By Alan Carasso
Joseph, the lone Czech-bred in a field of 16, came out on top of a final-furlong tussle to win Sunday's Ceske Derby, the richest such event for sophomores in Eastern Europe.
Slow to begin, Joseph settled in the latter third of the field and was switched away from the inside down the back of the course. He began to pick off rivals at the top of the straight, came with a run inside of fellow longshot Felix at the 200m and outfinished that rival to score by the minimum margin.
The winner hails from the final crop of the globetrotting Lando (Ger) (Acatenango {Ger}), a seven-time Group 1 winner including the 1995 G1 Japan Cup. The stallion, bred by and formerly based at Gestut Hof Ittlingen, died in August 2013 after fracturing a leg while emerging from successful colic surgery. VIDEO
CESKE DERBY (NB), Kc2,500,000 (£83,666/€95,248/US$106,551), Velka Chuchle (Prague), 6-25, 3yo, 2400mT, 2:29.19, gd.
1–JOSEPH (CZE), 128, c, 3, Lando (Ger)–Josselin (Fr), by Muhtathir (GB). O-Staj Dr Charvat; B-Charvat Group SRO; T-Tuma Pavel; J-Jiri Palik; Kc1,000,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, Kc1,106,500.
2–Felix (Fr), 128, c, 3, Jukebox Jury (Ire)–Fait Accompli (Ger), by Bering (GB). (€16,000 Wlg '14 ARQDEC; €30,000 Ylg '15 BBASEP). Kc550,000.
3–George Boole (Ire), 128, c, 3, Art Connoisseur (Ire)–Valbonne (Ire), by Refuse To Bend (Ire). (60,000gns HRA '17 TATFEB). Kc350,000.
Margins: NO, 2HF, 3. Odds: 50-1, 30-1, 27-1.
Also Ran: Sir Sun (Fr), Silver Ball (Fr), Aeneas (Ire), Irwin Forge (Fr), Zock (Fr), Stellar Speed (Ire), Black Canyon (Ire), Sasa (GB), Dominique (Fr), Palazzo Corsini (Ire), Nagano Gold (GB), Fighting Lips (Ire), Noble Cliffs (Fr). Scratched: Kerabush (Ire), Landaron (Cze).
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