Ortiz, Jr. Takes Three Stakes on Clasico del Caribe Card

The crowd cheers as a race began on the Clasico del Caribe card at Gulfstream Park | Mason Kelley

The five-race $600,000 Clasico International del Caribe, hosted for the first time in its 50 year history outside of the Caribbean and Latin America, saw Irad Ortiz, Jr. take three of the five del Caribe stakes on the card at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale. The Puerto Rican, who is on top of the American standings by wins this year, captured the showpiece $300,000 Clasico del Caribe presented by Fasig-Tipton aboard Jala Jala (Mex) (Point Determined). The filly previously won the Esmeralda S. (Mex-G1), and romped by nine lengths Saturday, while Panama's Coltimus Prime (Milwaukee Brew), formerly a Canadian Classic winner and Group 3 placed in Canada prior to being exported, captured the $91,000 Copa Invitacional. Ortiz's hat trick was rounded out with Jaguaryu (Mex) (Point Determined), flying the Mexican flag, in the $124,000 Copa Dama.

“It's been an amazing day winning three races and a dream come true winning the Caribbean Classic,” said Ortiz, Jr. “The other two races were so special for me to win these kind of races. Everyone from these countries dreams of winning these races and in our country the biggest race for us is this Caribbean Classic. For some people this may not be as big, but for me it's like a Breeder's Cup race.”

John Velazquez also enjoyed a good day, taking the other two Clasico International del Caribe events, the $100,000 Copa Confraternidad del Caribe with Panama's El Tigre Mono (Pan) (Concerto) and the $114,200 Copa Velocidade del Caribe with Venezuela's Master Supreme (Ven) (Fighting Brave).

Ontrack handle was $1.4 million compared to $947,000 over the equivalent Saturday in 2016. Total handle on the five Clasico races of 2016 at Camarero was approximately $1 million according to Camarero's President and Principle Owner Ervin Rodriguez.

“We were honored to host such an incredible event,” said Tim Ritvo, President of Gulfstream Park and COO of The Stronach Group. “This truly was the brainchild of our founder and honorary chairman Mr. Frank Stronach. This has been two years in the making. [The Stronach Group's President and Executive Board Member] Mike Rogers and myself traveled to Panama and Puerto Rico the last couple years in hopes of bringing the Clasico Internacional del Caribe to North America and Gulfstream Park, and the response was incredible. We hope to continue building on our partnership with the fans and horsemen from Latin America and the Caribbean and we thank them for participating.”

“Gulfstream has been great, everything has been great,” Rodriguez said. “We've been very pleased with the entire organization at Gulfstream. They have been wonderful.”

Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.

Copy Article Link

X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.