Jose Ortiz to ride in Saudi Arabia this week
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Jose Ortiz will miss this upcoming week at Aqueduct as he will be in Saudi Arabia to ride several horses at King Abdulaziz Racetrack on Friday and Saturday.
Ortiz said there are several important races for locally based horses who may or may not be pointing to the rich Saudi World Cup program at the end of February.
One of the horses Ortiz will ride is Eajabee in Saturday’s King Abduallah Cup, a 1,600-meter race that is a considered a Group 1 for Saudi-based horses. The purse is $800,000 Saudi Arabia (around $213,000 U.S.). Eajabee has won three of five starts.
There are several other Group 1 races on that card and Ortiz is expected to ride in most of them.
Ortiz, the Eclipse Award-winning rider in 2017, opted to forgo Gulfstream Park this winter and ride at Aqueduct. He is the third-leading rider at the winter meet in wins with 13 from 73 mounts. He also ranks third in purse money won with $1,004,803.