Ortiz, TriStar riding high with Doc Sullivan Moe Eighty Eight
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Doc Sullivan won his third stakes race of the year and stated a case to be New York-bred champion older dirt male with his victory in the Alex M. Robb Stakes last Friday at Aqueduct.
But that may not have been the most exciting thing to happen for trainer John Ortiz and owner TriStar Farm last week.
The day after Doc Sullivan won the Robb, Ortiz and TriStar, the nom de course of Glen Lostritto and his family’s longtime New York breeding and racing operation, sent out Moe Eighty Eight to a 12 1/4-length victory in a second-level allowance. On a day when Aqueduct’s main track was not playing particularly fast, Moe Eighty Eight covered seven furlongs in 1:22.65 and earned a 109 Beyer Speed Figure. The win came a month after Moe Eighty Eight won a first-level statebred allowance by 8 1/2 lengths. Moe Eighty Eight, a gelding by Solomini, had made five of his first six starts on turf.
“We expected a good horse to perform again, just kind of shocked and amazed that he’s developed after each start,” Ortiz said. “Came back and did it even easier than I thought he would have. I wanted him to have a little challenge today. I thought it was a competitive race, but it’s always good to see a good horse develop.”
In 2026, Doc Sullivan will be 5 and Moe Eighty Eight will be 4, making both eligible for the same older dirt male races, particularly in the New York-bred division. However, both are performing like open-company stakes horses.
Ortiz said he will give both horses a couple of weeks of doing nothing before starting to plot a campaign.
“We’ll make that plan once these horses come back,” said Ortiz, who noted both horses will remain at Belmont Park for their mini-vacation. “They’re two different horses, yet they’re both really good horses. We have a lot to decide. It just looks like we’re going to have a lot of fun in the upcoming year with both horses.”
Two victories each by Doc Sullivan and Moe Eighty Eight were part of an Aqueduct fall meet in which TriStar won 8 of 16 starts and Ortiz went 8 for 15. The owner-trainer tandem looked to complete the meet on a winning note in Wednesday’s first race with Where’s Your Boom, a 2-year-old New York-bred gelding who finished second in his first two starts.
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