Antonio Fresu is targeting a return to riding at Santa Anita on Feb. 6, nearly six weeks after he suffered a foot injury in a turf sprint on Dec. 28. Fresu sustained a broken toe and severe cut on his left foot when his mount, Anmer Hall, struck the inside rail on the hillside turf course. Initially, Fresu hoped to return to riding this weekend but opted to delay his comeback another week. “I took a week extra to feel more comfortable,” he said on Friday. On Jan. 21, Fresu underwent a procedure to have a stabilizing wire removed from the injured toe. The stabilizing wire was inserted to aid healing days after the incident. Fresu said he galloped three horses for trainer Phil D’Amato on Thursday and rode one workout on Friday. “Tomorrow, I’ll be more busy,” he said. :: Santa Anita Classic Meet! Get DRF Past Performances, Clocker Reports, and more. Fresu, 34, was the leading rider at the Santa Anita spring meeting from mid-April to mid-June of last year, and he finished second in the standings at the 2025 Del Mar summer and autumn meetings. Fresu said on Friday he is eager to return. “We can’t stay away from horses,” he said. “It’s more than a job. It’s an addiction. You miss it a lot. I miss the competition. I miss the challenge. I miss the horses, first of all. Sometimes you ride all the time, and everyday you’re around horses. When this kind of thing happens, you miss it a lot more. It’s a different feeling. “When I was on my first horse yesterday, I felt like a kid.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.