friends in the contrada, he bought some half-breds
to run in the Palio but also in local races," he says. "In
1992 he bought his first mare and it was a good choice
as her second foal was the best Italian 2-year-old of his
generation. From then to 2005 he had three mares un-
til he bought this farm."
The former polo club sits in the lee of surrounding
hills, a well-watered oasis in midsummer thanks to an
irrigation system supplied by an on-site lake which is
refilled through the wet season. Already significant to
the Italian breeding industry as the source of the 2013
Derby Italiano winner Biz The Nurse and globetrotting
Hong Kong Group 1 winner Beauty Only, the farm re-
mains a boutique operation with around 15 mares on
its books, most of whom board in England and Ireland.
The start of the 2002 Palio di Siena
