Senglea retain Victory Day Regatta Shield after dramatic final race

regatta-2026b-1024x819 Senglea retain Victory Day Regatta Shield after dramatic final race

mamzinobet_banner_6x1_final-scaled-1024x171 Senglea retain Victory Day Regatta Shield after dramatic final race

Senglea retained the Victory Day Regatta Shield following a dramatic finale at the Grand Harbour, edging Cospicua by just two points to claim the Open Category.

The victory was Senglea’s 25th in the prestigious Victory Day Regatta and their second in succession, having ended a 13-year wait for the honour last year.

It also completed a memorable double for Senglea, who had already won the Freedom Day Regatta last March.

Going into the decisive Tal-Pass B’Erba’ Mqadef race, the destination of the Shield remained wide open. However, Senglea produced an impressive performance when it mattered most, leading from start to finish and beating Cospicua to secure the 24 points on offer.

Owen Zammit, Charvon Gatt, Matthew Micallef and Denilson Long formed Senglea’s victorious crew in the final race.

Their success lifted Senglea to 62 points, just two ahead of Cospicua on 60, while Vittoriosa finished third on 42.

Vittoriosa make winning start

Vittoriosa had opened the Open Category with victory in the Tal-Midalji race through Antoine Brignone, Sven Refalo, Dennis Thornton and Kieran Zammit.

They finished ahead of Cospicua and Senglea, although the result was initially the subject of protests after Vittoriosa were deemed to have strayed from their lane and impeded Senglea.

However, the protests were eventually dismissed and the original result confirmed.

Chief Judge Dr Jean Paul Sammut explained that both Vittoriosa and Senglea had strayed from their respective lanes and officials therefore decided not to alter the result.

The second race, the Frejgatini, provided another close contest involving four clubs. Cospicua’s Mattia Calleja and Mel Magro produced a strong finish to take victory ahead of Senglea, with Vittoriosa placing third.

Senglea responded in the Tal-Pass b’Żewġt Imqadef, where Charvon Gatt and Matthew Micallef secured their first victory of the afternoon with an impressive performance.

Vittoriosa were back on top in the Kajjiki as Christian Bugeja and Kurt Vassallo took the 12 points for victory.

That ensured the battle for the Shield would be decided in the fifth and final race, where Senglea delivered the performance they needed to retain the prestigious trophy.

Senglea’s 24 points for victory took them to 62, while Cospicua’s second place earned them 16 points and left them agonisingly short on 60.

Senglea and Vittoriosa share Category B Shield

There was an equally dramatic conclusion to Category B, where Senglea and Vittoriosa finished joint first on 56 points and shared the Shield.

Vittoriosa made the perfect start by winning the Tal-Pass b’Żewġt Imqadef ahead of Senglea and Birżebbuġa.

Cospicua responded by winning the Kajjiki and then followed that with another victory in the Tal-Midalji to move strongly into contention.

Vittoriosa returned to winning ways in the Frejgatini, finishing ahead of Senglea and Cospicua and ensuring that all remained to play for in the final race.

The Tal-Pass B’Erba’ Mqadef proved decisive, with Vittoriosa beating Senglea to first place. Vittoriosa collected 24 points for the victory while Senglea’s second place was worth 16.

Those points left Vittoriosa and Senglea level on 56 points, meaning the two Cottonera clubs shared the Category B Shield. Cospicua finished third with 44 points.