30th horse-racing meeting today

The key attractions will be the SECF championships finals, the Prix de Caen for the Copper class, the Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer for the Bronze class, the Prix de Cabourg for Silver class horses, the Prix d’Enghien for the Gold class and the Prix de Vincennes for Premier class trotters, all over a 2,140m distance.

In the Prix de Vincennes, we have nine finalists which include some of Malta’s best trotters, with many of them having a noteworthy past in France.

It is a mix of well-known veterans some of which have won prestigious honours in Malta, such as the Emirates Tazza l-Kbira and the Prix de Vincennes, Kakisis, Joker de Choisel and Knock de Manche, horses Le Coup de Foudre and Lovely Mab which have registered eight victories in Malta between them, and this year’s newcomers Master Perrine, Malin Roro, Mark de Chamant and Marathon Villers which have already garnered five wins between them.

The Prix d’Enghien groups ten finalists some of which have just been promoted to the Premier class as a result of their recent performances, i.e. Kojak d’Isques, Natif de Salvi and Marquis Penalan, and Le Bon Mayennais, L’Ideal de Fersan, L’Alpha de Cosse and Lord The Best which have featured in the Premier class in the past, as well as Magnifique Sablais which has already won four times this year and Novak which managed to place twice from its four races in Malta.

Most finalists in the Prix de Cabourg have at least won and placed in their last three outings, i.e. Kandy du Fruitier, Obscur de Busset, Kiton de Bouere, Midoun du Home, Knight Brunel, King Boy du Dane, Oris du Lupin and Oeillet Blanc, Lys des Etroits which placed in all of its last seven outings, and Korentin which won five times in Malta in the last three years.

Similar extremely valid horses can be found also in the Prix de Cagnes Sur Mer and in the Prix de Caen finals, with balanced, hard-fought races being anticipated in all of them.

The remaining races are also interesting and consist of one Copper class, three Bronze class and two Silver class races, all over a 2,640m distance.

Last meetings
Last Sunday’s meeting formed part of the second edition of the Equestrian Festival, eleven hours of horse-related activities at which the large number of spectators could appreciate horses’ and riders’ skills and the various equestrian sports practised in Malta.

A highlight of that meeting was the Equestrian Festival Final for Premier class horses over a sprint 1,640m distance, where Mon Daniel took the lead around 400m from the end and won for the third time this season, after successfully resisting a strong attack from runner-up Livi Cantona which finished ahead of Energy As and Lucas Ness.

The programme also included a final for each of the Gold and Silver classes, over the 1,640m distance. Here the finalists resulted from semi-finals which were also held last Sunday.

The Gold class final saw an exciting head-to-head tussle between Candy Fantasy and Kingpin La Marc in the final straight, with the photo-finish awarding to the latter its second win this season, whilst in the Silver class final Newman (which also won its semi-final) ran strongly on the outside in the last half lap to record its fourth seasonal win from second-placed Charlie Smitt.

Interestingly, Mon Daniel and Livi Cantona in the Premier Class Final and Candy Fantasy winning its Gold Class semi-final, all recorded an excellent time of 1’13’8 per kilometre, which is not just this season’s best time in Malta on the 1,640m distance, but also the best time since the re-opening of the racecourse in November 2009.

Sunday’s programme also featured two interesting flat racing finals, both won by horses registering their first win this year. Etoile du Pic won the Butler Cup thanks to a good burst of speed in the final straight, in front of Letthewordgoforth and Walker, whilst the Piscopo Gardens Cup had a very close and exciting finish won by Friarscourt ahead of Marivan and Nuage de la Tour.

Another instance of excellent organisation and with an attractive backdrop of parades, presentations, the participation of the Marsa Boy Scouts playing fitting fanfares for the occasion, the 7th June programme also included a number of interesting races.

It was the day of the McDonald’s Mediterranean Derby contested by seven top thoroughbreds, and which saw a head-to-head challenge in the final straight between Irish horse Buttermilk and British horse Uncle Bertie. At the post, Buttermilk remained a head in front to notch its second consecutive win. With Uncle Bertie’s disqualification, second place went to Just The Best, with Adorabile Med finishing third.

In the Sette Giugno Cup final for Premier Class trotters, Think Yatzee took the lead in the early stages and maintained it throughout. However, an exciting finish ensued when runner-up Energy Launcher and third-placed Skip Dimanche came out strongly in the last 100m and launched a tough challenge, with Think Yatzee still being strong enough to remain ahead and take its fourth seasonal win in a time of 1’16’7 per kilometre on a 2,140m distance.

The programme also included an interesting Premier Class race on a 2,640m distance, which resulted in a close win for Max d’Avignere (its first win in Malta) in the meeting’s best time of 1’16’1 per kilometre, ahead of Belafonte and James de l’Iton.

Other news
We wish to congratulate those Maltese drivers who took part in races in Sweden during the recent Elitloppet weekend and managed to achieve honourable results.

This weekend, we will see another leg from the Mediterranean Horse Racing Union championship which will be held in Serbia. Our representatives shall be driver Clint Vassallo and jockey Oliver Briffa. We wish both of them all the best. May we give a great account of ourselves whilst giving an excellent example of sportsmanship.

Focus on French trotters
The SECF finals remind us of the long-standing Malta – France trotting connection. For long years until the start of the nineties (when we saw a material increase in Swedish trotters in Malta), nearly all trotters imported into Malta were French.

In recent years, the percentage of French newcomers making their debut here was more than 51% in 2009, more than 60% in 2010 and stands at more than 55% of all newcomers so far this year. Malta is the country which imports most French trotters, ahead of countries such as Sweden, Spain and Switzerland.

These horses must have the first letter of their name being a set letter applying for all horses born in a particular year, with the letters of the alphabet between A and V being used one after another (e.g. M for horses born in 2000, N for those of 2001, etc) and at the end, use of the alphabet starts afresh.

French trotters have to reach a minimum qualifying time to access the racing scene. The basic minimum qualifying time is first set for two year olds, but if a horse does not reach it, it becomes tougher as a horse grows older.

This is a tough test, with many trotters not managing to qualify, despite having an excellent pedigree; for instance, an average of only around 40% of horses born between the year 2000 and 2005, managed to qualify. Such a demanding test is critical to preserve the quality and reputation of the French trotter.

And this is not the only test that a trotter must satisfy, because after qualification, it must also reach minimum prize-winning levels varying depending on its age, so as to continue racing in France.

Horses start qualifying at 2 years of age and can continue competing in France until the end of the calendar year in which they reach the age of 10. Typically the largest number of trotters are 3 and 4 year olds, with reductions occurring as horses become older, and mainly for 8 year olds and older.

Around 11,000 sulky and monte’ races are held every year in around 230 racecourses across France.

Our French trotters form part of this rich heritage and it will be a pleasure to watch some of the best of them competing in the SECF finals.

Source: www.maltaracingclub.com