In the history books there is no mention of a hero from the Second World War named Princess Rosina.
This could change.
For more than 80 years, George Bigliardi wanted to find a way to say thank you to a woman who saved he and his family’s life in war-torn Italy in 1943.Last Saturday, thanks to a two-year-old racehorse at Woodbine, he got to do that in a very special way.
As the sports world prepares for this year’s King’s Plate on Saturday, as described so well in the Toronto Sun by the great Richard Mauntah’s amazing coverage, there’s still excitement about the third race at Woodbine a week earlier.
It was the stuff of movies.
For most, it was a routine race of fledgling two-year-olds. For 88-year-old Bigliardi, it was anything but. When you have a small stable of two horses racing at a time, every race is special.
When she was born Jan. 29, 2022, the retired icon of Bigliardi’s steakhouse decided this filly would be named after a woman who he credits with saving his family’s existence when the Nazis came knocking on the door in Berceto, Italy in late 1943.
“I saw them myself,” said Bigliardi of Nazi soldiers coming up to the house he and his family were living in. “They were coming door-to-door looking for men to take to fight in the war.”
His bus-driver father Ciminio knew if he was captured, he could easily end up dead and his family could starve to death without a breadwinner. He also didn’t want to be aligned with the invading Nazis.
“My mom and dad had three kids at that point and there would be a fourth one later,” said George. “I was eight years old but I understood what was happening when the soldiers were in the town.”
At the insistence of the landlady who owned the home, his family hid in an upstairs closet when the knock the door came. That lady was Rosina.
“The soldiers noticed my dad’s hat at the front door and asked where he was? Rosina said. “He had left weeks before and she didn’t know where he was.”
The soldiers pressed further.
“Rosina didn’t show she was nervous and simply said ‘if you don’t believe me, go upstairs and check for yourself.’”
The bluff worked. They didn’t check and soon left for another village. A family was saved.
“She took a real risk,” said Bigliardi. “They would have put her in jail had they gone upstairs. And took my father too.”
However, because they didn’t challenge this confident woman, his family remained intact — all thanks to Rosina.
“She saved our lives because without our father we doubt we would have survived the war,” said George. “She has always been my hero.”
Rosina Pisseri lived until just a few years ago and remained lifelong friends with the Bigliardis. No one knew what she did for them. Until this fresh horse helped spread the word.
Flash foward to Aug. 10, 2024, more than 80 years since that nail-biting day in Italy, this young mare was at the starting gate.
“She didn’t want to go in,” said horse racing expert Jennifer Morrison of Canadian Thoroughbred. “She easily could have been scratched.”
Once in that gate, she didn’t want to run.
“She came out like ketchup out of a bottle,” said Morrison, author of Run With a Mighty Heart and a five-time Sovereign Award winner.
But then some magic happened for Princess Rosina with a lot of help from 18-year-old rookie sensation apprentice jockey Pietro Moran and the training of legendary trainer Pat Parente.
“She went all the way from the back and then ten lengths back she put up a chase in the stretch to win the race,” said Morrison. “I was not surprised in a way because George always has a knack for breeding horses that compete with the big stables and often win.”
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Like some of George’s winning horses in the past like Verne’s Baby and Teacher’s Pet, Princess Rosina put up a marvellous race. Who knows? Maybe she’s on her way to next year’s King’s Plate — something of a dream of Bigliardi to achieve. Either way, Princess Rosina has already made her mark as show in a spectacular picture that Woodbine photographer Michael Burns captured at the finish line.
The amazing photo shows it could have gone either way for Princess Rosina — fitting since that’s how close it was for her namesake Rosina and the Bigliardis when the Nazis came calling in 1943.