Cristian Demuro has a month of fierce competition in France ahead of him before he flies to Japan to see out the year riding in the Japan Racing Association (JRA) but for now he is not looking beyond short licences in the land he has a longstanding connection with.
The Italian is very much focused on his French concerns right now, leading as he is the race to win the Cravache d’Or and earn the title of France’s champion jockey for the first time, should he be able to maintain his advantage.
Three days out from his attempt to snare a third win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – this time on the three-year-old Leffard – he has 158 wins on the board, seven more than his nearest pursuer, France’s four-time champion, Maxime Guyon.
The title race will end on October 31, and Demuro is taking nothing for granted, but he is hoping he might have that first championship to his name when he boards his flight east for a two-month JRA licence through November and December. Guyon will head east, too, to take up a stint in Hong Kong from November 30 to March 1.
“Normally I would go to Japan a little bit before that, but we will see how we’re going, otherwise I have to stay and fight (for the Cravache d’Or),” Demuro told Idol Horse.
Demuro has in the past arrived for the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn fixture in late October, but with Guyon hot on his coat tails, the 33-year-old rider knows nothing is settled yet and expects a hard run to the finish in the championship race, which started on March 1.
“This year we started well and then I won one Group 1 (the Dubai Turf on Soul Rush) in Dubai so that added to the good start,” he continued. “I had enjoyed a good winter, also, and then I was able to continue that and I’ve won a lot of races. I’m still fighting, I’m in front, but there’s still one month to go.
“We will see after the Arc de Triomphe and if we have to try harder to make it happen, we’ll try harder. This is the first year I’ve been fighting for the Cravache d’Or.”
It’s an achievement Demuro would love to accomplish and place on his career record alongside his two champion jockey titles in Italy (2011 and 2012), plus a host of Group 1 wins, including those two Arcs on Sottsass and Ace Impact, as well as major Group 1 wins in Japan and Dubai on star gallopers Geraldina, Soul Rush and Shahryar.
His connections to Japan go back a long way: he first rode there in 2011 and he has been a regular visitor since, accruing more than 200 JRA wins during short-term stints. His brother Mirco Demuro, currently riding in California, is one of only two expatriate riders ever to be licensed full-time in the JRA, along with Christophe Lemaire – a move that requires the passing of a JRA test – and that is something Demuro has considered, but the timing of such a move must be right.
“I have been thinking about it because it’s a good opportunity but I am doing well here in France, so at the moment I have an opportunity to stay at the top level here,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s the right moment to move, maybe it’s too early; in the future maybe but right now I am 33 years old, I’m still young so I want to win one more Arc de Triomphe.”
Last year in France, his season was affected by the illness of his main patron Jean-Claude Rouget, who was back on course recently following cancer treatment. That meant he needed to secure other support this term and it has worked so far.
“I’m not riding any differently to before, but maybe I have had more opportunity to ride for many different trainers this season because last year I lost many horses from Jean Claude when he got sick and it was a little hard for his stable,” Demuro said.
“He came back now, that’s the good thing, he came back at the track as well, so now it is important to get back some owners to his stable because he lost many, but he’s a good trainer so I see everything going well for him. But all that means that this season I had to ride for more trainers and at the moment everything is going well.”
He is not counting his chickens, everything is prefaced with an ‘if’ but he knows that if he does become champion jockey, it will be a huge boon as well as a career highlight.
“If I become champion jockey, it’s the one thing I miss at the moment because I have won all the classic races in France: this title is what I miss, so I will try in the coming years and we will see,” he said.
“And I think if you become a champion, people see that and you get more rides maybe, so hopefully we can do it.” ∎
