Irad Ortiz Jr.

Peter Brant's In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {GB}), last seen finishing second in the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf, returned to the races with a dominant wire-to-wire victory in the GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off the 3-5 favorite for her 5-year-old debut, the chestnut mare bound out to the early lead and was in control through fractions of :23.63 and :47.29. Asked to go by Irad Ortiz at the top of the lane, she extended her advantage in the blink of an eye and she...

Leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. equaled the record for most wins by a jockey on a card at Gulfstream Park Friday after riding the winners of seven consecutive races on a nine-race program. Ortiz shares the Gulfstream record with four other jockeys: Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey (3/11/96), Tyler Gaffalione (7/4/17), Luis Saez (1/24/18; 3/29/18) and Paco Lopez (3/21/20). Ortiz became the only jockey in Gulfstream history to win seven races in a row. "It feels great. Everything worked out so good today. Everything came out perfect out there. It...

When Trevor McCarthy went down in a spill Friday at Aqueduct and broke his collar bone and his pelvis, retired rider Richard Migliore said he was upset but not surprised. Migliore, whose son Joe Migliore is McCarthy's jockey agent, said he had been growing increasingly concerned as New York riders continued to be more and more aggressive while the stewards seem to look the other way. Something like this, he figured, was bound to happen, he said. "People run into each other now with impunity," said Migliore, an analyst on...

A pillar-to-post winner of a maiden special weight here over a sloppy 6 1/2 furlongs Oct. 2, GOOD SAM (f, 2, Good Samaritan--Twizzler, by Twirling Candy) stepped up to a mile with aplomb, handing her freshman sire his first black-type winner in the process Sunday. Heavily favored, the Peter Brant silksbearer was part of the early pace discussion perched three deep down the backstretch. She eventually settled in a stalking third while punching the breeze through a half-mile in :46.84. Revved up for her bid by Irad Ortiz, Jr. as...

LEXINGTON, KY - Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola bought 43 yearlings for more than $16 million to top the sheets for the first of two straight years at the 2021 Keeneland September sale. 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), a $110,000 purchase out of that auction, made good on the duo's significant investment in the industry by capping his 2-year-old season with a championship-worthy performance for trainer Todd Pletcher in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Repole Stable, Viola's St. Elias Stable and Pletcher previously teamed up to capture the 2019 GI...

Irad Ortiz, Jr. paced all other riders at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet to secure the leading rider title with 35 wins. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano came in second [27 wins] with Manny Franco and Jose Lezcano tied for third [23 wins]. Ortiz, Jr. earned his 21st NYRA meet title on the heels of a strong summer meet at Saratoga Race Course where he posted 55 wins. Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown earned his fourth NYRA meet title of the year with 24 winners, finishing...

On paper, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta and Gainesway Stable's Capensis (Tapit), a $2-million Keeneland September yearling purchase and impressive debut winner at Belmont early this summer, was the most lightly-raced yet still appeared to be among the top contenders in Colonial's GIII New Kent County Virginia Derby Tuesday evening. Backed down to 8-5 favoritism while stepping up to graded company following a sixth in a Saratoga allowance July 30, the flashy grey swept from off the pace late, and despite running greenly in the stretch, took home the lion's...

Life Is Good (Into Mischief) caught a flier right out of the gate, strutted his stuff up front for six furlongs and fought off a pair of stubborn challengers through the Saratoga stretch to capture Saturday's $1-million GI Whitney S., punch his ticket to the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic and stick his nose in front of a crowded Horse of the Year race. Running away to a 9 1/2-length debut romp and 'TDN Rising Star' honors for Bob Baffert in November of 2020 at Del Mar, the $525,000 Keeneland...

Already off to a hot start with his first-crop runners that includes a Group 2 winner in Ireland, Triple Crown winner Justify wasted no time putting an American graded stakes win on the board as his daughter Just Cindy kicked clear late to take Thursday's opening-day GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga, the first graded event for juveniles run in North America in 2022. Unveiled as a poorly-kept secret at 6-5 going 5 1/2 furlongs June 17 at Churchill Downs, the Clarkland Farm homebred settled off the pace professionally and drew...

Trainer Chad Brown notched a record-extending seventh consecutive training title at the Belmont spring/summer meeting with 47 victories, the record for most wins earned by a trainer at a Belmont spring/summer meet. Irad Ortiz, Jr. secured the leading rider title with 48 wins, while Michael Dubb paced all owners with 16 wins. The Belmont spring/summer meet was conducted for 44 days from Apr. 28 through July 10. The previous training record of 44 victories, set by David Jacobson at the 56-day 2013 spring/summer meet, was broken when 3-year-old filly Demandsrespect...

6th-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 6-26, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:17.35, ft, 5 3/4 lengths. ACCRETIVE (g, 3, Practical Joke--Mallory Street {SP, $111,837}, by Street Sense), bet hard for this belated unveiling Sunday at Belmont, ran to the money with a dominant victory despite covering significantly much more ground than all of his rivals. Displaying a shark worktab from Chad Brown's auxiliary base at Monmouth, capped by a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 (1/7) June 17, the gelding was favored throughout the wagering before breaking as the 5-4 chalk. Settling in fifth...

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Was handed a five-day suspension Wednesday by the Royal Ascot stewards for his ride aboard Love Reigns (Ire) (US Navy Flag) in the GII Queen Mary S. earlier in the day. According to the Ascot Stewards' Report posted on the British Horseracing Authority's website, Ortiz allowed his mount "to drift left-handed without sufficient correction." The incident occurred a sixteenth of a mile into the race when Ortiz allowed the Wesley Ward-trained filly to drift, impeding three others.  The stewards' report noted that Omniqueen (GB) (Tasleet) {GB})...