Razza Dormello-Olgiata

Lord Rosebery, in his farewell speech to the Thoroughbred Breeders Association in Newmarket, July 1964, characterized Federico Tesio in his remarks, “Nobody, this century, has influenced the breeding of thoroughbreds more than him and Lord Derby.” The extent of the success in Great Britain by Tesio’s three top stallions – Donatello II, Nearco and Ribot – can be demonstrated by comparing their results with those of the three top stallions bred by Lord Derby, the most successful British breeder of the early 20th Century – Pharos, Fairway and Hyperion. In the fifty-three seasons between 1944, the year Picture Play (daughter of Donatello II) won the One Thousand Guineas prize, and 1996, the sons and descendents (following the male line) of Tesio’s stallions won 120 of 265 editions of the British classic races, a stunning 45.28 winning percentage. Of these, 98 (37% overall) were won by the sons and descendents of Nearco alone.

Mario Incisa della Rocchetta with Lord Rosebery after Botticelli's victory at the Ascot Gold Cup

Tesio and the Tesio-Incisa Partnership Having completed his studies in Piedmont’s Real Collegio of Moncalieri, the young orphan Federico Tesio was given his inheritance by his tutor. He set off for a trip around the world that would last about six years, but that he would speak of often in the years to come. His adventures took him to China, where he reportedly ran the Derby of Peking, and through Patagonia, to visit his teacher, astronomer Father Francesco Denza. Once back from his travels, Tesio married Donna Lydia Flori di Serramezzana, and in 1896 invested all of his money in a stud farm on the shores of Lake Maggiore. This northern Italian location provided a perfect temperate climate for his new stable, Dormello, and Tesio’s capabilities became apparent almost immediately. He won his first Derby in 1911 with Guido Reni, after having placed third in 1904 and second in 1909. Between 1904 and 1966, he and his stable, which later became Razza Dormello-Olgiata, won 24 Italian Derbies, with an additional 14 second place and 8 third place finishes, a record which is unequalled to this day. In 1932, he formed an association with Mario and Clarice Incisa della Rocchetta. The horses ran under the name Tesio-Incisa, and later Razza Dormello-Olgiata, named for the two estates where the horses were kept. Mario Incisa had inherited the Olgiata estate, near Rome, from his mother.  The partnership’s first important international success came with Nearco’s victory in the 1938 Grand Prix de Paris. After the win, Nearco never returned to Dormello, nor Italy, as he was sold to an English broker for 60,000 Pounds Sterling, a world record for that time. In 1948, Tenerani won both the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Goodwood Cup, and in 1955 Botticelli won Ascot’s Gold Cup.   Ribot - Horse of the Century Federico Tesio passed away on May 1, 1954, without witnessing the success of what many consider to have been the horse of the century. “My aim,” Tesio wrote of his start in 1898, “was to breed and raise a racehorse which, over any distance, could carry the heaviest weight in the shortest time.” Ribot most closely personified Tesio’s lifelong quest for a “superhorse”. Ribot was unbeaten in the 16 races he ran, including Great Britain’s most important event, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as well as twice winning France’s Arc de Triomphe. Mario Incisa della Rocchetta with Ribot after winning the 1956 Arc de Triomphe On July 26th, 1999, an article by Tony Morris appeared in the Racing Post, a leading British newspaper on horseracing. In it, he writes about Ribot, “The field for the 1956 Arc [de Triomphe] was supposedly the strongest on record up to that time, as Ribot’s 19 challengers included representatives of the best form in England, France, Ireland and America. But for that array of talent ranged against him, it proved to be no contest. Ribot pulverized his rivals in the straight, leaving them like a bullet from a rifle and stormed home six lengths clear of Britain’s top three-year-old, Talgo, who had won the Irish Derby by the same margin. Many present that day felt that they had seen the Horse of the Century. Ribot had certainly set the standard that other aspirants would need to match. No other King George winner has done so.” Ribot’s fame lives on. In a 1999 poll organized by the Italian magazine Gazzetta dello Sport, respondents voted Ribot fourth in a ranking of the top 100 Italian athletes of the century. He placed ahead of famous sportsmen Alberto Tomba (la Bomba) and Enzo Ferrari. After Tesio’s death, Razza Dormello-Olgiata was led to many glorious victories by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. Incisa described his partnership with Tesio in the book The Tesios as I Knew Them (available through www.amazon.com ). In 1962, John Hislop, breeder and owner of world champion Brigadier Gerard wrote, “When the people of my generation will be asked by their grandchildren, ‘Who was the greatest breeder, the most influential stallion and the best thoroughbred racehorse of your time?’ And the answer will probably be Tesio, Nearco, Ribot.”** Thirty-eight years later, that "probably" has become a "certainly".   *Peter Willett, Federico Tesio Un grande proprietario e allevatore italiano, Marsilio Editori s.p.a., Venezia1997, p.215. **J. Hislop, Foreword, in Dormello-Olgiata, Derby, Milano 1962, p.3

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