Cancel to miss three months, Ortiz off Saturday mounts

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Jockey Eric Cancel will undergo surgery this week to repair a broken foot and will be out of action for three months, his agent P.J. Campo said Saturday.

Cancel was unseated in a race at Belmont Park June 17 when his mount, Fast Corey, ducked in and crashed through the inside rail in a turf race. Cancel limped off the turf course that day favoring his right ankle.

Cancel has ridden only two horses since, but was named on six horses Saturday at Saratoga. He took off those mounts.

According to Campo, Cancel has been in some pain but three different sets of X-rays did not show anything. Cancel underwent an MRI earlier this week that revealed a crack in his foot, Campo said.

“Tough kid, I feel bad for him, but if it’s going to happen this is the time of year for it to happen,” Campo said. “Hopefully he can be back in October when things are a little easier.”

Cancel was the leading rider at the 2020-21 Aqueduct winter meet when he won six races on the closing-day card. He was the fifth-leading rider at the 2023 Aqueduct winter meet.

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Ortiz sits out Saturday

Jose Ortiz took off his 10 mounts Saturday at Saratoga after suffering bruised ribs in a spill at the end of Friday’s first race.

Ortiz was on Same Old Fears, who was part of a four-horse scramble to the finish when a chain reaction of bumping nearing the finish line caused his horse to stumble, unseating Ortiz.

Ortiz was transported to Albany Medical Center where he was diagnosed with the bruised ribs.

Steve Rushing, Ortiz’s agent, said his rider is “day-to-day” and did not rule out riding Sunday.

Ortiz was listed on 10 mounts in Saturday’s 11-races and has six mounts on Sunday’s 10-race card.

Ortiz, who was the leading rider at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, is the second-leading rider at the Saratoga meet with eight wins from 40 mounts.

Trainer Wesley Ward reported Saturday that Same Old Fears came out of that incident uninjured.

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