“Gigi Bruschelli taught me a lot”.
It is with great pleasure that La Voce del Palio announces a big scoop: we indeed succeeded in having an interview with Andrea Atzeni, one of the best jockeys of the world and rising star in the Italian horseraces. Born in 1991, coming from Nurri (Sardinia), he boasts copious victories in all the racetracks around the world (among others, the prestigious St. Leger of Doncaster and the King George of Ascott) and he has a past in Siena, spent in the stable of Luigi Bruschelli known as Trecciolino. Andrea Atzeni is a very modest guy that shared himself with our microphones ranging from his past in Siena to his relationship with Lanfranco Dettori.
How did your passion for horses arise?
“I have had it since I was a child, I asked my father when I was still 6 years old to buy me a horse. My family is not linked to the horses world: my mother is a nurse and my father is a breeder but he has never had horses. When I was 10 he then bought me my first pony”.
How did you get close to Siena?
“It was thanks to Giovanni (Atzeni, Ed.) which is my third cousin. I was used to ride horses where his father was keeping the animals for the traditional races in Sardinia. It was through Giovanni, when I was 14 years old, that I came in Siena with my father to see the Palio. I was supposed to stay just for a few days but then I went to visit Gigi Bruschelli and he told me that, if I liked to, I could had stayed there. I accepted and I spent like 8-9 months at his place: and to think that I brought with me the small luggage to stay only a few days”.
During the Morning Training Practice for the Palio of the 16th of August 2005, you made your only appearance in Piazza del Campo (the Palio of Siena square, Translator’s note) when you were only 14 years old
“Yes, it was a unique emotion, I remember that during the night it rained a lot and we didn’t know if the morning practice would have taken place since it was even seeming that the pratice could have been cancelled. We were there, waiting, and I was clearly hoping the practice would have taken place. Indeed they took place, but later than they were supposed. I rode Desmon, that, during the Palio, was straddled by Giovanni for the Civetta: it was a very good and manageable horse. I did 2-3 laps, it was a great emotion to stay inside the Entrone (the entrance hall courtyard of the town hall, Tn.) and then to straddle the horse”.
After the experience in Trecciolino’s stable, another call arrived…
“Yes, I have actually already had a half-understanding with the Botti brothers to go to Milan: we agreed that I would have gone there when 15 years old, since they couldn’t hire me if I were less than 15. I was very young at the time I was staying at Bruschelli’s and I was also too lightweight to ride a horse for the Palio: to be able to ride for some practice or for one of the Palio races I should have waited to be at least 18 years old. I have always loved the Palio and maybe, if I were 17-18 years old when being arrived in Siena, I could have also remained there but I didn’t want to wait 4 years more. Gigi always told me that, if I wanted to, I could have stayed at his stable. During that period I was interested in being a jockey riding on straight racetracks, Botti was waiting for me in Milan so as soon as I was 15 years old (in 2006, Ed.) I straight went to Milan”.
After Milan, a call from England has arrived...
“Yes, I went to Milan in July 2006, one night I was at the stable cleaning up the horses, Alessandro Botti arrived and he asked me if I could be interested in going in England at his brother Marco’s which was beginning winning some races there. I immediately accepted and after one week Giuseppe Botti arrived with the flying tickets. I called my mum to tell her I was leaving for England: she replied me “but it’s far” but in the end staying in Milan or in England was not so different, still I was far from home. I therefore decided to leave: it was September 2006”.
How was the impact with the reality in England?
“It wasn’t easy at the beginning, I couldn’t speak English and I was very young, everything was new for me. The only thing was that I was working with Marco Botti which is Italian: of course I was perfectly able to understand him and there were other Italian guys working there that helped me. During the first two years it was really hard to deal with the English language”.
What is your typical day in England like?
“I usually get up around 5,30-6 a.m. I then take the car and go directly to the places for the gallop since there are tracks in Newmarket: my trainer gives me a timetable, I go there and start riding horses, I usually ride 3-4 of them. I then get back home and have one hour of travelator, I change myself and the driver picks me up and brings me to the races. We try many racetracks, for example sometimes we go in the morning in one racetrack and in the evening in another one”.
What is, among all, the victory you remember more pleasantly?
“Every race has its own history, I can tell you that winning the King George (in 2015, Ed.) was a great emotion. In that occasion I was riding Postponed and I also defeated Lanfranco Dettori. The King George is an historical race very important and beating Lanfranco, that is considered the best jockey in the world, was wonderful. It was really beautiful also to win my first Gruppo 1 in Rome so that to win the first Gruppo 1 in England. I can also mention you the Derby Italiano I won in front of my parents, but winning the King George has been my greatest success”.
How many races have you won during your whole carrier till now?
“Considering only in England around 700 victories, but I then rode also in Dubai, in Japan and in Italy and I won also there so I’m not able to tell you a precise amount”.
You rode with the best jockeys of the world, for example Lanfranco Dettori and Ryan Moore are coming to my mind: what is your relationship with them?
“I have a really beautiful relationship with everyone, I am a very close friend of Lanfranco Dettori and we are often in contact: we are colleagues but a beautiful friendship arose between us. I have a very good relationship with Ryan too: I always ride with him and we have often been abroad together. It’s wonderful to meet jockeys from all around the world. In Dubai, for example, there are many foreigners and also during the period of Ascott Japanese, French and American people come”.
But we can say that the jockeys Italian school is still very competitive…
“Yes sure, wherever the Italians go they win a lot, both the jockeys and the trainers: I am for example thinking about the Demuro brothers and about Umberto Rispoli”.
Are you still in contact with Siena?
“Yes, in the last days I was in Siena at Gigi’s, I am also often in contact with Giovanni, in Siena I have a lot of friends. I’ve spent a good time in Siena and I always get back there gladly, also because it is a beautiful city. Everything started there for me and I have to say that the school of Gigi Bruschelli has been really helpful: he teaches you a lot and he shows you how to work, you don’t win 14 times the Palio just coincidentally”.
A part from Giovanni Atzeni and Gigi Bruschelli, are there other jockeys who ride in Piazza del Campo that you like?
“I really like Jonatan Bartoletti, he is a guy full of grit. I do really like also Andrea Mari and Giuseppe Zedde, that I am also a very close friend of. I will tell you the truth: I am not really familiar with the fresh guys, I can tell you that I see Enrico Bruschelli like one that can do well, he has always ridden since he was a child”.
Speaking of the horses instead, are there any of them you would like to straddle if you have the possibility?
“I don’t know them very well, but I can tell you I would like to ride Preziosa Penelope”.
Is there any possibility to see you again in Piazza del Campo in the future?
“Frankly speaking, it will be very hard for the way the things are going, I am often even unable to come to see the Palio unfortunately. You never know in the life, but right now I am fine in the place where I am”.
Francesco Zanibelli
Translation by Lucia Goracci
