DEL MAR – In the slowly brightening light about a half-hour before sunrise Sunday at Del Mar Racetrack, a jockey wearing a white windbreaker climbed aboard a bay 3-year-old colt for the first time.
Normally this wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but this wasn’t just any jockey introducing himself to just any colt. And it’s not just any race they’ll be competing in Saturday afternoon.
The jockey was Jose Ortiz, one of the best in the world. The colt was Journalism, one of the best in the country. And the race is the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the richest run each year in North America.
Not two weeks earlier, such a pairing was as unlikely as a Del Mar beach house selling for less than seven figures.
But on Oct. 17, Rancho Santa Fe resident Aron Wellman, managing director of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-owns Journalism, announced Ortiz would replace Umberto Rispoli on Journalism for the Classic – the highlight of a two-day, 14-race championship card that starts Friday at Del Mar.
Wellman and trainer Michael McCarthy have not discussed specific reasons for replacing Rispoli, other than to say Ortiz was available and, as Wellman put it Sunday, “Jose’s well on his way to the Hall of Fame.”
Ortiz, 32, probably could have just shown up on the weekend and ridden Journalism for the first time in the race – it’s been done many times before – but all involved thought it was important he familiarize himself with the horse.
How important? Ortiz rode a full card of races Saturday at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., flew to San Diego through Dallas that night, got delayed so he arrived after 12:30 a.m., slept for 4½ hours, came out to McCarthy’s barn at Del Mar before 6 a.m. Sunday, then departed immediately after Journalism’s five-furlong workout on a private plane that took him from Carlsbad to Louisville, Ky., so he could ride five horses at Churchill Downs.
“I didn’t try to test him or anything,” said Ortiz, who ranks ninth all-time among jockeys in earnings and won the 2017 Eclipse Award as North America’s top rider. “We know he’s a nice horse, just trying to get to know him a little bit. He was very classy out there. Beautiful mover. I just let him stretch his legs.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Rispoli, who rode Journalism in his first race exactly one year ago Monday at Santa Anita. The colt was third that day, won his next start Nov. 17 at Del Mar under Ricky Gonzalez, then finished the year by winning the Los Alamitos Futurity.
Rispoli rode Journalism that day and was aboard for all seven of his starts this year – wins in the San Felipe, Santa Anita Derby, Preakness and Haskell, and seconds in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and, most recently, the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The colt has earned just shy of $4 million and the only horses to beat him since his debut are likely to be the top two choices in the Classic – Sovereignty (Kentucky Derby and Belmont) and Fierceness (Pacific Classic).
Rispoli, 37, has taken the high road since the decision, telling the Hong Kong-based website IdolHorse.com that the hardest part was having “to tell my wife and kids that I won’t be riding the horse. My kids (sons 8 and 3) cried for two hours. They just kept asking me, ‘Why, dad, why are you not riding the horse?’ We have to look forward now and move on, not focus on bad things.
“There is not much I can do, I have to accept it. I don’t like the decision but I have to accept it; that’s their decision to make. I have a strong mentality. I’ve come a long way and I’ve learned over time how to react to this moment. It’s not the first time I’ve lost a ride and it’s probably not going to be the last time.”
Rispoli could have as many as five other Breeders’ Cup mounts, though apart from Johannes in the Mile, all will be long shots. Rispoli has not won with 18 previous Cup mounts; he has three runner-up finishes, including last year with Johannes.
Ortiz has had 88 Breeders’ Cup mounts and six wins, including four at Del Mar, though he is 0-for-11 in the Classic. He’s also finished second 10 times and third 10 times.
Journalism has been favored in his last six races and never started at odds of 5-1 or higher. That will change Saturday, but McCarthy said he’s pleased with how the horse has trained since the Pacific Classic.
“He’s been kind of the same horse, I’ve been telling everybody, since July of last year,” said McCarthy, who owns two Breeders’ Cup wins. “Always looks well in the flesh, but he’s filled out, matured, put on a little weight since the Pacific Classic. You know, when you’ve got extended weeks to get ready for a race like this, you leave no stone unturned. So he’s as good as we could ask for him to be today.
“Horses like him don’t come around very often so certainly excited to see how he stacks up against America’s best. It’s arguably the best Classic probably in about 20 years.”
Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar
Friday
First post: 11:35 a.m. (10 races)
Weather.com forecast: 72 degrees, mostly sunny
Cup races: Juvenile Turf Sprint (2:45 p.m.), Juvenile Fillies (3:25), Juvenile Fillies Turf (4:05), Juvenile (4:45), Juvenile Turf (5:25)
On the air: 1-5 p.m., USA Network; all races on FanDuel TV and breederscup.com; all Cup races streamed on Peacock
Saturday
First post: 10:05 a.m. (12 races)
Weather.com forecast: 71 degrees, sunny
Cup races: Filly & Mare Sprint (noon), Turf Sprint (12:41), Sprint (1:21), Distaff (2:01), Turf (2:41), Classic (3:25), Mile (4:05), Dirt Mile (4:45), Filly and Mare Turf (5:25)
On the air: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., USA Network; 12:30-4 p.m., NBC; 4-5 p.m., USA; all races on FanDuel TV and breederscup.com; all Cup races streamed on Peacock.