It's not every day a jockey loses his irons coming out of the gate when his mount stumbles and then goes on to win, but that happened to Irad Ortiz Jr. and Donegal Forever at Belmont Park in the fifth race on June 17.
Sent away the even-money favorite while making his career debut against seasoned opposition for trainer Todd Pletcher and Donegal Racing, Donegal Forever stumbled badly a few strides out of the gate, causing Ortiz to come out of his left iron. Both horse and jockey regrouped after the bad start, with Ortiz showing tremendous athleticism just by staying on the horse and then getting his boot back in the irons in a matter of strides.
They tracked the early leaders and then took command into the stretch, drawing off to win by 4 1/4 lengths, the 1 1/16 miles in a very respectable 1:43.33, getting a solid Beyer Speed Figure of 89 for the effort.
A 3-year-old colt by Pioneerof The Nile out of Flatter Up, by Flatter, Donegal Forever was bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm and purchased by Donegal Racing from Four Star Sales for $170,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Donegal Racing's Jerry Crawford said the big, long-striding colt was the stable's first starter at Belmont since Mo Donegal won the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes in 2022.
“The reason we named him Donegal Forever is I kept telling people that's how far this horse will run,” Crawford said.
“He had a couple of issues that stopped him for a while,” Crawford said, explaining why the colt was so late at getting to the races. “He got close and got knocked sideways and got close again. I kept thinking he might be our Derby horse.”
Donegal Forever grabbed a quarter from the stumble but otherwise was none the worse for fair, Crawford said on Wednesday. “He was back on the track this morning,” he said.
Crawford said Donegal Racing has “8 1/2” 2-year-olds at the moment (the half interest is a horse co-owned with fellow Iowan Dennis Albaugh's Albaugh Family Stable). There's a similar number of older horses, divided between Pletcher and Brad Cox. Crawford looks for yearlings in the $75,000 to $300,000 range.
“We do one partnership a year and it's usually between eight and 10 yearlings,” he said. “We only buy yearlings. If you're a partner in one, you're a partner in all.”
Crawford was generous in his praise of Ortiz, and not just for his handling of of Donegal Forever.
“We love working with Irad,” he said. “The only thing better than his riding skill is his quality as a human being.
“I said to him how impressed I was (after his recovery aboard Donegal Forever)” Crawford said. “He said, 'The horse is the hero. He's terrific.'”
Watch Donegal Forever's race below.
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