Jose Ortiz To Ride Yoshida, Bucchero At Royal Ascot

Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jose Ortiz will be headed to Royal Ascot on a strong pair of contenders, reports the TDN. In the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, he will be astride recent G1 winner Yoshida for trainer Bill Mott. In the G1 King's Stand, Ortiz will ride Grade 2 winner Bucchero for trainer Tim Glyshaw.

“Jose is obviously the top rider in this country and it'll be very interesting to see how he matches up with some of the European jockeys,” said Harlan Malter, managing partner of the Ironhorse Racing Stable which owns Bucchero. “It seems like he's able to adapt at every level of competition. Bucchero is a pretty easy horse to ride in the sense that he kind of knows what he needs to do, and I think Jose is the kind of rider that's going to get a feel for it and push the button at the right time. We're pretty excited to give him a chance.”

Bucchero has won 10 of his 27 races, and was a strong fourth-place finisher, beaten just a length, in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint last fall. He is a 7-year-old Indiana-bred son of Kantharos, a $43,000 2-year-old at the OBS June sale who has gone on to earn $789,741.

Which group of trainers will have the most success at this year's Breeders' Cup?

Staff