by Magnat
Another race meeting will be held at the Marsa race track next Sunday, with the first race starting at 1.30pm.
This is a nine race all-trot meeting dedicated to the semi-finals of the SECF championships reserved for French trotters on a 2,640m distance. We have two semi-finals from each of the Prix d’Enghien (Gold class), the Prix de Cabourg (Silver class), the Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer (Bronze class) and the Prix de Caen (Copper class) – the Prix de Vincennes (Premier class) finalists have already been selected. The first five from each semi-final make it to the respective final.
The two main races from these championships are naturally the Prix d’Enghien semi-finals with 10 participants per semi-final, aged between 8 and 12 years and each having winnings outside Malta exceeding Euro100,000 up to in excess of Euro360,000.
Between them these horses have already won 15 races this year, with Nicos de Peneme registering four wins and Ozerio and Night Inlet three each. Many of these horses have a strong relationship with the Premier class, with six of them having originally been registered in the Premier class on the strength of their overseas winnings, four have now been promoted to the Premier class on the basis of their recent showings and seven are less than ten points away from promotion to that class.
The Prix de Cabourg semi-finals are similarly balanced, with 12 participants per semi-final aged between 7 and 15 years and having good average overseas winnings of around Euro115,000 per participant. Between them these horses have won 22 times this year, with Notre Joyeux winning four times and Orage du Pont three times.
The Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer features 10 participants per semi-final aged between 9 and 16 years and sharing 26 wins between them this season. Two horses have won five times each this year, i.e. Icare de Jemma and Noe de Loudat, whilst Ouragan de Crouay and Polytain have won three times each.
Twenty-five horses aged between 8 and 16 years are registered to race in the two Prix de Caen semi-finals. These horses have won only 8 times between them (Loulou de la Rose notching three of these wins) this year and this championship should give them the opportunity to make up for the rest of the season through a good finish.
The only “normal” race in this programme is an attraction in its own right. It is a Premier class race featuring ten of the Prix de Vincennes finalists.
These are Summer Championship Premier class winner Milord Barbes, VOB Cup winner Label Chouan, June’s Prix de Vincennes winner Lady de Vindecy, six-time winner this year and Dragonara Tazza l-Kbira runner-up Nuage de Bourgogne, Dragonara Tazza l-Kbira finalist Nabab du Chatelet, last week’s winner Nino de Saintho, Nitesco d’Anthony which placed second in its last three races, as well as popular horses Magic de Assigny and Natieu d’Echal and relative newcomer Ouest Mabon.
The Prix de Vincennes and the President’s Cup finalists have already been selected. The next meeting will provide us with the remaining SECF finalists. Another attractive programme is in the offing, with this fresh autumn weather promoting some great racing and hopefully also some fast times on the 2,640m distance.
Last Meetings
The main attraction of the meetings held last weekend, were 4 semi-finals from the President’s Cup reserved for Premier class trotters of all nationalities, on a 2,640m distance.
Friday’s semi-final saw Mars accelerating strongly in the last 750m, taking the lead and maintaining it till the end, to notch its second win from its 4 races in Malta, about two and a half lengths ahead of fellow qualifiers Count of Life and Skip Dimanche, in one of the best times of the season on this distance, 1’15’1 per kilometre. Belafonte finished in fourth place.
In Sunday’s first semi-final we saw Maximal Value taking an early lead whch it maintained until the final straight when Mystere d’Urfist, which was returning after a nearly six month stop, launched a determined attack and finished up claiming its first seasonal win by a length from Wiss Night Hawk followed by pace-setter Maximal Value, which also made it to the final. Nophenio de Lune claimed fourth place.
Then we had a brilliant final straight between four horses sprinting head-to-head. Kakisis on the outside lanes was the fastest of the lot, winning its first race of the season by just a head from Shakira Trot followed by Power Night Star which also booked a place in the final, just beating fourth placed True Q. The winner’s time was 1’17’6 per kilometre.
In the last semi-final, Mont Cenis Honey was the front-runner since the early stages, but it could do nothing to resist Zilver Boko’s final burst of speed in the final straight, with the latter going in front in the last 100 metres and claiming an impressive seventh seasonal win in a time of 1’16’0 per kilometre, a length ahead of the said Mont Cenis Honey, with Troy Boshoeve being the last qualifier for the final. Versace Boko was a close fourth.
The “normal” races were also over a 2,640m distance.
In the first Gold class race on Friday, a strong sprint in the final few hundred metres was enough for Ollico Pellois to overtake race leader Pinekiller at around the middle of the final straight, enabling it to claim its fourth seasonal win, nearly two lengths ahead of Nick de Touchyvon followed by Simb Mark and the said Pinekiller, in a time of 1’17’4 per kilometre.
Ygor of Pass held the lead throughout Friday’s second Gold class race notwithstanding a good end-of-race challenge from runner-up Lime Casted which finished just half a length behind the winner, which notched its third seasonal win in a time of 1’17’1 per kilometre. Keeping Quality and Hulot claimed the remaining places in that order.
On Sunday, the first Gold class race resulted in Natif de l’Hommee’s third seasonal win, when it took the lead in the final lap and held on to it comfortably to finish over two lengths ahead of Paleo de la Dives, followed by Enjoy Kronos and newcomer Prince November, in a time of 1’16’4 per kilometre.
Argus Hanover also had a fast last lap, but it had a tougher task to ward off the challenge offered by Key Value in the final straight. Ultimately Argus Hanover claimed its first win in Malta in its second race at the track, half a length ahead of the said Key Value, followed by Milton Malhis and Jerry Eme. The winner also clocked a time of 1’16’4 per kilometre.
The other races had the following winners: Lass Idol and Kapro Wareco (both at their first win in Malta), Odelvio (first seasonal win), Schejken Bill (first seasonal win) and Darco As and Cross Country FC (both at their second consecutive and seasonal win) in the Silver class, Tornado Hornline and Borups Hero (both at their first win in Malta), Morgan Kane (fourth seasonal win) and Ariane A (third seasonal win) in the Bronze class and Louise Wood (second seasonal win) in the only Copper class race.
Noel Baldacchino at Vincennes
As was the case last year, current champion driver Noel Baldacchino will once again represent Malta in the Prix de Rencontres Internationales du Trotteur Francais, a reclamer race involving a driver representing each of 15 countries, being held at the legendary Vincennes racetrack over a 2,150m distance.
Noel has once more been drawn to partner one of the extreme outsiders in this race, i.e. Quampo Mondo Sy which will be running shoed with the number 10. We wish Noel the best of luck in this extremely difficult race. We are sure that he will once again give his best and use his long experience to get the best possible out of the horse he is due to drive.
The owners of Major Chaleonnais will also be awarded a prize in Vincennes, in recognition of the fact that this horse has been declared as the best French trotter in Malta for the year 2011.
Monte’ races
The Malta Racing Club is proposing to hold one or more monte’ races (depending on the level of interest) in the meetings of the 23rd or 30th December. Those interested are invited to contact the Club.
The autostart – its 30th anniversary
I remember as if it was yesterday, in my childhood days at the Marsa racetrack in the seventies, the announcer calling over the microphone in Maltese before each race “The horses are under starter’s orders. Take your places, take your places”.
Those were the days of handicap races with the use of the starting ribbon. I remember the extensive grumbling that used to take place on the quality of the race starts at the time.
As one of the many examples, one can find the critical comments made by The Times’ racing correspondent “Groucho” on the 9th November 1970, when he wrote:
“I am in particular referring to the starts, which were a great disappointment to the race-going public, and were hailed by a lot of booing. The starts of the Fourth and Seventh Races were a flop.
I am fully aware that the job of the starter is a thankless one, especially when it involves trotters who are handicapped by distance. We were witnesses to some very good starts and to some poor ones but the ones of last Sunday beggar description.
In the above-mentioned two races the “Off” signal was given without making use of the normal words and when the horses were facing different directions of the compass. Most of the trotters were at the ready ... waiting for the “Off” signal, but the drivers were on a tight rein, waiting. When the horses could wait no longer, they went away by themselves. It was after this that the official “Off” was given which resulted in horses going in all directions, two of which colliding. In other race-courses such race would have been declared a false start. This, however, did not happen at last Sunday’s meeting as the starter deemed that the start was in good order.”
And now we fast-forward to the 5th December 1982, less than two years after the opening of this racecourse, one of the red-letter days in Maltese horse-racing history. And again, we quote The Times’ racing correspondent, who under the title “Autostart makes racing history” reported as follows:
“The car idled motionless in the middle of the track as the ten horses were driven towards their respective pens, spread out across the wide open gates of the vehicle. Slowly, the car gathered speed, the horses following at half trot, 200 metres, 300 metres ... the speed increased, the hooves clattered on the firm Marsa racetrack, as the runners muzzled and strained at the fast moving pens in front of them.
A sudden burst of speed from the driver, while the touch of a switch folded the giant arms of the gates, and as the starting car sped away, leaving the runners now fully launched, to trot away, jockeying for the best positions by the rails, Malta’s first ever race with an autostart, was on its way.”
After a struggle with runner-up Isard de Play, it was Ideal de Tracy that finished winner by a head of that Class B race, the first ever autostart race in Malta. Iacchus was the winner of the only other autostart race in that meeting.
The original autostart itself was effectively a vintage car, an American Oldsmobile model 98. It did give its troubles and mechanical issues during race meetings were not abnormal particularly in the eighties. Thus some such troubles occurred a week before the 1983 Tazza l-Kbira final, and a week later, they delayed even the start of the final, which was eventually won by Hector de Retz.
Naturally, the car was changed over the years with improvements being registered in terms of its dependability.
Although until around 20 years later autostart races continued to co-exist with handicap races, since the nineties, handicap races started decreasing considerably. Between around 2000 and 2005, handicap races accounted for less than 20 races per season, with these continuing to reduce further afterwards (only 4 in the 2006 season and a minimal number since then).
It seems that the disorganisation existing in the starts, the subject of the above-mentioned complaints for decades, with false starts, disqualifications for cutting the starting ribbon, collisions etc resulted in most of the loss of popularity of handicap races and the consequent increased reliance on the autostart.
Naturally, even the autostart has its problems from time to time, but it seems to have passed the test of time and that it has taken over practically in toto as the preferred system of race starts in Malta.
So, happy anniversary Autostart. May we continue making good use of you and further improve our race starts!
We wish you a great meeting this weekend.
