Umberto Rispoli was a familiar face in Hong Kong for several years. With his infectious smile and engaging personality, he enjoyed success at the very highest level. But returning to Happy Valley, a venue where he spent a significant chapter of his career, Rispoli isn\u2019t on a sentimental journey; he\u2019s here to compete.<\/p>
The Italian ace, who successfully transitioned his career to the United States of America after a full-time stint in Hong Kong, is determined to make a strong showing for that country in the prestigious LONGINES International Jockeys\u2019 Championship (IJC).<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m extremely proud to represent the United States because America has given (my family and me) a lot,\u201d Rispoli said. \u201c(It gave me) the chance to introduce myself to American horse racing and to ride some very good horses and win a lot of good races. You can\u2019t take away my Italian blood, but hopefully I\u2019ll represent the United States in the very best way.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m very excited to come back to Happy Valley, it\u2019s a place I\u2019ve spent a lot of time at in my career,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a problem going back to Happy Valley, it\u2019s a place I know pretty well.\u201d<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9080″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The LONGINES IJC brings together elite riding talent from around the world, offering a challenge that Rispoli relishes, with his focus firmly on the winner\u2019s podium.<\/p>
\u201cI always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best and the IJC is the opportunity to compete with the best in the world. All of us want to win, we\u2019re not coming just to have fun. We want to win the IJC, too, and that\u2019s the mentality I have right now.\u201d<\/p>
Beyond the competitive element, the IJC also offers the chance to reconnect with former colleagues, supporters and fans.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing some old friends from the jockeys\u2019 room and owners and trainers too that supported me when I was in Hong Kong. I can\u2019t wait to spend some time there with my family, as my son was only two-and-a-half years old when we left, so he\u2019s excited to come back as well, and we\u2019ll definitely enjoy the moment.\u201d<\/p>
After a history-making season in the United States of America, where he became the first Italian-born rider to win a leg of the American Triple Crown aboard Journalism in the G1 Preakness Stakes (1900m, dirt), also finishing runner-up in the G1 Kentucky Derby (2000m, dirt) and the G1 Belmont Stakes (2000m at Saratoga, dirt) on the same horse, Rispoli is quick to pay tribute to the son of Curlin and other notable champions he\u2019s been associated with.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9079″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
\u201cIt was an amazing year and journey I had with Journalism. He\u2019s one of the best, probably the best horse that I\u2019ve ridden, but I can\u2019t forget Rulership for what he gave me and what he means for me between Japan and Hong Kong (winning the 2012 G1 QEII Cup, 2000m). So I\u2019m very attached to those horses, and being a part of IJC is because of those big names, including Johannes this year too. I\u2019m grateful to them because without them, you can\u2019t win anything.<\/p>
\u201cI do this job because you want to ride the best horses in the world, but definitely winning the IJC trophy (against the best riders), I would put close to or next to all the achievements I have in my career so far.\u201d<\/p>
In addition to James McDonald (New Zealand) and last year\u2019s winner Mickael Barzalona (France), Rispoli will compete against Ryan Moore (Great Britain, subject to fitness), William Buick (Great Britain), Hollie Doyle (Great Britain), Joao Moreira (Brazil), Christophe Lemaire (Japan), Rachel King (Australia), and three of Hong Kong, China\u2019s top jockeys, headed by Zac Purton.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9078″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Umberto Rispoli was a familiar face in Hong Kong for several years. With his infectious smile and engaging personality, he enjoyed success at the very highest level. But returning to Happy Valley, a venue where he spent a significant chapter of his career, Rispoli isn\u2019t on a sentimental journey; he\u2019s here… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":9081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9077"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9077"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9182,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9077\/revisions\/9182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}