Velká pardubická 2026: Donoghue wins the Pardubice steeplechase again

Irish jockey Keith Michael Donoghue has won the Velká pardubická again, riding Final Orders in the famous 6,900-metre steeplechase in Pardubice. Godfrey with Faltejsek finished second, and Angkor Wat with Jan Odložil was third.

Only ten horses lined up at the start, the fewest in the past 33 years. At the last moment the jockey on Araucarias had to be replaced: Jakub Kocman stepped in for the injured Josef Bartoš, who had fallen in the first race of the day. The runners faced 31 fences, the fourth of which, the legendary Taxis ditch, is usually considered the key one. All of them cleared it.

Araucarias and Kocman were running their own race, but missed the turning point and the jockey fell. Jean-Stéphane Lebrun on Hard Roc De Kerser and Adam Čmiel on Čaryjap had already dropped out. After that the pace slowed. Godfrey, who had been reluctant early on, briefly led. Donoghue also had a scare when he nearly fell at the first open ditch fence, but he stayed in the saddle.

Everything was decided in the finishing straight. Marcel Novák did not make it that far, as he failed to clear the penultimate fence. The two main favourites fought for the win, with Angkor Wat and Jan Odložil pressing them. In the end Final Orders had more in reserve and foiled Faltejsek's attempt to equal Josef Váňa's record of eight wins in this race.

“I'm thrilled, the horse ran brilliantly. I'm glad to have won again,” said a delighted Donoghue. Of the ten horses that started, seven finished.

The prize fund for the race was 5 million crowns. Sacamiro (Neprašová) came fourth, Greek Dessert (Best) fifth and High in the Sky (Velek) sixth. The winning time was 9:30.68. Final Orders is trained by Cromwell and runs for CMD Syndicate.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz