by Magnat

Race-meetings will be held at the Marsa race track next Friday (6th) and Sunday (8th) May. Friday’s meeting will start at 7pm with Sunday’s beginning at 2.00pm.

Friday’s meeting will consist of seven races while Sunday’s contains eight races. Both involve all-trot race-cards over the long 3,140m distance, except for one race which will be over 2,140m.

Among the attractive features, we will see an interesting Premier class race in every meeting, each having 12 registered horses.

Friday’s race includes various popular horses, such as the Tazza l-Kbira winners of the last four years, Kakisis (this year’s winner), In Vitro du Bourg (last year’s winner) and James de l’Iton (2008 and 2009 winner), the January Grand Final winner Lou Petiot and many others.

Sunday’s race includes some in-form trotters such as Energy Launcher (two wins in the last three races), Carnegie Hall (a win and a place in the last three races), Gentle Way (two places in the last three outings) and others.

On Friday we will also have an International Ladies Challenge race for Bronze class horses on 2,140m, involving experienced Scandinavian and Maltese lady drivers. This is a very interesting initiative taking place in our racetrack and we wish the best of luck to all participants.

Three Gold class races will be held on Sunday, hosting a number of high calibre horses, some of which are either on the verge of the Premier class or have raced in that class in the past.

Six horses are registered to make their debut this weekend, i.e. No Comprendo (FR), Nolic de la Merite (FR), Nono d’Echal (FR), Orlando Tejy (FR) and Triangel Kall (SE), all in the Gold Class, and Oncle Collino (FR) in the Silver class. We also note that during the 19th meeting, Que Nenni des Ducs (FR) made its debut in the Malta – Finland Race, coming in as a reserve.

Last meeting
The highlights of last Sunday’s meeting were the finals from the Assikura Cup over 2,140m, reserved for horses which are neither French nor Swedish.


The final reserved for the Premier, Gold and Silver classes saw Obi Wan Kenobi taking an early lead and holding on to it for most of the race, until he suffered Indian Attack’s strong challenge around 600m from the end, with this latter Danish trotter going ahead in the final straight to win for the second consecutive time, from Count of Life, Baronello and Obi Wan Kenobi, in a good time of 1’16’5 per kilometre.

In the final reserved for the Bronze and Copper classes, American Boston Harbor dominated from the early stages until the end and won its third consecutive race, from Lazume Simoni, Divinis and Great Line in that order.

Interestingly, the best time in the remaining races over the long 3,140m distance, was of 1’20’0 per kilometre, and was registered in the Copper class by Danish horse Hawkear.

We also saw two interesting flat races with close finishes, both won by American horses. Ollie Fliptrik took its third win of the season in the Class B race, from Life is Now and Nuage de la Tour, whilst Kimberley Downs won its second consecutive race in Class A from Nikos Heriniere and Joliminoi.

Other news
We take the opportunity to congratulate current champion jockey Michael Sultana for the successes he has registered recently in Belgium. We wish Michael all the best and augur that he will continue to demonstrate his talents even overseas, gaining more honour for himself and his country.

We also wish the best of luck to Maltese jockey Ramon Grima who will be representing Malta on Friday afternoon in the third leg of the Mediterranean Horse Racing Union’s jockey championship which will be held at the Anfa racetrack in Morocco.

Our best wishes also go to Maltese driver Charlo Debono who will be representing our country on Sunday afternoon in the second leg of the MHRU’s drivers’ championship which will be held at the Agnano racetrack in Naples, Italy.

International Drivers Encounters
A couple of weeks ago the Marsa racetrack hosted a race between Maltese and Finnish drivers, while this Friday we will see an all-female race involving Maltese and Scandinavian drivers. Our jockeys and drivers are also taking part in the Mediterranean Horse Racing Union’s international championships.

These initiatives are extremely important because apart from the spectacle and competition they offer, they also enable our drivers and jockeys to acquire valuable experience vis-a-vis their foreign counterparts, demonstrating that Malta is an integral part of the international horseracing community and giving us the opportunity to show our talents in international competition.

They also foster relationships between our drivers and their foreign counterparts. Such relationships enable all these drivers to share experiences and to learn from each other. But most of all they can result in the creation of long-lasting contacts and friendships, enabling our drivers to look beyond our shores and acquire a more international outlook.

Well done to all those who take the initiative of promoting such races with the participation of Maltese and foreign drivers, as well as the Malta Racing Club which hosts and organises such events. May we have more of them.

Finally, we welcome the Scandinavian drivers who are visiting us. May you enjoy your stay in Malta; we are sure that you will feel at home amongst us.

We wish you all two exciting meetings this weekend.