by Magnat
Two race meetings will held at the Marsa racetrack over the next week, first on Thursday 27th June and then on Friday 5st July, both starting at 7pm and consisting of 8 and 10 trot races respectively all on a 2,140m distance. All races form part of the Summer championships, with a championship for each trot class.
After these races we will have a clearer idea of the likely finalists for these championships, with only one registration remaining before the finalists’ selection.
The highlights of these meetings consist of two Premier class races, one in each meeting, each featuring 14 participants.
This week’s Premier class race includes among others last week’s winner Olry Meslois and placing horses Magic de Assigny and Simb Mark, as well as other horses providing good performances over the last month or so, such as Give To Get, Belafonte, Absolut Spender and others. French 10-year old Prince de la Butte is scheduled to debut in this race.
The 5th July race is equally balanced with last week’s winner Shakira Trot and placing horses Vanmaker Limburgia and Poppes Fighter, recent winner T.X. Zoogood, various finalists in the Sette Giugno Cup, Prix de Vincennes and VOB Cup finals such as Lage, Olympien Major, Orne des Olivettes, Orly Montaval and Label Chouan and all the other valid participants.
Each of the three Gold class races in these two racecards involves a full field of 16 horses.
This week’s race is extremely interesting, pitting against each other horses with the highest number of points in this class. These include four time winner Pepone du Castelet, three time winner Orage du Pont, double winner Onyx Lucernais, winners this year Blizzard AD and Power Night Star, last week’s runner-up Veikko Hornline, recent placing horses Nuevo Musette and Ouf Boy and various horses racing in the Premier class until recently.
Then two other Gold class races will be held on the 5th July. The first features among others recent winners Chippen Bob and Player du Mirel, Perdreau Rapide coming from a win and a runner-up place, Pic Soyer which was runner-up last week, other recent placing horses such as Podium, Quartz Clayettois, Simb Tyrant, Imbra d’Alfa and Count Wiesnievski, together with other popular horses.
The other race also includes a variety of in-form horses, such as Nophenio de Lune having two wins and a place in its last three outings, Xray Hornline coming from a win and two places, Oolong which won and placed in its last two races, Nuper which won its penultimate race, Oscar Mati and Ironbar runners-up in the last and penultimate race respectively and all other extremely valid horses.
The remaining races consist of six for the Silver class, four for the Bronze class and three for Copper class horses. Swede Vagabond Hornline and French Pridem d'Hague are registered to debut in the Silver class.
Summer has truly arrived and the heat is making itself felt. However, with races being held in the cooler Mediterrean evening sky, the real heat felt at the racecourse is undoubtedly that of the competition for the available places in the Summer championships finals. Good luck to all participants and may the coming races provide us once again with a great spectacle!
Last Meetings
The highlight of the last couple of meetings was undoubtedly the Variable Odds Betting Grand Final on the short 2,140m distance, held last Friday 21st June and reserved for Premier class trotters being the best performers in the Prix de Vincennes and Sette Giugno Cup finals held recently.
After Orne des Olivettes went in front soon after the start of the race, Sultan November did not take long to take the lead, closely followed by Mark de Chamant and Orne des Olivettes. The situation remained unchanged until around 700m from the end, when Prix de Vincennes winner Okilaibo, driven by Julian Farrugia, came up from the middle of the pack and started its attack on the outer lanes.
With around 450m from the end, it had arrived head to head with Sultan November and these two horses entered the final straight together. However early in the final straight, Okilaibo pulled away and soon established a decisive lead to claim its second consecutive and third seasonal win comfortably by two and a half lengths from the strong-finishing Orne des Olivettes, followed by Mark de Chamant, Sultan November and Label Choaun in that order.
The winner’s time was 1’14’5 per kilometre, the absolute second best time on the distance in Malta this season and a magnificent time for Okilaibo itself, considering that its best time in France was 1’14’0 per kilometre.
At the end of the final, Mr Patrick Cachia on behalf of the bookmakers at the racetrack presented the VOB trophy to Messrs Joseph Seychell and Julian Farrugia, owner and driver respectively of the winning horse.
The remainder were all trot races on 2,140m, forming part of the Summer championships.
Olry Meslois did not waste time to take the lead in the first Premier class race, doing so within a matter of around 400m from the start, followed closely first by Original Blue and subsequently by Master Perrine. However, Olry Meslois found new strength in the last half lap, increasing its pace to sprint calmly to its first win in Malta in a time of 1’16’9 per kilometre, one and a half lengths ahead of Give to Get, followed by Magic de Assigny and Simb Mark.
In the second Premier class race in the 14th June meeting, Totti T. Dream had a fast start and took an early lead, opening up a healthy advantage at times. Fire came up strongly around half a lap from the end, catching up with Totti T. Dream and taking the lead soon afterwards.
However, the day belonged to Shakira Trot which attacked in the bend preceding the final straight, overtaking Fire early in the final straight and proceeding to its first seasonal win in a good 1’15’8 per kilometre, no less than three and half lengths ahead of Vanmaker Limburgia, followed by Poppes Figher and Fire in that order.
In the first Gold class race of these two meetings, Veikko Hornline was in the lead for long stretches, but Orage du Pont placed its attack on the outer lanes around half a lap to go, with no less than five horses turned the final bend practically in a straight line.
Veikko Hornline seemed to have maintained a small lead but Orage du Pont went extremely wide and sprinted with all its strength, with the photo finish awarding the third seasonal win to Orage du Pont, less than half a length ahead of Veikko Hornline followed by Nuevo Musette and Ouf Boy in a time of 1’17’6 per kilometre.
In the second Gold class race, the lead changed a number of times as various horses tried to impose their pace on the race without success. The start of the final lap saw Lonestar Somolli in front followed by Little Nick, which took the lead soon afterwards. However, Player du Mirel advanced strongly in the backstraight to close in on Little Nick with these two detaching themselves from the rest of the field.
Little Nick and Player du Mirel turned the last bend head-to-head with the situation remaining unchanged until the middle of the final straight when Player du Mirel went in front and claimed its first win in Malta, a length and a half ahead of Perdreau Rapide followed by Little Nick and Imbra d’Alfa. The race time was 1’16’6 per kilometre.
In last Friday’s first Gold class race, Xray Hornline went in front around 1,500m from the end. Then in the middle of the straight before the last lap, it was newcomer Cappuchino MS which took over the lead.
However on the backstraight, Nophenio de Lune attacked three wide and within a few hundred metres it first came head to head with Cappuchino MS and then with around 450m from the end, it took the lead and sprinted courageously along the final straight, successfully resisting Xray Hornline’s attack, to notch its second seasonal win in a good time of 1’15’7 per kilometre, over two lengths ahead of the strong-finishing Oscar Mati, followed by Xray Hornline and Oolong.
In the last Gold class race, it was another newcomer, Cowboy Tooma, which took an early lead, followed primarily by Count Wiesnievski. Just before the last bend before the final straight, Chippen Bob went three wide to attack the two frontrunners, went ahead in the middle of the final straight and claimed its first win in Malta, a couple of lengths ahead of Pic Soyer followed by Podium and Count Wiesnievski in that order, in a time of 1’17’6 per kilometre.
Forty years ago – Urbain L starts its adventure in Malta
Especially since the beginning of the seventies, the Maltese horse-racing scene witnessed a remarkable increase in both quantity and quality of our trotters. These have also included a number of legendary trotters which made their presence felt at the Marsa racetrack on a regular basis over more than one season, whilst competing against strong opposition.
In discussions with veteran horse-racing journalists and followers, a name that comes up regularly for a place among our legendary horses is that of Urbain L. Coincidentally this French trotter was imported into Malta as a 9 year old in mid-April 1973 – 40 years ago.
I recently came across an article published in The Times on the 20th August 1980 by horse-racing correspondent Bridle, entitled “King Urbain L is Dead”. This reports 16-year old Urbain L’s death that month and recalls that at the Malta Racing Club General Meeting that had just been held, its owner Mr George Pace could hardly hold back his tears as people gathered around him to confirm the bad news which had spread round the Marsa like wild fire.
From a historic perspective, that article provides some interesting facts about this horse’s career, something that is very difficult to find through official sources due to the virtual absence of official documentation dating back to those times.
The article reports that in France this well-built horse left behind it a very modest record. Oldtimers recall that it was an amateur that used to race on grass, a terrain that did not privilege its velocity. But as soon as it set foot in the Marsa racetrack with its hard and faster ground, it impressed everyone with its style, finding no problem in settling down very quickly to our conditions which are so different from the ones it was used to in France.
Actually, it probably preferred our climate and track surface.
But let’s read some parts of Bridle’s article:
“After the long Summer break, Urbain L started the new season with a bang, chalking up two wins by the end of that very same year (1973). There was no doubt about it, he was a horse of rare qualities and experts at the Marsa sat up and watched as he progressed with every race he took part in.
The climax came when exactly a year after he was imported to Malta – May 5, 1974 – he won the most prestigious title awarded here for a trotter. Under the expert hands of Fredu Fenech, he pulverized all rivals to land the Championship open to all trotters (the Tazza l-Kbira). It was a fitting honour to his first season in Malta during which he won five races (excluding the Championship).”
In 1974/75, he won no less than seven races, crossing swords on many occasions with his archrival Alcyon III to the delight of their many supporters.
During the following two seasons, 1975/76 and 1976/77, he lifted twice in succession the Bank of Valletta Winter Championship, adding another five and four wins respectively to his impressive list. It managed to win another race in season 1977/78 and made it once more to the Tazza l-Kbira final aged 14 years.
On the 29th February 1976, Urbain L also made history when, starting at plus 90 yards, it registered a great time on the mile and three quarters distance, a national record on the distance for a number of years. In May 1976, it also won the Pritzlaff Cup for Malta’s best trotters, those in class A1.
The article also adds that here in Malta this horse was driven by various drivers. Fredu Fenech guided the horse to the Trotting Championship (the Tazza l-Kbira), Raymond Clifton produced the record time, Pawlu Zerafa drove it when winning the Winter Championship, J. Zahra registered various triumphs with this horse and the horse was also ridden by Anthony “Noqqu” Cassar and its owner George Pace.
Our final tribute to this great horse cannot but be in Bridle’s beautiful words:
“And so, Urbain, the docile, obedient horse, so generous in all that he was asked to do by his owner and drivers, is with us no more. But his indelible, brilliant performances will be treasured for ever as a reminder of a truly great trotter.”
Truly, the mark of a legendary horse. What national poet Dun Karm Psaila once said in respect of the Maltese language can be applied to the horse-racing field. Whilst appreciating other countries’ legendary horses, let us also appreciate those which have honoured our country, helped to make this sport popular among us, and contributed to the building of our horse-racing legacy.
We wish you another two great meetings in the coming week.
