by
john manzi
The second day of the competition
in the USA vs Italy Friendship Challenge proved nearly fruitless for the
visitors but with Hannah Miller’s third place finish in the race saved face
somewhat for the visitors.
With incredibly sunny
Italian sky’s overhead, the USA-Italy Amateur Friendship Challenge concluded on
Sunday (May 1) and though uneventfully on the racetrack, at least for the
visitors, every moment was cherished and
will forever be remembered by all the participants..
With all the events
contested in the four race competition the Italians prevailed with three wins
to the American’s one, which came from a heads-up drive by Dein Spriggs,
USA Team Captain Joe
Pennacchio said of the Friendship Competition, “We couldn't be happier with the
races and hospitality shown to us and we expressed special thanks to track,
(Ippodromo di Agnano) owner Pier Luigi D’Angelo, who went overboard making us
welcome.”
Hannah Miller led the
Americans with a third place finish with 31.5 points and received a trophy to
mark that occasion. The competition point leader was Italy’s Ciro
Ciccarelli who finished with 60.5
points.
“You really have to drive the horse. They need
lots of help at the start and in the turns and if your horse breaks (stride)
you are disqualified. So I was careful,” Ms. Miller explained.
“The Italians drove like a
team and did a lot of blocking to clear their better horses,” added USA team
member Steve Oldford. “Ciro had the best showing by winning two races.
“We had a great lunch after
the competition with all the drivers and our new friends and enjoyed the 67th
edition of the Gran Premio Lotteria Di Agnano which was won by Oasis Bi, who
was driven to victory by Johnny Takter, Jimmy’s brother.”
