In horse racing, one value that can determine an owner’s success is linked to the goddess of luck. Sometimes, however, having drawn the joker that closes the game has its downside. This is the story of a man who bought and bet on a horse, because of the nice name it bore, and because he made a wish, on a New Year’s Eve in 1997, that he would soon win the Derby. But the dream of this special and sensitive man became even more ambitious. Enzo Giordano, achieved all his goals thanks to Varenne, the world’s most successful trotter
Enzo, Italians should be grateful, why did you never sell Varenne in the end?
I don’t believe in gratitude, but I actually wanted the horse to belong to the Italians.
Have you ever felt or boasted of being the owner of the strongest horse of all time?
No, absolutely not. I’m a humble, shy person. I have always preferred to stay two steps behind. But I have always been an ambitious, determined man and I knew that sooner or later I would find a unique horse. In 1998 I bought Varenne and my life changed from there.
Who knows how many people would have liked to be in your place. Have you felt envy around you?
I have to say that my life has been characterised by ups and downs. You know that everyone wants to get on the bandwagon and they abandon you when you are no longer needed. I can tell you that when I was in the ascendancy I helped a lot of people, whole families, friends who had fallen into disgrace. They saw me as a holy man, a lucky charm. I didn’t understand why, I thought they were joking, but in Naples you know they’re superstitious. And then…
And then what happened?
When I became seriously ill in 2003 everyone abandoned me. The only one who came to see me was Mike Bongiorno’s son, Michelino, who had made a documentary on Varenne. This is a bitterness I carry inside me. But the problem is me. I was not able to handle the situation. I made wrong choices and errors of judgement. Goodness pays.
Enzo, can you remind us of the best time in your life horseracing-wise? Imagine yourself in Paris, at Vincennes, year 2000. What comes to mind?
Varenne’s first year at Amerique we paid the price for inexperience. He did a great race, though. We finished third. Paris turf, the French newspaper, was so delighted with the performance that they predicted my horse would be the winner of the next edition.
And in 2001?
It was a different story because Varenne had matured, he was 6 years old and at the height of his athletic vigour. I thought we had to do a stadium cheer. And I bought a hundred tricolour flags for the occasion. Until then nobody had thought of such a spectacle in support of a horse. It was I who launched the fashion. In tow were 4000 Italians, a veritable army. Almost everyone bet on him paying 2.4 odds. There was an explosion of joy at the finish line. Luckily I have a good heart, otherwise it would have been a big problem. I am emotional by nature. At night before the race I could never sleep.
In 2002 was the consecration?
The supporters following Varenne became 8,000. Despite paying almost half price, they all bet on him. He had the number 18, because he had won the most and in those days they gave out the last number in the field. At the half-way mark Giampaolo Minnucci urged the fans to a powerful cheer that irritated the French not a little. And the flags in the wind covered the entire grandstand and parterre. There was one episode that really annoyed me. At the prize-giving ceremony, on that occasion Alain Delon was there, instead of giving us the usual trophy for winning the Prix D’Amerique, we were only given the sponsor’s trophy. They told us they were not giving it to us because we had won it the year before. The French never disappoint, confirming the antagonism they have towards the Italians.
Did you try again to find another Varenne?
I tried. I had some thoughts on Galatea Dany, she was promising as a filly. But the train only goes once.
Will you watch the Prix D’Amerique?
I’ll see it but I’m suffering from nostalgia.
Yours is a story that deserves to be deepened. Because sometimes behind great successes lie great bitterness.
I’m writing a book, it’s called Varenne and I, Two Parallel Lives. Mine has been an exciting but really, and I stress really very complicated life. I wonder if people can imagine it. My wish now is to have Varenne come back to Naples, here near me, to visit him a little more.
