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'I'm Gonna Need To Change My Pants Now': Antonio Fresu Hangs On For Dear Life At Del Mar
“I’m gonna need to change my pants now.”
At least jockey Antonio Fresu has a sense of humor.
Fresu appeared home free aboard Winds of Freedom for trainer Doug O’Neill in the fourth race at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club racetrack last Saturday, Nov. 30, commanding a 3 1/2-length lead with a furlong to run.
Suddenly, the California-bred 2-year-old colt ducked to his outside after Fresu gave him two right-handed reminders with his crop – throwing the jockey forward. The 33-year-old native of Sardinia, Italy, sprawled over the horse’s neck, his right leg dangling down the side after his foot came out of his irons. But Fresu kept to his task, going back to a right-handed whip, getting to the wire with 1 1/2 lengths to spare.
Stewards reviewed the incident, but no other horses were bothered by Winds of Freedom’s erratic move and the Stanford colt was declared the official winner, paying $4.60 to win as the favorite.
The victory was one of 14 during Del Mar’s Bing Crosby meet for Fresu, landing him third in the jockey standings behind Juan Hernandez, who closed the meet on Dec. 1 with a five-win day, winding up with 21 victories.
Fresu came to the U.S. to ride full time in April 2023 and he’s since won a 233 races from 1,331 mounts while based in Southern California. His $10.5 million in 2024 mount earnings puts him 18th nationally.
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“I rode him before and won on him and he never did anything wrong,” Fresu told FanDuel Racing’s Christina Blacker after the race. “I don’t know. He must have seen something and he just ducked out really quick. I lost my iron.”
Fresu said things could have gotten worse, but Winds of Freedom returned to good behavior.
“The horse has such a good mind he didn’t move back or move even more than that, because then I would be in trouble probably,” he said. “I would come off the horse. Once he ducked out, he just stayed there. It gave me a chance to stay on him and try hard to win the race.
“That was great,” he added. "I’m gonna need to change my pants now.”
