12-29-2018 – Adam Beschizza, (yellow cap) aboard Pretty Lady, puts a head in front of Cool Beans with Florent Geroux and Roussalka with Aubrie Green to win the 35th runnng of the Pago Hop Stakes at the Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir

By Ryan Dickey:

Fresh off his first jockey title after finishing the Fair Grounds meet with six more victories than his closest competitor, England’s Adam Beschizza looks to improve off last year’s very respectable Keeneland Spring meet as he’s been tabbed for eleven mounts (as well as three also-eligibles) over the first three cards in Lexington.

Having won 82 times in 460 starts in New Orleans from mid-November last year through last week, Beschizza would like nothing more than to improve on his 2018 Spring totals at Keeneland, where he won eleven times in 52 tries last April. But he knows success isn’t guaranteed from meet to meet or from one year to the next.

“No two years are ever the same. I love Keeneland in and of itself. It was great that everything sort of snowballed off the back of Fair Grounds last year, and I had some really nice fillies that were winning stakes consistently — like Mom’s on Strike and Triple Chelsea, who uplifted my career and put me on a bigger platform, and I’m ever grateful to those fillies for what they’ve done for my career,” said Beschizza via a phone interview on Wednesday.

And his career is in full flight as he’s been riding in the U.S. now for over a year and a half after spending nine years riding in his native country.

Although his riding title may have “put him on the map” so to speak, Beschizza had noticeably gotten off to a good start in America and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, especially considering he’s been doing something here he didn’t do there–which is riding in dirt races.

12-8-2018 – Midnight Fantasy, with Adam Beschizza aboard, won the LA Champions Day Lassie at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, LA. Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges Jr

As for the riding title and its significance, Beschizza said, “It meant everything to me. It was a dream come true ever since I first went to New Orleans when I was eighteen years old. It was my first experience in America, and watching from the sidelines back then to now being involved in a title race it’s huge.”

With his growing success and exuding deserved confidence, Beschizza realizes bigger things may lie ahead.

“Just getting the opportunities to ride some big races with some nice horses and getting that exposure, I’ve had a lot of trainers become hugely supportive of me this year on the back of what we did last year,” he said. “I was over the moon with the final result.”

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the opening week in Lexington, Beschizza will be aboard at least one familiar runner. On Thursday, he has three mounts, in races one, four, and seven (as well as an AE in race three). The seventh race is Thursday’s feature, the Palisades Turf Sprint, where he’ll be aboard Vivid Verse.

“I rode him for the first time at Churchill on the dirt and obviously he was always going to transition more towards the turf. And Joe (trainer Joe Sharp) sent him straight out at Fair Grounds, he lost his maiden there in nice enough fashion. He came back and won an allowance race and sort of looked like he was an improving horse on the up,” said Beschizza on Vivid Verse. “His last race you could probably almost put a line through, they came off the turf. You have to sort of try these things and see if they take to the dirt like they do the turf, but obviously his heart lies more towards the turf.”

Beschizza added that Vivid Verse has “a lot of natural speed as well, so coming back to five and a half (furlongs) I think will suit him and definitely with the turf under his feet, you’ll see him more in form.”

On Friday, he has five mounts (and one AE) including in race seven when he again rides All Right for trainer John Ortiz in an $87,000 allowance race on the turf.

“He’s a horse quite close to my heart,” said Beschizza. “I won on him at Churchill last year on the turf and he loves the Churchill turf course. He came back to win at the Fair Grounds this year and showed he’s still back to his best.”

He added that All Right is “a horse with a lot of ability. He can get a tendency to get where it’s got to be his way, you have to make it so it’s his idea. He’s got a ton of ability, he’s an absolute gentleman to ride and I think the Keeneland course will suit him to a “t.”

On Saturday, Beschizza again has three mounts, including one on the familiar Dynabee as well as aboard Supreme Aura in the Grade III Commonwealth.

On Supreme Aura, Beschizza said, “he was another horse that ran after a six or seven month layoff so he may have needed that last run on the turf. You’re sort of blessed with having that seven furlong distance at Keeneland so I see Mike (trainer Michael Stidham) has campaigned him between a mile and sixteenth to sprinting. I know he won his maiden over three quarters, but it seems like that distance with less of a furlong or more of a furlong sometimes suits a horse, and he’s more inclined to like the longer going.”

Beschizza is sort of an anomaly in the jockey ranks as he had relatively few jockey agents throughout his riding career. Since he’s been in America, agent Liz Morris has written his book, and it’s hard to argue with the pair’s success.

“I’m actually quite a loyal jockey to be honest,” Beschizza explained. “I only had two (agents) in the nine years I rode in England and for the year and a half I’ve been in America Liz has been my only agent.”

Comparing riding in Europe to racing in America, Beschizza says the biggest difference by far is dirt riding.

“We don’t have dirt racing in England, so the transition and getting used to the technicalities of riding on the dirt is very different and it’s something you need to be very accustomed to,” he said. “There is a lot of dirt racing in America so transitioning over to the dirt and getting plenty of experience was crucial to me. I seem to have found my niche.”

Beschizza said he feels “a lot more comfort going into a race knowing how dirt races can pan out some times, and I’ve ridden enough on the dirt and ridden enough winners to sort of know when I’m heading into the bigger races how they are going to pan out.”

With the short boutique meet at Keeneland, where he finished sixth in wins last year, and riding the wave of capturing his first jockey title — expect Adam Beschizza to make a big splash in Lexington this April.