Antonio Fresu, the Italian-born leading rider at the current Santa Anita spring meeting, has a predictable summer vacation plan beginning next week. Like so many people in the United States, he’s off to Europe. Fresu has trips planned to Sardinia, Italy, to see family, and to Norway to visit his wife, who works as a commentator on Norwegian racing television. He is highly likely to embark on those journeys after securing the riding title at Santa Anita when the meeting concludes on Sunday. Through Wednesday, Fresu, 33, had 31 wins since the season began on April 18, six more than Juan Hernandez, who has won the last seven riding titles at Santa Anita since the winter-spring meeting of 2022-2023. :: Santa Anita Clocker Reports are available every race day. Access now. Last spring, Hernandez won the title with 36 wins, one more than Fresu. This year, the list is likely to be reversed. Fresu has 27 mounts from Thursday through Sunday on a four-day racing week, while Hernandez has 26 mounts. Fresu has not clinched the title, but the equations all work in his favor. “I’ve been pretty close a couple of times,” he said on Wednesday after workouts at Santa Anita. “It means a lot. That’s why we wake up every day, just to get the best out of our job and work hard. “It’s a great achievement. It’s really important to win a title. I thought I had a pretty good meet winning those few stakes.” Since April 18 at Santa Anita, Fresu has won four stakes, tying with Hector Berrios for first in that category. Fresu won the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes on Richi on April 19, and the Grade 3 Royal Heroine Stakes a week later on Public Assembly. On May 11, Fresu was aboard Freedom’s Not Free for a victory in the Cinema Stakes. Two weeks later, Seismic Beauty led throughout the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes. Fresu is seeking his first riding title at Santa Anita since moving from Dubai in the spring of 2023. Last fall, Fresu won the riding title at the two-week Los Alamitos winter meeting with eight wins. At the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting earlier this year, Fresu finished fifth with 29 wins, well behind leader Hernandez with 53. This weekend, Fresu’s mounts include Motorious in Saturday’s Grade 3 Daytona Stakes at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. Motorious has not raced since a win in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on the hillside turf course in late December. Last November, with Fresu aboard, Motorious was second by a neck in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar. The same race is a goal this year on Nov. 1. Fresu has been aboard Motorious in recent works. “He’s feeling really, really good,” Fresu said. “I really like him going into this race. He might not be 100 percent. Obviously, he’s coming back from a layoff. He’s doing great. I was impressed the last couple of times he worked.” In 2024, Fresu won 156 races with mounts that earned more than $11.1 million, career-best totals of his brief American career. Through Wednesday, he has 56 wins and earnings of more than $3.48 million in 2025. Those numbers can rise significantly with success during the lucrative summer and fall season. “My goal is to always improve, at least reach the same,” he said. “Mentally, I always think I’ve done this and next year I want to do better.” After the trips overseas, Fresu will ride briefly at Los Alamitos during its upcoming three-week meeting from June 20 to July 6. Del Mar begins its summer meeting on July 18. Last summer, Hernandez led all riders at Del Mar with 49 wins, with Fresu second with 38. “We have a quiet three weeks,” Fresu said of the Los Alamitos season. “When you see your loved ones, you’re happy. “It’s a good time to see both family and wife; recharge a little bit before we get to Del Mar. It will be a tough meet. When Del Mar starts, it’s full-on.” A riding title at Del Mar would be an even greater achievement, considering the prestige of the season. Gaining the title at Santa Anita is a milestone of its own, too. “It’s a reward for my hard work,” Fresu said. “It’s a big achievement. Everybody knows about it once you win it. “I’ve been so close since I moved here to America. I have to be thankful for the people that have supported me all the way.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.