by Magnat
Two race meetings will be held over the coming week, first this Sunday 13th and then the following Sunday 20th October. Each meeting consists of 11 races and starts at 1.30pm.
The highlight of these two meetings is undoubtedly the Cassar Petroleum Autumn Championship final for Premier class trotters on the short 2,140m distance, which presents a truly international list of participants (7 geldings and 2 stallions) originating in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden:
1. Okilaibo, French 11 year old, with overseas winnings of Euro237,460 and a best time of 1’14’0 per kilometre. It has notched four wins (including this June’s Prix de Vincennes and VOB Cup finals) and 5 places in its 9 races in Malta, with a best time among us of 1’14’2 per kilometre on 2,140m.
2. Vanmaker Limburgia, German 10 year old, with overseas winnings of SEK977,418 and a best time of 1’12’2 per kilometre. Although it has not yet won in Malta, it has placed five times in its eight races in Malta so far, with a best time of 1’14’6 per kilometre on 2,140m.
3. Ygor of Pass, Dutch 8 year old, with overseas winnings of SEK225,526 and a best time of 1’15’9 per kilometre. It won four times and placed another 11 times in its 23 races in Malta, with a best time among us of 1’16’0 per kilometre on 2,140m.
4. Orcas Bac, Swedish 9 year old, with overseas winnings of SEK627,750 and a best time of 1’13’6 per kilometre. It won three times (including this year’s Sette Giugno Cup final) and placed twice in its 8 races in Malta, with a best time here of 1’14’3 per kilometre on 2,140m.
5. Nicos de Peneme, French 12 year old, with overseas winnings of Euro103,500 and a best time overseas of 1’15’2 per kilometre. It won six times and placed another 6 times since its local debut in July 2011, registering its absolute personal best time here in Malta – 1’15’0 per kilometre on 2,140m.
6. Absolut Spender, Swedish 10 year old, with overseas winnings of SEK686,713 and a best time of 1’12’8 per kilometre. It won 3 times and placed twice in its nine outings in Malta so far and has a best time here of 1’14’5 per kilometre on 2,140m.
7. Label Chouan, French 14 year old, with overseas winnings of Euro222,716 and a best time of 1’13’8 per kilometre. It won 11 times (including the December 2011 Prix de Cabourg and the June 2012 VOB Cup) and placed 18 times since its debut in Malta in February 2010, with a best time in Malta of 1’15’0 per kilometre (twice) on 2,140m. This will be the 11th final for this horse since December 2011.
8. Ohime Mag, French 11 year old, with overseas winnings of Euro248,250 and a best time of 1’12’8 per kilometre. It has two wins and 2 places in its 7 races in Malta, with a best time here of 1’14’2 per kilometre on 2,140m.
9. Mark de Chamant, French 13 year old, with overseas winnings of Euro305,951 and a best time of 1’12’1 per kilometre. Although it has not yet won, it placed 17 times (including finishing runner-up in last June’s Prix de Vincennes) in its 24 races in Malta, with a best time here of 1’14’8 per kilometre made on each of the 1,640m and 2,140m distances.
With no less than 33 wins (including five championships) and 68 places between them, and with eight of the participants having a best time in Malta of 1’15’0 per kilometre or better, this mix of horses aged between 8 and 14 years should provide us with yet another fantastic final!
Interestingly, six of the drivers in this final, feature in the top seven of this year’s Best Driver classification.
The total prize-money for this final amounts to Euro3,400, with the winner receving Euro2,000 as well as a beautiful trophy and horse blanket.
The other races are also on the 2,140m distance.
Next week’s meeting features another Premier class race. Here in the full field of 16 participants we find various popular horses, some of which are making their return after the summer break.
This year’s Tazza l-Kbira winner Nabab du Chatelet, Summer Premier Class championship winner Shakira Trot, past multiple championship winner Arnie Sensation, this year’s double race winner Oran, as well as Ofackevo, True Q, Orion du Vaumicel, Pro Shop and Versace Boko, which all placed well in their last outing are in the line-up, together with all other quality participants.
The remaining trot races are all semi-finals from the Cassar Petroleum Autumn Condition Races for the other trot classes. We have 4 semi-finals for each of the Gold, Silver A, Silver B and Bronze class Condition races with the first three horses from each qualifying for the final. Three semi-finals are reserved for Copper class horses with four qualifying from the first one (that for horses with the highest handicap points in this class) and three from each of the others.
Naturally the four Gold class races each having 14 or 15 participants, will be followed with special attention. This Sunday’s three races feature various horses coming from good wins or places in their recent last outing, such as winners Midnight Passion, Pan des Couperies and Pitchpin des Bois, and placing horses Energy Launcher, I Pitstop, Lover Boy Index, Nacarat Campbell, Niky de Memartin, Orion de Chapeau, Quipson and Regent de Tillard, among all the extremely valid participating horses.
Next week’s semi-final can be labelled a “quasi-Premier class” race with all participants being extremely close to Malta’s top trot class. Indeed, horses such as Celebrity Photo, Nagano Phedo, Nitesco d’Antony, Nuevo Musette, Phenix de la Roque, Prince de la Butte, Skars Hanna, Solid Lady Spin and Veikko Hornline have all been relegated from that class only in recent months, with the race also including some participants making their return to racing after some months’ absence.
Nine horses are scheduled to debut in these races, i.e. French Partner Blue and Quel Noir as well as Dane Nouveaux de Vie in the Gold class, Swedes Prince Lu, Valles Emile and Xian Hornline as well as Italian Minturnuss in the Silver A class, French Paco in Silver B class, and Swede Max Advice in the Bronze class.
The 20th October meeting also includes a Class A flat race on the sprint 1,250m distance featuring 7 participants coming from Ireland, the USA, Germany and Great Britain. Here we find last year’s Coronation Cup winner Cheeky Jack, Timolin triple race winner this year and runner-up last week, recent newcomer Gold As Good which finished runner-up on its debut, Henderlik which placed well in its last race and Darielli, Diamante Grande and Alto Monte making their return to racing after a stop of around 5 months.
We look forward to another great top class final on Sunday. Qualifying for the final is an honour in its own right, with the quality of the line-up thus guaranteeing an exciting, nail-biting race where participants aspiring for victory must give their 100% and where even the drivers’ talents will be tested to the limit. May we have another memorable ending to this championship with all participants demonstrating absolute sportsmanship throughout.
Last Meetings
The star attraction of the last two meetings consisted undoubtedly of the three semi-finals from the Cassar Petroleum Autumn Championship for Premier class trotters over the short 2,140m distance in which 25 top class participants challenged each other for the nine places (the first three from each semi-final qualifying) in next Sunday’s final. These were held in the 29th September meeting.
What these races may have lacked in partecipant numbers was amply made up by the fierce competition and the effort put in by each participant, resulting in three spectacular races.
Mars took an early lead in the first semi-final but was overtaken after around 300m by Ygor of Pass with the latter’s lead also lasting for the same distance, as veteran Label Chouan sprinted to go in front with a lap and a half to go, followed by Ygor of Pass.
This remained the theme until the last 400m when instead of being attacked by the other participants, Label Chouan further increased its pace and lead to dominate even the final straight and notch its second consecutive and seasonal win nearly four lengths ahead of fast-finishing Mark de Chamant which beat Ygor of Pass for the runner-up place in the last part of the final straight. The winner’s time was 1’15’5 per kilometre. These three horses qualified for the final, with Pro Shop finishing 4th.
In the second semi-final it was Totti T. Dream which took an early lead, but after around 600m Nuage de Bourgogne went in front. However at the start of the last lap Orcas Bac sprinted marvellously and easily overtook the race leader.
From then on Orcas Bac never looked back. It imprinted a strong pace on the race gradually increasing its lead and then literally dominating the last 400m to produce a one-horse show in the final straight and claim its third seasonal win by no less than eight lengths from fellow-qualifiers Vanmaker Limburgia and Nicos de Peneme in what at that stage was the seasonal best time on the distance of 1’14’3 per kilometre. Orion du Vaumicel finished in fourth place.
The climax was then reached in the last semi-final which saw Absolute Spender immediately going in front, a lead that it maintained for around 500m when it was overtaken by Versace Boko. Okilaibo made its move with a strong sprint at the start of the last lap and took the lead around 850m from the end.
The action heated up further in the last half lap as Ohime Mag accelerated three wide in the back straight to come up to second place in the last 500m. The latter started eating into the race leader’s lead as the horses closed on to the last 300m. The final straight saw a mighty struggle between Okilaibo and Ohime Mag with the latter courageously trying to dislodge the former from first place and nothing seemed to separate these two horses at the post.
However the photo-finish awarded the fourth seasonal win to Okilaibo less than half a head in front of Ohime Mag, with these two horses realising not just the season’s best time but also the best time on the 2,140m distance in Malta since March 2009! Absolute Spender finished behind them and became the last finalist with Versace Boko finishing 4th.
The other trot races in these two meetings were also on the 2,140m distance.
The highlight of last week’s meeting was the international encounter open race between Maltese and Swedish drivers from the Sundbyholm racecourse called the Malta – Sundbyholm Amateur Race. Here Baronello took an early lead followed by Vagabond Hornline.
But in the backstraight we saw a strong sprint three wide from Swedish newcomer Sandrone which 500m from the end first came head-to-head with Baronello, and then overtook it to take the lead. Sandrone, driven by the Swede Matts Andersson continued increasing its pace and to distance itself from the other participants and despite a good challenge by Ludvig Ghigo’s Uncle Kemp still managed to have a successful debut, winning by a length in 1’17’8 per kilometre. Well done to Swedish driver Matts Andersson.
Ludvig Ghigo confirmed his good showings in similar races in Sweden this summer with his runner-up position. Two other Maltese drivers finished third and fourth, i.e. Joseph Micallef on Mint Condition and Darren Mizzi on Vagabond Hornline respectively. Well done to all these drivers and a great welcome to our Swedish guests whom we hosted with pleasure among us.
The last meeting also included two very interesting Gold class races.
The early race leaders in the first one were newcomer Regent de Tillard which came in as a substitute, followed by Quartz Clayettois. The position remained the same until around 650m to go, as Midnight Passion sprinted four wide in the back straight to come head-to-head with Regent de Tillard around 450m from the end.
Nothing seemed to separate these two horses as they entered the final straight but Midnight Passion soon took the upper hand and dominated the final straight to notch its third win from four races in Malta, no less than five lengths from the same Regent de Tillard, followed by Energy Launcher and Niky de Memartin in 1’16’5 per kilometre.
Ouf Boy took the lead early in the second race’s first backstraight, and it managed to remain unchallenged until the start of the last lap when Orion de Chapeau sprinted to get head-to-head with the race leader. The latter managed to go in front 750m from the end, but at that stage it was immediately followed by Why Not As in second place.
These two horses were in one line with 500m to go and entered the final straight together, contesting the race between them, closely followed by three other horses. Why Not As managed to have the better of its opponent in the middle of the final straight and went on to claim its first seasonal win less than half a length ahead of Orion de Chapeau, closely followed by I Pitstop and Nitesco d’Antony in a time of 1’17’4 per kilometre.
The last race of the 6th October meeting was a Class A flat race on the longish 1,750m distance, which saw Potere d’Acquisto taking an early lead from Ollie Fliptrik which went in front early in the last lap. These two horses were closely followed by this year’s Mediterranean Derby winner Kimberley Downs which came out strongly in the backstraight to challenge and comfortably overtake Ollie Fliptrik 500m from the end.
From then on Kimberley Downs continued extending its lead to dominate the last part of the race and notch its third seasonal win (from four races) hands-down by around ten lengths from the fast-finishing Timolin and Ollie Fliptrik.
In conclusion, it is fitting to record the Bronze class wins registered by two Dutch trotters currently leading the MRC’s Most Consistent Trotter classification. Andri Boko registered its fourth consecutive and seventh seasonal win, whilst Zeta Jones A registered its second consecutive and its sixth seasonal win.
Lorraine Cunningham driving in Denmark
On the 21st September Maltese driver Lorraine Cunningham participated in an international race for female drivers held in the Bornholm racecourse (a small racecourse of slightly over 500m) in Denmark.
Nine other drivers participated apart from Lorraine; 4 Danes (from Bornholm), 2 Swedes, 1 Dutch, 1 Finnish and 1 Norwegian. Lorraine managed to finish in a very commendable 4th place but more importantly this is yet another successful international experience which continues enriching her career. Well done Lorraine!
Newcomers in 2013
We are already in the middle of October and yet another season is now gradually entering its last phase before becoming part of Maltese horse-racing history.
One of the most interesting horse-racing statistics every year is that of newcomers. At this stage of the season it is worth giving a look at where we stand in this sector.
Until the last meeting, 164 trot newcomers had made their debut this year. This is below the levels reached in the last three years, when by this stage of the season the number of newcomers had reached 171 in 2012, 208 in 2011 and 196 in 2010.
98 of these newcomers are French, accounting for some 59.75% of this year’s newcomers so far. Around 43.9% of French new trotters were 9 year olds, 27.6% were 10 year olds and around 17.3% were 11 year olds. Thus these three ages accounted for nearly 89% of French newcomers. The remaining around 11.2% were split between 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13 year olds.
The Silver class was the dominating class among French newcomers, accounting for some 51% of newcomers, followed by the Premier class with 22.4% of French newcomers starting their career there and 19.4% in the Gold class (nearly 93% between these three classes).
Swedish newcomers amounted to 40 or 24.4% of the current total (interestingly France and Sweden together account for over 84% of all trot newcomers so far). 8 and 9 year olds were the most numerous, with each accounting for 25% of the Swedish total, followed by the 7 and 10 year olds each on 17.5%. Thus these four ages accounted for some 85% of Swedish newcomers. The remainder were split between 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12 year olds.
Similarly to French newcomers, the Silver class was the most popular accounting for 35% of Swedish newcomers, followed by the Premier class on 22.5% and the Gold class on 20%.
Italy and the Netherlands occupy third place jointly with 6 trot newcomers (or 3.7% of the total) each. The ages of importation of horses from these countries were quite evenly split between 3 and 11 years (but with no 10 year olds) although 7 year olds were marginally the most popular (3 horses). In terms of class of debut, the Italians were also quite evenly split between classes varying from Copper to
