For Jose Ortiz, a quiet end to ‘unbelievable' year

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When Jose Ortiz guided In the Lee to victory in Sunday’s allowance feature at Aqueduct, it was the 266th – and final – victory of 2017 for the 24-year-old jockey. For Ortiz, his next race is the one for an Eclipse Award, one he seems likely and wants very badly to win.

On Tuesday, Ortiz was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a ligament in his left knee that he first injured in a spill Sept. 20 at Belmont Park. It was not a serious injury – he only missed a week of riding at the time – but doctors feel it’s better to clean the knee up now rather than risk further damage down the road. The recovery time will be six to eight weeks, giving Ortiz ample time to reflect on the best year of his life.

Professionally, Ortiz won his first classic race when he guided Tapwrit to victory in the Belmont Stakes. He also won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile aboard Good Magic, giving him the early favorite for next May’s Kentucky Derby. Even though Ortiz won’t ride the final four weeks of the year, he should finish 2017 as the leader in purse money won. His $27,181,860 is $1.3 million more than Mike Smith – and that’s factoring in the $6 million Smith is credited for winning the $10 million Dubai World Cup. It is nearly $3 million more than Javier Castellano’s $24.2 million. Castellano has won the Eclipse Award the last four years and has virtually conceded this year’s award to Ortiz.

“I have had a good year,” Castellano said. “But he had a great year.”

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Ortiz will likely finish fourth in North America in wins with 266. His brother Irad Ortiz Jr. leads that category with 288 victories through Sunday. Jose Ortiz ranks third in graded stakes wins with 30, and his 13 Grade 1 victories in North America leads all jockeys.

Ortiz said he would liked to have continued riding in December to pursue Castellano’s earnings record of $28.1 million set in 2015.

“I wish I could have kept going because the $28 million record is close,” Ortiz said over the weekend. “But even if I rode, I probably wouldn’t get there.”

Ortiz smiles and pauses when asked if he feels he’s done enough to win the Eclipse Award, for which he was a finalist last year.

“It’s not up to me, but I think I’ve done a lot in 11 months,” he said.

Ortiz summed up his year in one world – “unbelievable.” In addition to victories in the Belmont and Breeders’ Cup, Ortiz won Grade 1 staples such as the Alabama, Manhattan, Test, Secretariat, Vosburgh, and Flower Bowl.

“You don’t expect everything to happen in one year, to win all the big races in the same year,” Ortiz said.

Personally, it also was a great a year for Ortiz. On Dec. 20, he will celebrate his one-year wedding anniversary with former rider Taylor Rice. In July, the couple had their first child, Leilani.

“She has changed my life,” Ortiz said. “I’ve fallen in love with her. She’s growing up, she laughs and she wants to talk already. She’s the best thing that happened in my life.”

Ortiz said he hopes to begin rehabilitation on his knee on Thursday or Friday. He will stay in New York through the end of the year then head to south Florida to continue rehab and start getting on horses in early-to-mid January. When he resumes riding, it will be at Gulfstream Park this winter, and he hopes to be back in time to ride the $16 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27 if he can secure a mount.

Then there is the business of hopefully getting to the Kentucky Derby with Good Magic. Trained by Chad Brown, Good Magic is likely to have two starts before the Derby though Brown has yet to map out a schedule.

“I love the horse, I hope he stays sound,” Ortiz said. “He’s a very good horse, I think he will improve.”