Lady Lenka Neprasova was the measure of all things in Merano on Saturday. © FOTO PRESS ARIGOSSI 2025

Billy Jango and his jockey brave the weather

In icy winds like in the depths of October and with repeated rain, Maia said goodbye with a triple victory by Czech jockey Lady Lenka Neprasova.

July 27, 2025

From: pm

Neprasova excelled in the saddle of Billy Jango in the Maiden Hurdle, Vino Supremo in the Cross-Country and Narval in the Sales Hurdle for older horses – all three owned by Josef Aichner and trained by Josef Vana Jr.

Neprasova demonstrated particularly great horsemanship in the clever wait-and-see approach with Billy Jango in the Premio Kolping: with an impressive final sprint, the four-year-old easily overtook his stablemate Tough Times in the home stretch. Urugano was a good third horse, while Cheeky Blimey, with ground problems, disappointed in the final stages and remains winless.

Another Aichner-Vana-Neprasova combination won the Premio Plantitscherhof, the sales race over hurdles: Narval, who found himself in a lower category, took the lead from Darkalon and beat him comfortably, with Policasta following as expected in third place.

Overall standings: Volpe remains in the lead

The hat trick was completed at the Premio Hohenwart Cross-Country: Vino Supremo launched a fresh charge on the home stretch and overtook the resurgent Heichal. Zain Master finished third, despite Gaetano Volpe's truly acrobatic feat: after the final water jump, his saddle slipped, forcing him to maintain his balance for 800 meters without stirrups and with a "slanted" riding position!

But Volpe got his revenge in the Premio Tannerhof, the final hurdle race, where he safely brought home the favorite Dancer Evolution – ahead of Excellent Drago and Zarina. With this victory, Volpe maintains his lead in the 2025 Maia steeplechase rankings with nine wins, but Lenka Neprasova is closing in on his heels with her hat trick (eight wins) today – the duel is on!

On the flat, young Tommaso Burchi showed excellent timing at the start with Free Solo (owned by Laura Arrighi, trained by Raffaele Romano), who successfully withstood the strong finish of Pandora's Cup. Riccardo Belluco secured another season victory with his nearly infallible Maponus.