The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.
It is Italy's equivalent of The Derby, a famous race in England.
History The event was established in 1884, and it was originally run in the district of Capannelle over 2,400 metres. It was initially called the Derby Reale, and most of the prize money for the inaugural running was donated by King Umberto I.
The race was transferred to its current venue in 1926. It was known as the Gran Premio del Re in the 1930s, and for a brief period it was titled the Gran Premio del Re Imperatore. It was renamed the Derby Italiano in 1946.
The present system of race grading was introduced in the early 1970s, and the Derby Italiano was initially classed at Group 1 level. It was opened to horses born and bred outside Italy in 1981.
The Derby Italiano was cut to 2,200 metres in 2008, and it was downgraded to Group 2 status in 2009. With a current prize fund of €814,000, it is the most valuable horse race in Italy.
Records Leading jockey (8 wins): Federico Regoli – Gianpietrina (1917), Meissonier (1919), Ghiberti (1920), Michelangelo (1921), Melozzo da Forlì (1922), Cima da Conegliano (1923), Lui (1925), Apelle (1926)
Leading trainer (21 wins): Federico Tesio – Guido Reni (1911), Rembrandt (1912), Fausta (1914), Van Dyck (1915), Gianpietrina (1917), Meissonier (1919), Ghiberti (1920), Michelangelo (1921), Melozzo da Forlì (1922), Cima da Conegliano (1923), Apelle (1926), Jacopa del Sellaio (1932), Ugolino da Siena (1935), Donatello II (1937), Nearco (1938), Bellini (1940), Niccolo dell'Arca (1941), Torbido (1944), Tenerani (1947), Daumier (1951), Botticelli (1954)
Leading owner (20 wins): (includes part ownership) Federico Tesio – Guido Reni (1911), Rembrandt (1912), Fausta (1914), Van Dyck (1915), Gianpietrina (1917), Meissonier (1919), Ghiberti (1920), Michelangelo (1921), Melozzo da Forlì (1922), Cima da Conegliano (1923), Apelle (1926), Jacopa del Sellaio (1932), Ugolino da Siena (1935), Donatello II (1937), Nearco (1938), Bellini (1940), Niccolo dell'Arca (1941), Tenerani (1947), Daumier (1951), Botticelli (1954) The only winner trained but not owned by Federico Tesio was Torbido, owned by his wife Lydia. The twenty winners he owned include eleven owned outright, four owned by Tesio-Incisa and five by Razza Dormello-Olgiata. Razza Dormello-Olgiata, founded by Tesio, owned seven more winners after his death in 1954. Tesio bred twenty-two winners of the race – all of those he trained plus Braque, the winner in 1957.
Winners since 1980 Year Winner Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1980 Garrido Marcel Depalmas François Boutin Razza Dormello-Olgiata 2:30.0 1981 Glint of Gold John Matthias Ian Balding Paul Mellon 2:30.9 1982 Old Country Pat Eddery Luca Cumani Mrs O. Abegg 2:35.8 1983 My Top Peo Perlanti Alduino Botti Scuderia Siba 2:28.6 1984 Welnor Lester Piggott Gaetano Benetti Scuderia Concarena 2:33.9 1985 Don Orazio Michel Jerome F. Jovine Lady M Stable 2:27.9 1986 Tommy Way Willie Carson John Dunlop Scuderia Erasec 2:27.9 1987 Zaizoom Richard Quinn Paul Cole Prince Fahd bin Salman 2:29.1 1988 Tisserand Vincenzo Mezzatesta Mario Vincis Agricola All. La Madia 2:30.6 1989 Prorutori Michael Roberts Michael Jarvis Antonio Balzarini 2:27.5 1990 Houmayoun Santiago Soto Alain de Royer-Dupré Lady M Stable 2:27.0 1991 Hailsham Steve Cauthen Clive Brittain Sheikh Mohammed 2:28.1 1992 In a Tiff Michael Kinane Dermot Weld Michael Smurfit 2:27.5 1993 White Muzzle John Reid Peter Chapple-Hyam Luciano Gaucci 2:24.5 1994 Time Star Richard Quinn Paul Cole Prince Fahd bin Salman 2:28.1 1995 Luso Michael Kinane Clive Brittain Saeed Manana 2:25.7 1996 Bahamian Knight Richard Hughes David Loder Lucayan Stud 2:26.6 1997 Single Empire David Harrison Peter Chapple-Hyam Tony Collins 2:26.2 1998 Central Park Daragh O'Donohoe Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 2:26.3 1999 Mukhalif Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 2:25.7 2000 Kallisto Andreas Boschert Hans Blume Gestüt Röttgen 2:27.1 2001 Morshdi Philip Robinson Michael Jarvis Ahmed Al Maktoum 2:26.6 2002 Rakti Mirco Demuro Bruno Grizzetti Scuderia Il Poggio 2:27.9 2003 Osorio Mario Esposito Urs Suter Newsells Park Stud 2:27.2 2004 Groom Tesse Dario Vargiu Luigi Camici Scuderia L3C 2:27.6 2005 De Sica Marco Monteriso Emilio Borromeo Emilio Borromeo 2:28.6 2006 Gentlewave Marco Monteriso André Fabre Gary A. Tanaka 2:27.4 2007 Awelmarduk Edmondo Botti A. Botti / G. Botti Scuderia Effevi 2:28.9 2008 Cima de Triomphe Silvano Mulas Bruno Grizzetti Scuderia Cocktail 2:14.6 2009 Mastery Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 2:16.5 2010 Worthadd Mirco Demuro Vittorio Caruso Scuderia Incolinx 2:22.1 2011 Crackerjack King Fabio Branca Stefano Botti Scuderia Effevi 2:15.8 2012 Feuerblitz Robert Havlin Michael Figge Stall Eivissa 2:19.0 2013 Biz the Nurse Andrea Atzeni Stefano Botti Scuderia Aleali 2:17.04 2014 Dylan Mouth Fabio Branca Stefano Botti Scuderia Effevi 2:17.63 2015 Goldstream Cristian Demuro Stefano Botti Scuderia Effevi 2:16.20 2016 Saent Dario Vargiu Il Cavallo In Testa Incolinx 2:14.90 2017 Mac Mahon Cristian Demuro Stefano Botti Takaya Shimakawa 2:16.50 2018 Summer Festival Cristian Demuro Alduino Botti Dioscuri SRL 2:17.10 2019 Keep On Fly Cristian Demuro Alduino Botti Dioscuri SRL 2:22.50 2020 Tuscan Gaze Carlo Fiocchi Luciano Bietolini Mag Horse Racing Srl 2:18.64 2021 Tokyo Gold Cristian Demuro Satoshi Kobayashi Teruya Yoshida 2:14.90 2022 Ardakan Clement Lecoeuvre Markus Klug Darius Racing 2:17.40 2023 Goldena Dario Di Tocco Endo Bott Fabrizio Cameli 2:20.40 2024 Borna Andrasch Starke Markus Klug Darius Racing 2:17.20 2025 Molveno Marco Ghiani Marco Botti Scuderia Sagam Sris 2:14.40 2026 Venetian Prince Jason Watson Andrew Balding J C Smith 2:16.30 The 2016 winner Saent was later exported to Hong Kong and renamed Super Chic. The 2018 winner Summer Festival was later exported to Hong Kong and renamed Party Together. The 2019 winner Keep On Fly was later exported to Hong Kong and renamed Generous Charity. The 2026 running took place at San Siro.
Earlier winners
1884: Andreina 1885: Rosenberg 1886: Enio 1887: Carl Andrea 1888: Filiberto 1889: Rabicano 1890: Doralice 1891: Barone 1892: Arcadia 1893: Festuca 1894: Sansonetto 1895: Oranzeb 1896: Goldoni 1897: Hira 1898: Simba 1899: Elena 1900: Cloridano 1901: Karibo 1902: Tocsin 1903: Esquilino 1904: The Oak 1905: Onorio 1906: Creso 1907: Belbuc 1908: Demetrio 1909: Dedalo 1910: Saturno 1911: Guido Reni 1912: Rembrandt 1913: Nettuno 1914: Fausta 1915: Van Dyck 1916: Kosheni 1917: Gianpietrina 1918: Carlone 1919: Meissonier 1920: Ghiberti 1921: Michelangelo 1922: Melozzo da Forli 1923: Cima da Conegliano 1924: Manistee 1925: Lui 1926: Apelle 1927: Senecio 1928: Dervio 1929: Ortello 1930: Emanuele Filiberto 1931: Oberon 1932: Jacopa del Sellaio 1933: Pilade 1934: Amur 1935: Ugolino da Siena 1936: Archidamia 1937: Donatello 1938: Nearco 1939: Vezzano 1940: Bellini 1941: Niccolo dell'Arca 1942: Arco 1943: Orsenigo 1944: Torbido 1945: Traghetto 1946: Gladiolo 1947: Tenerani 1948: Leon de San Marco 1949: Golfo 1950: Stigliano 1951: Daumier 1952: Zamoretto 1953: Rivisondoli 1954: Botticelli 1955: Altrek 1956: Barba Toni 1957: Braque 1958: Sedan 1959: Rio Martin 1960: Fils d'Eve 1961: Lauso 1962: Antelami 1963: Braccio da Montone 1964: Diacono 1965: Varano 1966: Appiani 1967: Ruysdael 1968: Hogarth 1969: Bonconte di Montefeltro 1970: Ortis 1971: Ardale 1972: Gay Lussac 1973: Cerreto 1974: Suffolk 1975: Orange Bay 1976: Red Arrow 1977: Sirlad 1978: Elgay 1979: Marracci
The 1916, 1917 and 1925 runnings took place at Parioli, and the 1918, 1944 and 1945 editions were held at Milan.
See also List of Italian flat horse races
References
Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
capannelleippodromo.it – Albo d'Oro – Derby Italiano. galopp-sieger.de – Derby Italiano. horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Derby Italiano (2016). pedigreequery.com – Derby Italiano – Roma Capannelle. tbheritage.com – Derby Italiano.