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Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz targets Preakness on new mount / Photo: Leandro Lozada - AFP/File
Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz targets Preakness on new mount
Jose Ortiz, who piloted Golden Tempo to victory in the Kentucky Derby, vies for a rare US racing feat when he rides Chip Honcho in the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
Only two jockeys have won the Derby and Preakness in the same year on different horses: Willie Simms in 1898, and more recently Calvin Borel, who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby on Mine That Bird then rode Rachel Alexandra to victory two weeks later in the Preakness -- the second jewel in US flat racing's Triple Crown.
Ortiz, who guided Golden Tempo from last to first to make Cheri DeVaux the first woman trainer to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner, hopes the Preakness can be the second step in an unprecedented sweep of Triple Crown races on different mounts.
"Trying to win the Triple Crown on different horses, why not?" Ortiz said. "I'm going for it."
With Golden Tempo sitting out the Preakness, Ortiz will ride the Steve Asmussen-trained Chip Honcho for the second time after guiding the colt to a maiden victory last year at Churchill Downs.
"I think Chip Honcho has a very good chance to win the Preakness," Ortiz said, despite the horse's disappointing fifth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby in March.
Asmussen opted not to run him in the Kentucky Derby, where he thought the huge crowds might stoke Chip Honcho's aggressive streak.
He thought the Preakness, with a crowd limited to about 4,000 at Laurel Park as traditional venue Pimlico undergoes renovations, would suit the colt perfectly.
"Limited attendance at Laurel as opposed to what they get in that run to the first turn for the derby, this gives him a way better chance to show who he is," said Asmussen.
"Obviously, we've seen him not respond to what the rider was asking him to do on more than one occasion," added Asmussen, who won the Preakness with Curlin in 2007 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009.
Chip Honcho drew the sixth post for Saturday's $2 million, 1 3/16-mile race and was one of three horses priced at 5-1 in what promises to be a wide-open contest.
Iron Honor, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by US-based French jockey Flavien Prat, drew the ninth post and was installed as the early favorite at 9-2.
Incredibolt and Taj Mahal were also priced at 5-1.
The Riley Mott-trained Incredibolt is coming off a tough trip in the Kentucky Derby, where he was bumped while rallying in the stretch.
Taj Mahal, unbeaten in three career starts, is trained at Laurel Park by Brittany Russell, who seeks to follow in DeVaux's Derby footsteps and become the first woman trainer to win the Preakness.
Taj Mahal will break from the first post with Russell's husband, Sheldon Russell, in the irons.
The Preakness will go off without the Kentucky Derby winner for a second straight year, ensuring no horse has a chance to become the 14th to complete the coveted treble of Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
E.Pineda--HdM
