ARCADIA, Calif. – Less than two months after his arrival from Hong Kong, jockey Umberto Rispoli has been the surprise of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. Through Feb. 9, Rispoli had cracked the top five in the overall standings with 14 winners and led all riders with 13 wins on turf. Rispoli, a 31-year-old native of Italy, had his first American stakes win with Billy Batts in the $84,750 Baffle Stakes on Feb. 7, the second of three days at the meeting in which he has won two races. Rispoli arrived from Hong Kong at the urging of jockey agent Ron Anderson. He was unfamiliar to California owners and trainers then. They know him now. :: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Early success on the track and many December and January mornings spent in the stables have pushed Rispoli high in the standings. “When you move to a new place and you have a big name like Frankie Dettori or Ryan Moore, champion jockeys, people know who you are,” Rispoli said last weekend. “I’m not that big name. “I wasn’t surprised people didn’t know me. The most you can prove to the people what you can be and what you can do is winning races.” Sunday, Rispoli rides five of the eight races. He has mounts in the four turf races and one mount in a dirt race. Gaining more mounts on dirt – and winning races on that surface – is Rispoli’s next major goal. Rispoli has one win on dirt at this meeting, D’s Lovely Sophia on Jan. 18, from 20 mounts on the surface through Feb. 9. “I don’t want people me to classify me as a turf jockey,” he said. “I won many races on the dirt in Italy and Hong Kong. I know I’m capable of riding on dirt. My dream is to ride the Kentucky Derby and, of course, my dream is to win it. “The dirt teaches you timing and the tempo and everything. I’m still learning. I’m watching a lot of races on the dirt. I’m watching many good jockeys ride on dirt and that will help me on the dirt.” There are numerous differences between racing in Hong Kong and California. Hong Kong has two racetracks – Happy Valley and Sha Tin – and primarily races on turf. Sha Tin does have an infield dirt track used sparingly for racing and extensively for training. Jockeys in Hong Kong do not have agents, meaning they are in constant contact with trainers to arrange mounts and organize their morning schedules for workouts. An American jockey’s agent handles much of those affairs. When Rispoli arrived in California, he leaned on Anderson’s expertise for choosing mounts. “Ron was capable of putting me on the right horses,” Rispoli said. “We worked pretty hard from the beginning, galloping horses and showing myself to the people and introducing myself. That helps. “It’s a lot of communication. That doesn’t make me afraid. In Hong Kong, I was facing the trainers by myself. For me to have an agent, it’s double help.” A former champion rider in Italy, Rispoli finished the 2018-19 Hong Kong season last July with 25 wins, tied for 11th in the standings. He had five wins earlier this year before departing a circuit dominated by the Brazilian Joao Moreira and the Australian Zac Purton. With those two so prominent in the standings, Rispoli said finding winners was difficult. “C’mon, man,” he said with exasperation recalling the climate in Hong Kong racing. “It’s a tough business. If you put me on the favorite, I’m capable of winning, too.” Anderson also represents Joel Rosario, the leading rider at the winter-spring meeting with 26 victories through Feb. 9. Rosario and Anderson plan to relocate to Keeneland for the spring meeting, which begins on April 2. Rispoli is unsure whether he will remain in California for the spring or travel with Rosario and Anderson. Earlier this week, Anderson said he is urging Rispoli to take a “wait-and-see” approach. The issue is very much on Rispoli’s mind. “We’ll figure it out,” he said. “I get this question every day. People ask me every day – will you stay or will you go? “I like this place. Honestly, I don’t know. Ron brought me to America. He will tell me this is the right spot. If he tells me to go to Keeneland or New York, I’ll follow this instruction. He knows what he is talking about.” Rispoli has spent the last two months becoming established in California. If he moves to another circuit, he will, in effect, be starting over again, even if some of the owners and trainers across the nation have seen his wins in California. Then again, Rispoli has already made one successful move this winter. “I was hungry about winners and hungry to rise up again,” he said. “You come here and you want to do something well.”