by Magnat
This season’s seventeenth meeting will be held at the Marsa race track next Sunday 17th April, starting at 2pm and will consist of nine races.
Now that the Emirates Tazza l-Kbira has come to a successful conclusion, we immediately pass to another championship, the Assikura Cup, reserved for trotters which are neither French nor Swedish. This will further confirm the international nature of the Maltese horse-racing scene with no less than seven countries, i.e. Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and USA, being represented in this championship.
The Assikura Cup championship will be contested over a 2,140m distance and split in two. Thirty-one horses coming from the Premier, Gold and Silver classes will compete together in three semi-finals, with the first three from each qualifying for the final for these classes. Nineteen horses coming from the Bronze and Copper classes will compete together in the other two semi-finals, with the first five from each qualifying for the final for these classes.
Although horses born outside France and Sweden are not so numerous in Malta, there are various quality horses among them and another exciting and balanced championship is in the offing.
The remaining races will feature one for the Silver class and another for the Gold class, both over a 2,640m distance. The latter will include horses which will be promoted to the Premier class with a win and in some cases even with a good placing.
Eight new trotters are scheduled to debut next Sunday, i.e. Lime Casted (SE), Prince Feulavoir (FR) and Conmore Toll (SE) in the Silver class, Friendly Frazer (GER) in the Assikura Cup semi-finals for the Bronze and Copper classes, Wilford (GER), Kingpin La Marc (DK), Lion Crown (GER) and Arifant (NO) in the Assikura Cup semi-finals for the Premier, Gold and Silver classes.
Sired by a French horse out of a Swedish mare, interestingly, Norwegian eleven year old newcomer Arifant has won more than three times the minimum necessary to qualify for the Premier class, i.e. NOK1,751,491 and has a best time of 1’13’4 per kilometre.
If these horses make their debut, we will exceed 100 trotting newcomers this season.
The other two races are flat races over a short 1,250m distance, one for Class A and the other for Class B thoroughbreds, at each of which seven horses are scheduled to compete. The Class A race includes among others horses such as Uncle Bertie, winner of all its four outings to date, Giada Med which comes from a winning debut and newcomers Kimberley Downs (US) and Makabul (UK).
Last meeting
The last meeting was dominated by the Emirates Tazza l-Kbira final over 2,640m at which nine trotters competed after a tough selection process over three sets of qualifiers.
The race saw Lonshults Anders taking an early lead, with Major Chaleonnais taking the helm in the final lap. Around 900m from the end, Kakisis driven by Johan Axisa, after occupying the last place for most of the race, launched a strong attack on the outside lanes and crowned it with an irresistible sprint in the final straight which led it to a close win from Lonshults Anders, stable-mate Lou Petiot and Neo de Mira. It was its third consecutive win and it registered a time of 1’17’6 per kilometre.
At the end of the race, Johan Axisa was presented with the Tazza l-Kbira in honour of Kakisis, which now joins the roll of honour of winners of this prestigious trophy and also received a horse blanket and a cheque of Euro2,500 from Emirates Airline manager Mr Paul Fleri Soler.
The other races were competed over a sprint distance of 1,640m. In the two Gold class races, we saw exciting head-to-head finishes won by Bete Saknussen (second consecutive win) from Delvin Brodde and by The Big Blue World from Count of Life.
Maitre des Bannes won the Silver class race in the best time of the meeting of 1’14’8 per kilometre. The remaining races were won by Boston Harbor and Improve Samb (Bronze class) and Lucky Sam de Court (Copper class).
Other news
As part of its determined commitment to stamp out doping from the Maltese horse-racing scene, the Malta Racing Club has introduced stricter penalties which have entered into force in respect of doping tests carried out on or after 12 April 2011.
As from that date, in case of a positive doping test during a final, every horse (whether trotters, thoroughbreds or otherwise) and owner involved will be suspended for 100 days (not including any closed season). All horses registered in the name of the particular owner/s will be suspended.
Fines for positive doping tests in any race (not just finals) will continue to amount to half the value of the winner’s prize-money in the particular race subject to a minimum of Euro300 and the horse/s owned by the particular owner/s will not be allowed to compete again until the fine is paid.
It-Tazza l-Kbira – Contrasts
As I enter a dark and empty racecourse on Friday evening, a cool breeze re-energises me after a long day. The only light comes from the Pegasus Bar under the main stand, where I am directed. Emirates and MRC banners and the Tazza l-Kbira itself meet my eyes as I enter. Owners and drivers of the competing horses are having a drink together quietly, as friends. I can feel each one’s eagerness to win this big race, but at the same time they all know and respect each other and are true sportsmen. They are then addressed by the MRC Chairman, presented with their race numbers and related material and race practicalities are discussed openly and agreed. All wish each other luck.
In contrast, Sunday afternoon is sunny and hot. The racecourse is bathed in light, it is noisy, milling with spectators, Maltese and foreign. The MRC puts on a brilliant show, with the Emirates representative landing at the racecourse in helicopter, the finalists’ owners are driven up the track in classic Ferraris and the drivers in Harley Davidson bikes. The shining horses parade proudly with their handlers led by last year’s winner and mementoes are presented to the owners and drivers.
The race itself is a short but intense affair at which all give their very best. Spectators seek the best viewing points and the air is filled with tension and a sense of expectation. The race comes to life mainly in the last lap but when it does, it keeps all spectators on tiptoes. The final straight is a head-to-head tussle between a number of horses with only one winner, Kakisis.
The race over, the tired winner and its driver are called to the winners’ circle and the prize-giving ceremony is held, with Kakisis’ owner/ driver raising high the Tazza l-Kbira. We see Mediterranean-style scenes of joy with people hugging each other and jumping for joy, and the traditional photos of owners, handlers, supporters and their relatives and friends with the sweaty winning horse.
At the end of the meeting, I walk over to the stable at which the winner is staying. The horse has been washed and is at rest, quiet and peaceful. The animal that some time ago was thundering down the track in a blistering sprint has returned to the gentle, quiet nature of a horse at rest.
Kakisis gives me a look through tired but proud eyes … its workday is over and it knows that it is the hero of the racetrack!
We wish you all another exciting meeting on Sunday.
