by Magnat

Sunday’s meeting presents us with one of the main attractions of the season!  The start of the SECF championships reserved for French trotters over a 2,140m distance, which will crown the best French short distance trotters of the season, in each respective class.
 
This is a ten race all-trot meeting starting at 2pm, with eight races from the SECF championship plus two “normal” races one for the Premier class and the other for the Bronze class which will be over the longer 2,640m distance, with the latter races naturally featuring exclusively non-French trotters.

The SECF championships heats involve two races from the Prix d’Enghien (Gold class) and three from each of the Prix de Cabourg (Silver class) and the Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer (Bronze class), with the first five qualifying from each Prix d’Enghien heat and the first four from each of the Prix de Cabourg and the Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer heats. 

Premier class French trotters will not race this weekend, entering into the scene in the Prix de Vincennes heats next week. 

Featuring 10 and 11 participants respectively, the Prix d’Enghien heats naturally feature various household names among racing enthusiasts, with horses such as Pepone du Castelet and Phenix de la Roque already having won twice this year, others such as Prince de Blequin and Natif de Salvi having won once, and yet others coming from good places in their last three races, such as Max Galbe, Natif de Fontaine, Paleo de la Dives, Nophenio de Lune and Niky de Memartin.

Ten year old Prince Gaillard is scheduled to debut in the second heat.  Naturally all the participants in these two heats are worthy competitors with the guarantee of the ten semi-finalists resulting therefrom being truly deserving horses.

The three Prix de Cabourg races featuring 11, 12 and 12 participants respectively are characterised by the number of newcomers registered to debut therein, no less than ten.  Ten year olds Pactolgo, Partisan de Bouere and Picabia des Audins, together with nine year olds Quadrige de Mai, Quaid Tejy, Quartes, Quick Et Rare, Quioco Dry, Quitus Beauregard and Quozak Prior.

The remainder include a variety of in-form trotters with recent winners or runners-up such as Obiscus del Fa, Que Je T’Aime Rush, Orgeat, Quingen de Bussy, Panda des Fleches, Number One of Max, Oscar des Racques, Novak, Pilote de Nganda, Pile Ou Face and all other valid participants.

The three Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer heats include 11, 12 and 11 competitors among which 6 year old newcomer Take Out Blue and horses such as Nep, Kaki de Peyrahout, New Look des Mots, Prince Feulavoir, Nympheta de Bisoir, Niko de Chamant, Lys de l’Oasis and Quindici, which have all won over the last couple of months.  The other participants are also extremely solid and competitive, producing three other extremely balanced heats.

The “normal” Premier class race features sixteen trotters coming from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and the USA, with horses such as Sultan November, Arnie Sensation, Poppes Fighter, Skars Hanna and Belafonte all having a good place in their last race. 

Only a month has passed since the exciting Tazza l-Kbira final, but I must admit that I was really missing the excitement of another championship.  The wait is now over and the SECF French trotters championships are sure to provide us with lots to cheer about!  Over 200 horses are registered for  these heats over the comming two weekends (apart from the Copper class horses which enter the fray directly in the semi-finals) -  the cream of Malta’s French trotters battling it out in do-or-die affairs in which there is no room for mistake to progress further in these highly competitive championships.

Last Meeting

With just seven races all for trotters over the short 2,140m distance we can say that the last meeting was characterised by some very good timings.

In the first Premier class race, Totti T. Dream took an early lead which it maintained for less than 200m when Normand d’Oger which had an excellent start took over and led the field without challenges until the final 800m.  However in the backstraight, Ohime Mag accelerated strongly and came head to head with the race leader at the entry of the final straight, soon taking the lead and continuing to increase it till the end, to win by nearly three lengths from Sultan November, followed by Ofackevo and Ourasi Diams.

The winner’s time was an excellent 1’14’6 per kilometre, joint second best time on this distance this season, with the best time (1’14’4 per kilometre) also being realised by this horse.

Mont Cenis Honey took the rails and went in front early in the second Premier class race followed for most of the distance among others by Mars.  The latter went out on the outside lanes in the last bend before the final straight, overtook the race leader just before the start of the final straight and Mars had no challengers until the finishing post to win its first race this year in another very good time of 1’14’7 per kilometre, two and a half lengths ahead of Okilaibo, followed by Arnie Sensation and Oran in that order.

Baron G.L. was the early leader in the Gold class race with Blizzard AD following it hugging the rails.  Blizzard AD started its attack around 500m from the end and these two horses provided an entertaining head to head struggle in the final straight with Blizzard AD gaining supremacy around a 150m from the end to claim its first win in Malta in a good time of 1’16’0 per kilometre, around a length from the strong-finishing Pepone du Castelet, followed by Baron G.L. and Onyx Lucernais.

Target Player led for long stretches of the first Silver class race but Quo Vadis Phedo and Nasdaq du Closet (among others) attacked strongly on the backstraight.  The latter went in front in the final straight but could do nothing to resist Quo Vadis Phedo’s strong sprint which led it to the front in the last metres to become the first horse to notch its fourth win this season, three quarters of a length ahead of Nasdaq du Closet, followed by Cal Win and Ocean Brillouard in a time of 1’16’4 per kilometre.

Command Coger captured the lead of the second Silver class race within 200m from the start, with the situation remaining the same until the final straight when Cross Country F.C. produced an impressive sprint, overtaking Command Coger by the middle of the straight and resisting all attacks to register its first seasonal win a length ahead of Newman, followed by Norfolk de Gouerie and Obi Wan Kenobi in a time of 1’16’6 per kilometre.

The remaining races were won by Nympheta de Bisoir (Bronze class) at its first seasonal win in 1’16’8 per kilometre, a good time for that class, and Lemon Solo (Copper class) which claimed its second seasonal win in its joint best time in Malta of 1’17’9 per kilometre.

News and Comments from the racecourse

Although the real action at the racecourse is seen during race meetings, horse-racing is much more than just that!  Horse-racing involves a community with activity continuing uninterrupted also during the week. 

When we concentrate on race meetings, sometimes we tend to forget how much else horse-racing involves, including the work of training and upkeep of horses on a daily basis.

The following are some items of news coming out of the Marsa racecourse over the last week:

(i) Doping test results

Recently the Malta Racing Club received a further doping test result. Congratulations go to the owners and trainers of Mig of the Wood, the result of which doping test relative to its 4th place acquired in the Tazza l-Kbira Final on the 14th April, showed that it was clean from prohibited substances.

(ii) Sincere Condolences

Once again, we join the racing community in conveying our sincere condolences to the relatives and loved ones (particularly the children) of Michael Zammit, known as “paspar”, who unfortunately died last week.  He will certainly be sorely missed. 

May he rest in peace and may his children, relatives and loved ones find comfort during these sorrowful times.

(iii) Driver of the Month – April

The Driver of the Month for April is Charles Camilleri, who won this award on the basis of his win in the Tazza l-Kbira final on Nabab du Chatelet on the 14th April and his win in the Premier class Cup Day of the 28th April.  Charles also registered eight placings among the other 22 races in which he competed last month.

We hopeheartedly thank Finn Tack for supporting this initiative by sponsoring this edition.

(iv)  The French trot racing scene – the professional aspect

It’s unbelievable but we are already in the 11th year of the SECF French trotters championships!  And in the last few days I could not help thinking how although French trotters account for more than half of the trotters racing in Malta, this championship helps to bring together two horse-racing realities that are remarkably different from each other.

One of the aspects that impresses me most in this respect is the professional element that characterises French horse-racing.  Indeed the French trot sector boasts a large number of specialist professionals which work on a full-time basis in various aspects of this sport. 

Nearly 4,500 horse breeders, nearly 1,700 trainers, over 3,000 drivers and jockeys who all invest time, money and energy into this sport creating an impressive trot industry!

These horse racing professionals attend specialist schools spread across France in order to qualify in their respective field, whether driver, jockey, handler, trainer etc.  Courses typically last between two and four years and result in the acquisition of State diplomas aimed at providing employment on terminating their studies. 

The result is nearly 150,000 starters in over 11,000 races organised in France (over 20 times those held in Malta) last year, with around 15,800 different trotters participating therein.

The SECF (the French trot association) sustains this sport by an impressive amount of prize-money which is allocated to French trot races, including a split thereof between the respective professionals.  Last year the SECF allocated nearly Euro240 million in prize-money or over Euro21,500 per race on average (prize-money for a “normal” Premier class race in Malta is Euro1,175).

The injection of all these funds into this sport is supported among others by the solid contribution provided by the French-based gaming company PMU which contributes part of its income to this sport.

Another impressive aspect of this professional culture is the dynamic and diversified marketing policy for the Trotteur Francais applied by the SECF both in France and overseas.  Indeed the SECF has entered into agreements with 17 countries which recognised the Trotteur Francais race and more than 350 races are organised outside France which are reserved for Trotteur Francais horses, such as is the case with Malta’s SECF championships. 

The “Tour Europeen du Trotteur Francais” which has also been organised every year since 2007, features well-known French trotters racing in France compete against French trotters racing outside France in races held in various countries outside France.  

The different publications featuring French trotters, the various websites about French trot racing, the manner in which the legendary French horses are promoted, the exposure given to French racing in the media, in particular through the television channel Equidia with more than 3,000 hours of racing being transmitted direct by this channel, together with interviews, commentaries and a variety of other features give further publicity to this sport, with special accent on the French trot scene.

Furthermore, the SECF also actively promotes the Trotteur Francais in various countries outside France and the sponsorship of the SECF championships in Malta twice a year is one excellent example of this.  An example which has clearly yielded good fruit for the increase of French trotters in Malta.  It is no coincidence that whilst in 2002 (the last year before the start of the SECF championships in Malta), French trot newcomers accounted for only just over 42% of all trot newcomers in Malta, in 2011 and 2012 they amounted to no less than 55%!  

Horses which will now guarantee us another splendid spectacle over the coming weeks!

We wish you another great meeting on Sunday.