Dubai World Cup: Fresu to follow in Dettori's footsteps
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – About the time Frankie Dettori, the famed rider from the island of Sardinia in Italy, will leave the Southern California jockey colony, Antonio Fresu, a Sardinian rider of lesser fame, will join it.
Fresu, 31, is riding his seventh winter in Dubai. He rode two horses last September at Saratoga and has contemplated trying his luck in America for a couple years. Now the groundwork has been laid to make the move. Fresu said veteran agent Tom Knust will book his mounts. He plans to arrive in California the fourth week of April.
“It’s exciting for me. I’m trying something new. We’ll see how it goes,” Fresu said Monday morning.
Michael Adolphson, who also does racing television and publicity work here, has represented Fresu the last two Dubai racing seasons. Adolphson coordinated the move to California and has turned Fresu into a work rider for the stars at Meydan. He breezed 2022 Dubai World Cup runner-up Hot Rod Charlie several times last winter and also worked World Cup winner Country Grammer. Fresu worked three Bob Baffert horses Monday morning and, jumping off the last of them, Golden Shaheen runner Hopkins, climbed aboard another American-based Shaheen starter, C Z Rocket. C Z Rocket breezed about two furlongs down the homestretch and wanted to take off again galloping out around the clubhouse turn.
“I got excited. I had to tell him that was enough,” Fresu said.
Fresu has picked up the mount on C Z Rocket in the Golden Shaheen, a race he won in 2021 with Zenden, who broke down badly just past the wire. Fresu also rides the Roger Attfield-trained Shirl’s Speight in the Dubai Turf and an Arabian horse, Rajeh, in the $1 million Kahayla Classic.
No Arabians at Santa Anita and Del Mar – just a chance for another Italian jockey to make his mark.
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