Agent Nakatani adds Rispoli's book, parts with Bravo

When Umberto Rispoli announced that he was looking for a new jockey agent, Matt Nakatani says he “didn’t really think anything about it.”

Nakatani, who handled the books for Joe Bravo and Mario Gutierrez, said things were “business as normal” for him around Santa Anita. That changed when, after the two spoke Monday, Rispoli came to Nakatani later in the week and offered him the job.

Nakatani parted ways with Bravo and picked up Rispoli’s business in a move first reported Friday by Paulick Report. The 30-year-old jockey agent explained his decision Saturday in an interview with Horse Racing Nation.

“We did really well together,” Nakatani said of Bravo. “We won Grade 1s together. We won many stakes together. We were in the Breeders’ Cup two years in a row together.

“It’s just the conversation came down to he’s 52 years old. I don’t know how much longer he wants to ride for. I’m 30 years old and I’m seeing where I’ll be in five years. If I passed on Rispoli now, I’d never have that opportunity a couple of years from now or whenever it would be.”

Bravo did not immediately respond to a voicemail left by an HRN reporter. Nakatani said he was unsure of Bravo’s next move.

A spokesperson at Santa Anita, where Bravo is based this winter, said there has been no announcement yet about his possible replacement for Nakatani. Agents are typically limited to two riders in each colony, and Nakatani also represents Gutierrez.

In their time together, Bravo and Nakatani teamed up to win eight graded stakes in Southern California. They notched a Grade 1 score with American Theorem in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) last July at Del Mar.

“We were doing well,” Nakatani said. “Joe’s the type of guy that obviously wants good horses. He rides stakes races, he rides allowance races. He’s at that point of his career where he just looks for good horses. It’s not about riding 10 a day for him.”

Nakatani is the son of 10-time Breeders’ Cup-winning jockey Corey Nakatani. He has represented Gutierrez for four years and added Bravo’s book in 2021 when the formerly New Jersey-based rider move west to Southern California.

With Rispoli, he adds a jockey who has racked up 32 graded wins since moving his tack to the west coast in the final days of 2019. The 34-year-old native of Italy previously rode internationally and was based in France.

Rispoli’s $600,000 in earnings during the current Santa Anita meet rank ninth among riders. His eight wins are tied with Bravo and two others for 10th.

In recent years, Rispoli was further up the jockey leaderboard. He was third on the Santa Anita money list in each of his first four meets at the Arcadia, Calif., track.

Daily Racing Form reported Feb. 16 that Rispoli would part ways after March 5 with agent Tony Matos.

“(Rispoli) came to my house and told me, ‘The job is yours if you’d like it,’” Nakatani said. “Ultimately, the decision that weighed on me was what the next five years look like for me and obviously what’s the best opportunity for me.”

Nakatani said it was important for him to retain his relationship with Gutierrez, whose biggest success has come racing for owner Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill.

“Mr. Reddam, who he rides first call for, those two people are pretty special in my life,” Nakatani said. “I would never turn my back on him. I decided to stick with Mario and obviously take the opportunity with Rispoli.”

HRN's Ron Flatter contributed to this report.