Japanese jockey Kota Fujioka has died from injuries sustained in an Apr. 6 race fall, the Japanese Racing Association (JRA) announced on Thursday.
The 35-year-old Group 1-winning rider was dislodged from his horse during the seventh race at Hanshin and sustained head and chest injuries. He never regained consciousness his brother revealed on Wednesday to NetKeiba.
Born in Shiga prefecture in 1988, Fujioka was the son of JRA trainer Kenichi Fujioka and the younger brother of JRA jockey Yusuke Fujioka. His riding career started auspiciously, as he won on debut aboard a horse his father trained–Yamanin Prologue (Jpn) (French Deputy)–on Mar. 3, 2007.
Currently, Fujioka is credited with 28 JRA winners in 2024 and is 10th in the Japanese jockey rankings. During his 17-year career, the rider is credited with 803 winners, per the JRA. Fujioka secured the biggest victory of his career aboard Namur (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) in the G1 Mile Championship last year. Originally, Ryan Moore was set to ride, but Fujioka proved an able deputy when the Englishman's participation was curtailed due to injury.
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