On Saturday 25 at Gulfstream in Florida, the Pegasus Cup meeting, one of the most important for American galloping, will be held. On the track two Italian jockeys: Antonio Fresu and Lanfranco (Frankie) Dettori. But the colony of Italian jockeys in the States is large and doing very well. In Gulfstream there will also be Umberto Rispoli, who will be involved in other races at the convention, and in addition there is the forerunner, Luca Panici, who has been living and working in the USA for more than a few years now.
Antonio Fresu is having an excellent time. A few days ago in Santa Anita, California, where activity resumed after being suspended due to the fires that plagued the area, he scored a fine triple win. In May it will be two years since the jockey from Ozieri chose to settle in the United States.
‘I must say that I strongly wanted this experience and today I can say that I was right. Since I’ve been here, things have been going quite well. When I look at the US from the outside, you’re fascinated by the idea of the ‘American dream’ and I have to say that, all things considered, this corresponds to reality in the sense that it’s a country that offers opportunities to everyone, it’s clear that it’s up to the individual to make the most of the opportunities.
It cannot be said that Antonio Fresu has not succeeded…. There is also the matter of being able to adapt to the American type of racing, which is profoundly different from the European one…
‘It’s true: here you run looking a lot at the stopwatch, the fractions. After all, these are oval, smooth tracks, so you go very fast, especially in the initial fraction. The start is perhaps the most important moment of the race; everyone makes a start, you have to manage to get a good position, then the race can also become a bit tactical, but there are very few breaks. In the past there have been many jockeys from Europe or elsewhere who have come here for important races, but they preferred to arrive two or three months earlier to fully understand the way of racing…’.
Saturday’s Pegasus… What chance do you think you have?
‘I’ll ride Stronghold, a horse that gave me a lot of satisfaction last year. We won the Santa Anita Derby (gr. 1) and took part in the Kentucky derby, and we are coming from two second places in Group 1. In short, although his current odds are around 10 to 1 I think I can take him as he is coming back over 1800 metres which is a distance he is congenial to. It won’t be easy though because this is a terrible race with a lot of the best horses in the US and they all have their chances.’
Will you then go to Saudi Arabia?
‘I don’t know yet, I don’t have any definite engagements at the moment.’
You will be running against Frankie Dettori and then there will be other Italian jockeys, in short we get respect….
‘Let’s say that we defend our opportunities well and we are quite esteemed, but beyond everything else it gives me immense pleasure to be able to defend the Italian flag in these contexts and, if I may say so, also the Sardinian flag. I was born and raised near the Chilivani racecourse and as soon as I can, as I did last September, I like to drop in to see my friends. Also because I can break the rules and eat good food…. We’re really second to none in that respect, but by many lengths…’
