Ortiz puts in the miles to work Letruska, First Captain
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jockey Jose Ortiz was a man on the move Friday morning.
At 7:45 a.m., Ortiz was at the Palm Meadows training center where he guided the champion mare Letruska through a five-furlong move in 1:00.50. Shortly before 9:30, Ortiz was at Gulfstream Park – about a 45-minute drive from Palm Meadows – to work First Captain a half-mile in 48.84 seconds.
Letruska is pointing to the Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 23 at Oaklawn Park. First Captain is scheduled to make his next start in the Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct next Saturday.
Letruska, coming off a three-length win the Grade 3 Royal Delta here Feb. 26, was timed by Palm Meadows clockers in splits of 25.20 and 37.20, and she galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.60 and seven-eighths in 1:25.20.
“I think she’s doing great,” Ortiz said. “She looked beautiful. I think she put on a lot of weight. I think she needed that race.”
Letruska went 6 for 8 last year, with Grade 1 victories in the Apple Blossom, Ogden Phipps, Personal Ensign, and Spinster, four races that trainer Fausto Gutierrez hopes to make again this year. Letruska’s 2021 campaign ended with a 10th-place finish after being used up in a speed duel in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Gutierrez said Letruska would ship to Keeneland this week then move on to Oaklawn three or four days before the Apple Blossom. Gutierrez said he was “very happy” with Letruska’s Friday workout.
“She’s 6 years old, but she’s in very good form from the break after a very strong season,” Gutierrez said. “I think it helped a lot.”
Later Friday morning, Ortiz was aboard First Captain, who went a half-mile in 48.84 outside the 3-year-old maiden Trending. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.81, six furlongs in 1:15.31, and seven furlongs in 1:29.25.
“I was very happy with his work,” Ortiz said. “He’s a very laid-back horse, but he worked good. I liked the work. I think he galloped out well and I think he’s ready.”
Last year at 3, First Captain went 3 for 4 with a victory in the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes. He was given ample time off and returned with a narrow victory in an allowance here Feb. 27.
“He’s come out of the race very forward,” said Shug McGaughey, trainer of First Captain. “I’m pleased with the way he’s doing.”
First Captain is scheduled to ship to New York on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Ortiz was scheduled to finish out his Gulfstream meet on Sunday. He will again be a man on the move next week, riding at Keeneland on Friday and Sunday with a trip to Aqueduct in between on Saturday.