by Magnat

Another race meeting will be held on Sunday 31st March, including seven trot races and a flat race.  Being Easter Sunday, the meeting starts at 2.30pm so as to permit racegoers to celebrate Easter lunch with their families prior to going to the racecourse.

The meeting, referred to as the Easter Sunday Special, has three major attractions, i.e. three Condition Race trot finals on the short 2,140m distance, a flat racing final on a 1,750m distance, and normal races for both the Premier and Gold classes on the longer 2,640m distance.

The major Condition Race final in Sunday’s programme is that for the Gold class, featuring 11 in-form trotters, being:  Orage du Pont, Charm Hammering, Rika Rico, Skars Hanna, Pepone du Castelet, L’Ideal de Fersan, Prince de Blequin, Touch The Diamond, Natif de Fontaine, Troubadour S and Ouragan d’Any.

Thus, horses hailing from France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, which have already won 9 times between them in these first three months of the season, with Orage du Pont and Charm Hammering notching two wins each and Rika Rico, Skars Hanna, Pepone du Castelet, L’Ideal de Fersan and Prince de Blequin having a win each.

The other two trot finals are both reserved for the Silver class.  The first includes 12 trotters having between 299 and 346 handicap points in this class.  These are:  Ostheo d’Havetot, Wonderofyou, Prince du Moutier, Magic Vaumicel, Orio de Marancourt, Mr King, Lucky d’Hercla, Ackaturbo, Obi Wan Kenobi, Cross Country F.C., Quartz du Lupin and Pile ou Face.

Trotters originating in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, which have won 6 times between them in this early part of the season. Two wins each for Wonderofyou and Ackaturbo, one each for Lucky d’Hercla and Pile Ou Face.
The other Silver class final features 13 participants having higher average handicap points of between 334 and 389 points.  The full list is:  Pilote de Nganda, Geronimos Cadillac, Okir de Leau, Octobre En Fete, Soren Sufflor, Alf Eme, Oscar des Racques, Lacoste I.T., Mint Condition, Prince November, Ouragan de Crouay, Nasdaq du Closet and Matador Knick.  Three of these, Octobre En Fete, Prince November and Okir de Leau have just been promoted to the Gold class.

The participants hail from Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden, have also won 6 times between them so far this season and a number of them have recently raced in the Gold class.  Two wins for Octobre En Fete and one each for Alf Eme, Oscar des Racques, Mint Condition and Prince November.

Undoubtedly three high quality finals!

The meeting also includes a Premier class race featuring a full field of 16 participants, including various good performers this year, such as Assikura A championship winner Argus Hanover, twice winner Normand d’Oger, as well as Fire, Belafonte and Ohime Mag, which have all already won this year, apart from horses coming from recent good places such as Magic de Assigny, Utah Hornline, Pro Shop, Ourasi Diams and Label Chouan.

Apart from Oscar Mati, the remainder of the 14 Gold class race participants are all looking for their first win this year.  Many of them were racing in the Premier class until recently and nearly all of them would be promoted to that class with a win and in some cases even with a runner-up placing.

Our thoroughbreds also share centre stage on Sunday, with the first flat racing final this season, the Chukkas Cup final.  Only four participants are taking part, two British, one Irish and one German, but their quality is undisputed. 

Timolin is coming from a win and a runner-up position this year, Henderlik from two places and Four Richer and Privileged Boy from a good place.  A keen challenge is anticipated between these horses to land this honour.  

The meeting starts with a Copper class race followed by a Bronze class race on the longer 2,640m distance, which are also anticipated to be hard-fought races.  French newcomer Ugo de Malte is anticipated to debut in the Copper class.

No doubt, an extremely varied and exciting programme which should provide a sunny entertaining afternoon at the racecourse for the whole family!

Last Meeting

The major attractions of last Sunday’s meeting consisted in the two Dragonara Brasserie Tazza l-Kbira semi-finals over the 2,640m distance.

Various horses were in the lead during the first semi-final, with Mig of the Wood going in front in the last part of the race.  However, Kakisis which was at the back of the pack, launched a strong attack on the outside lanes around 350m from the end, ending with a great sprint throughout the final straight and managed to pip Mig of the Wood by just a nose at the very end.

This was Kakisis’ first seasonal win and its 12th here in Malta, registering a time of 1’16’9 per kilometre.   It was joined in the final by Mig of the Wood, Poppes Fighter, Quebec, Count of Life and Nitesco d’Antony in that order.

The second semi-final saw a great performance by Nabab du Chatelet, which ran practically the entire race three wide but still managed to take the lead in the final straight and to win after an exciting head-to-head struggle with Odedjalo and Okilaibo. 

At the post, Nabab du Chatelet was a head in front of Okilaibo which in turn beat Odedjalo by just a nose. The race time was a good 1’16’0 per kilometre, with this being Nabab du Chatelet’s second consecutive and seasonal win and its seventh in Malta.  Original Blue, Arnie Sensation and Nino de Saintho also made it to the final.

We also saw two entertaining Gold class Condition Race semi-finals on the shorter 2,140m distance.  In the first, Charm Hammering obtained its second seasonal win in a time of 1’16’0 per kilometre, thanks to a strong sprint in the final straight which saw it triumphing by about a length from fellow qualifiers Troubadour S followed by Rika Rico.  Nuper finished fourth.

Newcomer Prince de Blequin was the protagonist of the second Gold class semi-final in similar fashion to the first, when its punishing sprint in the final straight led it to a dream debut, winning by around two and a half lengths in a time of 1’16’8 per kilometre.  Touch The Diamond and Pepone du Castelet also made it to the final in that order, whilst Xray Hornline finished fourth. 

The first Silver class semi-final saw Daring Daylight heading for the win until around 100m from the end, when it changed gait (possibly due to injury) and was disqualified.  At that point Prince November took the lead and notched its first win in Malta by a length from Oscar des Racques, followed by finalists Nasdaq du Closet and Lacoste I.T. in a time of 1’17’1 per kilometre.

Okir de Leau was in the lead until the middle of the final straight of the second Silver class semi-final, when after a strong attack, Octobre En Fete managed to overtake the race leader to claim its second consecutive and seasonal win less than a length in front of the same Okir de Leau, in a time of 1’16’3 per kilometre. Matador Knick and Soren Sufflor also made it to the final.

The Bronze class semi-final was won by Navaroso de Khepri (its first win in the last 18 months) half a length in front of fellow qualifier One Fouteau, whilst Loulou de la Rose claimed its second seasonal win in the Copper class.

Finals

They may not include a Tazza l-Kbira or some other Premier class final but four finals in a meeting are undoubtedly a major attraction.

I believe that whatever we say, for owners, drivers and spectators, horse-racing is all about finals.  In part perhaps because we are influenced by the great international finals such as the Prix d’Amerique and the Elitloppet and what it means to be a winner or even a finalist in one of them.

Our finals may not be at those levels but for all of us they are equally if not more important.  With the always rising levels and number of horses in Malta, the level of competition inevitably also continues to rise as evidenced by the race times registered not just in the Premier class but also in the other classes.

Making it to the final among such competition is in itself no mean feat!

And then the excitement of those two to four minutes of the final, which are the culmination of so much care, patience and preparation of the particular horse. 

And it is so easy to get it wrong, whether because of inappropriate preparation, wrong race strategy, an unfortunate incident or injury in the race, a piece of bad luck.  All this makes winning or even placing so remarkable!

For me, there are no favourites and outsiders in finals.  When interviewed about his chances for a particular final, the late popular driver George “Bubuna” Schembri used to somewhat frustrate his interviewers by saying “They are all good horses.”  And indeed they are, because with our system of qualifiers they would not have made it to the final unless they were quality horses.

That is why many racegoers use the phrase “the selected ones” to refer to the finalists, because they go through a rigorous selection process aimed at ensuring that the final is reserved only for the best and most in-form horses.  Actually, sometimes even some of the favourites fail to make it to the final as further proof to the high level of competition.

So, undoubtedly winning a final against the best horses in the particular class is a great honour.  It shows that at that time the particular horse was the best in its class.  One day it will get older and less fast, but that honour will remain etched in the history of Maltese horse-racing, evidenced by a big photo on a stable wall and in the memories of all those that followed the race.

It is irrelevant whether it was a comfortable or hard-fought win, being in the final and possibly winning it is all that counts.  I must admit that if I were an owner or a driver and I had a participant in a final I would probably not sleep much the night before – the excitement of having my horse in the final would be too much!  

And the excitement of the race itself is like a football match finishing on penalties.  All crammed in those few minutes, when one move, like one penalty shot, can determine whether you win or lose.

May we have three great finals.  But let’s remember that although only one horse wins the race, every finalist is already a winner by having made it to compete among the best in its class. 

And despite everything, let’s also remember that this remains a sport, which like our whole life is made of winning and losing, and thus all of us should act at all times in a sportmanlike manner where fair play and safety are paramount, whatever the outcome.

Good luck to all participants!

We wish you another entertaining meeting next Sunday and a Happy Easter to you and your loved ones.