I will be back for sure — Daisuke Fukumoto
Despite gaining 10 rides without any success on Mouttet Mile Race Day on Saturday, December 2, 2023, Japanese-born jockey Daisuke Fukumoto stated his experience riding at Caymanas Park for the first time was important in the development of his career.
Among Fukumoto’s mounts on the day was Perfect Brew in the big one, the US$150,000 Mouttet Mile (invitational), a Graded Stakes event for three-year-olds and upward over one mile (1,600m). The Richard Azan trainee finished fifth in the race behind winner Rough Entry, trained by Rohan Crichton and ridden by Julien Leparoux.
“I have never ridden so many horses on a single race card before. I rode 10 horses today [Saturday, December 2, 2023], and the weather was hot as well. I saw so many people in the stands and everywhere, and so I enjoyed the day,” Fukumoto told the Jamaica Observer‘s The Supreme Racing Guide.
“I didn’t win any races, but that’s fine. I want to run races here, so I will come back to Caymanas Park and try to win. But it was a good experience, and hopefully, if the trainer calls again, I will come. It was a big day, and it was nice to be a part of it. I love the Jamaican people,” he further stated.
Fukumoto said that Caymanas Park has a great racing surface to ride on.
“It is a big racetrack; it is a fair track, I think, and it has a long stretch. I like it as it is nice to ride and just needs some good horses to win races. The racing surface is nice, and actually, everybody has different styles and things, from the paddock to the starting gates. I rode in 10 races, and the experience was very good,” he said.
Fukumoto rides at the Woodbine racetrack in Canada, a country he migrated to from Japan in 2015. For two years he studied English throughout the week and spent weekends hanging around at the track trying to catch a break.
That came when trainer Reade Baker gave him a job as a groom. He debuted as an apprentice rider in 2017 and rode his first winner on October 13 that year, his 20th birthday, aboard Raglan Road in a claiming race for trainer John Ross.
His career profile on Equibase shows Fukumoto with 2,586 starts including 273 wins, 267 seconds, and 290 third-place finishes. He has career earnings of $10,949,852.
In 2023, thus far, he has ridden 21 winners, and in 2022 — 55, with his best year being 2020 when he had 69 winners.
