The 2009 Mauritius horseracing season commences on Saturday, 4 April, with a bumper eight race programme at the popular Champ de Mars racetrack in the capital city of Port Louis.

Totalisator betting by South African enthusiasts on the Indian Ocean Island’s highly competitive horseracing has grown exponentially over the past few years and the popularity of the fare on offer can no doubt be largely ascribed to the participation of many of our former racehorses as well as a host of our talented riders who have carried the South African flag with pride in recent times. This year Sherman Brown, who returns to defend his 2008 Mauritian champion jockey title, as well as Guillermo Figueroa and Glen Hatt, will be some of our household names entertaining the passionate locals, who fill the grandstands at the vibrant city track every weekend.

The Mauritian horse population was also recently boosted by the arrival of top South African Graded Race performers like Pick Six, Galant Gagnant, Northern Frontier and Profit Report, amongst others, and the prospects of a high quality season in the offing, looks extremely positive.

Gold Circle Racing Director Graeme Hawkins said that Mauritian horseracing had captured the imagination of our racing public as it offered plenty of excitement and was well-timed, with its Saturday morning start, to complement the bouquet of South African horseracing which flowed from around midday.“ The presence of many familiar equine and jockey names with which our punters identify, as well as the unique nature of the tight Champ de Mars circuit and a fascinating visual spectacle with many tight finishes, means that Mauritian racing offered racing enthusiasts a unique package,” he said.

Saturday’s season opener starts at 10H45 with the Place Accumulator kicking off in race 2 at 11h15, the Pick 6 in race 3 at 11h50 and the Jackpot in race 4 at 12h25. The sixth race, the Le Mauricien Centenary Souvenir Trophy to be run over 1365m, is the feature event of the day, where seven runners face the starter. Sherman Brown rides the former Justin Snaith inmate, One For The Road, while Gaeton Faucon and Serge Henry team up with Flavius, in what is likely to be a closely fought contest.

Fields and form will be published in the Racegoer supplement of various of the Friday and Saturday editions of the 17 Independent Newspaper titles nationally and all races will be televised live on Tellytrack, DSTV channel 232.