Rispoli riding well, eyes Del Mar riding title
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Through Sunday, about a third of the way through the Del Mar summer meeting, jockey Umberto Rispoli was in first-place in a category he would have preferred to avoid.
Rispoli led all riders with 16 second-place finishes, and ranked third overall with 12 wins. Juan Hernandez was first in the standings with 15 wins, and four second-place finishes, while Hector Berrios had 13 wins and six seconds.
“We have a lot of seconds,” Rispolli reflected on Thursday morning after training hours.
“If you compare the seconds that Juan has and Hector has, I’m way far in front. There is no title for seconds.”
Rispoli, 34, will have a difficult time competing with Hernandez and Berrios for leading rider, considering he is booked to miss a week of racing from Aug. 24-27 to ride in Japan. But even that trip could have long-term ramifications for the Italian-born Rispoli, who began riding in the United States at the end of 2019.
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“It’s an engagement for the future, to see if we can get something,” he said. “You never know. That’s what we’re working for, to set up a plan.”
Japanese-based runners are expected to have strong participation in Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita on Nov. 3-4 and Rispoli hopes to attract attention while riding in Japan later this month and gain mounts on those prospects.
Aside from the brief international trip, Rispoli said his focus will be on boosting his status in Southern California.
Rispoli took a month off from race-riding after the conclusion of the marathon Santa Anita winter-spring meeting in June. He passed on riding at the low-key Los Alamitos meeting in late June and early July, and did not resume action until opening day at Del Mar, on July 21.
In early summer, Rispoli took his wife, Kimberley, and two sons to Europe to visit family, particularly his father who recent underwent cancer treatment in Italy.
“Everything is okay,” Rispoli said of his father. “He’s doing pretty good right now.”
The trip was the first time their extended families had a chance to see the couple’s infant son. Toward the end of the journey, Rispoli visited his father-in-law, French jockey Gerard Mosse. Rispoli said he even spent a morning riding workouts at Chantilly, France, north of Paris.
“It was important for me to have a break,” he said.
Rispoli’s 12 wins at Del Mar this summer, include three stakes wins and five allowance races. His most prestigious win so far was aboard Anisette in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes for 3-year-old fillies July 22. Anisette, trained by Leonard Powell, is a candidate for the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks Aug. 19.
“I’m happy with the meet so far,” Rispoli said. “I’ve been riding turf and dirt, both surfaces, which is very important in the eyes of the people.”
Rispoli finished second in the standings at the 2022 Del Mar meeting with 28 wins, far behind Hernandez with 49. For Rispoli, the summer of 2022 was a comeback period after two months in Kentucky that spring in which he was winless with 43 mounts at Churchill Downs and Keeneland.
At the time, Rispoli sought a change of scenery, but changed his mind and returned to California in late spring.
“The two months in Kentucky cut my legs off,” he said. “I lost a lot of winners at Santa Anita.
“It was tough to come back and get business. The important thing is to find my spot. When you ride horses and work horses you want to stay on them.
“I think I feel better with things going on.”
Known for his outspoken nature, the brief stay in Kentucky was humbling, he said.
“I’m always hard on myself and I like to be on top,” he said. “I like to compete at the highest level.”
Rispoli has four mounts at Del Mar on Thursday, three on Friday, and eight of the 10 races on Saturday, including Closing Remarks for the first time in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Stakes for fillies and mares on turf.
“I enjoy my work,” he said. “The target for me is to be a top rider and try to be a top rider all around the country. I don’t know how long it will take.”
A successful weekend could solidify Rispoli’s place in the standings.
“If the title is there, I will take it,” Rispoli said. “I am focused to win the good races and keep the winning percentage and the earnings high.”
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