Photo:

Richard Steele / Eclipse Sportswire

Jockey Kazushi Kimura hopes to ride races again in the middle of March.

Kimura has been recovering from a leg injury since January 16, when a horse he was riding at Santa Anita tried to flip and his leg got caught in the gate. He had surgery Jan. 30 to stabilize the injury, and at that point expected to be sidelined about a month recovering from that surgery. According to a report from Steve Andersen of Daily Racing Form, Kimura’s agent expects that Kimura will see a doctor for evaluation next week and is on track to ride again during the second or third week of March.

Before his injury Kimura had amassed a 42: 5-5-5 record at the Santa Anita meet that began Dec. 26. Those wins include a victory in the La Brea (G1) with Kopion on opening day as well as in the Las Flores (G3) with Richi on Jan. 4.

He won the 2019 Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey. He also won the 2018 Sovereign Award for top apprentice jockey in Canada, as well as Sovereign Awards in 2021 and 2022 for the best jockey in Canada.