by Magnat

This season’s 25th race-meeting will be held at the Marsa race track next Sunday 22nd May from 2pm onwards and will consist of eleven trotting races over a 2,140m distance. This meeting features mainly French horses which have not qualified for the SECF championships semi-finals and those from other countries which were not eligible to compete in those championships.

The key attraction of the meeting will consist of three semi-finals from the Sette Giugno Cup in which a total of 32 Premier class trotters originating in Sweden, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Finland are registered to compete for the nine slots (three per semi-final) in the final, which will be held on the 7th June.

They include protagonists in recent championships, such as U*Bet Premier class championship winner Think Yatzee, last year’s President’s Cup winner Lucas Ness, Assikura Cup winner Indian Attack, Emirates Tazza l-Kbira final runner-up Lonshults Anders, many other popular trotters and newcomers Energy As (SE), Nobel de Grimoult (FR) and Skip Dimanche (SE).

Interestingly, the two above-mentioned Swedish trotters are both eight year olds having very good overseas winnings for their age. Skip Dimanche had prize-winnings of SEK961,750, with 10 race wins and various placings. Over the last year its best races included two 2nd places and a 3rd place at the Solvalla and Jagersro racecourses, at one of which it also registered its best time of 1’12’4 per kilometre over 1,640m. Energy As had prize-winnings of SEK961,467, with 16 race wins and a number of placings. In 2010, it registered three wins and two second placings as well as its best time of 1'12'7 per kilometre over 1,640m.

Some keen contests are expected in these three races.
We also have a very good Gold class race featuring thirteen interesting horses no less than four of which registered a win in their last three outings, i.e. Biggles Coquet, Kingpin La Marc, Matador Knick and Bete Saknussen.

The other races will consist of four Bronze class races, two Silver class races and another race reserved for Copper class horses.

Last meetings
Last week’s two meetings were dominated by the SECF championships heats reserved for French trotters. These provided us with the qualifiers for the semi-finals of each championship, i.e. 16 horses in the Prix de Vincennes (Premier class), 18 in the Prix d’Enghien (Gold class), 23 in the Prix de Cabourg (Silver class), 20 in the Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer (Bronze class) and 17 in the Prix de Caen (Copper class).

As expected, the three Prix de Vincennes heats constituted the main focus of attention. The first was won by a length by newcomer Mystere d’Urfist in a good time of 1’15’6 per kilometre, from Mark de Chamant, Master Perrine and L’As de Seuilly, with the other semi-final places remaining unfilled due to the disqualification of the other contestants.

In the second heat, Milord Barbes registered its second consecutive win in Malta taking the lead in the early stages and maintaining it comfortably till the end, in the process beating fellow qualifiers Joker de Choisel, Marathon Villers, Lovely Mab, Kakisis and Le Bolide du Suret.

Outsider Malin Roro won the third heat by an impressive margin in another good time of 1’15’6 per kilometre beating Major Chaleonnais, Le Coup de Foudre, In Vitro du Bourg, James de l’Iton and Knock de Manche which all made it to the semi-finals.

All the Prix d’Enghien heats had close finishes with minimal margins dividing winners from runners-up. Kojak d’Isques beat Kalipso Pierji by a small margin in the first heat, Natif de Salvi did likewise in respect of Novak in the second, and Nono d’Echal had to ward off a strong challenge from L’Alpha de Cosse in the final one.

On Friday, we also had an interesting encounter between Maltese drivers and others from Malmo, Sweden. The race was dominated by German mare Divinis and saw the horses driven by Maltese drivers Charlie Magro, Herman McKay and Mario Borg winning the top three places whilst that driven by Swedish driver Micael Andersson finished in fourth place.

Doping test results
Our congratulations go to the owners and trainers of Kakisis, Lonshults Anders, Lou Petiot and Neo de Mira (winners of the first four places in the Emirates Tazza l-Kbira final), as well as to those of Hawkear and Kimberley Downs, in respect of all of which the Malta Racing Club has received a negative doping test result.

May such examples of clean doping test results serve as a model for all to desist from making use of prohibited substances in all sporting activities.

The Sette Giugno Cup
After the MRC Premier Trot which was held last year and was restricted to a Final for non-French horses having very high points in the Malta Racing Club classification, this year the racing calendar offers us the Sette Giugno Cup, which is open to all Premier class horses of any nationality, except for French Premier class trotters competing in the SECF Prix de Vincennes semi-finals.

This year, qualifiers are also being held leading to the selection of the nine finalists, giving all participants an equal chance to shine in the face of similar high calibre horses and permitting the selection of a set of finalists which apart from their top quality are currently also in good form.

It will also provide the basis for the selection of half the finalists - the other half will come from the Prix de Vincennes final - for next month’s VOB Grand Final, another leading final in the Maltese trotting scene.

The 2,140m distance used for this championship is a popular one here in Malta and is used also in many of the championships held in the first part of the season, such as the U*Bet championships, the Assikura Cup, the SECF June championships, etc.

Finally, a reflection on the name of the championship, which is noteworthy because (as is the case also for the President’s Cup) it celebrates one of Malta’s national feasts, linking horse-racing with our history and national identity.

On the Sette Giugno, Malta commemorates the events of the 7th June 1919, when following riots by the Maltese, four people were killed when fire was opened on the protestors. We honour our fallen countrymen, the shedding of whose blood became an important foundation stone in Malta’s constitutional development and in our nation’s quest for the acquisition of sovereignty.

We wish you all another exciting meeting next Sunday.