by Magnat

Two race meetings will be held at the Marsa racetrack at the end of this week; a meeting this Friday (28th October) and another on Sunday (30th October).

Friday’s meeting will start at 6.45pm and includes 8 races, while Sunday’s will commence at 1.30pm and features 9 races. All are reserved for trotters, with race distances varying between 2,140m and 2,640m.

The weekend’s star attraction is the Cassar Fuels Autumn Championship final being held on Sunday. We have ten registered horses, five French and five Swedish, aged between 7 and 12 years, which have all survived two sets of tough qualifiers. As all other finals from this Championship, the race distance is 2,140m.

The full horse list is as follows: Key Value, Lou Petiot, Lipouz Lesmelchen, Norman d’Avril, Mentor de l’Iton, Carnegie Hall, Nabab des Corvees, Flash Coger, Livi Cantona and Oscarina.

Sunday’s meeting also includes two other Cassar Fuels Autumn Championship finals, those reserved for the Gold and Bronze classes.

The Gold class final features twelve horses originating in Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, involving an interesting mix of seasoned trotters, namely as Magnifique Sablias, Maitre de Bannes, Loustic d’Anjou, Ludo de Bellande and Lucky Fan and relative newcomers that is Neptune Carisaie, Lacoste I.T., Orlando Tejy, Beckham Bob, Naja In Blue, Wim and Touch The Diamond.

The finals for the Copper and Silver classes will be held on Friday, when we should also see an interesting International Encounter race involving Maltese and Swedish drivers on a 2,140m distance; another opportunity for our drivers to be exposed to international competition.

Friday’s meeting will also include a very balanced Premier class race on 2,640m, with a full field of sixteen registered horses. This features a number of Championship winners such as current Tazza l-Kbira holder Kakisis, Equestrian Festival Premier class final winner Mon Daniel, June 2010 Prix de Vincennes winner Madis Boy, June 2011 Prix de Vincennes winner Master Perrine, past VOB Cup winner Arnie Sensation and many other interesting trotters.

Two newcomers are also registered to make their debut, i.e. Abzolute Pepper (SE) in the Bronze class and Knockout Molar (DK) in the Gold class.

No doubt, these are two varied meetings which will see this sport reaching its autumn peak ...

Last meeting

After a rainy day on Saturday, the weather was kind with horse-racing enthusiasts and Sunday’s meeting was held in pleasant weather.

The highlights of the nine race card were two semi-finals from the Exotique Challenge Cup for thoroughbreds over a long 2,250m distance. The first semi-final was won by Kimberley Downs which attacked the then leader Friarscourt around half a lap from the end and continued at a strong pace to finish winning by a comfortable margin from fellow final qualifiers Wildnis, Friarscourt and Ollie Fliptrik.

Cheeky Jack dominated the second semi-final from start to finish to win strongly without ever being troubled. The other qualifiers were Prince Yarraman, Genievre and newcomer Lite North Wind.

The Premier class race saw Niky du Donjon take its third seasonal win when it launched an excellent attack around 500 metres from the end to finish winning by more than a length from Lascar Beaujolais, Dialect Af Prinfo and Noble d’Ete, in a good time of 1’16’8 per kilometre over 2,640m.

The same time was registered by Gold class race winner Night Inlet which took its first win in Malta thanks to a strong sprint throughout the final straight which led it to win from No Comprendo, Kingpin La Marc and Matador Knick.

The other Gold class race saw Kejser Flamingo also taking the lead in the last few hundred metres to take its first seasonal win from Quick Cape, L’An Deux Milles and Count of Life.

The other winners of the day were Pajarito Nada and Opimus in the Bronze class and Norton de Gaia and Master Lupin in the Silver class.

It is also worth noting that out of seven trot races, three of the winners were driven by Rodney Gatt who also managed a runner-up position with another horse.

Finals Days

Although I have followed horse-racing for decades, Finals Days never stop fascinating me. Whether it is trot or flat racing, whatever the class involved, irrespective of the distance, finals are special.

It could be the racecourse which is adorned for the occasion, the numerous spectators, the thought that the horses have been specifically prepared for this day, all these things and others make Finals Days different from other race meetings.

Horses participating in Malta’s finals do not do so by invitation, but selection is based on qualifying from one or more phases of heats aimed at ensuring that the final includes the most in-form horses in the particular category.

Pre-race interviews with owners and drivers often lead only to a terse “All the participating horses are equally good”, and this is probably true because otherwise they would not have made it to the final.

There is a strong sense of keenness and anxiety in owners, trainers and drivers knowing that all their preparations were aimed for this day, for this race, and coveting the trophy that awaits the winner. The participating horses probably have similar feelings, appearing to know that they are about to participate in an important event.

There are favourites and outsiders but when the autostart car closes its gates they will all start from scratch, conscious that only those two or three minutes of the race will determine the winner. All else does not count.

Two or three minutes, but how eventful they can be! Nobody can predict the way a race unfolds, whether a horse will find the right opening at the appropriate time or will remain caught up in the pack, whether the driver will time his attack to perfection, whether a horse changes pace under pressure and a thousand other possibilities that may occur.

Only one horse enters the winners’ circle with its entourage, one person raises the trophy to the cheering of the crowd and who takes the winner’s photo which will adorn his stables for years to come. Whatever the outcome however, reaching a final is an achievement in itself, a day of satisfaction for all participants as a fitting tribute to the quality of the particular horse, which had to overcome the challenge of other optimal horses to make it to that appointment.

Good luck to all participants and may every final be characterised by a strong sense of sportsmanship.

We wish you all two great meetings this weekend.