by Magnat

Another race meeting will be held at the Marsa racetrack next Sunday 23rd October, including nine races and starting at 2pm.

Thoroughbreds will have the opportunity to be the protagonists of this meeting with two semi-finals for the Exotique Challenge Cup on the long 2,250m distance. The first has eight horses and the second seven, with four qualifiers from each heat making it to the final which will be held in a fortnight’s time.

The first semi-final includes horses such as current Mediterranean Derby holder Buttermilk and various horses which have won at least once this year, including Tarruji, Kimberley Downs, Letthewordgoforth, Friarscourt and Ollie Fliptrik. The second sees past double Mediterranean Derby winner Just The Best, Cheeky Jack which had a good win recently, newcomer Lite North Wind (US) and the other equally valid horses.

The other seven races are trot events, with the highlight being a Premier class race including a full field of 16 horses, such as this season’s five time winner Energy Launcher, recent double winner Niky du Donjon, last week’s winner Noble d’Ete, and a number of relative newcomers as well as seasoned trotters.

The two Gold class races also include horses with impressive credentials, some which have recently featured in the Premier class and which are close to promotion to that class, such as Count of Life, Dream Leader, Kain Poifond, Natif de l’Hommee, Quick Cape, Wilford and various others, other successful trotters such as Lys des Etroits, Kingpin la Marc and many others.

The other races consist of two reserved for the Bronze class and two others for Silver class horses.

We do not have any trot newcomers in the starting lists although some are registered as possible reserves. Furthermore, last week, apart from the new horses referred to in the last article, we also saw newcomer Yotara Meerswal (NL) in the Copper class.

This meeting will see a pleasant return of flat racing as its highlight through the Exotique Challenge Cup semi-finals. For trotters, the races are “normal” ones, but we expect horses not involved in the Cassar Fuels finals to continue gaining their form in anticipation of the start of other important championships in a few weeks’ time.

Last meetings

After Friday’s meeting was held as expected, heavy rain provoked the postponement of Sunday’s meeting to Monday evening, when it was held successfully.

The highlight of these meetings were the two semi-finals from the Cassar Fuels Autumn Championship for Premier class horses which resulted in the qualification of the ten finalists (coincidentally five French and five Swedish) for the final which shall be held on Sunday 30th October.

In Friday’s semi-final, Lipouz Lesmelchen led the field until around half a lap from the end, when it was strongly attacked by Livi Cantona which took the lead and went on to take its sixth seasonal win by a good margin after going on the outside lanes in the final straight as it normally does. Its time was 1’16’6 per kilometre and it was followed by fellow qualifiers Lipouz Lesmelchen, Oscarina, Key Value and Mentor de l’Iton.

In Monday’s semi-final, it was Carnegie Hall which led for most of the race, but once again the decisive attack took place in the last half lap, when Lou Petiot, which had been following the leading horses throughout the race went two wide to attack the then-leader, went in front and continued at a strong pace to also win by a comfortable margin in a very good time of 1’15’7 per kilometre. The other qualifiers were Carnegie Hall, Flash Coger, Norman d’Avril and Nabab des Corvees.

The other trot races were also semi-finals for the Cassar Fuels Condition Races for the other classes, resulting in ten finalists in the Bronze class and twelve in each of the Copper, Silver and Gold classes.

The winners were Orlando Tejy, Ludo de Bellande and Beckham Bob in the Gold class, Mealington, Lutan Villetot, Onwards Star and Victory Toll in the Silver class, Syllabub, Naja du Tija, Omega des Arpents and Ocean Gede in the Bronze class and Loulou de la Rose, Monte Cinto Mag and Tapper Kana in the Copper class. Interestingly, three of these winners (Ludo de Bellande, Beckham Bob and Mealington) registered a time of 1’16’6 per kilometre.

The Class A flat race resulted in another first class performance by Fyelehk which again led from start to finish and won by about ten lengths from Cheeky Jack and Just The Best.

Doping test results

Recently the Malta Racing Club received three doping test results relative to races held on the 16th, 23rd and 25th September 2011 respectively.

Congratulations go to the owners and trainers of Lime Casted and Carnegie Hall whose result confirmed that they were clean from prohibited substances. Unfortunately the other result disclosed prohibited Category 3 substances in respect of Nuthan d’Emi.

Registration Days

Typically held once every fortnight (but even weekly sometimes), horseracing registrations is a crucial feature of Maltese horse-racing. The number of horses registered determines the number of meetings which should be held as well as the number of races and their split into different classes.

Registration days are normally Saturdays and Sundays. The Club’s office opens at 7.30am and typically remains open until late morning on both days. Especially on Sunday, it is not abnormal to have owners already awaiting the office opening even before the scheduled time.

The difference in the number of registrations between the two days is impressive. On Saturday, registrations occur regularly but the rhythm is rather easy going. On Sunday, the volume of work increases radically, with people having to await their turn to register the horses.

Standing up or sitting down on the wooden bench facing the working quarters where the registration takes place, owners and their friends linger, look at the noticeboard and speak in an animated manner about horse-related matters, jesticulating with their hands and heads in typical Mediterranean style.

Are doping offences sufficiently or overly penalised? Do they agree or disagree with certain judges’ decisions? Why is a particular horse doing well in training but then underperforming during races? And a hundred other things.

Mike sits behind the computer inputting registrations whilst Fredu works mainly standing up, answering horse owners phoning on the fixed line and on his mobile, noting scratches for the next day’s meeting in the notebook and helping out in the registrations. They also exchange a word with everyone walking in and out of the office.

Most of them are regulars and are known mainly by their nickname. It is a friendly atmosphere where everyone knows each other. They often do not even need to mention their horses’ names because Mike and Fredu immediately recognise them and know which horses they intend to register.

Registration is over just before lunchtime on Sunday. After its close, the staff carry out their final administration duties before packing up. On Monday the registered horses will be split into races for different classes according to the respective handicap points and with their race numbers.

As I leave the office, I can’t help feeling that registration is not just an essential part of the Maltese horse-racing scene, but it is also a sort of ritual, a pleasant social occasion, where friends and acquaintances meet and exchange views issues related to horse-racing … their common interest and passion.

We wish you all an exciting meeting next Sunday.