GULFSTREAM NOTES: Jockey Jose Ortiz to Ride Final Month of Championship Meet
By David Joseph —-
Jockey Jose Ortiz to Ride Final Month of Championship Meet
G2 Holy Bull Anchors Guaranteed Multi-Race Pools Saturday
New Gelding Mutaraamy Ends Layoff with Maiden Win
Rainbow 6 Carryover Reaches $377,728 for Thursday
Jose Ortiz; NYRA Photos
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Starting next month, jockey Jose Ortiz will bring his riding talents to Gulfstream Park on a full-time basis through the end of the Championship Meet April 2.
Ortiz, 23, enjoyed a career year in 2016 where he topped all North American jockeys with 351 wins, captured the prestigious Saratoga Race Course riding title and was the leading rider on the NYRA circuit.
His year saw him named an Eclipse Award finalist along with Hall of Famer Mike Smith, a two-time winner, and Javier Castellano, who picked up his fourth straight trophy during the Jan. 21 ceremony at Gulfstream.
“It’s great for a young guy like me to be in this position right now and show that I can do it. In the month of March I’m coming down to ride, and I’m looking forward to coming here to ride again next winter,” Ortiz said. “I think it’s the right time for me to try. I think this year I should have come but I was getting married and I’m having a baby so I wanted to stay home one more year.”
Ortiz had one winner from two mounts Wednesday at Gulfstream, rallying from far back to take the 10th race finale with Uncle Guy ($7). He is named in three races Thursday and four Friday before returning to New York, where he also won Aqueduct’s winter and spring meets and Belmont Park’s spring-summer stand last year. Following Gulfstream, Ortiz plans to ride the spring and fall meets at both Keeneland and Belmont and defend his Saratoga title.
A winner of nearly 1,200 races since coming to the U.S. in March 2013, Ortiz enjoyed a huge weekend that began Jan. 28 at Gulfstream where he won two races including the La Prevoyante (G3) with Suffused and was second aboard Shaman Ghost in the inaugural $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
The next day Ortiz won three stakes at Sam Houston: the Houston Ladies Classic (G3) with Unbridled Mo, John B. Connally Turf Cup (G3) aboard Biggest Picture and Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint on Partly Mocha.
Ortiz married New York-based jockey Taylor Rice, the niece of trainer Linda Rice, on Dec. 20. They are expecting their first child, a daughter, in July.
“I’m flying all over the place and doing great. I’m just thankful to God for keeping me healthy and thankful for the opportunity and my family,” Ortiz said. “Everything is going great. It’s exciting. Everything is going in the right direction right now.”
G2 Holy Bull Anchors Guaranteed Multi-Race Pools Saturday
The 28th running of the $350,000 Lambholm South Holy Bull (G2) will anchor guaranteed pools in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, 50-cent Late Pick 4 and 50-cent Late Pick 5 wagers Saturday.
The Rainbow 6, which will span Races 7-12, will be guaranteed at $750,000 if not solved before Saturday. The jackpot was last taken down Jan. 16 for $72,17958 and has already produced three triple-digit payoffs at the Championship Meet, including a $505,610.72 return Dec. 30.
The Late Pick 4 (Races 9-12) will be guaranteed at $500,000 while the Late Pick 5 (Races 8-12) will have a $250,000 guarantee. Also included in the multi-race sequences is the $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on grass in Race 11.
A total of five stakes, four graded, worth $950,000 in purses help comprise Saturday’s program, including the $100,000 Kitten’s Joy, $200,000 Swale (G2) and $200,000 Forward Gal (G2), contested as Races 4-6.
New Gelding Mutaraamy Ends Layoff with Maiden Win
Shadwell Stable’s Mutaraamy, racing for the first time in nearly 10 months, took the lead approaching the stretch and drew off to a 3 ½-length victory in Wednesday’s third race.
It was also the first start since being gelded for the 4-year-old son of Tapit, who sold for $500,000 as a yearling in 2014.
“He was just tough and always real aggressive and tough to train, so Rick Nichols at Shadwell said to go ahead and geld him, it should help him, and it helped him,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “He ran very well today. He’s got some ability so hopefully we can keep going and have a good year.”
Unraced at 2, Mutaraamy debuted last February at Gulfstream where he was second to eventual multiple graded stakes winner Unified. He finished third as the favorite in a maiden special weight in April at Keeneland that produced four next-out winners and would turn out to be his last race of 2016.
“He had some bruising of the cannon bones, not a big deal,” McLaughlin said. “We’ll come back in a never-won-two allowance race, but it’s great that he got here in good shape and won well.”
Rainbow 6 Carryover Reaches $377,728 for Thursday
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 11th consecutive racing program Wednesday, growing the jackpot carryover to $377,728 for Thursday’s 11-race program.
First race post time is 12:35 p.m.
Multiple tickets were sold with all six winners Wednesday, each worth $957.20.
The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on days when a mandatory payout is scheduled, the entire pool is shared by those holding tickets with the most winners.
There will also be a carryover of $3,284.56 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Thursday’s opener.
Who’s Hot: Meet-leading rider Luis Saez added three more wins Wednesday with Mutaraamy ($2.40) in the third race, Majestic Tom ($19.20) in the seventh and Completely Bonkers ($5.80) in the eighth. Joel Rosario posted a riding double aboard Clyde’s Queen ($5) in the fifth and Follow No One ($3) in the ninth.
Rainbow 6 Carryover: $377,728.28
Super Hi-5 Carryover: $3,284.56
Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets.