Hot-riding Ortiz taking trip to England

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Irad Ortiz Jr., who is on a major hot streak at Saratoga, will be taking his talents to England on Friday to ride the 2-year-old filly Acapulco against older males and females in the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe, a five-furlong turf stakes at York.

Acapulco, trained by Wesley Ward, won the Group 1 Queen Mary at the Royal Ascot meeting against 2-year-olds. Ward said he is excited about trying this from the mere standpoint that his filly gets in with 112 pounds, 27 fewer than the older horses.

Ward should also be excited to have Ortiz, who after winning five races on Sunday’s card – his first five-win day at Saratoga – has catapulted to the top of the rider standings at Saratoga with 34 victories entering Monday’s action. Over his last eight days at Saratoga, Ortiz won 21 races from 55 mounts.

Ortiz, who turned 23 on Aug. 11, traveled to Arlington Park last Saturday and went winless with five graded stakes mounts. Ortiz is expected to ride most of his mounts Thursday at Saratoga but might have to take off his last two in order to travel to England. He flies privately from Saratoga to Philadelphia and then on to England. On Friday, he flies back to New York, getting into JFK Airport around 11 p.m. He is expected to ride Saturday’s Saratoga card.

“If you want to ride good horses, and I want to do that, I have to do whatever I have to do,” Ortiz said. “I went to Arlington and back, and now we’re going to England. It’s a lot of airports and flights. I don’t love that, but we have to do it. It’s part of the business.”