Trainer John Ortiz has day of wide-ranging emotions at Saratoga
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In just 24 hours, John Ortiz experienced all the emotions involved with training Thoroughbred horses.
On Saturday afternoon, Ortiz had to scratch his Grade 1-winning filly Brightwork from the Grade 1 Test Stakes - what would have been her first start in nine months - when she flipped in the paddock, suffering what fortunately were just superficial cuts and scrapes.
On Sunday morning, Ortiz experienced the lowest of lows when his maiden 3-year-old colt Point Clear suffered fatal injuries to his leg and neck after completing a half-mile workout over Saratoga’s main track. On Sunday afternoon, Ortiz got to experience the thrill of victory as he watched his 2-year-old filly Quietside win her career debut by 6 1/4 lengths in Saratoga’s first race.
“This is a stupid game we play, I don’t know why we play it, you got to be psycho to enjoy this,” Ortiz, smiling, said in the winner’s circle.
Quietside, a daughter of Malibu Moon, is a homebred for John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable. She is the first foal out of the Grade 2 stakes-winning mare Benner Island. Quietside, under Luis Saez, sat a beautiful stalking trip behind dueling leaders before taking command in upper stretch.
“We had a very rough morning today and honestly that’s a blessing,” Ortiz said of Quietside’s victory. “We’re just happy to see her cross the wire soundly. She’s got a very bright future, she ran like we expected. We’ve had very high hopes for her from the beginning. She’s just a very beautiful filly to look at, very well-built frame. We don’t know where she could take us.”
Quietside could take Ortiz back to the Grade 1 Spinaway, a race he won last year with Brightwork. This year, the Spinaway is on Aug. 31.
Brightwork could show up on that same card in the Grade 3, $200,000 Prioress for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs. Ortiz said Brightwork “popped up and lost her footing and rolled on her side” as she was being saddled in the paddock prior to the Test.
“Minor scratches, all superficial, she looks great, she jogged up sound,” Ortiz said Sunday. “Very happy that she’s okay.”
Ortiz was also happy that his brother Daniel, the exercise rider of Proud Clear, was okay after he got thrown when that horse went down. It appeared Daniel just had the wind knocked out of him.
“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” said Ortiz, who has won three races at this meet. “It’s an emotional game we play. These animals, they’re not animals to me, they’re like family and I care about them so deeply.”
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