Jose Ortiz swoops in to win Oklahoma Derby aboard Silent Tactic
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Silent Tactic, a distant trailer in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes last month, rebounded for a game victory in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday at Remington Park. With a highly proficient ride from Jose Ortiz, the Mark Casse-trained 3-year-old rallied from seventh to defeat Zihnal by a neck.
Ortiz, who rode in seven races at Churchill Downs on Sunday, flew from Kentucky to Oklahoma in the evening to ride Silent Tactic for the first time. He replaced Cristian Torres, who was involved in a multi-horse spill at Churchill last weekend.
When the race came down to the best closing trip, Casse’s decision to recruit Ortiz made the difference. The 8-1 pacesetter Tricky Business caved after completing the opening quarter-mile in 23.35 seconds and half-mile in 48.21, setting the table for those behind.
The stalking outsiders Vintage Cowboy, Crupper, and J J Grey failed to make serious bids, leaving Silent Tactic, Zihnal, and The Hell We Did to fire from farther back for the victory. The Hell We Did and jockey Ramon Vazquez were shuffled back entering the far turn, leaving him with too much to do late.
In the end, the race came down to the 3-2 co-favorites, and after rallying three wide from seventh into fourth, Ortiz went back inside with Silent Tactic on the far turn and slipped through on the rail to take a short lead at the top of the stretch. Zihnal had the early jump from fifth but had to travel wide into contention under John Velazquez.
Even with the perfect ground-saving trip, Silent Tactic still needed to dig deep against Zihnal, the winner of the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby for Jonathan Thomas last time out.
Velazquez had the improving 3-year-old flying late and might have gotten the job done with one more push, but he ran out of gears in the final strides. Silent Tactic ran on and did just enough to prevail, completing the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:50.31 and paying $5 to win.
Ortiz had previously won six races at Remington, but Silent Tactic gave the jockey his first graded stakes victory at the track. Casse had not run a horse in Oklahoma since 2012.
Zihnal finished four lengths clear of The Hell We Did, who could have done a little more with a better trip for trainer Todd Fincher.
Pavlovian stumbled badly at the start and unseated jockey David Cabrera, who walked off.
The Oklahoma Derby was Silent Tactic’s first Grade 3 start since he won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in February. Despite withdrawing from Kentucky Derby consideration because of a foot injury, the colt has had a demanding 3-year-old campaign, finishing second in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and Grade 2 Rebel and third in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy. His disappointing effort in the Travers was the worst performance of his career by far, but it did not take long for him to rectify it.
For a horse like Zihnal, the Oklahoma Derby represented another chance to demonstrate late-blooming form while staying away from the Grade 1 titans. For Silent Tactic, it was a chance to escape those waters and get back to business. Casse sensed the moment, and with Ortiz arriving on a plane from Kentucky, the trainer clearly wasn’t taking half measures.
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