Siena, 16 August 2023 – There is no perfect plan in the Palio, as there is no perfect crime in mystery novels. As far as you can study everything, let i choose cavalli What do you prefer to the captains, decide half a dozen monte, avoid being in the middle of the rivalries between the ropes, fate always plays a decisive role. Fate is the real deus ex machina in Piazza del Campo. He can take on the role of an order among the ropes that places you in a run or puts you too close to the rival. Or any other combination capable of disturbing a serenity that would make fun of you.
It can enter the hocks of a horse considered ‘brenna’ and which becomes a prince in the Piazza, like the toad kissed by the princess. Or in the jacket of a jockey labeled as a follower and who in that minute and a half finds a propellant within himself that makes him find unthinkable trajectories in San Martino or Casato and burn the others, arriving first at the flag. He can confuse the mover, who lowers the ropes when you’re turned and you find yourself stuck in the move when the others are already at the Source. Or he can make you take a wrong turn, go straight to San Martino, crash into the Casato or be overtaken at the flag by a shaken horse.
All these eventualities, the list of possibilities in the monopoly that is played in Piazza del Campo, have already occurred at least once. The flash of Benito in Leocorno in 1983, which mocks the Caterpillar and the Pesse at the flag; Pytheos who in 1989 went straight twice to San Martino and Casato and dropped Bastiano and Cianchino; Falchino who, in July 1986, starts last with Ogiva in the Dragon, remounts everyone and wins the only Palio of his long career; Tittia who on 2 July 2022 wins a Palio nel Drago with Uncle Frac with only six Contradas among the ropes, and the others eliminated due to injuries to the horses and errors by the jockeys.
Everyone can add a Palio to this list of victories of destiny, of triumphs of those they hadn’t seen coming, of races that had a hidden director, capable of screwing up all the plans. The recourse to history, disturbing archives and unique numbers, is the trick used to escape the obvious reading of this Palio dell’Assunta 2023. Which, like the other 5 that preceded it, has a great favorite and a winner who it seems predestined.
Giovanni Atzeni, aka Tittia, this time studied his plan to win by mounting Abbasantesa. He is the only one to see the great potential of the horse, being in his stable he is the only one to know him well and to know if he has three rounds of square in the hocks. La Giraffa is one of the Contrade refuges of him: no rival that bothers you, and it doesn’t even weigh the fact that with that red and white jacket you won the Palio in July 4 years ago with Tale e Quali. And that in between there were two years without careers in the field. If Tittia’s plan succeeds, we will dust off the stories of the previous episodes, we will celebrate a record of 6 consecutive triumphs and we will call Aceto to make him confess that this time he really fears losing the primacy of Palios won.
Upheaval in the Pantera with Anda and Bola would like to return to the glory of 2016 and not count on the tenth Palio in a row without victories. Even Gingillo would like to go back to being carried on the shoulders of the cheering contradaioli: this time della Chiocciola, with Reo I confess to his fourth consecutive Palio, that he would like to escape his destiny of filler. And then there’s Brigante nell’Oca on Zio Tailcoat: it could be a good opportunity to take back that Palio that escaped him when it seemed within his reach in Istrice with Schietta. There are also other suitors with chances of winning. And there’s always that fate that knocks on the door of every Palio and messes up plots, parties, strategies and dreams. The spirit of the Festival has enjoyed wearing masks for centuries. Only in the end will we find out which one he chose.
2023-08-16 04:01:30
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