Jose Ortiz will ride Journalism for the first time in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Aron Wellman, the managing director of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, a syndicate that co-owns Journalism, said the decision was made on Friday morning to replace previous rider Umberto Rispoli. Wellman declined to elaborate on the reason for the change. Matt Nakatani, Rispoli’s agent, said late Friday morning that he did not have an immediate replacement mount for Rispoli in the BC Classic. Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, has been one of the leading 3-year-olds in the nation this year, along with Sovereignty, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes among other races. Journalism won the Santa Anita Derby in April, the Preakness Stakes in May, and the Haskell Invitational in July. In his most recent start, Journalism finished second to BC Classic hopeful Fierceness in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic for 3-year-olds and older horses at Del Mar on Aug. 30. :: BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more The Pacific Classic was run at 1 1/4 miles, the same distance as the BC Classic. Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, has won 6 of 10 starts and earned $3,998,880. Rispoli was aboard for five of the wins. Ricky Gonzalez rode Journalism to a maiden race win at Del Mar last November in the colt’s second start. Through Thursday, Ortiz ranks third in the nation in purse earnings, with $27.5 million. Flavien Prat leads the list with more than $31.5 million. During the Saratoga summer meeting, Ortiz won three Grade 1 races – the Alabama Stakes on Nitrogen, Ballerina Stakes on Hope Road, and Test Stakes on Kilwin. Ortiz, 32, won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding jockey of 2017. Journalism works five furlongs On Friday at Santa Anita, Journalism worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds. He worked in company with a stablemate, who could not keep pace through the entire workout. The pair started the workout behind a horse from a different stable that Journalism caught and passed in the stretch. “The horse that broke [in front] might have done us a nice favor,” Wellman said. Journalism’s “company didn’t carry him inside the eighth pole, but this horse did. We wanted someone to carry him to the wire.” Friday’s workout was the fifth for Journalism since the Pacific Classic. On Oct. 10, Journalism went a half-mile in 49 seconds. ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save big. “The fact that he will have nine weeks between races, we gave him a smooth solo drill last week,” Wellman said. “We were looking for something a lot more serious today.” Wellman said that Journalism will ship to Del Mar in coming days, and have one workout there. The Del Mar track will open for training on Monday. “He’ll get reacquainted with Del Mar and breeze sometime late next week or during the weekend,” Wellman said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.