Umberto Rispoli (born 31 August 1988 in

San Severino Marche San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. History From prehistory to Roman age The oldest remains of human pre ...

, Italy) is a horse racing jockey. He commenced his apprenticeship in 2005 and graduated to the senior ranks in 2010. He was a member of the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

until December 2019 when he moved his tack to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. As of July 2022, Rispoli has accrued over $21 million in purses and won 297 races.

Early life

Rispoli was born 31 August 1988 in

, Italy, but his family is originally from

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He grew up in

Scampia Scampia (, ) is a modern suburb in the far north of Naples, whose population is about 80,000. To its south are the suburbs of Piscinola-Marianella, Miano and Secondigliano. It was built during the second half of the twentieth century. History ...

, the infamous neighborhood later to be used as the set for the Gomorrah (TV series). In the summer of 2002, Rispoli left Naples to reach Luigi Camici's stable, in

Cisterna di Latina Cisterna di Latina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina in Lazio, of central Italy. It was the scene of the Battle of Cisterna in January 1944. The Garden of Ninfa is located in the commune's territory. The town, then known as ''T ...

. Camici saddled the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

winner

Tony Bin Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

in 1988, the same year when Umberto was born. In Autumn 2004, Umberto got his Jockey Licence in the Italian Racing School in Pisa. On 5 February 2005, he made his debut in Varese for Alduino Botti, who later became his trainer for five years. He rode 82 winners on his first year as apprentice. In 2009, Rispoli was crowned Champion Jockey for the first time, a feat he repeated in 2010. He spent five seasons in France between 2012 and 2016, before moving to Hong Kong, and then in 2019 to Los Angeles, California, where he lives with his wife Kimberley Mosse and their son Hayden.

Career as a jockey

Rispoli rode his first race in Varese on Polar Eagle in February 2005. He finished second. On 19/2/05 he rode his first winner, Pace Maker. He was crowned Champion Italian Jockey during the 2009 and 2010 racing seasons. In 2009 Rispoli broke the Italian record of

Gianfranco Dettori Gianfranco Dettori (born 25 April 1941) is an Italian retired Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Dettori was born in Serramanna, in what is now the Province of South Sardinia. During his career, he won an Italian riding championship thirteen time ...

's 229 winners exactly 20 years later on the very same day 21/11/09. Rispoli did 230 on Sugarland in Pisa, eventually setting the new record at 245. After 5 season 2012–2016 in France with few Gr1 success in the bag, he moved to Hong Kong he rode under HKJC. In December 2019, he moved to Southern California where he has made quite an impact in the local jockey colony. He rode so far 1492 winners around the world, including Italy, France, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa and Mauritius.

Major wins

Twice Italian Champion Jockey: 2009 and 2010

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Premio Lydia Tesio The Premio Lydia Tesio is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each ye ...

(Group 1) – Aoife Alainn (2010) * Premio Presidente della Repubblica (Group 1) – Estejo (2011) * Premio Gran Criterium (Group 1) – Priore Philip (2013) * Premio Presidente della Repubblica (Group 1) – Cleo Fan (2015)

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Takamatsunomiya Kinen The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Chukyo Racecourse in late March. The forerunner of this race was the . It was started ...

(Group 1) – Kinshasa no kiseki (2011)

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Queen Elizabeth II Cup The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1975 by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is run annually in April at a distance of 2,000 metres (ten ...

(Group 1) – Rulership (2012)

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to ta ...

(Group 1) –

Molly Malone "Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") is a traditional song set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become its unofficial anthem. A statue representing Molly Malone was unveiled on Grafton Street by then Lo ...

(2012) *

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

(Group 1) – Vert de Grece (2014)

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is on ...

(Group 1) - Rock Your World (2021) *

Shoemaker Mile Stakes The Shoemaker Mile Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age three years old and older over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in late May at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currentl ...

(Group 1) - Smooth Like Strait (2021) *

Rodeo Drive Stakes The Rodeo Drive Stakes is a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three-years-old and upwards. It is run at Santa Anita Park with a current purse of $300,000 and is contested over a distance of . Originally named the Yellow Ribbo ...

(Group 1) - Going to Vegas (2021, 2022) *

Gamely Stakes The Gamely Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age three and older over a distance of miles on the turf run in late May annually at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. History The race was inaugurated ...

(Group 1) - Ocean Road (2022)

Year-end charts

References

* The Hong Kong Jockey Club

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rispoli, Umberto Italian jockeys Living people 1988 births American jockeys