One of the symbols of the island gallop has passed away at the age of 87: Gianuario Muroni . Originally from Usini, born in 1935, he has marked over half a century of island horse racing. At first as a jockey: he won the Derby Sardo with two Anglo-Arabs from Nino Costa's stable, Feluca in 1964 and Galileo in 1965.
The lawyer Paolo Riccardi chose him in the 70s as the first jockey of his stable, the prestigious Lechereo, and he won with Quel de Lechereo and Rohan de Lechero, increasing his personal victories to 5 in the Sardinian Grand Prix , the others obtained with the horses of Nino Costa.
As a coach he had an even more brilliant career, winning countless races in the classic Sardinians reserved for the Anglo-Arab and even some Criterium for thoroughbreds . The hat-trick in the Derby was sensational for Mario Usai's team with Vituliana, Ascoth and Bankgok obtained between 1997 and 2000, ridden by Antonio Columbu.
A living encyclopaedia of Sardinian horses , she knew how to name parents and offspring of the best island subjects without hesitation.
Of the five children, only two followed their father's career: Salvatore "Junior" who later became a coach and Caterina, the first female jockey, a profession she practiced for about ten years and then also became a coach.
