Horse Racing

Belmont stake brings Coach Ortiz home to Elmont


Owner Mike Repole, who grew up in Queens and lives on Long Island, says it will be like Christmas for him if he can win the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) with either his 3-year-old in the race, Mo Donegal or filthy Nest .

However, in terms of geographical distance, the best home connection with the Belmont Stakes June 11 comes via Kentucky in John Ortiz, who trains Belmont starters Haircut line .

While 36-year-old Ortiz has a stable of about 75 horses in the Bluegrass State, Belmont Park was his home a few blocks from his home when he was growing up in Elmont, NY, and spent his days at the picturesque race track when his father, Carlos Ortiz, worked as a racer for Bill Coach Hall of Fame Mott.

“Riding in the Belmont Stakes is a lifelong goal,” said Ortiz, who is running the original Triple Crown campaign. “Growing up in Elmont, a few blocks from the gate of the stables, I’ve witnessed this race all my life. For me it was very important to be back home in a town where I grew up. and that makes me who I am. Getting to the fullest in life and running a horse in New York’s biggest race is a great feeling for me.”

Haircut - Bathhouse - 033122 - Oaklawn . Park
Photo: Coady Photography

John Ortiz and Barber Street

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Ortiz was scheduled to arrive in Belmont on June 8, and after checking in on Barber Road, he’s already planning his next stop.

“I’m going to see King Umberto,” Ortiz said of the popular Elmont restaurant about a mile from Belmont Park. “I missed all the good Italian food in my hometown.”

Running at the Belmont Stakes will give Ortiz plenty of time to reflect on his youth in Elmont. Born in Colombia, he moved to New York at the age of 5, and through his father’s work as a jockey and gymnast, Belmont Parks became as familiar to him as golf courses. play nearby. He attended Gotham Avenue School as a child and as a teenager transferred to Elmont Memorial High School. There were memorable trips to Coney Island and Jones Beach, and when the pressures of life piled up as a young man, Ortiz would jump in the car and head east—all the way east.

“When all is well, I will drive to Montauk Point,” Ortiz said of the site at the east end of Long Island’s South Shore. “I’ll go out to the lighthouse and relax. I’ll have lunch or dinner and then go home with a clear head.”

Ortiz’s involvement in racing began with opening stalls for Mott and in 2011 he left to embark on a career that culminated in him earning his coaching degree in 2016. Since There, he won 249 races with $10.4 million in earnings and a three-place triple along the way.

WSS Racing’s Barber Road brought to life his dream of being a part of the Belmont Stakes and the final leg of the Triple Crown earlier this year when he finished well second in the Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. Oaklawn Park.

“Once we saw him in Smarty Jones, after he galloped, we felt he was going to be the horse that took us all the way to the Triple Crown and all the way to Belmont,” Ortiz said.

Then, while the late-running Barber Road didn’t win in five starts at the age of 3, he finished second in the Southwest Stakes (G3), third in Rebel Stakes (G2) and second in the Arkansas Derby (G2) G1) to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) with 58 qualifying points.

Barber Road broke out slowly and finished 20th and last at the opening 1/4 mile in the Run for the Roses. Although he avoided the brutal initial speed, the son of Race day was forced to lose significant points while gathering about five wide in the final round and swinging 11 points wide while finishing sixth.

Since then, Ortiz has been pleased with the way Barber Road has bounced back from the first time he left the position since making his career debut at the age of 2.

“He came out of the Kentucky Derby more physically mature. His body had more cuts. He didn’t look as soft and youthful,” Ortiz said of the trained gray pony. early training from his father, Carlos Ortiz. “He’s starting to grow into a really nice horse and looks amazing. He’s not very active in the morning but he shows up in the afternoon and plays hard. I couldn’t ask for more from him. a horse.”

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After having early fractions of: 21.78 and :45.36 reeling ahead of him in the Kentucky Derby, Barber Road and new driver Joel Rosario will face a 180-degree speed difference on Saturday with 2- 1 morning favorite team We who the only speed on paper in the Champion’s 1 1/2 Mile Test. Although the son of Pictures of the South mare Encounter got into early sprint speed at just 2 years old, in last four starts all at 1/16 mile or so he is no better than eighth at 1/4 mile firstly.

“We know there’s not a lot of pace, so he just needs to be more engaged when he’s out of the gate. He almost rushed out of the gate in the Derby but we didn’t mind because we expected a pace. heat,” said Ortiz, who will run Barber Road without blinking on Saturday. “He worked out the gate last week (five hooks at 1:00.80 June 4 at Churchill Downs) to honing a little bit for him to run out. You need proper communication with him. He will listen to you if you push him. “

Bred by Susan Forrester and Judy Curry and purchased by Long Lick Bloodstock for just $15,000 from Forrester’s shipment at Keeneland in November, Barber Road won only two of nine starts. However, four seconds and a third in the holdings pushed his career earnings to $650,720 for Ortiz and owner Bill Simon, a former Walmart executive. All those close-range finishes and the belief that the 3-year-old can handle the 1/2 mile has also fueled Ortiz’s hopes that his pony can finally claim a victory. Breakthrough at the most opportune time.

Barber Street in his stall in Belmont Park.
Photo: Mary Eddy / NYRA

Haircut in his stall in Belmont Park

Barber Road’s 10-1 morning price tag paints him as a Belmont canvas for $1.5 million, after a former claimant named Rich Strike having won the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 and shot 7-2 in Belmont, dismissing a long shot may not have been the wisest thing in this near-complete Triple Crown season. Barber Road also has the additional similarity of breaking her maidenhood in a $30,000 case, just like Rich Strike. Despite helping Ortiz greatly, no one recognized him on that fateful day in Keeneland.

“The Barber Road is one of the most enjoyable and easiest for me to experience,” says Ortiz. “The first time I entered the Triple Crown races, he made it so easy for me. Winning the Belmont meant the world to me, but the horse was the one who deserved it. win. He’s always trying. It’ll just be the icing on the cake to do it in my hometown.”

And you can be sure that, if there’s a need for some Belmont Stakes rear wheels, hometown hero John Ortiz will know where to find it.



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