takes cross-country racing to a whole new level' 

Historic Velka Pardubicka ends in first ever dead-heat with nothing to split Sexy Lord and Godfrey 

Fakir D'Oudairies among the eye-catching names to go point-to-pointing this season 

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