Bejarano hoping to return from injury next month

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Rafael Bejarano, who has been sidelined since March 18 with a broken left wrist, is hoping to come back in early May, his agent, Tora Yamaguchi, said on Wednesday.

A former leading rider in Southern California, Bejarano recently returned to California after visiting family in Peru while recovering from the injury. Yamaguchi said Bejarano has started physical therapy, but a target date for a return to riding has not been finalized.

“I haven’t looked at it that closely,” Yamaguchi said. “I want to make sure he’s comfortable on the back of a horse before he gets started.

“I knew it would be at least four weeks. It will be more like five or six weeks. Things are going well. He’s getting stronger every day.”

Bejarano, 35, was injured when his mount broke down in a race at Santa Anita on March 18. This year, Bejarano has won 24 races. He finished seventh in the standings at the winter-spring meeting at Santa Anita that ended April 8 with 29 wins and was ranked fourth at the time of his injury.

◗ Edwin Maldonado has been suspended three racing days for his ride on Hackleton, who was disqualified from first to second in the first race here April 13. Maldonado was judged by the stewards to have failed to maintain a straight course in the stretch. The suspension covers racing on Saturday, Sunday, and April 26.

Through Tuesday, Maldonado, 35, has ridden 13 winners this year.