Ortiz Jr. Back in the Groove, Wins Jockey of the Week

Five-time Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr. captured his third graded stakes of Keeneland's Fall Meet with a win in the Franklin Stakes (G2T) on Sunday. He leaves no doubt that he is back in elite riding form after being sidelined for 55 days after a pre-race incident at Saratoga on August 8 left him with seven small fractures in his left foot. The panel of racing experts voted Ortiz Jockey of the Week for Oct 5-11. Ortiz began Keeneland's first full week of racing with a win on Wednesday in Race 4 for two-time Eclipse Award trainer Brad Cox. Ortiz won four races on Thursday including Race 1 for trainer Eddie Kenneally, Race 5 for Kenny McPeek, Race 7 for Wesley Ward and Race 9 for dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse. Ortiz then added a win on Friday in Race 3 for Brad Cox and a win on Saturday in Race 4 for Joe Sharp. On Sunday, Ortiz had the mount aboard the 5-year-old mare Time to Dazzle for the first time for trainer Mark Casse in the Franklin Stakes for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on the turf. Off as the favorite at odds of 2-1 on a turf course labeled as "yielding," Time to Dazzle raced sixth of seven as longshot Itzel raced alone on the lead. Turning for home, Itzel (under Edgar Morales) began to give way to Kehoe Beach as Time to Dazzle, under a perfectly timed ride by Ortiz, unleashed her explosive closing kick. Time to Dazzle caught Kehoe Beach (with brother Jose in the irons) at the wire for the win in 1:04.52 for 5 1/2 furlongs. "The turf was a little soft, so I wanted to give her a chance to get comfortable and save one run for the end, hoping the leaders would back up," Ortiz said to Keeneland publicity. "She broke really well, I just waited for my moment and tried to get her relaxed." "Around the turn I had to wait a bit longer, but we finally got there," said Ortiz. "She did a great job." Three-time Keeneland leading rider Ortiz posted a total of eight wins for the week and is currently tied with eight-time Keeneland leading rider, Tyler Gaffalione for the Fall meet title. Ortiz will be riding at Keeneland Wednesday through Sunday this week. Other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Junior Alvarado who won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1T) at Keeneland, Jose Lezcano who won the Hill Prince (G3T) at Belmont, Paco Lopez who won 11 races for the week to lead all riders and Jose Ortiz who won the Sycamore Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland.