Irad Ortiz Jr. Off to Successful Start at Championship Meet

Jockey David Egan Finds Way Back to Winner’s Circle
Tiz Dashing, Souper Forces Top Tropical Park Derby Noms
Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. made a triumphant season debut Thursday at Gulfstream Park, winning four races to begin the chase for a third straight and record-extending seventh leading rider title at the Championship Meet.

The 33-year-old Ortiz guided Anthony Rogers’ 3-year-old colt Ripton’s Music ($3.40) to a popular victory in Race 4, winning the six-furlong maiden claimer in 1:10.28 over a fast main track for trainer Rohan Crichton. It was the second mount of the meet for Ortiz, who ran second in Thursday’s opener aboard another favorite, Tracy Farmer homebred Mi Amada.

Ortiz also won Race 5 on Amaty Racing Stables, Inc.’s 4-year-old gelding Double Neat ($8.60) for trainer Nick Tomlinson, Race 8 on Fugget About It Racing Stable’s Itza Lock ($2.60) for trainer Jose D’Angelo and Race 9 on Lael Stables’ homebred Pulstar ($7.40) for trainer Wesley Ward.

“It feels great. I’m back home,” Ortiz said. “I’m happy to be back. I have some good horses to ride. Hopefully people continue to support me the way they have before.”

Last winter, Ortiz became the first to lead the Championship Meet rider standings six times surpassing Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who won five straight from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016. Ortiz broke Castellano’s single-season record with 140 wins in 2020-2021.

During the 2024-2025 Championship Meet, Ortiz won 109 races and $6.6 million in purses. Twelve of his wins came in stakes, six graded, including the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Ghostzapper (G3) with White Abarrio and Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) on Mindframe.

Ortiz has won the $3 million Pegasus three times (2020, 2022, 2025), the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) four times (2019, 2021-23) and the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) twice (2021, 2023).

“Gulfstream is a special place for me, definitely,” he said. “I love the people here. Everyone who works here, I feel like they’ve shown me some love, and I love to ride here. I’m happy to be back. It’s great for me. I’ve been lucky to be leading rider here and I’m looking forward to another good year.”

Ortiz is named in seven races Friday at Gulfstream and will be at Aqueduct for its Cigar Mile (G2) program Saturday. He comes to the Championship Meet with plenty of momentum, having won the Churchill Downs fall stand for the first time. Ortiz also won his first Keeneland meet this fall, arriving at Gulfstream after riding Wednesday at Turfway Park. He tuned up for Churchill’s closing weekend by winning three stakes Nov. 24 at Mahoning Valley in Ohio.

“We’re going everywhere we feel like we have to go. We’ve been doing everything we can do to try and have a good year,” he said. “We’re just trying to do our best. I’m so happy to be back here, honestly. It’s home for me.”

Represented by agent Steve Rushing, Ortiz has topped 300 wins for an 11th straight year with highs of 366 and $39.1 million in purse earnings in 2023, when he was voted his most recent Eclipse Award. And he has another Gulfstream milestone well within reach.

According to Equibase statistics, Ortiz ended Thursday’s card just four wins shy of 1,000 at Gulfstream Park with a record of 996-778-583 from 4,021 mounts and purse earnings of more than $53 million.

“Really? That’s great,” Ortiz said. “I love it here. Let’s see if we can make it happen before the year ends.”

Jockey David Egan Finds Way Back to Winner’s Circle

Jockey David Egan, a rising star in England, also returned to action at Gulfstream Park Thursday, finding the winner’s circle on his first day of his third consecutive winter stint in South Florida.

The 26-year-old Irish-born jockey guided Tareq Moubarak-trained Endrick ($7.80) to an off-the-pace victory in Race 6. He also finished third aboard Soda in Race 2; and fifth on Bibi Dahl in Race 9.

“There’s good competitive racing and some of the best jockeys in the world here,” said Egan, who rode 18 winners during the 2024-2025 Championship Meet. “I’ll try to get some wins for some good connections.”

Egan, the former champion apprentice in England who has ridden more than 1200 winners, is under contract to Kia Joorabchian’s AMO Racing through 2028.

Jockey Mia Nicholls was taken to Aventura Hospital for observation on her hip and shoulder following a spill in Race 4 where she fell when her mount, The Great Empire, clipped heels with Vino’s Valentine on the backstretch. The Great Empire was uninjured and Vino’s Valentine was disqualified from third to last for interference.

Tiz Dashing, Souper Forces Top Tropical Park Derby Noms

Grade 3 winner Tiz Dashing, undefeated stakes winner Souper Forces and multiple-stakes winners Church and State, Classic of Course and Tank top 20 3-year-olds nominated to the $125,000 Tropical Park Derby Dec. 13 at Gulfstream Park.

The Derby shares top billing on the mid-December program with the $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, both scheduled at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

Sackatoga Stable’s Tiz Dashing had placed third three times in stakes this year – the Manila (G3), Hall of Fame (G2) and Gun Runner – before breaking through with a neck victory in the 1 1/8-mile Hill Prince (G3) Nov. 8 at Aqueduct. In two tries on the Gulfstream turf last winter he was fifth in the Kitten’s Joy and third in an optional claiming allowance, both at 1 1/16 miles.

Live Oak Plantation homebred Souper Forces has won each of his three starts, starting with a synthetic victory at Presque Isle Downs and a triumph in his turf debut at Colonial Downs. Last out he sprung an 18-1 upset in Gulfstream’s 1/16-mile Showing Up on the grass; four other horses from that race are also nominated including Layabout and Win With Faith, who respectively ran 2-3.

Church and State has won two stakes, once each on turf and synthetic, at his Woodbine base, and was third to Tiz Dashing in the Hill Prince. Classic of Course, fourth in the Nov. 29 Sabal Palm overnight handicap over the Tapeta, captured the 7 ½-furlong Cutler Bay March 29 on the grass. Tank is unraced since finishing off the board in the Sept. 1 Saranac at Saratoga. Among his three stakes wins are two this year on the Gulfstream turf, the one-mile English Channel and 1 1/16-mile Not Surprising.

Also prominent among nominees are graded-stakes placed Chapman’s Peak, Noble Confessor and Simulate; Litigation, a winner of four of his last five starts; and stakes winner Neoequos, third in the 2025 Florida Derby (G1) that has raced exclusively on the dirt.

The Oaks drew 23 nominees led by a pair of graded winners from the stable of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. Live Oak Plantation’s And One More Time owns three straight wins, including a Sept. 21 allowance in her first start since winning the Natalma (G1) 12 months earlier. Glassman Racing’s Candy Quest ran three times at Gulfstream last winter with a win and a second in the Sanibel Island before going on to capture the Ontario Colleen (G3) in July.

Brad Cox-trained Destino d’Oro won the 1 1/8-mile Pucker Up (G3) in August on the Ellis Park turf but has been off the board in two subsequent graded attempts. It Ain’t Two, Love You Anyway and Supa Speed are all Grade 3-placed.

Nominees also include two-time Mexican Group 1 winner Afrodita; stakes winners Crafty Collector and Mischief in Motion; and Starship Impulsive, who captured the 1 1/16-mile Martha Washington June 7 in the midst of a three-stakes win streak at Gulfstream this summer.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to reach $75,000 Friday at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Thursday for the second racing day following a mandatory payout.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10, featuring a mile maiden special weight event for 2-year-olds in Race 6. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained The Pulse, a son of Curlin, is slated to make his second career start after finishing third in his debut, in which he got away a bit slowly and finished full of run. Jose D’Angelo-trained Diamond Knife, a son of Violence, also is set to make his second career starts following a third-place finish in his debut.

In the Rainbow 6 the jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Who’s Hot: Irad Ortiz Jr. rode four winners on his first day of the Championship Meet, scoring back-to-back aboard Ripton’s Music ($3.40) in Race 4 and Double Neat ($8.60) in Race 5, before going back-to-back with Itza Lock ($2.60) in Race 8 and Pulstar ($7.40) in Race 9…Trainer Jose D’Angelo saddled back-to-back winners, visiting the winner’s circle with Pop Rox ($4.60) in Race 7 and Itza Lock ($2.60) in Race 8.