Sixty-two victories in 73 races held: with this resume it is not surprising that breeders from all over the world have been willing to pay up to 15,000 euros to obtain the semen of ‘Varenne’, a horse born in Italy in the year … 1995, who, although he retired in 2002, remains a legend in the world of harness racing. Although little known in most of Spain, this discipline, in which the animal must maintain a trot while pulling a light cart in which the rider sits, has a legion of followers in France, the United States, Italy and other European countries. For these fans, ‘Varenne’ is the ‘Maradona’ of horse racing.
After pocketing more than six million euros in prizes during the years in which he competed, reaching a record figure for a trotter, his owner, Enzo Giordano, has since continued to exploit him as a stallion. Approximately every two days, semen is obtained from the thoroughbred to be sold to breeders for 5,500 euros plus VAT, a third of the price it reached two decades ago when ‘Varenne’ was younger and had just ended his presence in racing. of trotters.
Since her first offspring was born in 2003, called ‘Icaro del Ronco’ and was sold for 150,000 euros at an auction that caused great excitement in the sector, it is estimated that ‘Varenne’ has had more than 3,000 children. Many of them, however, would be illegitimate. That is at least what Giordano fears, who has denounced the owners of the companies in charge of managing the care and breeding of the stallion until 2019. The owner believes that they would have sold more semen without warning him or having the necessary permits. the agreement of ‘Il Capitano’, as the trotter was known, thus obtaining an illicit benefit during 2017 alone of more than 200,000 euros. Giordano fears that they have pocketed more than two million euros in total with the illegal installations that they would have also made during previous years.
The owner’s complaint, filed five years ago, led to the opening of proceedings in the Turin courts, where Valter Ferrore, administrator of the company that sold ‘Varenne’s’ semen, and Salvatore Roberto Brischetto, manager of the equestrian centre where the thoroughbred lived, located in the province of Turin, in the north of the country, have been entered in the register of those investigated for possible fraud with aggravating circumstances.
According to the Turin daily La Stampa, the prosecutor Giulia Rizzo believes that the two men had signed contracts with horse breeders interested in having offspring from ‘Il Capitano’ behind the owner’s back. They had presented themselves as the legitimate owners, preventing Giordano from carrying out the checks required by the National Association of Breeders of Trotting Horses on the right to ride. Enrico Calabrese, the defence lawyer for the suspects, however, pointed out that the case had already been closed, stating that “there are no illegitimate children” of ‘Il Capitano’. Two magistrates had in fact previously requested the dismissal of the case, which has now been reopened after the prosecutor Rizzo found possible indications of a crime.
an immortal hero
«The owner said that there were foals born in Russia and in other countries that he knew nothing about,» recalled Michele Ferrante, a journalist who writes about the world of horse racing for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy’s leading sports daily. Ferrante recalled Varenne’s unforgettable career in an interview with Rai, public television: «He managed to become an immortal hero. One is born like that only once. He is like Maradona or Pele. He is one of those sporting figures who will be remembered forever.» The thoroughbred’s fame even led him to get the singer-songwriter Jannacci to write a song about him, the lyrics of which, in addition to repeating the name of the horse, named after the street in Paris where the French embassy is located, say: «He came from heaven as if it were a storm» and «If you see him pass by, it is as if it were a party.»
Every two days, semen is obtained from thoroughbreds to be sold to breeders for 5,500 euros plus VAT.
Unaffected by the controversy surrounding the possible illegal trafficking of his sperm, ‘Varenne’ is enjoying a quiet life after a retirement that many of his peers would envy. Just ask, for example, ‘Evenafterall’, born in 2015 and who participated in more than thirty races between 2017 and 2020. Since then he was lost sight of until last April when he was seized by the Police in an operation against illegal horse racing in Sicily, a profitable business that would be exploited by the Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia.
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