At 15 years old, in one of the events during the Sartiglia carnival Ghiani fell off his horse but showed bravery and horsemanship in getting back up to regather the horse and continued in the parade.

Following the incidient, six-time Italian Champion Jockey Dario Vargiu texted Ghiani to say he could be a jockey if he wanted to be. The inspiration grew from there as Ghiani discovered a career in racing could be possible.

Ghiani decided at 16 to pursue his dream and moved to the British Racing School (BRS) at Newmarket.

Beginnings in Britain

Marco Ghiani developed his riding skills at the BRS and at former Italian trainer Luca Cumani’s yard. He was renowned for being very hard-working on both his fitness and riding techniques laying the foundations for future success.

Luca Cumani was very encouraging and supportive of Ghiani through the highs and lows of any young jockey’s career and helped him settle into the UK. Cumani then retired in December 2018 and Ghiani went straight to Stuart Williams‘ yard.

Michael Hills‘ who has also been instrumental in Ghiani’s development as his jockey coach for the last three years said, “Stuart Williams has been massive for Marco, he supported him from day one, he’s always given him strong rides, backed him up and given him good advice.”

Michael Hills on Marco’s ability and talent, said, “He’s naturally very good on a horse, he has very soft hands. He’s very strong, he’s like Popeye. He ticked a lot of boxes for a jockey. He worked hard, put it all together and now he’s reaping the rewards”.