Tag Archives: Irad Ortiz Jr.

*Featured/Spotlights

Leading Jockeys of 2022

Leave a comment

Joel Rosario on Tonalist at the 2014 Belmont Stakes.

Horse racing is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous sports in the world; however, these jockeys are driven by a strong desire for horse racing that gives them courage and determination to ride these incredibly fast and strapped horses. Here is a list of the current leading jockeys.

Jockey Number One:

Irad Ortiz, Jr., a 29-year-old Puerto Rican jockey, has been a prominent rider on the New York Thoroughbred horse racing circuit since 2012. Irad comes from a jockey family; his grandfather, also named Irad Ortiz, as well as his uncle and brother, were all successful jockeys. Ortiz was successful from the start, beginning his professional riding career in 2011 and winning 76 of 357 races over the following few months. Irad has achieved great success and is currently ranked first on the leader board.

Jockey Number Two:

Joel Rosario is a 37-year-old jockey who was born on a farm in the Dominican Republic. Joel has won over 3000 races in his career. At the age of 14, he became a pro rider. Joel won six races on a single race card in 2009 and went on to win the world’s richest horse race at the time.

Jockey Number Three:

Flavien Prat is a 29-year-old French-born and raised jockey with over 1000 career victories. Flavien was a thoroughbred racing jockey who was a champion apprentice jockey and Group 1 race winner in France before relocating to the United States in 2015. Flavien has won numerous top races since then, including the Breeders’ Cup events, the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness Stakes.

Jockey Number Four:

José L. Ortiz is a 28-year-old Puerto Rican jockey who is the younger brother of leader Irad Ortiz. José, like his brother, is a horse racing success story, with over 2000 career victories. José was awarded the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 2017. He went on to win the Kentucky Oaks in 2019 and the Preakness Stakes in 2022, his second Triple Crown race win.

Jockey Number 5:

Tyler Gaffalione is a 27-year-old American jockey who has achieved over 1000 career wins and has been voted for the Eclipse Award for the 2015 U.S. Champion Apprentice Jockey. Tyler has managed to win over 200 races each year in his first three seasons. He won the 2019 Preakness Stakes abroad War of Will and was said to be a rising star.

Jokey Number 6:

Luis Saez is a 30-year-old jockey who was born in Panama City. He is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing and has achieved over 2600 career wins. Luis went on to win the world’s richest race in 2020, his first Breeders’ Cup in 2020, and his first American Classic in 2021.

Conclusion:

These are your current top 6 jockeys that are all said to rise even higher. Should you want to place a bet on one of these incredible riders, go and have a look at gambling sites not on gamstop.

Phelps Media Group, Racing

American Equus Chosen Riders Dominate at Pegasus World Cup Invitational

Leave a comment

Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Colonel Liam.

Hallandale Beach, Fla. – Jan. 26, 2021 – American Equus sponsored jockeys took to the track once again at Gulfstream Park for the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Saturday. Race day at the track in Hallandale Beach, Florida saw some of the world’s top jockeys on promising thoroughbred talent, and AE Chosen Riders claimed their place in the winner’s circle in six of the races. Irad Ortiz, Jr., winner of last year’s $3 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, earned top placings on numerous horses throughout the day, and went out on a high note to take home the $1 Million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational aboard Colonel Liam.

Trained by Todd A. Pletcher and owned by Robert and Lawana Low, Colonel Liam held 7/2 odds in the field of 12 talented contenders, including horses piloted by fellow AE riders Jose Ortiz, Tyler Gaffalione, Luis Saez, Joe Bravo, and Drayden van Dyke. Ortiz Jr. and Colonel Liam tackled the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1 race to be named the victors in the highest stakes turf race of the day. He ended the day with a second-place finish in the $3 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jesus’ Team trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo.

“I was so happy to win this,” Ortiz said. “This is very special to me because I live my life once a day. We don’t know tomorrow and just enjoy the moment. I was so happy for all the connections and for Todd Pletcher too. I feel great. I was thinking about my grandfather who just passed away last year, and I just know he’s looking [down] at me. My whole family’s at home watching the race, I just miss him being around on the track. He’s my number one fan. I just imagine everything in seconds, like they are looking at me. I just feel like I have to celebrate.”

“He showed us a lot of ability in his couple of starts on the grass,” Pletcher said of Colonel Liam. “We felt like he was getting better and better. We loved the way he handled the turf in the Tropical (Park) Derby and he had trained great. We were very optimistic. He’s a little less experienced than some of the other horses but I think this proves his quality.”

Earlier in the day, Ortiz Jr. also won the 1 1/2-mile La Prevoyante Stake Grade 2 Turf race for Fillies and Mares 4 years old and up aboard Always Shopping trained by Todd Pletcher. Chosen Rider Tyler Gaffalione also had a standout day on the track, claiming the 1 1/2-mile Turf W. L. McKnight Open Stakes for 4-year-olds and up on Tide of the Sea trained by Michael J. Maker, as well as 1 Mile Turf Marshua’s River S. Fillies and Mares 4 years old and up on Zofelle.

Gaffalione also clinched the 7 Furlong Dirt Maiden race for 3-year-olds to kick off the day. Luis Saez crossed the finish first in the 1 1/16-mile Turf Claiming Race for 4-year-olds and up aboard Microsecond.

Emma Miller
em@phelpsmediagroup.com

Phelps Media Group, Racing

Irad Ortiz Jr. Dominates Pegasus World Cup Invitational

Leave a comment

Irad Ortiz Jr. and Mucho Gusto.

Hallandale Beach, Fla. – Jan. 28, 2020 – The 4th annual running of the $3 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational was highlighted by standout performances from American Equus sponsored jockeys this weekend. Some of the best upcoming thoroughbreds in the sport came out to Gulfstream Park to vie for the Pegasus Cup trophy, and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. piloted several horses to top finishes, including Mucho Gusto in the highly anticipated Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

Mucho Gusto, owned by Michael Petersen and trained by Bob Baffert, had many eyes on him when race day arrived, with his top contender being Higher Power ridden by Flavien Prat. Mucho Gusto’s odds increased to 9-2 and Higher Power’s increased to 6-1 after the previous favorites, Hall of Fame Jockey Mike Smith’s mount Omaha Beach and Spun to Run, Javier Castellano’s mount, scratched from the race prior to Saturday. With a standout team behind him, Mucho Gusto crossed the finish line in the Grade 1 race clean after establishing an early lead in the field of ten horses with Ortiz Jr. in the irons.

“I had a great trip,” Ortiz Jr. said. “He got a great start and felt good. He relaxed so well and we were able to save ground. At the three-eighths pole I tipped him out and he took off. He was much the best. I think he just took off and opened up easy. He’s a nice horse.”

Mucho Gusto’s Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has a long history of success in the racing world, having won the inaugural Pegasus Cup four years ago with Arrogate and two Triple Crowns with American Pharaoh and Justify. He was thrilled to add another high profile win to his resume with the talented team of Mucho Gusto and Ortiz Jr.

“He looked great in the warm-up,” Baffert explained. “Irad Ortiz did a pretty masterful job – he has a lot of speed but the key was to get a good break and get over right away. And I just left it up to [Irad]; just keep him in the clear. When he was down inside, I thought, ‘I hope he knows what he’s doing,’ but he did. He knows that track really well. It was a great performance by him and the horse.”

Luis Saez finished third in the race on Mr. Freeze, owned by Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister and trained by Dale Romans.

Earlier in the day, Ortiz Jr. rode Phat Man to the win in the $150k Fred W. Hooper One Mile, the horse’s first graded-stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

“The race set up for him,” Ortiz Jr. said about Phat Man. We knew there was going to be a strong pace, we wanted him to be forwardly placed, but at the same time relaxed. He was there when I asked him. He ran a good race.”

In the $1 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf, Tyler Gaffalione finished in first aboard Zulu Alpha, owned by Michael Hui and Trained by Michael Maker.

“The horse broke well and the speed set up in front of us,” Gaffalione said. “I was able to let my horse settle. They just kept opening up and I didn’t see any reason to go around them, so we just stayed on the fence, and he really exploded down in there and finished the job. He honestly got more competitive down in there.”

Ortiz Jr. and Instilled Regard, owned by Oxo Equine LLC and trained by Chad Brown, finished in third in the turf race, while Jose Ortiz and Sacred Life, trained by Chad Brown and owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stables and Bethlehem Stables LLC, took fourth.

It was truly a day of domination for American Equus jockeys at Gulfstream Park, with Saez winning the 1 Mile Fillies race on Silver Kitten, the $200k Turf Fillies race on Mean Mary, and taking second in the Three-Year-Old Maiden race with Gimme Some Mo. In the $150k Turf Fillies race, Ortiz Jr. took the victory on Jean Elizabeth, while Jose Ortiz and Girls Know Best finished close behind in second. The $150k Fillies saw Castellano cross the finish first with Atomic Blonde, while Ortiz and Mitchell Road took second and Gaffalione and La Feve took third. Ortiz and Pink Sands were also victorious in the $200k Fillies race.

Emma Miller
em@phelpsmediagroup.com