Ortiz returns at Gulfstream after 30-day suspension
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Superstar jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was back riding Thursday at Gulfstream Park for the first time since sitting out 30 calendar days for a couple of riding infractions. Ortiz was suspended by the New York stewards for separate incidents on Dec. 3 and 4 at Aqueduct, when he had last been active.
Ortiz rode in five races. His first mount, Macedonian, was virtually eased in the day’s second race, after which he talked briefly with two reporters on the walk back to the jockeys’ room. Ortiz seemed genuinely contrite for the Aqueduct incidents that led to him being slammed on social media and elsewhere. Racing fans and some fellow horsemen have expressed outrage at riding tactics they described as overly aggressive to downright dangerous.
“It was a mistake,” Ortiz said. “I’m human. Everybody makes mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. I made a mistake and I did my suspension. The stewards did their job, they gave me my suspension and I paid for it, so that’s it.”
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On Dec. 3, Ortiz permitted his mount to interfere with a horse ridden by Omar Hernandez Moreno, who was fortunate to escape injury when falling from his mount. On Dec. 4, riding the victorious Mo Donegal in the Grade 2 Remsen, Ortiz flung out his elbows in an exaggerated fashion while engaging in a tight duel in deep stretch, appearing to graze the head of a rival horse. Following an objection and inquiry, Mo Donegal was allowed to remain the winner by the stewards.
After his first mount Thursday, Ortiz then won back-to-back races in different fashion, going gate to wire on Time to Two Step ($8) in race 3 before rallying from off the pace with Miss Ella ($3.60) in race 4. He then was third with Roadtriptonowhere (race 5) and seventh with Lee Ann’s Warrior (race 10) in his last two rides.
“I’m just happy to be back riding, honestly,” he said.
Ortiz, 29, is the three-time reigning Eclipse Award winner (2018-20) for outstanding jockey. Besides his numerous feats in New York, his primary base, he has dominated in recent winters at Gulfstream, including last year, when he set a track record with 140 winners at the 2020-21 championship meet.
Walder halts a slump
The first Ortiz winner, Time to Two Step, came for trainer Peter Walder, who an hour earlier had won the day’s first race with Exponential ($7.40) to disrupt a dismal 1-for-40 streak dating to late October. Last year at this time, Walder won with seven starters in a row.
“It’s awful to go through such a bad patch,” Walder said. “I’m a very streaky trainer, and it was starting to get to me. It kind of reminded me of my last year at Woodbine” in 1997, when he was 1 for 32. “I put a lot of pressure on myself and you hear about people saying negative things about you. I’m just glad we broke through.”
Walder has three starters Sunday, including a couple of major contenders in County Court (race 2) and Ask for Bode (race 4).
“Hopefully, we’ll keep it going,” he said.
Walder, 53, said he intends to send a small string to New York in April while leaving most of his 30-horse stable here at Gulfstream.