Woodbine standout Kimura to ride at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. – A deep jockey colony this winter at Santa Anita is getting deeper.

Kazushi Kimura, runaway leading rider at Woodbine the past two seasons after winning the Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice in 2019, will relocate to California and ride the Santa Anita meet that begins Dec. 26.

Kimura’s agent Jordan Miller confirmed Tuesday that Kimura will join prominent riders Flavien Prat, John Velazquez, and Frankie Dettori during the early portion of the Santa Anita meet. They join year-round Southern California riders that include Juan Hernandez, Ramon Vazquez, Edwin Maldonado, Hector Berrios, Joe Bravo, and Mike Smith.

Kimura, who has never ridden at Santa Anita, will arrive with momentum. The 23-year-old entered the final two weeks of the Woodbine meet with 146 wins, 29 more than the next rider. One year ago, at the 2021 Woodbine meet, he led with 139 wins, 55 more than the next rider. The Woodbine meet ends Dec. 11.

Kimura and Miller will relocate to California prior to opening day at Santa Anita, and the weather will be warmer than where Kimura spent last winter. Riding on a limited basis at Turfway Park in Kentucky, he won 9 races from 68 mounts, 14th in the standings.

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After winning his second straight Woodbine riding title, Kimura and Miller set sights on a warmer winter circuit. “Basically, just kind of weighed our options for the wintertime,” Miller said. “There’s really good racing out in California, and felt like that might be the best chance to get going somewhere.”

As word of Kimura’s arrival filtered through the Santa Anita stables, the comparison was made to an established rider. One horseman said Kimura “looks very similar to Prat, he gets low, he’s very athletic. That’s a kid I would use. Throw a guy like [Kimura] in there, and you’re starting to get a decent colony.”

Kimura was born in Japan, where he graduated from a jockey academy before relocating to Woodbine. In addition to his 2019 Eclipse, he won Canada’s Sovereign Award as top apprentice rider in 2018 and 2019. Kimura’s two biggest wins were Grade 1 races at Woodbine – the Summer Stakes in 2020 for trainer Mark Casse, and E. P. Taylor this October for trainer Chad Brown.

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