It's been a summer of seconds for Fresu
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For jockey Antonio Fresu, the 2025 Del Mar summer meeting will be remembered for his near misses as much as an abundant number of wins.
Through Thursday, Fresu is second in the standings with 35 wins, ranking behind Juan Hernandez with 41. Fresu is unlikely to catch Hernandez before Sunday’s final day of the season.
Other than closing the gap in the standings, Fresu is hoping to correct a lopsided record of close losses. In 187 mounts, Fresu has had a remarkable 44 second-place finishes, much more than Hernandez's 18 seconds.
In 28 mounts in stakes, Fresu has won twice and had 11 seconds.
“It’s been a good meet,” Fresu said on Monday. “I wish I had more stakes. I’ve been second or third in so many of them.”
The trend started on opening day on July 18 when Iron Man Cal overcame a poor start to finish second in the Oceanside Stakes with Fresu aboard. Fresu won the Wickerr Stakes the following day with Almendares, but lost with his next 22 mounts in stakes until Motorious was promoted from second to first in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap for turf sprinters last Saturday after Reef Runner was ruled to have caused interference.
Motorious is one of the leading domestic chances for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Fresu rode Motorious to a second-place finish by a neck in the 2024 BC Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
This weekend, Fresu will be busy.
On Friday, Fresu rides all eight races, including the I’m Smokin Stakes for statebred 2-year-olds with Saul Elliott.
Saturday will be another active day. Fresu rides 10 of the 11 races and has appealing mounts in all three stakes – La Wally in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, Soaring Angel in the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Public Assembly in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes on turf for fillies and mares.
On Sunday, Fresu is expected to ride Civil Liberty in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. Civil Liberty is trained by Doug O’Neill, who also has Brigante as a projected runner in the $300,000 race for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs. Bob Baffert, who has won the Del Mar Futurity a record 18 times, has four expected starters – Balboa, Brant, Desert Gate, and Litmus Test.
After Sunday, Fresu’s next assignment is at Kentucky Downs, where he has four mounts on Sept. 10.
Earlier this year, Fresu won the spring riding title at Santa Anita, ending Hernandez’s streak of riding titles at seven consecutive meetings at Del Mar and Santa Anita since the winter-spring meeting of 2022-2023.
Last summer at Del Mar, Hernandez won 46 races, while Fresu was second with 38.
“Overall, I’m very thankful for the people that have been giving me all the support,” Fresu said of the summer meeting. “They wanted me on and that’s a good sign.”
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