Andrzej Walicki waited six years until he regained the undisputed primacy among trainers.

Previously, he was the best trainer in the 2007 season when he sparkled on the San Moritz track and, in 2010, „Life of Warsaw” awarded him the title of the Trainer of the Year ex-aequo with Krzysztof Ziemiański. This year’s success resulted from victories in outside group races for three-year-old horses, successively for awards of: Strzegom and Ruler Stakes (Emperor Ajeez), Solina (Kundalini), Derby (Patronus) and Oaks (Kundalini); for three-year-old and older horses: Vistula River (Wild Lady) and the Great Warsaw (Patronus), and for two-year-old horses: Dorpata (Avrora), Efforta (Greek Sphere) and Dakota and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Atlant).
Walicki primacy could have been expected after December last year when Ukrainian horses, owned by Konstantin Zgara, came to his stable. Some foretold that three-year-old Atlantic Star and Wild Lady, which he purchased abroad for relatively big money, would rule in the Derby age group. However, this did not frighten other owners who keep their horses in the stable of Walicki, especially Kishore Mirpuri and Zbigniew Górski. Finally, as for Walicki, it’s a win-win situation. Zgara can be satisfied because, although foreign purchases quite seriously failed, Patronus, purchased by him from a breeder Andrzej Zieliński for 30 thousand Euro, trained at the age of two years by Walicki, won the Derby and the Great Warsaw Race. As the aforementioned duo is concerned, „Kisior” Mirpuri has the reasons for greater satisfaction because Kundalini of his breeding and ownership proved to be the best mare of the season, despite a surprising mishap (sixth in the race for the Award of Krasne). Of the horses co-owned by Mirpuri and Górski, Emperor Ajeez did not fail (two wins, four second places), although it was only his performance at the distance of 2,200 m in the Derby of Austria (because after Iwno, when he lost to Pillar, one could still be deluded) that made his trainer and owners realize that it was rather certainly flyer, not a stayer. Expectations of the long-distance abilities were also not confirmed by Hurricane Seven, which was probably most disappointing to Walicki, as well as the owner Zbigniew Górski. After a second place in Strzegom and third place in Iwno, he was only seventh in the Derby, fourth in the race of „Life of Warsaw” and .. sixth in Sac-a-Paper over a distance of 3,200, which was supposed to be most conducive to him. This year, Walicki trained very good and good three-year-olds (in addition to the above mentioned horses, also Golejów Jovell, which was sold in August after winning three group races) and two-year-olds, while he had scarcely any older horses in the stable. Of two horses owned by Konstantin Zgara, eight-year-old son of Galileo Alandi did not even start, while four-year-old San Isidro proved to be average. Grey Toogris performed better, but the second place in the Wrocław race for the Award of Ruten and the third place in the race for the Award of the President of the Totalisator is not much as compared to expectations (he performed well in France and Ukraine). However, the first place was taken twice by a group four-year-old Tropical Fly, while 5-year-old Big Luck suffered injury and did not start any more after two unsuccessful performances at the beginning of the season. Zdzisław Lica, who worked in the stable of Walicki Zdzisław, prepared to hurdle racing the three-year-old Seton, which finally became the double winner in this competition, because Mahari, with which he lost in his debut, was disqualified because of doping. Walicki took the second place in the championship of trainers. 1st place – 37; 2nd place – 30; starts – 167. In terms of percentage of wins – 22.2, he resigned from the front fifteen only to Maciej Jodłowski – 23%. Aleksander Rezenikov worked in the stable in the 2013 season until the Great Warsaw Race. Anton Turgaev is to come to this stable in the coming weeks. Walicki has already hired jockey Mirosław Pilich. However, he sees him more in the role of his deputy and eventual successor. 'I am 72 years old. I will train horses as long as I am healthy enough, because it is a great passion of my life, but I have to think about the future. I have known Mirek from the beginning of his career in Służewiec, he already worked with me in the stable as a jockey. In 1996 he won the Derby on Wonderful. He may take over the stable after me,’ told us Andrzej Walicki.
Islander