Dali Prav triumphs in race-off of 92nd Campionato Europeo at Cesena

Dali Prav (Alessandro Gocciadoro) claimed the 92nd edition of the Campionato Europeo di Trotto Orogel on Saturday evening at the Ippodromo del Savio in Cesena. The seven-year-old mare, a daughter of Donato Hanover, captured the deciding 1660-metre race-off under Federico Esposito, holding off stablemate Dany Capar (Alessandro Gocciadoro) partnered by Antonio Di Nardo. Both trotters stopped the clock at a mile rate of 1'12"2 on Cesena's half-mile oval. The victory sealed a clean sweep of the race-off podium for Gocciadoro, with Dolce Viky (Alessandro Gocciadoro), driven by Andrea Guzzinati, finishing in third.

Her path to glory began in the first of two heats, where Dali Prav set the tone with an impressive 1'11"1 performance. She kept Dolce Viky and Global Agreement (Alessandro Gocciadoro), piloted by Jorma Kontio, firmly at bay. In a remarkable show of strength rarely seen in a Group 1 contest, all top three finishers hailed from Gocciadoro's barn. Finnish veteran Kontio, drafted in specifically for the Swedish talent, had to watch his stable companions lead the charge home in the final sprint.

The second heat went to Dany Capar, this year's winner of the Gran Premio Città di Montecatini. With Di Nardo in the bike, the trotter proved superior to Click Bait (Alessandro Gocciadoro), who had taken the Campionato Europeo race-off in 2024 but failed to make an impact this time around. Dolce Viky picked up another third-place finish, punching his ticket to the race-off as the best non-winner across both heats.

In the evening's grand finale, the race-off produced the anticipated duel between Dali Prav and Dany Capar. Esposito launched his mare at just the right moment, and she dug deep in the final strides to withstand Di Nardo's late challenge aboard Dany Capar. Dolce Viky had to settle for third place in 1'13"5, well adrift of the leading pair.

The triumph marks a sixth Campionato Europeo victory for Alessandro Gocciadoro. The trainer previously etched his name into the classic's roll of honour with Arazi Boko in 2018 and 2019, Vernissage Grif in 2020 and 2021, and Click Bait in 2024. Sweeping the entire race-off podium once again underlines the incredible stranglehold the conditioner from Castelnuovo Rangone has on this Italian showpiece.

For Esposito, the victory capped off an evening where everything clicked with Dali Prav right from heat one. The mare, who was not among the outright pre-race favourites, demonstrated terrific form and grit, proving that she has what it takes to square off against a top-class performer like Dany Capar.

The Ippodromo del Savio featured the clash as the 15th leg of the UET Elite Circuit. With Dali Prav, yet another illustrious name is added to the honours board of one of the Italian harness racing season's premier events.