Italian Champ Demuro Rides at Gulfstream

Italian champion Cristian Demuro joined the Gulfstream Park jockey’s colony on Saturday, finishing off-the-board with his first U.S. mount in the first race.

“I’ll be here for a month and a half,” said the 20-year-old jockey, who will move on to Japan to ride there for three months.

Demuro, who rode a record 264 winners the past year in Italy, finished seventh aboard the Wesley Ward-trained Gigante Sabado in the first. He was also named to ride the Bill Mott-trained Blue Bobalto, an also eligible that didn’t draw into the sixth race.

Ron Anderson will serve as his agent during his stint at Gulfstream. Demuro is the younger brother of five-time Italian champion Mirco Demuro, who ride Victoire Pisa to victory in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1) in 2011.

Demuro, who rode in Japan and Dubai the past two winters, began riding in Italy at age 16 after attending Pisa Racing School.