Sorcerer’s Silver gave Ortiz Jr his milestone 4,000th. (Ryan Thompson)
Irad Ortiz Jr. Wins Milestone 4,000th Race
Gulfstream Today
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – West Point Thoroughbreds and Domeyko Taylor’s Sorcerer’s Silver, a sophomore son of champion Good Magic, shook off pace pressure from Wearebackyoungman at the top of the stretch pulled clear to an impressive debut victory Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Dale Romans, Sorcerer’s Silver ($4.40) covered seven furlongs in 1:23.24 to win the maiden special weight for 3-year-old Florida-breds by 8 ¼ lengths over Wearebackyoungman, who was six lengths clear of Roman Hunter in third.
It was the fifth winner in the last six starters for Romans at the Championship Meet, a streak that included stakes victories in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint with Coppola and Dreaming of Mo in the South Beach overnight handicap on the Pegasus World Cup Day undercard.
“I thought he would win, I really did. He’s a serious racehorse,” Romans said. “I didn’t realize he was a Florida-bred until we got down here, and he handled them pretty well.”
Bred by Good Magic Syndicate and Darsan Inc., Sorcerer’s Silver broke alertly from the outermost post and led through splits of 22.66 and 45.56 seconds racing in the two path with Wearebackyoungman saving ground along the rail and 4-5 favorite He’s a Beast tracking in third. Wearebackyoungman moved into a challenging position leaving the far turn, but Sorcerer’s Silver proved too much, sprinting clear of his closest rival and drawing away.
“The only thing that concerned me was how he would break, and when he broke clean from the outside and went head-and-head I thought, ‘They’re not going to be able to keep up,’” Romans said. “I wanted him to go fast because I know he can keep going. I didn’t know if they could.”
Purchased for $130,000 as a 2-year-old in training last May, Sorcerer’s Silver had been training steadily since mid-December at Gulfstream for his unveiling. Romans said he would consult with an ownership group led by West Point founder and CEO Terry Finley to determine a next start.
“I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. Sometimes Terry likes to make big jumps,” Romans said. “He’s a real racehorse.”
The win was the 4,000th in North America for Ortiz according to Equibase statistics, which does not count the 95 races he won in Puerto Rico before coming to the U.S. Ortiz won his 4,000th career race Oct. 13 at Keeneland.
4,000 career wins for Irad Ortiz Jr. today! pic.twitter.com/14PZJOjnKl
— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 13, 2024
