Kazushi Kimura did not originally have a mount in the Gr. I American Oaks opening day Sunday at Santa Anita but that fact changed dramatically after fellow jockey Antonio Fresu was injured in race seven and Fresu's mount in the Oaks, Ambaya, needed a rider. Kimura was available and ready to make the most of the opportunity. Kimura's skillful ride led the panel of racing experts to vote him Jockey of the Week for December 22-December 28.
The weekly honor recognizes jockeys for significant riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild. Founded in 1940, the Guild represents more than 1050 active, retired, and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.
On Sunday's delayed opening day card, Kimura started the day with a win in the second race, a maiden special weight for trainer Tim Yakteen aboard Secured Freedom paying $19.60 for the win.
Ambaya's trainer, Jonathan Thomas, noticed that Kimura did not have a mount in the last two races of the day and enlisted him to ride the three-year-old filly. Thomas had Kimura watch the filly's race replays and said to Kimura, "This filly's training fantastic—you can win if you get the right trip."
Kimura rode the filly with confidence. Breaking from post position four in the field of 11 at odds of 12-1, Ambaya raced on the inside in fifth before Kimura moved her outside as the field approached the stretch. Ambaya rallied between race favorite Cliffs with Jose Ortiz and Will Then piloted by Flavien Prat taking the lead in the final sixteenth for an upset win in 2:01.02 for 1-1/4 miles on the Downhill turf course.
"She always steps through from the gate, but today was actually smooth right out of the gate so it was quite easy to get a nice position," said Kimura to Santa Anita publicity.
Thomas was pleased with Kimura's ride. "He rode her beautiful. He really gave her a great ride."
Kimura, 26, is a native of Hokkaido, Japan, and moved to Canada in 2018 to ride at Woodbine. He won Canada's Sovereign Award as Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in 2018 and the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Apprentice in North America in 2019. He won the Sovereign Award as Outstanding Jockey in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
After riding the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting for a third year, Kimura decided to remain in California when he returned in March from a two-month absence following a leg injury. He recorded his 1,000th North American victory on September 20, 2025, at Los Alamitos.
Other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Javier Castellano with two stakes wins at Gulfstream Park, Antonio Fresu who won the Mathis Mile (G2), Juan Hernandez who won the La Brea (G1) and Joel Rosario who won the Malibu (G1).
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