DEL MAR, Calif. – The list of countries reads like a deluxe worldwide cruise, or the itinerary of a high-ranking government official. The United States, Italy, France, England, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. Those are the countries where jockey Antonio Fresu recalls riding in his 13-year career. A native of Italy, Fresu is more settled of late. In the last 18 months, Fresu has been based in Southern California, developing a reputation as a big-race rider. :: ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save 41% off the retail price. Already this year, Fresu won the richest race of his career in the United States aboard Stronghold in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, worth $751,500. The win in the Santa Anita Derby led to Fresu’s first ride in the Kentucky Derby in May aboard Stronghold, who finished seventh, 12 3/4 lengths behind Mystik Dan. On Saturday, the second of two days of Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar, Fresu has mounts on One Magic Philly in the $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint, Motorious in the $1 million Turf Sprint, Beach Bomb in the $2 million Filly and Mare Turf, and Raging Torrent in the $2 million Sprint. Fresu is seeking his first win in the famous series. Last year, Fresu was winless with two mounts in Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita, held six months after he arrived from Dubai. By then, Fresu had made a memorable first impression. In his first months in California, Fresu, 32, finished seventh in the standings at the 2023 spring season at Santa Anita, arriving after the meeting had started. He has since ranked in the first three in the standings at six meetings at Del Mar and Santa Anita. At Santa Anita’s spring meeting earlier this year, Fresu won 35 races, one less than perennial leader Juan Hernandez. Working with his agent, Tom Knust, Fresu has measured his progress in increments. “It’s goals,” he said recently. “[I thought] I’ll come to America and I want to do well. That’s the first goal. Then, you start doing well and want to win stakes. And you win stakes, and you want to win graded stakes. “You take the first step. I’ve been doing that with the help of all these trainers and owners and my agent has been doing a good job. “After you start winning graded stakes, you want to go the next step.” The next stage is a win in a Breeders’ Cup race. “You want to be in these events,” Fresu said. “This is what every jockey dreams of, being in the Breeders’ Cup.” On consecutive Saturdays at Del Mar in late August, Fresu won stakes aboard Raging Torrent in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs and on Motorious in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf. Fresu, who began his career in his native Italy, has ridden Raging Torrent for trainer Doug O’Neill through an active three-race winning streak, all at seven furlongs, including the Maxfield Stakes for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs in June and his debut against older horses in the Pat O’Brien. “He’s a 3-year-old going against older horses that are specialists for six furlongs on dirt,” Fresu said. “Cutting back in trip is maybe a little bit short. The horse is super talented. He showed it at Churchill Downs and he showed it in the Pat O’Brien taking on older horses. “He’s a fighter. I like the spaces between the races that Doug gave him. He needs those couple of months. He’s almost a 4-year-old now, and he’s getting stronger and stronger. He’s a huge animal.” O’Neill was instrumental in luring Fresu to California in 2023. They teamed in Dubai early that year when O’Neill had a small group of horses racing in the Middle East. Fresu rode Motorious for the first time to a fourth-place finish in an allowance race at six furlongs on turf at Santa Anita in June. In the Green Flash, Motorious closed from ninth in a field of 10 to win by three-quarters of a length as the 2-1 favorite. “He got a lot of confidence out of it,” Fresu said. “He passed them all and he did it so easily. The way he finished the last furlong, he was really fast. I really didn’t ask him too much to do that. “I’ve been breezing him every single week and he’s doing great. He’s ready go to.” Motorious is trained by Phil D’Amato, who teamed with Fresu to win other stakes with runners such as Iron Man Cal and One Magic Philly in early October. One Magic Philly won the Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 5 in her stakes debut, which has led to Saturday’s Filly and Mare Sprint. “It’s a duo that works,” D’Amato said of their relationship. “He gets what I’m trying to achieve with the horses. “He can win on the dirt and win on the turf and with all different styles. We work well together.” Fresu was aboard Beach Bomb for the first time when the South African-bred mare finished third in the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 5. Beach Bomb, trained by Graham Motion, will be a longshot in the BC Filly and Mare Turf. A win aboard Beach Bomb or Raging Torrent would equal Fresu’s richest win, the Group 1 Golden Shaheen for sprinters in Dubai in 2021 aboard Zenden. Sadly, Zenden sustained a fatal injury shortly after passing the wire. Fresu said a key to winning a Breeders’ Cup race is not only having a talented horse, but also the ability to adapt rapidly as a race develops. “It’s a big day and everyone wants to do their best,” he said. “You have to be at your best. It can get messy, especially riding on these tight tracks, everyone has to play it from the gate. It can get messy again at the three-eighths when everyone starts moving again. You need to be sharp. “You need to have more than one plan. You need to have three or four.” So far, Fresu’s American career has taken him away from California to states such as Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. A win in a Breeders’ Cup race would achieve Fresu’s latest goal, and force a reassessment of the next stage of his career. Certainly, loftier expectations would be in order. That was a subject Fresu was careful to avoid in a recent interview on the Santa Anita backstretch. “Let’s take it step-by-step,” he said with a smile. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.