Palio of Siena on August 16th: Uncle Frac makes the Contrada dell’Oca triumph

Uncle Frac wins his second Career without the jockey Brigante, who ended up on the ground. The Panther also crashes when he was leading

Editorial board

Won one of the favourites, Uncle Tailcoatthe only horse at the start of Palio of the Assumption 2023 with a win behind. It was there to mount it Charles Sannasaid Brigandbut it fell. A triumph for the Contrada dell’Oca, the most victorious of all, who returned after a four-year absence due to Covid and the disqualification of two palios remedied in 2019. However, her last victory dates back to 2013 with Tittia and the horse Guess. And Tittia, the most popular of the jockeys in Piazza del Campo, this time made a sensational mistake riding Abbasantesa for the Contrada della Giraffa. Tittia, favored by the run-up entry of the Porcupine, far from unfavorable to him, and taking advantage of the quarrels between the 6 rival districts present among the canapi, could easily exploit the situation. Starting clearly in the lead, he crashed at the first corner of San Martino throwing away a victory at that point almost written.

THE CARREER

It was one of the most exciting Palios of recent years, full of twists and turns. After a move which, as expected on the eve, was very laborious, Tittia seemed destined for yet another monologue, but he crashed at the first corner. At that point, Career seemed to be smiling at the Panther, also given the fall of the Goose. Jonathan Bartoletti known as Scompiglio managed the power of his horse Anda and Bola, avoiding asking him for maximum effort also considering the rather reassuring advantage. All went well until the last corner of San Martino, when the Pantera’s horse lost its right rear, ending up on the Siena tuff. At that point the Goose finds itself in the lead. Carburo, jockey of the Tower, tries a last desperate move to overcome the shock of the Oca, throwing himself inside the last bend of the Casato. An attempt with very few margins, in fact the jockey ends up on the ground and the most terrible of hoaxes is served for the Contradaioli of the Tower, with the victory of the Goose, bitter enemy.

Palio di Siena August 2023: the order at the canapi

This was the order to the canapés read by the mossiere Bartolo Ambrosioneat its 18th Palio:

  1. Tartuca
  2. Caterpillar
  3. Snail
  4. Goose
  5. Panther
  6. Eagle
  7. Tower
  8. Dragon
  9. Giraffe

So the horse of the Istrice district remained in pursuit.

Jockeys and horses for each contrada

These were all the jockey-horse pairings for each of the ten districts that participated in this Palio dell’Assunta:

  • John Atzeni (Tittia) on Abbantesa for the Giraffe
  • Charles Sanna (Brigand) on Uncle Tailcoat for theGoose
  • Jonathan Bartoletti (Mess) on Anda and Bola for the Panther
  • Andrea Coghe (Storm) on Vitzichesu for the Dragon
  • Giuseppe ZeddeTrinket) on I confess for the Snail
  • Sebastiano Murtas (Hail) on Outspoken for the Tartuca
  • Federico Guglielmi (Tamure) on Antine Day for thePorcupine
  • Valter Pusceddu (Curler) on Angel face for theEagle
  • Joshua Carboni (Carbide) on Tobacco for the Tower
  • Enrico Bruschelli (Looker) on Zenis for the Caterpillar

The rivalries

At this Palio there were three rivalries: the one between Eagle and Pantherthe one between Snail and Tartuca and that between Goose and Tower.

The banner

The banner of this edition of Palio of the Assumption was made by Marco Lodola and it’s true kaleidoscope of colors. In the upper part there is the Madonna with a red dress and a blue cloak, whose face is not outlined, as well as that of all the others present in the central part of the drapery where a large black horse emerges, then further down the symbols of the districts of Siena. Lodola is among the founders of the Movimento Nuovo Futurismo and stands out precisely for the “pop” use of color, but also of light, which he manages to capture through a skilful choice of colors for a result of great visual impact.



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