Brightwork winning the Adirondack at Saratoga August 6, 2023. (Adam Coglianese)
Breeders’ Cup Notes
Trainer John Ortiz said he is really happy with the way BRIGHTWORK has turned around since her first career loss in five starts last out in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and after making some adjustments, he and his team are heading into the Breeders’ Cup with a lot of confidence.
“She’s doing really well right now,” Ortiz said. “We were discouraged after the Alcibiades, but after watching her replays and her works, we decided to go back to the drawing board and put a line through that race. I think it was a learning curve for her as well as myself.
“I’ve been galloping her most of the time myself. We know she’s fast. We’ve just been letting her settle. We’ve slowed down her gallops and we’ve slowed down her works. I was very happy with her work today and so was Ricardo.”
Ortiz, the son of a jockey, will be making his Breeders’ Cup debut with WSS Racing’s Brightwork, but he has plenty of experience working around top level horses having learned from the ground up in the barn of Hall of Famer Bill Mott as well as trainers Graham Motion and Kellyn Gorder.
“I feel like a lot of hard work is finally paying off,” Ortiz said. “But’s it definitely has been a team effort. When you have owners like Bill Simon (WSS Racing), John Ed Anthony (Shortleaf Stable) and Steve Cauthen behind you, it gives you a lot of confidence. They’ve all been really supportive.”
