by Magnat
Another two race meetings will be held over the coming week, the first on Sunday 3rd March and then the following Friday 8th March (no races will be held on Sunday 10th March due to the General Election). The 3rd March meeting starts at 1.30pm whilst the 8th March one starts at 6.30pm with the former comprising 11 races and the latter 10 races.
The Tazza l-Kbira is with us again!
Indeed, the main highlight of these two meetings consists of six heats (12 participants in each heat) from the Tazza l-Kbira featuring the top 72 trotters (61 from the Premier class and 11 from the Gold class) in the Malta Racing Club classification, which applied to race in this registration.
We have 42 French participants, 22 Swedes, 3 Germans, 2 originating in the US and one each from Denmark , Finland and the Netherlands – no less than seven countries. The youngest participant is Swede Opal Hall (6 years), whilst the oldest is French former Tazza l-Kbira winner Kakisis (winner of the December VOB grand final last year).
The race distance is as usual 2,640m.
The first four from each heat make it to the semi-finals which will be held on the 24th March.
Among the participants we find various championship winners last year such as (in addition to the afore-mentioned Kakisis), the current Tazza l-Kbira holder Mig of the Wood, Skyparks Swedish trotters Premier class championship winner Wiss Night Hawk, Sette Giugno Cup winner Zilver Boko, SECF Prix de Vincennes winner Nabab du Chatelet, VOB June grand final winner Label Chouan, Summer championship Premier class winner Milord Barbes, Cassar Petroleum Autumn Championship winner Troy Boshoeve, President’s Cup winner Mont Cenis Honey and this year’s Assikura A championship winner Argus Hanover.
The participants also include various horses which have already won this year in the Premier or Gold classes, such as Oran, Odedjalo, Oscar Mati, Normand d’Oger, Nino de Saintho, Fire, Keeping Quality, Simb Mark, and Sultan November.
We also have seven newcomers in these heats, i.e. the French Miaou, Ofackevo, Ohime Mag, Okilaibo, Original Blue and Orne des Olivettes and Swede Baloo Nalan.
One of these, i.e. Miaou, is registered with the highest number of points for newcomers in the MRC classification. It is the first horse in over 2 years making its debut aged 13 years. This horse raced for most of its career in France but then continued in other countries, such as Finland, Sweden and Denmark. It won DNK3,168,320 (around Euro420,000) in all, with a best time of 1’11’7 per kilometre registered at Vincennes in August 2007 on a 2,100m distance.
Undoubtedly all the participants are quality horses and we wish the best of luck to all of them.
The normal class trot races are over the sprint 1,640m distance, a distance which guarantees fast races in which horses need to be at their best throughout the race. These races also give an opportunity to shine to the various sprint specialists in Malta.
The main attractions on this distance are three Gold class races being held in the 3rd March meeting. These feature various in-form horses, some of which were racing in the Premier class in recent months. Winners and runners-up this year include among others Charm Hammering, Lovely Mab, Simb From Abroad, Novak, Natif de Salvi, Rika Rico, Ironbar, Janitor, Phenix de la Roque, Nick de Touchyvon and Oolong.
Two Swedish newcomers, i.e. Xray Hornline and Skars Hanna are also registered to debut in this class.
The remaining trot events in the 3rd March meeting are four for the Silver class, two for the Bronze class and a Copper class race, with three French (Qumran de la Motte, Quamiko de Ty and Quito du Goulet), one Swede (Megiddo) and one Danish (Non Stop Lobell) newcomers in the Silver class and two others (Swede Beauty Cheyenne and French Starky des Goujons) in the Bronze class.
In the 8th March meeting the remaining races are one each for the Silver, Bronze and Copper classes.
We also have an open flat race in each meeting, both on a 1,750m distance and kindly sponsored by P&M Farrugia. We have three participants in the first race and four in the second.
The first race sees the return to racing of one of last year’s protagonists, i.e. Timolin, together with Irish 4 year old newcomer Diamante Grande and British 5 year old newcomer Henderlik. It will be interesting to follow Timolin’s current form as well as the quality of these two newcomers.
The 8th March flat race has four well-known participants, i.e. last week’s winner and runner-up Little Anthony and Bon Santos respectively, 2011 Mediterranean Derby winner Buttermilk in search of good form this year and the return to racing of Royal Fleece after a 4 month absence.
There are many top quality championships in Malta but among them the Tazza l-Kbira, with its 79 year history is extra special. We look forward to another splendid edition of this championship, with the heats phase seeing a tight struggle for the few places from each heat which provide a ticket to the semi-finals, thus also earning a prestigious reference in Maltese horse-racing history.
Last Meetings
The highlight of the last meetings was this year’s first final featuring trotters from the Premier and the Gold classes, the Assikura A final for trotters which are neither French nor Swedish, held last Sunday 24th February on a 2,140m distance.
Ygor of Pass took an early lead among the nine horse field in this final, closely followed by Argus Hanover and Sultan November. However American Argus Hanover (Charles Camilleri) powered to the lead in the last half lap and it continued increasing its speed to win comfortably by over three lengths from Mars, followed by Reado November and Pro Shop. This was Argus Hanover’s second consecutive and seasonal win in the seasonal best time to date of 1’15’2 per kilometre.
The other trot races were over the longer 2,640m distance.
Last Sunday, we also had an exciting Premier class race in which Fire was in the lead for most of it, until it was overtaken in the final straight by Odedjalo which had to resist a determined attack by Oran which made some strong running in the last half lap. Ultimately Odedjalo claimed its first win in Malta just half a length ahead of Oran, followed by Fire and Nabab du Chatelet. The winner’s time was the seasonal best time to date on the 2,640m distance of 1’15’5 per kilometre.
In the first Premier class race of the 17th February meeting Orion du Vaumicel took an early lead which it maintained until the entry into the final straight when it could do nothing to resist Normand d’Oger’s attack. The latter continued on its way to its second win in Malta in a time of 1’16’7 per kilometre, a length ahead of Noble d’Ete, Ouf Boy and the afore-mentioned Orion du Vaumicel.
In the second Premier class race on that day, Nino de Saintho attacked on the outer lanes around 400m from the end, took the lead and maintained it till the end despite a strong attack in the final straight from newcomer Ourasi Diams. Nino de Saintho claimed its third win in Malta by just over half a length in a time of 1’16’6 per kilometre, with Ourasi Diams finishing runner-up, followed by Olympien Major and Give To Get.
We also had three Gold class races in these two meetings. In the first one, we witnessed an entertaining tussle in the final straight between Rika Rico and newcomer Phenix de la Roque. The former took its first win in Malta by just half a length from the said Phenix de la Roque, followed by Markus Klipp and Janitor in a time of 1’16’5 per kilometre.
In the second Gold class race Simb Mark registered its first win in Malta (and was promoted to the Premier class) in a good time of 1’15’7 per kilometre on the 2,640m distance, thanks to strong running in the last 350m which enabled it to win by a length from Niky de Memartin, followed by Jerry Eme and Naja in Blue.
The only Gold class race held on the 24th February provided us with an exciting struggle in the final straight between no less than four horses. Ultimately Keeping Quality registered its second consecutive and seasonal win in a time of 1’19’5 per kilometre, just a head in front of Notre Allegro, which was disqualified, with Nick de Touchyvon finishing runner-up for the second consecutive time, followed by Stefan Sufflor and Oolong in that order.
The only flat race reserved for Class A horses on the sprint 1,250m distance saw Little Anthony in front for practically the entire race. This horse took its first win in Malta by a length and a half from Bon Santos at its first placing in its six races to date, closely followed by Maya Queen.
Driver of the Month Award – January – February 2013
Cliferty Calleja won the Driver of the Month award for January – February 2013 on the basis of the seven wins and five places he registered during this period, from the eighteen races he competed in. From these, he won three races in the same meeting (that of the 24th February) and won the two Premier class races in the 17th February meeting.
His wins came through Quo Vadis Phedo (twice, Silver class), Belafonte (Premier class), Normand d’Oger (Premier class), Nino de Saintho (Premier class), Lucky d’Hercla (Bronze class) and Octobre En Fete (Silver class).
We convey our heartfelt congratulations to Clifferty for this success! We also thank Patrick Cellars Limited for supporting this initiative by sponsoring this month’s award.
Facts & Figures 2012 (Part 3): Number of meetings, participating trotters, honours
Before we shift our attention to flat racing and thoroughbreds in the next and final part, we take a look at some other aspects of the last season, mainly from a trot perspective.
On a general level, the number of meetings organised in 2012 amounted to 60. This is the third consecutive year in which the 60 meetings mark was reached and is the fourth highest number of meetings held in a calendar year in the last 9 years (since 2004).
It is also worth noting the publication of the updated regulations which also took place last year and these entered into force as from 1st January of this year. It is also worth mentioning the fact that various training meetings were held dealing with these regulations.
According to the available information, the number of trotters that competed at least once in 2012 amounted to 753. This was less than that the 2011 (765) and 2010 (781) figures (probably impacted by the lower number of newcomers), but more than the total for 2009 (744).
The most consistent trotter was Zilver Boko which notched 7 wins (including the Sette Giugno Cup), 5 runner-up positions and 3 third placings out of its 16 races. It was followed by Label Chouan (five wins and seven places) and Nuage de Bourgogne (six wins and a place) in this classification.
Noel Baldacchino won the Best Driver award once again (the third consecutive time) ahead of Charles Camilleri, Rodney Gatt, Julian Farrugia, Tony Demanuele, Redent Magro and Shaun Portelli in that order. These seven drivers all managed to exceed the 200 point mark in the final classification.
Rodney Gatt won the Best Apprentice (Under 25) Driver award once again (for the seventh consecutive time) ahead of Redent Magro, Shaun Portelli and Melvin Farrugia. For the future of Maltese trot racing, it is encouraging to note that three out of these young drivers managed to place among the first seven drivers in the overall Best Driver classification.
After winning the Mediterranean Horse Racing Union’s drivers’ championship in 2010, for the second consecutive year, Malta was runner-up in the said championship in 2012 – another prestigious honour which further confirms our drivers’ international calibre.
The drivers who represented Malta in this championship were Raymond Clifton (in Malta), Shaun Portelli (in Italy), Rodney Gatt (in Serbia), Charles Camilleri (in France), Noel Baldacchino (in Russia) and Tony Demanuele (in Slovenia).
Our drivers also took part in various other international races, whether on the basis of personal initiatives or representing Malta in an official capacity and many of them managed to obtain extremely satisfactory results. Well done to all of them.
As from 2012, the Malta Racing Club also introduced the Driver of the Month Award. Until the end of the year, this was won twice each by Noel Baldacchino (February and November) and Charles Camilleri (March and December) and once by each of Shaun Portelli (January), Julian Farrugia (April), Mario Fenech (May), Tony Demanuele (June), France Cassar (July), Charlo Debono (September) and Redent Magro (October).
Well done to all the above-mentioned people and horses. We wish all the best to them and to all those (whether humans or horses) who are aiming to get their share of the honours this year.
We wish you another two exciting meetings over the coming week.
