Rispoli picks up Brooklyn Strong for first Kentucky Derby mount

After losing his mount on Rock Your World, Umberto Rispoli has another chance to ride in his first Kentucky Derby.

Rispoli's agent, Scotty McClellan, confirmed to Horse Racing Nation Sunday that the Italy native has been tabbed to ride Brooklyn Strong on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The gelded son of Wicked Strong is trained by Daniel Velazquez and owned by Mark Schwartz.

"They're working tomorrow to make a final decision," McClellan said. "But as long as he works well, he's going and he'll be the rider."

Brooklyn Strong, at No. 20 on the points leaderboard, became eligible with the defection of Caddo River earlier Sunday.

Rispoli has been part of "weird chain of events," McClellan said. He rode Rock Your World to wins in the Pasadena Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby (G1). Rosario, meanwhile, was the regular rider of Bob Baffert's Concert Tour, and he was picked up by Rock Your World's connections when Concert Tour dropped out of Kentucky Derby contention.

"That was a very disappointing thing," McClellan said.

But Rispoli already had planned to be at Churchill Downs "all week" because "the other connections wanted us to get experience on the race track," McClellan said.

"He rides one Tuesday, one Wednesday, maybe some Thursday, a couple Friday, and like four Saturday."

McClellan said Rispoli is "very excited" to have another Derby mount.

"It will be a fairy tale ending, I hope. It'll be a good story if that happens, so hopefully it will."