We speak very frequently of harness racing trotting races in Italy considering only the competitive aspect that concerns the main protagonist of this sport: the horse.
Often, however, the men and women who are responsible for the results of the horses are not put in the right light, whether they are important horses, therefore great prizes, or horses that we can define as routine that are useful for everyday racing.
Through this article, let’s therefore analyze what is currently the Italian season of drivers and trainers, also with the help of numbers.
If we take into consideration the driver classification in Italy this year for the first parameter, at the time of writing the first place goes to Alessandro Gocciadoro with 142 victories out of 370 races entered and a total of sums won which up to now is close to the ā¬850,000.
A first place in the standings of an important stable that Alessandro manages together with his father Enrico, which, as stated by Alessandro himself in a recent interview, currently has about 150 horses.
A large stable therefore that of Alessandro who very often, also given his large amount of work not only in Italy but also abroad, is forced to entrust some of his horses to other drivers.
In second place in the driver classification, we find Antonio Di Nardo with 131 victories in 473 races, important numbers also for the young boy who moved to Tuscany starting from his hometown of Naples a few years ago, becoming the first driver in Gennaro Casillo’s team, the latter one of the most important Italian trainers as we will have the opportunity to see later when we focus on the ranking of trainers.
It is fair to say that at the moment, the top two representatives of the driver classification in Italy are also those who are currently challenging each other in the most important races.
If we think of Alessandro Gocciadoro for example, it is easy to think of Vernsissage Grif, but also of Bengurion Jet, Expo Wise AS just to name a few.
Even Antonio Di Nardo can’t complain about his participation in prestigious races where he often, especially when it comes to older horses, is the protagonist with Akela Pal Ferm, a daughter of the Maharajah trained by Gennaro Casillo.
However, it must be said that Antonio Di Nardo’s qualities as a catch driver are beyond any debate, in fact, when he is free from commitments he is often contacted by his colleagues: just to give an example while remaining in the field of big races, Antonio has played just a few months ago in the Repubblica Grand Prix in Bologna, Achille Caf, a pupil of Enrico Bellei who became the winner.
Unfortunately, space does not play in favor of a very extensive article therefore, wanting to scroll through the current driver classification in Italy, after having mentioned the first two, we can state that the podium is completed by Antonio Simioli, a young professional from Naples.
His history is very interesting: Antonio Simioli in fact began his activity by attending races for amateurs but, when he became aware of his great abilities, he made the leap only a few years ago, leaving behind the amateur activity and taking the license of professional driver.
Roberto Vecchione is also in an excellent position, currently in fourth place with 92 victories and over 540,000 euros won, also the result of an excellent feeling with Bleff Dipa, Jean Pierre Barjon’s standard bearer who is always active in the most important Italian classics very often behind Vivid Wise AS.
Gaetano Di Nardo and Andrea Farolfi continue the classification with 83 victories and 66 victories respectively, both protagonists this year in the classic circuit: Gaetano Di Nardo obtained some classic victories in the spring with Ector Francis, a son of Nad Al Sheba capable of winning even the Giovanardi Grand Prix in Modena, a valid test for what the Derby will be.
Andrea Farolfi instead, after last year he won the Italian Trot Derby with Dimitri Ferm (Nad Al Sheba), continued to win and place repeatedly in the most important races for the three years in sulky in East Asia, a bearer of Jean Pierre Barjon daughter of Ready Cash who also won the City of Naples Grand Prix last week.
For reasons of space, we have to run at high speed, so we move to examine the current ranking of trainers in Italy. At the moment the first position is occupied by Alessandro Gocciadoro with 200 victories and 1,617,887 euros in sums won. There is no need to dwell on the Gocciadoro team, remembering some victories of this team would be a mistake as the risk of making some oversights would certainly be high.
What we can say instead is that the Gocciadoro team is currently the most successful Italian stable abroad, especially in northern Europe where it has had its base for a long time now.
The second place in the ranking of trainers has the name Gennaro Casillo who currently has collected 111 victories. The driver of him is Antonio Di Nardo of which we wrote previously, a combination that works excellently both in reference to the driver classification and in reference to the trainer classification.
Two names that currently have the upper hand regarding the calendar of important races in Italy whose trainer is Gennaro Casillo, are: Akela Pal Ferm (Maharajah) and Enea Sl (Bar Hopping).
The first is a very competitive female with the elders while the other is a male capable of obtaining good results in the first three-year-old category.
Closing the podium in the coaching rankings is Holger Ehlert with 106 victories. There is not much to say about the German trainer: his star horse at the moment is Bleff Dipa (Mister JP) competitive in the big prix always coming close to Vivid Wise AS, while it is right to remember thatbHolger Ehlert was until recently the trainer of Zacon Gio with whom he won the International Trot at Yonkers Raceway in the USA.
by Filippo Lago, for Harnesslink