World-traveler Rispoli reaches milestone in style

By his own tally, veteran jockey Umberto Rispoli won the 2,000th race of his career aboard Trikari in the Rushaway Stakes at Turfway Park in Kentucky last Saturday.

To reach the milestone, Rispoli, 35, has won races on four continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America – in a career that began in 2005.

Rispoli is from Italy and won 1,122 races in that country at the start of his career. He has since won 467 races in the United States, 238 in France, 123 in Hong Kong, 40 in Japan, five in Germany, four in South Africa, and one each in Britain, Macau, and Mauritius.

Rispoli relocated from Hong Kong to California in late 2019, and has largely been based at Del Mar and Santa Anita since then. He rode briefly in Kentucky in the spring of 2022.

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After Trikari won the $249,670 Rushaway Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles in his stakes debut, Rispoli followed the success later on the Turfway Park program with an authoritative win in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks for 3-year-olds on Endlessly, who is unbeaten in two starts this year.

Endlessly earned sufficient qualifying points to gain a place in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4, but is expected to run the same day in the Grade 2 American Turf for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

Rispoli ended his weekend with a victory on Cathkin Peak at Santa Anita on Sunday, his 19th win of the year.

Rispoli had his best season in the United States in 2021, with 130 winners and mounts that earned in excess of $10.1 million.

Rispoli has four mounts at Santa Anita on Friday, the track’s next day of racing.

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