Irad Ortiz Jr., who guided three horses to Breeders’ Cup victory Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar, gained his fourth consecutive Invoice Shoemaker Award, which is given to essentially the most excellent jockey on the World Championships.
The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who gained essentially the most races within the 14 World Championship occasions with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 level system for second- by fourth-place finishes.
Ortiz and William Buick each gained three races, however Ortiz additionally had a runner-up end and three fourth-place finishes whereas Buick completed fifth together with his solely different mount.
Ortiz gained the primary Championship race of the weekend on Twilight Gleaming in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) Friday, then added Saturday victories in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) with Golden Pal and the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) with Life Is Good .
Buick also had one victory Friday on Modern Games in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), followed by two on Saturday with Space Blues in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) and Yibir in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T).
Two different riders posted a number of wins: Joel Rosario and Jose Ortiz.
Rosario took the richest race of the weekend, the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic (G1) with Knicks Go , and Friday’s NetJets Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Echo Zulu .
Jose Ortiz’s victories came on Pizza Bianca in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) and Aloha West in the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).
The Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Bill Shoemaker, who captured the Kentucky Derby (G1) four times, won 8,833 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Ferdinand at Hollywood Park.
Bill Shoemaker Award winners:
2003: Alex Solis
2004: John Velazquez
2005: Garrett Gomez
2006: Frankie Dettori
2007: Garrett Gomez
2008: Garrett Gomez
2009: Julien Leparoux
2010: Garrett Gomez
2011: John Velazquez
2012: Mike Smith
2013: Mike Smith
2014: John Velazquez
2015: Ryan Moore
2016: Mike Smith
2017: Javier Castellano
2018: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2019: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2020: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2021: Irad Ortiz Jr.
