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Edwin Gonzalez Back At Full Strength At Gulfstream Park

Jockey Edwin Gonzalez made it clear that he has made it all the way back from a midsummer injury Thursday at Gulfstream Park, riding the winners of four races, including impressive maiden winner Palmach, on an eight-race card.

The 29-year-old journeyman, who had become an immediate success while riding at Gulfstream Park full time during the Spring/Summer Meet for the first time, was sidelined for seven weeks with a hairline fracture in his right leg that was sustained in a racing mishap July 3. He won three races on his first day back in action Aug. 21, but Gonzalez didn't continue to quite maintain the strike rate that he had enjoyed prior to his injury.

“I'm feeling great. I had 50 days out – that's a long time for me,” said Gonzalez, who won with his last mount Sunday and his first three mounts Thursday. “I'm feeling strong. I kept saying, 'Keep working hard, and everyone will be happy and I'll keep winning races.'”

D J Stable's Palmach bucked the trend on Gulfstream's Tapeta track while capturing the featured $60,000 maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies in Race 4. The Mark Casse-trained daughter of Violence broke alertly to assume an early lead that she would never relinquish on her way to a four-length victory, becoming only the second horse to win from gate to wire in the first 20 races on the newly installed all-weather surface.

“She likes the Tapeta. The first time she was a little green and the turf was a little soft because it was raining that day,” said Gonzalez, who finished fifth aboard Palmach in her Sept. 10 debut over a good turf course. “Today, she loved the Tapeta.”

Although she was the first front-running winner since Wow Tapit wired the field in only the second race run on Tapeta, Palmach did follow an early trend on the all-weather surface, becoming the 12th favorite to come through for their backers. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Beachnut Trophy, Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred daughter of Real Solution, closed from far back to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Todd Pletcher-trained Five Prizes, a daughter of Bernardini who

Palmach, the 9-5 favorite, gave Gonzalez his second of four victories Thursday, when he connected aboard World Gone Wild ($5) in Race 2, Bramble Berry ($8) in Race 5 and Souper All Star ($14.80) through a disqualification in Race 8. Souper All Star was Gonzalez's seventh win from his last 12 mounts.

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Reigning Champion Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Secures 3,000th Career Victory

Irad Ortiz, Jr., winner of the last three Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Jockey, captured his 3,000th career win in Thursday's fifth race aboard Saratoga Kisses at Belmont Park.

Co-owned by trainer Rudy Rodriguez with Parkland Thoroughbreds, Saratoga Kisses was in front at the half-mile call of the six-furlong maiden claiming sprint for New York-bred juvenile fillies and widened her margin impressively en route to an 8 1/4-length score.

“It's very exciting,” said Ortiz, Jr., who is currently 15th on the all-time earnings list, amassing more than $220 million in purses in a career that started in 2011. “I have to thank all the owners and connections and trainers who have supported me from Day One. Without them, none of this would be possible.”

According to records provided by Equibase, the 3,000 victories incudes 92 wins from the 29-year-old rider's homeland of Puerto Rico.

Ortiz, Jr. has enjoyed tremendous success on the NYRA circuit, winning the year-end title on three occasions [2014, 2015 and 2017].

His individual NYRA meet success includes winning the Angel Cordero, Jr. Riding Title as top Saratoga jockey three times [2015, 2018 and 2020]; as well as leading the way at the Belmont spring/summer meet [2014, 2018, 2020]; the Belmont fall meet [2014-2018]; the Aqueduct fall meet [2015, 2019], the Aqueduct spring meet [2017, 2018] and the former Aqueduct inner track title [2012-13, 2013-14, 2017].

“I'm very competitive,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “I love what I do. I come here and [try] to ride every race, every single day because that's what I love.”

Since starting his career in 2011, Ortiz, Jr. has never won less than 150 races in a year and is on pace to crack the 300-win mark for the seventh consecutive campaign in 2021. He has topped all North American jockeys in both wins and earnings in every year since 2017.

Among his most famous victories over Big Sandy was aboard Creator when securing a dramatic nose score in the 2016 Belmont Stakes for his lone win in a Triple Crown race.

The veteran rider has flaunted his talent at racetracks across the continent at the highest level posting 203 career graded stakes wins, including 60 Grade 1 victories. Ortiz, Jr. boasts 11 Breeders' Cup wins, including a score in the 2019 Grade 1 Classic aboard Vino Rosso at Santa Anita Park.

Ortiz, Jr. has made an impact beyond just his success on the track. He also has been active in assisting the backstretch community in New York, especially during the last two years as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the need for additional support and supplies.

In July, he was honored by the New York Race Track Chaplaincy for his generous and continued devotion to the backstretch community at its “Champions Talk” fundraiser, joining a select list of honorees who in the past have included the likes of Hall of Fame rider Edgar Prado, owner Michael Dubb and philanthropists and Saratoga icons Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson.

“He's just a heck of a guy,” said Humberto Chavez, who heads the New York division of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America. “He's always looking to make sure that the people who take care of the horses he rides are also being taken care of as well. He really bonds with them.”

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Jockey Stewart Elliott Wins Final Four Races On Wednesday’s Card At Remington

Jockey Stewart Elliott pulled off quite the feat Wednesday night at Remington Park, winning all four races of the Primetime Pick 4 for four different trainers.

Elliott solidified his second spot in the jockeys' standings with 25 wins, seven behind three-time defending champion David Cabrera with 32. Richard Eramia is third with 17 trips to the winner's circle and rounding out the top five are Leandro Goncalves and Ramon Vazquez tied for fourth and fifth with 16 apiece.

Elliott had lost on his mounts in the first and fourth races on Wednesday, but he awoke in the last half of the nine-race card. Afleet Okie, who went off at 7-2 odds with two other horses, broke from the 10-hole in a claiming $7,500 race in the sixth for 3-year-olds and older, fillies and mares, and bided her time down the backstretch, sitting seventh. Elliott circled horses from the outside and passed the other two 7-2 horses in the stretch as they ran 1-2-3 in the race. The 9-5 favorite, Hunny Hush, broke very poorly from the gate and was pulled up on the backstretch when she faltered about 20 lengths back.

Afleet Okie scored a 1-1/2 length victory and paid $9.40, $4.80 and $3.40 across the board. Her running time for the 6 furlongs was 1:12.92. The early fractions she cut into were :22.44 for the quarter-mile, :46.11 for the half-mile and :59.26 for 5 furlongs. Elliott's first win came for owner Ross Burdette of Sallisaw, Okla., and trainer Jesse Oberlander. Afleet Okie beat runner-up S C Tiny Secret, who was another three-quarters of a length ahead of third-place finisher Cherokee Lass.

The second win for Elliott came in the seventh aboard Medalla Match for owner Twisted Chaps Racing Stables (John Morris) of Edmond, Okla., and trainer Michael Biehler. Elliott's mount, a 3-year-old filly in a second-level allowance sprint on the turf at about 5 furlongs, was a winner by three-quarters of a length at 5-2 odds. She was the co-favorite with slightly less win money on her nose. Italian Justice had a bit more win money on her and was the actual betting favorite. She finished fourth.

Medalla Match sat just off the pace for Elliott in third and then pounced in mid-stretch to pass front-runner Honeyfromthesouth (17-1), who faded to third as Chikara (7-1) closed strongly off the flank of the winner to lose by less than a length. Medalla Match returned $7.60, $4.40 and $3.20 across the board.

Elliott and his filly's winning time was :57.73 seconds after the early speed covered the grass like lawnmowers, setting fractions of :21.86 for a quarter-mile and :45.77 for the half. Chikara swept past Honeyfromthesouth to finish two lengths ahead of her.

Elliott's third win came for owners Amy Hardy and Westside Racing Stable (Cindy Perez) of El Paso, Texas, and trainer Mindy Willis aboard heavy favorite Favorable Outcome (6-5) in the eighth race, a one-mile allowance-optional claiming $50,000 race for 3-year-olds and older that had not won two races this year. That race scratched down to four horses from its original eight starters. Favorable Outcome made every pole a winning one, extending his lead with each stride. The 7-year-old horse eventually hit the wire 6-1/2 lengths in front of Catdaddy (3-1), who was another 2-1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Drifting West in a strung out field. Fourth-place Popularity finished last, three lengths behind Drifting West.

Elliott sat chilly for most of the race as he looked like a statue in the saddle of the winner. His steed paid $4.60 to win and $2.40 to place in the short field. There was no show wagering. Favorable Outcome handled the distance in :23.94 seconds for the first quarter-mile, :47.56 for the half, 1:11.78 for three-quarters, 1:24.20 for seven-eighths and 1:37.03 for one mile at the finish line.

The final win of the night came in the nightcap aboard Morning Twilight, a $310,000 purchase at the 2021 Ocala (Florida) Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training for owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Edwin Barker and Titletown Racing Stables of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The 2-year-old filly by Morning Line, out of the Medaglia D'Oro mare Sweet Golden Carol, was bred in Oklahoma by Joe Merrick. She is trained by the nation's leading conditioner, Steve Asmussen.

Morning Twilight went off as the even-money favorite, but was hard-pressed to win until she changed leads in deep stretch to get up by one length. The filly was followed in second by Diamond N Gasoline (18-1), who was 3-3/4 lengths ahead of third place finisher Presley's Artwork (15-1). Morning Twilight paid $4, $3.40 and $3 across the board. Her winning time for the 6 furlongs was 1:13.87.

That concluded the Primetime Pick 4 with Elliott up on all four winners. The 50-cent wager returned $72.10.

Racing continues this week with a Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 7-9, schedule remaining. First post time is 7:07 p.m. each night.

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E.T. Baird Wins Coast To Coast To Be Named Jockey Of The Week

With the closing of Arlington Park, jockey E.T. Baird may have had just two mounts last week but he made the most of them going on the road for stakes race engagements at Finger Lakes and Santa Anita. The wins earned Baird Jockey of the Week for Sept. 27 through Oct. 3. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Riding for trainer Larry Rivelli, Baird rode Adios Asher in the Aspirant Stakes at Finger Lakes on Sept. 27. A stakes race for New York-bred 2-year-olds, Adios Asher dueled with the favorite Daufuskie Island with Dylan Davis in the irons throughout the six-furlong race. He took the lead by a half-length at the top of the stretch and held on determinedly as the favorite chipped away at his lead. Adios Asher kept his nose in front at the wire, stopping the clock in 1:11.12.

Next stop for trainer Larry Rivelli and E.T. Baird was Santa Anita's opening day card on Friday and the Speakeasy Stakes, a “Win & You're In” challenge race qualifier to the Grade 2, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. One Timer and Baird came into the race unbeaten in two previous starts. One Timer dueled with the post time favorite Forbidden Kingdom and Juan Hernandez through the opening quarter mile and led by 2-1/2 lengths in the stretch. They held off a late threat by Time to Party and Flavien Prat to win the five furlongs race by three quarters of a length in 55.45.

“He broke well, I had him out of there, but he's pretty professional outside of the post parade,” said Baird. “He just kept running true. I think he took to the (turf) great.”

A multiple graded stakes winning jockey, Baird has been a Chicago mainstay at both Arlington Park and Hawthorne. He finished the recently completed meet at Arlington Park in second place in the standings with 55 wins and more than $1 million in purse earnings.

Baird out-polled fellow jockeys Flavien Prat with four graded stakes wins, Guillermo Rodriguez who posted nine wins, Evan A. Roman with a 36 percent win rate and the leading rider title at Golden Gate, and Joel Rosario with three graded stakes wins.

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