CYPRESS, Calif. – Kazushi Kimura won the 1,000th race of his career in North America at Los Alamitos on Saturday and immediately declared a goal for his next milestone – winning the riding title at the upcoming Santa Anita autumn meeting.
Kimura, a former champion jockey in Canada, faces a tough task of winning the most races at the 16-day Santa Anita autumn meeting. He will attempt to surpass Juan Hernandez, who has been the dominant rider on the circuit in the last three years.
At the Del Mar summer meeting that ended Sept. 7, Hernandez led all riders with 45 wins, while Kimura finished in a tie for fourth with 23 wins.
“Every year I have a different type of goal and, of course, I’m always trying to become leading jockey at any meet,” Kimura said Saturday. “I want to be leading rider at Santa Anita. I want to be the best jockey in the world.”
Kimura, 26, has mounts in four of the nine races on Friday’s opening day of the Santa Anita autumn meeting. He will need a fast start this weekend to have any chance of challenging Hernandez, who also has four mounts Friday.
Kimura is expected to have mounts in all five of the stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. His best chance for a win is with Mondego, a contender in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at 1 1/4 miles. Mondego was fifth by a length in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 30 with Kimura aboard.
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