The World Summer Cup Junior Trot is to be held for the first time in the Maltese Islands, and will be hosted in both Malta and Gozo, with the opening races this Friday in Gozo.

This international competition is sponsored by the EquestriMalta Authority, and will welcome young riders between the ages of 11 and 16.

Details about this sporting event were given during a press conference on Tuesday which was also attended by Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation Clifton Grima and Minister for Gozo and Planning Clint Camilleri.

The international championship will get underway on Friday, the 11th of July at the Ta’ Xhajma racecourse, Xewkija, Gozo, as part of a varied summer racing programme, prepared by the Ministry for Gozo, under the guidance of the Malta Racing Club and with the financial support of the EquestriMalta Authority.

The programme has been running since the 13th of June and has already registered just under 200 horses from Malta and Gozo.

It was explained that the selection of the Maltese children who will compete for the international championship was made by the Malta Racing Club Trotting Academy, with the financial and administrative support of the EquestriMalta Authority. An academy that has been running since the beginning of the year and is proving a success among young horse riders.

The selected children were divided into four groups of two to compete as a team on behalf of the Malta Racing Club in both the Gozo leg which is the first, and in the other legs which are expected to take place in Sweden, Belgium and France.

The Maltese participants who will represent Malta for this championship in the host countries are;

• Gianluca Debono and Xavier Borg (Malta) • Mason Bilocca and Tiffany Zammit (Sweden) • Gianluca Gauci and Giuseppe Zammit (Belgium) • Sven Caruana and Shazney Abela (France)

Present for the launch of this championship were the Maltese athletes, the Chairman of EquestriMalta Dr Dean Hili, the Chairman of the Malta Racing Club Anthony Mifsud, the Deputy Chairman of the Malta Racing Club Tony Demanuele, together with other officials from the Malta Racing Club and EquestriMalta.

“Another international championship final is being held in our country, the fruit of the success of two important pillars for our economy, education and sport,” said Minister Clifton Grima.

Minister Clint Camilleri said, “this is not only an important occasion for the sport of trotting but also for Gozo in general, especially when it comes to Gozitan youth and in terms of sports tourism. It is a source of satisfaction for us that Malta will be chosen as one of the host countries, and more than that, that Gozo is hosting the first leg.”

He explained how the Ministry has “worked tirelessly” to ensure that the Ta’ Xhajma racetrack is prepared with the best facilities, so that it can host not only this championship but others in the future.

Minister Camilleri concluded by saying that this initiative not only offers a unique sporting spectacle, but also contributes to attracting both internal and foreign tourism, and continues to strengthen the local economy.

EquestriMalta CEO, Max Zammit said, “Investing in our children is an investment in the sport itself and together with the Malta Racing Club, we will be building on what we have prepared in the academy which resulted for the second consecutive year in success.”

He added that, “we are also very satisfied with the collaboration we have made this time with the Ministry and the Gozo racecourse, where while we are offering opportunities with an ever better sporting product to Gozitan and Maltese owners, we are working on a number of other interesting collaborations for Maltese sportsmen and women and the island of Gozo.”

Photo: DOI/ Kian Bugeja

Permalink: World Summer Cup Junior Trot gets underway in Gozo on Friday