Fresu has ambitious goals in Southern California
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Two months after his arrival from the United Arab Emirates, jockey Antonio Fresu has shown a steady ascension in the jockey standings in Southern California.
At the spring portion of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, Fresu won 14 races from 86 mounts, good enough to tie for seventh in the standings.
Through Sunday, at the current Los Alamitos meeting, Fresu was tied for first with three wins along with Abdul Alsagoor, Abel Cedillo, and Ramon Vazquez.
“A winner is a winner,” Fresu said earlier this week. “It doesn’t matter what kind. You want to be competitive at every level. It was nice to get to a new track and have three winners on the first week.”
They don’t throw victory parades for leading riders at Los Alamitos, but success there can provide momentum for the prestigious meeting at Del Mar from July 21 through Sept. 10.
Fresu, 31, has late summer goals at Del Mar, but is keeping specifics a secret.
“It’s hard to say because it’s my first Del Mar meeting,” he said. “I’m very ambitious. I want to do better than I did at Santa Anita. Now that I have more connections, I would love to do better.
“I came over not expecting as much as I’ve got so far. I’ve adapted myself quite well. Racing-wise, I really enjoy it.”
Winning at Del Mar will be tougher. Several of the circuit’s leading riders ride sparingly at Los Alamitos, if at all.
Fresu, a native of Italy, has three mounts on Saturday’s Los Alamitos program – two for trainer Carla Gaines and one for George Papaprodromou.
Fresu arrived in California with a solid link to the circuit through top trainer Doug O’Neill and his assistant, Leandro Mora. O’Neill had a small group of horses in Dubai earlier this year, with Mora overseeing the team.
In the United Arab Emirates, Fresu finished second in the standings behind Tadhg O’Shea. Fresu rode the O’Neill-trained Ami Please to a second in the Group 3 UAE Oaks in February.
For O’Neill, Fresu is booked to ride the 3-year-old filly Vegas Magic in Tuesday’s Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos.
“I rode for them last season and the season before” in Dubai, Fresu said. “It’s great to team up with Doug and Leandro. Their support meant a lot to me.”
While Del Mar will be a new venue for Fresu, he has done some advance study.
“I’ve been watching races,” he said. “It will be nice to get down there and be in good form. It’s very important to ride the right horses.
“The track is a little tighter than Santa Anita. At least, I’ve got to know Santa Anita first.”
In the long-term, Fresu said he is not making plans for next winter. Staying in California is a possibility.
“We’ll see after Del Mar,” he said. “It’s hard to make sure what is the best place to be. I had a lot of success back in Dubai.
“I’m still thinking about it and deciding what to do.”
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