Paris Lights wins stretch battle with Portal Creek in Distaff Handicap

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Junior Alvarado opted to ride at Gulfstream Park this winter in large part to continue his professional relationship with trainer Bill Mott.

The move paid off handsomely, with Alvarado riding 17 winners from 62 mounts from Mott during a Gulfstream meet in which Alvarado rode 53 winners overall to finish sixth in the standings.

On his first day back in New York, Alvarado rode two horses for Mott at Aqueduct, including Paris Lights, whom he guided to a gritty half-length victory over Portal Creek in the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap. Paris Lights, making her first start since she won the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks last July at Saratoga, has now won four straight races.

Overall, it was Alvarado’s fifth stakes win for Mott so far in 2021.

“We’ve been a great team for the past eight years and last year and this year I’ve been pretty strong with Bill Mott and I’m just enjoying the ride I’m on right now,” said Alvarado, who was riding Paris Lights for the first time.

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Alvarado said one thing he likes about working with Mott is the freedom to ride a race how he sees fit.

“It’s been great working with Billy Mott, he lets me decide,” Alvarado said. “Once in a while, I might call him before the race if something looks a little tricky and then we try to figure it out, but at the end of the day he always will tell me this is what we want to do but you decide.”

Alvarado wanted to make sure Paris Lights broke alertly and he had her in second, about a length off of pacesetting Portal Creek, who ran a quarter in 24.04 seconds and a half-mile in 48.28.

Paris Lights gradually got to Portal Creek, but the latter was pretty game battling back under Kendrick Carmouche. Alvarado kept after Paris Lights, and though she was drifting out a little bit late, she was able to prevail over Portal Creek, who finished a neck in front of Honor Way for second. Kansas Kis and Lady Kate completed the order of finish.

“I was hoping for her to give me a good break and put myself second in a stalking position, and that’s how it worked out,” Alvarado said. “When I got to the lead, she started wandering a little bit, she didn’t kick on, was kind of waiting on horses. Being off for a little while, she might have got lost on me a little bit there.”

Paris Lights, owned by WinStar Stablemates Racing, covered the seven furlongs in 1:26.99 and returned $4.60 as the favorite, going from 9-5 to 6-5 in the last flash.

Mott said earlier this week that a good performance Friday could earn Paris Lights a start in the Grade 1 La Troienne, at 1 1/16 miles, on April 30 at Churchill Downs.

* Irad Ortiz Jr. won four races from five mounts on Friday’s card, including the first two turf races run on this circuit this year, both for trainer Chad Brown.

In two days at Aqueduct, Irad Ortiz is 6 for 11. His brother, Jose, is 5 for 9.