"Once she took to the dirt it's been unbelievable." In June, McLaughlin was thinking about retiring the filly, but moved her to the dirt and now she's won three in a row. "I was concerned when I saw 1:09 and change for three-quarters but when I looked back most of the others were riding hard so I was confident when turning for home," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said.įor Questing, the victory - her second straight Grade I - put her on top of the 3-year-old division. Still, it didn't seem likely that Ortiz would win the Alabama after Questing whistled through the first six furlongs in 1:09.74, but the 3-year-old filly kept on running, pouring it on through the lane despite racing erratically, stopping the clock in a quick 2:01.29, the fastest Alabama since 1990 (Go for Wand).
He was taken off the track on a stretcher and brought to Saratoga Hospital, where X-rays came back negative.Īfter winning the first race on Saturday aboard Cyberton, Ortiz was thrown from his mount, Mighty Lover, in the sixth race but got up after taking a few stumbles on the turf course. On Friday afternoon, it didn't seem likely that Ortiz would be even in position to win the Alabama as he was thrown from his mount while loading for the start of the third race and complained of ankle pain. "I've never been aboard another horse like that." "She's incredible," said the 20-year-old Ortiz, who was winning just his third career Grade I race. Lopez was second with 98 winners.SARATOGA SPRINGS - It's been an incredible 24-hours for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.įrom a stretcher, to the hospital, to being dropped and finally to the winner's circle as he brought home Questing to a nine-length victory in Saturday's $600,000 Alabama Stakes. Ortiz was by far the leading rider at the 2020-2021 Gulfstream Champions Meet with 140 wins from 525 mounts (27%). His G1 winners in 2021 included Life is Good in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Golden Pal in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Letruska in the Apple Blossom, and Colonel Liam in the Pegasus Turf Invitational. He led the nation in wins with 336 in 2021 and was second behind Rosario in earnings. Irad’s return will have a major impact on the jock’s leaderboard as he rides most of Chad Brown’s top horses. He returns to Gulfstream on Thursday (Jan. 7 after his suspension for reckless riding at Aqueduct on Dec. Irad Ortiz has been on the sideline since Dec. Junior Alvarado is next with eight from 42 starters (19%). On the Tapita course, it is Saez leading with 11 wins. Saez and Lopez lead the way in turf winners with five apiece through Jan. To illustrate Saez’s dominance on the main track, the next closest jockeys have been Lopez with eight wins and Emisael Jaramillo and Edgard Zayas with six wins each. Irad Ortiz on Dunbar Road – Photo by NYRA/Coglianese Photo Irad most dominant on the dirt His stats are strong on all three surfaces at Gulfstream (turf, dirt, Tapeta), but it is on the main track where he’s really standing tall over the other riders, currently winning over one-third of his starts on the dirt (20 wins through Jan.
Joel Rosario, meanwhile, is recovering from bruised ribs, but when he returns, he’ll be based at Oaklawn Park with many quick trips for top races at Gulfstream. John Velazquez currently has four wins from 14 mounts for 29%, but he’s riding primarily at Santa Anita this winter.
Saez has a commanding lead, with Paco Lopez second at 24 wins and Tyler Gaffalione second in winning percentage at 20%. Last year, Irad easily won the riding title with 140 winners, while Jose won 50 races. Jockey Luis Saez – Photo Courtesy of Īs we move into the second weekend of 2022, Saez has control of the jockey leaderboard at Gulfstream’s Champions Meet – he already has 38 victories from his first 138 mounts for a 28% win rate.
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