Rispoli begins road trip with Texas debut

The Southern California-based jockey Umberto Rispoli will begin a stretch of travel on Friday night, when he arrives in Texas to ride three stakes on Saturday’s card at Lone Star Park.

The track is putting on its annual Texas Turf Festival, and there are a total of four stakes worth $625,000. Rispoli rides What Say Thee in the $250,000 Texas Turf Classic, Stir Crazy in the $125,000 Wasted Tears, and Itzel in the $125,000 Chicken Fried Stakes.

“He’s traveling a little bit right now,” agent Matt Nakatani said. “He’s in Texas on Saturday, back home to ride at Los Alamitos on Sunday, and then goes to Aqueduct next week for the Belmont Derby.”

Rispoli will team with his regular mount Endlessly, a multiple Grade 3 winner including the Jeff Ruby Stakes, for the Belmont Derby.

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The mounts in Texas will be a first in the state for Rispoli, a 35-year-old who was a champion jockey in his native Italy before moving his tack to Southern California.

“We were supposed to go to Texas last year and plans kind of got changed last minute,” Nakatani said. “I told him this year, we have to go. A turf festival? You got to be there.”

Rispoli is a top-class turf rider. He had won 497 races in the United States through Tuesday and of those wins, 371 have come on the turf, according to statistics from Daily Racing Form.

“We’re looking forward to going,” Nakatani said.

Rispoli rides Itzel, a Texas-bred coming home after being based in Southern California for trainer Bret Calhoun. Rispoli has the mounts on What Say Thee and Stir Crazy for trainer Mike Maker.

Other highlights on the card include an appearance by Ova Charged, who goes in the Chicken Fried. She owns the year’s highest Beyer Speed Figure, a 113 earned on turf at Fair Grounds.

Hoosier Philly will make her turf debut and her stablemate Minnesota Ready is moving back to the grass for the $125,000 Grand Prairie Turf Sprint after winning last month’s Speightstown Sprint at Lone Star. Trainer Tom Amoss said both horses were traveling to Lone Star on Wednesday.

The forecast for Saturday’s card is clear and a high of 100 degrees.

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