by Magnat

This season’s fourth meeting will be held next Sunday 6th February starting at 1.30pm. The race-card will consist of seven trotting events and two flat races. We will see the first races this season over longer distances, with trotters racing over a 2,640m distance and thoroughbreds over 1,750m. This will be a “normal race” programme prior to next week’s U*Bet championship finals. Trotting races will consist of two races for each of the Copper and Bronze classes and a race for each of the Silver, Gold and Premier classes.

The Premier class race featuring a 14 horse field is expected to be the highlight of the meeting. It includes various trotters coming from positive performances, such as Ker Pellois, Kojak d’Isques and Never Better, and newcomers Milano du Gite (FR) and Bill Boing (SE). The latter is only 6 years old and in a racing career of merely around 3 years in Sweden it managed to win seven times and SEK573,521 in prize-money, with a best time of 1’13’3 per kilometre.

The Gold class race will feature trotters which have either joined this class recently or are close to the Silver class. Swedish nine-year old Peasant Gallant is expected to make its debut in this class (it was scratched last week) instead of the Premier class, on the basis of the winnings parameters relative to the last country in which it raced for some time – this horse had winnings of Euro112,910 (over SEK1,227,000), with nine race-wins and various placings and a best time of 1’13’2 per kilometre, competing mainly in Sweden but also in other countries, e.g. France and Belgium.

The other new trotters are expected to be Minuteman (SE) in the Copper class and Newman (DK) and Opimus (FR) in the Silver class.
A flat race for each of Class A and B will be held with a field of six horses per race. The Class B race will feature some horses which have not raced for some time, i.e. Genievre, Tantalus and Walker, and new French mare Salsiane. The Class A one includes a number of popular thoroughbreds such as Lordswood, Mean Mr Mustard and Wildnis and new Irish mares Adorabile Med and Giada Med.

Last meeting
The last meeting was reserved for the semi-finals of the U*Bet championships for Swedish horses, in which all the Copper, Bronze, Silver and Gold class finalists were determined. These will join the Premier class finalists which did not need to pass through qualifying races. The meeting was characterised by a number of surprises, including the elimination of a number of fancied horses and wins or qualification of less fancied ones.

The first Gold class semi-final saw a strong final sprint which gave Notice As its second consecutive win beating fellow qualifiers The Big Blue World and Jigsaw. The second required the photofinish to determine the winner, i.e. Livi Cantona, which also won its second consecutive win in this season’s joint best time of 1’16’0 per kilometre on 2,140m, from Lover Boy Index and Tornado Hornline.
The final semi-final also had a close finish between the first three horses, with the win going to Gentle Way which had the strongest finish and won in another good time of 1’16’1 per kilometre from Mint Spirit and Kosai L.J.
The other semi-finals were won by Napoleon Hjo, Pretty Post and Arragon Crown in the Copper Class, Belbroughton Road and Robin Lou in the Bronze class and Prince Brilliance and Gigo Lloyd in the Silver class.

Other news
The team of Maltese drivers which won last year’s MHRU Mediterranean Drivers’ Trotting Championship achieved third place in the Team of the Year award at the SportMalta Awards held last Saturday 29th January. Although they did not win the award, third place is an extremely prestigious result in the light of the tough competition for this honour. Well done to this successful team of drivers.

It was also a pleasure to note the Malta Racing Club’s receipt of a negative doping test in respect of the winner of the Coronation Cup for thoroughbreds held last December. Every negative doping test result constitutes a win for fair play in the Maltese horse-racing community.

Walking near the racetrack on a wintery Sunday morning
I shudder slightly as I get out of the car; it is still rather cold and damp in Marsa at 8am on a Sunday in January. The racecourse car park is full of horse trailers, some single, some double, others bigger. Two horses are being led down their trailers wearing matching-colour blanket and leg bandages – they make their way slowly towards the horse entrance.
Some of Racecourse Street’s bars are already open, their main sales consisting of tea and coffee. Most of the stables are also open, with horses being prepared for morning training.

Cars are driven slowly through the rather narrow street, awaiting patiently horses walking in the road, accepting that they are intruders on the horses’ home ground.

The buildings overlooking the racecourse are still closed – they will come to life in the afternoon during the races. A man leads a fresh sulky-less horse for a leisurely walk – no hard training for this horse this morning. The man hails two men sipping tea inside a stable.

As I enter the racecourse I am struck by the large number of (mainly) men there at this early hour. Most are holding small cages containing song-birds in one hand and a hot drink in another. A multitude of horses are carrying out their training; there seem to be more horses than during the races. People discuss horses, their current form, first impression of new horses etc.

After some time I come out again, going towards the car-park. Some horses have ended their training and are making their way back to their stables or trailers. They are accompanied by their driver and handlers who often include a young man, perhaps the owner’s son or nephew. A horse reaches his stables and his handler efficiently removes his sulky so that the horse enters unhindered. A couple of cars leave, with the horses peering out of the trailers’ open window.

A weak winter sun is doing its best to heat up the day. Malta is slowly waking up for a day of rest … whilst the people and horses in Racecourse Street are already completing their first commitment …

We wish you all an interesting meeting next Sunday.