Le Trot Championship Finals Witnessed by Huge Crowd

On Sunday 11th June the Malta Equidrome hosted the Le Trot Championship Finals thus closing off the first part of the season with a bang. A good crowd was present for 5 very exciting finals which showcased some of the best trotters on the island. Thrilling finishes and fast timings were the order of the day thus providing the spectacle everyone was hoping for.

Certainly the most awaited race was the Prix de Vincennes for Premier category horses with odds-on favourite Crack Money delivering the much awaited victory although he had to face serious opposition along the way.

Crack Money is currently the fastest horse in Malta over the 2140m distance and proved yet again he is very tough to beat. Owned by Stephen Ciangura this 11-year old French trotter was once again driven by Michael Ellul and has now taken 5 of his 6 local starts which include two championships – The BOV Tazza l-Kbira and the Prix de Vincennes. Registering 1’13″4/km this is also the fastest time of this final after last year Dandy de Godrel also owned by Stephen Ciangura and driven by Michael Ellul had registered 1’13″6/km.

The other 4 finals were won as follows. Prix d’Enghien for Gold category saw the 3rd consecutive victory from 5 starts of 9-year old Escoublac driven by his usual driver and owner Charlton Muscat. His average timing of 1’13″9/km is the fastest time of this final so far.

Silver category Prix de Cabourg saw 10-year old Derby Chevaleraie take his 16th local victory and his 4th championship after he had won the Prix de Cagnes-sur-Mer for Bronze category in December 2020, the MRTL Silver B Championship Final in 2021 and also in 2021 the Krafft Championship for Silver category. Owned by Philip Caruana, Stephen Vassallo, Michael Vassallo and Amanda Caruana for this final he was driven by Kurt Saliba and he registered 1’14″7/km same timing as last year’s final and just short of the fastest time.

The Prix de Cagnes-sur-Mer for Bronze category was won by 10-year old Denver Haufor driven by Rodney Gatt. This horse is owned by Edward Ciantar and last December he had finished 2nd in this final although this was his 2nd local championship victory having won the Malta Equidrome Bronze A Final in 2022. The timing of 1’14″7/km makes it the best timing in this final superceding the 1’15″0 registered in 2019 by Concerto Cehere.

Finally the Copper category Prix de Caen was won by 7-year old Gypsa Bella driven by Sam Cassar. Owned by Clint Bartolo this was her 9th local victory but first championship both for her and her driver. Her timing was 1’15″8/km.

Photo: Alex Azzopardi