Irad Ortiz Jr. saw plenty of races over the last several weeks. The problem was it wasn't from his usual vantage point.
"I was watching on the TV for a long time," Ortiz said after riding Friday's third race at Keeneland. "It was almost two months, maybe five or more days shy of two months."
That's how long Ortiz, a five-time Eclipse Award winner, spent on the sidelines recovering from a foot injury sustained in a prerace incident Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course. He broke seven bones in his left foot and thought his year would end halfway through the Saratoga meet, with no chance to ride at the opening of the new Belmont Park, Fall Stars Weekend at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup World Championships -- or any race anywhere for that matter.
"I thought I was done for the year," Ortiz said, walking back to the Jockeys Quarters after guiding the 2-year-old filly Virabhadrasana to a fourth-place finish in the third race at 6 furlongs on the main track.
Ortiz rode seven races Friday and won with his fifth mount, guiding Nakatomi up the rail late to take the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2) to kick off the Fall Stars Friday card. He finished third on another mount, Staged, for trainer Bill Mott in the fifth race. Brad Cox gave him a leg up on four other runners, and Ortiz credited Cox for helping with his comeback.
"It feels great to be able to be out there competing, enjoying the races," Ortiz said. "I was getting ready, getting fit and doing a lot of
rehab on my foot. I had a lot of people help me. People like Brad -- I was getting on horses early for him, getting fit."
Ortiz won last year's Fall Meet riding title with 25 wins and led jockeys at this year's Spring Meet with 22 wins. He felt the love from Keeneland fans not long after Kinnon LaRose gave him a leg up on Virabhadrasana.
Spectators along the Saddling Paddock clapped and cheered the 34-year-old jockey, who ended the day with 4,637 victories.
"That was so great," Ortiz said of the experience. "Honestly, I've been getting huge support from everybody in the industry. It
feels great to have the support from a lot of people in the track and out of the track. It's amazing. I'm glad and I feel very, very special to have those people supporting me, check on me every single day."
