Dettori and Wilko reunited

Jockey Frankie Dettori, who rode Wilko to his upset win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last October, will reunite with Wilko in the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 9, trainer Craig Dollase said Tuesday.

Corey Nakatani had ridden Wilko in his two subsequent starts. But Nakatani has chosen to stick with the filly Sweet Catomine for the Santa Anita Derby.

"We're pretty excited about it," Dollase said of securing Dettori. "He knows the horse. I think he'll give us a hell of a ride."

Dettori is close friends with Jamie McCalmont, a British bloodstock agent who represents co-owner Paul Reddam and negotiated Reddam's acquisition of Wilko before last year's Breeders' Cup. McCalmont said Dettori phoned him on Tuesday morning in London and suggested he ride Wilko in the Santa Anita Derby.

"You can't do much better than the jockey calling you up wanting to ride," McCalmont said from London.

Dettori must be in Dubai on April 11 to ride for Godolphin, to whom he is under contract. So he will fly from Los Angeles to London the night of April 9, then from London to Dubai the next day.