It's Tittia again. The Nurri jockey is making an ever-greater impact on the history of the Palio di Siena, with Anda and Bola leading the Nicchio contrada back to victory after 28 years . A triumph with the thrill of a final fall, which fortunately did not cause serious injuries.
Giovanni Atzeni dominated the Palio dell'Assunta and triumphed for the thirteenth time in Piazza del Campo, drawing level with Trecciolino and moving even closer to Aceto (real name Andrea Degortes), the king of the modern Palio with 14 victories . Already a winner in July, Tittia took home the fourth career victory.
The Nicchio's last victory dated back to 1998, and Tittia managed to erase the longest wait among the contrade. And he did it with the very contrade where his story in Siena began. Atzeni, in fact, ran in the first four Palios of his career with the Nicchio. He subsequently participated in three more, without ever winning one.
Completing an all-Sardinian triumph was Anda e Bola, a half-breed Anglo-Arab horse born in Perfugas in 2016, who won the second of the five Palios in which he took part.
The wait was exhausting: the move lasted over an hour, with three false starts, and the race began around 8:10 PM. Tittia immediately took the lead, dominating with a large lead until the finish, where he collided with a person who had invaded the track and was rushing towards the horse, and fell.
Initial reports suggest the injuries are not serious: the jockey, conscious, was rescued and taken by ambulance to the Scotte Hospital in Siena for tests. He suffered a head injury. The winning horse, Anda e Bola, is doing well and has already been examined by veterinarians.
(Unioneonline/L)