Kimura was voted jockey of the week

Kazushi Kimura originally had no mount in the Gr. Sunday on the opening day of American Oaks at Santa Anita, but that fact changed dramatically after fellow jockey Antonio Fresu was injured in race seven and Fresu’s horse in the Oaks, Ambaya, needed a rider. Kimura was available and ready to make the most of the opportunity. Kimura’s skilled ride led the panel of racing experts to choose him for Jockey of the Week for December 22 to 28.

The weekly award recognizes jockeys for significant riding achievements and who are members of the Jockeys’ Guild. Founded in 1940, the Guild represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

On Sunday’s postponed opening day card, Kimura started the day with a win in the second race, with a first special weight for trainer Tim Yaakteen aboard Secured Freedom paying $19.60 for the win.

Ambaya’s trainer, Jonathan Thomas, noticed Kimura was without a horse for the final two races of the day and brought him in to ride the three-year-old filly. Thomas had Kimura watch replays of the filly’s race and told Kimura, “This filly’s training is fantastic – you can win if you get the right ride.”

Kimura rode the filly with confidence. Ambaya broke from post position four in the field of 11 at odds of 12-1 and raced on the inside in fifth place before Kimura moved her to the outside as the field neared the stretch. Ambaya rallied between race favorite Cliffs with Jose Ortiz and Will. Then piloted by Flavien Prat, he took the lead in the last sixteenth for an upset win in 2:01.02 over 1-1/4 miles on the Downhill grass course.

“She always steps through from the gate, but today it actually went smoothly out of the gate, so it was pretty easy to get a nice position,” Kimura told Santa Anita publicity.

Thomas was happy with Kimura’s ride. “He rode her beautifully. He really gave her a great ride.”

Kimura, 26, is originally from Hokkaido, Japan, and moved to Canada in 2018 to ride for Woodbine. He won Canada’s Sovereign Award as Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in 2018 and the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Apprentice in North America in 2019. He won the Sovereign Award as Outstanding Jockey in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

After racing at the Santa Anita winter-spring meet for the third year, Kimura decided to stay in California when he returned from a two-month absence in March following a leg injury. He recorded his 1,000th North American victory on September 20, 2025 in Los Alamitos.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Javier Castellano with two stakes wins at Gulfstream Park, Antonio Fresu who won the Mathis Mile (G2), Juan Hernandez who won the La Brea (G1) and Joel Rosario who won the Malibu (G1).

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