Cospicua secure memorable double in Victory Day Regatta

Cospicua secured a memorable double in the Victory Day Regatta after clinching both the Open and the ‘B’ category titles at the expense of rivals Senglea at the Valletta Grand Harbour on Thursday.

Thursday’s regatta turned out to be a real thrilling duel between the two Cottonera sides, with Cospicua holding the edge over Senglea in the final races of both categories to secure the honours on the day.

The Open category got under way with a real thriller in the opening race – Dgħajjes A Tal-Midalji – where Vittoriosa just edged out victory over Senglea, with the photo-finish needed to be consulted to declare the race’s winner.

For Vittoriosa this was the first time that they had won this race after an absence of 37 years.

The second race from the Open category was of Frejgatini and here it was Kalkara who stormed to victory with a strong second part of the race to finish ahead of Cospicua and Senglea.

For Kalkara these were the first points registered in this year’s Open category.

Dennis Thornton and Clive Casha maintained their stranglehold in the Dgħajjes C Tal-Pass race as Cospicua scored a dominant victory in this race to take sole leadership in the overall standings.

This win confirmed Thornton and Casha’s dominance in this race as they are unbeaten in the last decade but more impressive is the fact that Cospicua has won this race for a 19th consecutive year.

Senglea managed to take second place in this race as they outlasted a tiring Marsamxett who had to settle for third place.

Senglea fought back in the penultimate race, Tal-Kajjiki, where they managed to secure victory ahead of Cospicua to ensure the shield’s destination would be decided in the final race.

The final race, Dgħajjes B Tal-Pass, turned out to be a real thriller as Senglea seemed to hold the edge but the Cospicua four-man crew produced a strong finish to just nick out victory.

The rivalry between Cospicua and Senglea was also extended in the ‘B’ category.

Senglea’s victory in the penultimate race of the Kajjiki put them four points clear of Cospicua before the final race.

But the Cospicua four-man crew in the Dgħajjest Tal-Pass category completed dominated the final race to secure the overall honours in the category as Senglea missed out on a top-three placing.

The day’s proceedings kicked off the with the women’s race and here Vittoriosa’s Frejgatina dominated the frejgatini race from start to finish as they finished well clear of Senglea and Cospicua.

For Vittoriosa this was their third successive success in the women’s division.

RESULTS

Race 1: Women’s class – Frejgatini: 1. Vittoriosa; 2. Senglea; 3. Cospicua.

Race 2: Category B – Dgħajjes Tal-Pass: 1. Cospicua; 2. Senglea; 3. Vittoriosa.

Race 3: Category Open – Dgħajjes A Tal-Midalji: 1. Vittoriosa; 2. Senglea; 3. Cospicua.

Race 4: Category B – Kajjiki: 1. Kalkara; 2. Cospicua; 3. Senglea.

Race 5: Category Open – Frejgatini: 1. Kalkara; 2. Cospicua; 3. Senglea.

Race 6: Category B – Dgħajjes tal-Midalji: 1. Cospicua; 2. Senglea; 3 Vittoriosa.

Race 7: Category Open – Dgħajjes C Tal-Pass: 1. Cospicua; 2. Senglea; 3. Marsamxett.

Race 8: Category B – Frejgatini: 1. Senglea; 2. Kalkara; 3. Birżebbuġa.

Race 9: Category Open – Kajjiki: 1. Senglea; 2. Cospicua; 3. Vittoriosa.

Race 10: Category B – Dgħajjes tal-Pass: 1. Cospicua; 2. Vittoriosa; 3. Kalkara.

Race 11: Category Open – Dgħajjes B Tal-Pass: 1. Cospicua; 2. Senglea; 3. Birżebbuġa.

FINAL STANDINGS

CATEGORY A: 1. Cospicua 66; 2. Senglea 56; 3. Vittoriosa 24; 4. Kalkara 12; 5. Birżebbuħa 8; 6. Marsamxett 6.

CATEGORY B: 1. Cospicua 68; 2. Senglea 48; 3. Vittoriosa 28; 4. Kalkara 20; 5. Birżebbuġa 8.