Barber Road positions Ortiz to compete in his hometown

Elmont, N.Y.

John Ortiz made a vow when he left Belmont Park and his hometown of Elmont, N.Y., a decade ago and ventured to Kentucky to continue preparing for a training career.

“I promised myself I wasn’t going to come back to New York until I was good enough,” Ortiz said.

That comment might lead some handicappers to take a deeper dive into Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Barber Road, the colt he sends into Saturday’s Belmont Stakes with long odds that he can deliver the sweetest of homecomings. Whatever happens, the up-and-coming trainer has earned the right to play with the big boys.

Ortiz, 36, has made great strides since he went out on his own in 2016. According to Equibase, he ranked 56th nationally with $2,614,398 in earnings last season. He already has surpassed that with $2,750,749 in purses this year. He was winning at an 18 percent clip with 27 victories from his first 150 starters. His horses were hitting the board at a 47 percent clip.

The son of former jockey Carlos Ortiz spent so much time learning early lessons as a teenager from Hall of Famer Bill Mott that he compared Mott’s barn to a “second home.” He is confident he can be a major player as he pursues his first Grade 1 victory with his first Belmont Stakes starter.

“I’m not here just to show up,” he said. “I’m here to be competitive.”

He is doing everything possible to make that happen, with significant changes in equipment and rider. Blinkers are coming off. Eclipse Award winner Joel Rosario replaces Reylu Gutierrez in the irons.

“The blinkers have been a decision for three races now,” Ortiz said. “He’s not really showing any speed with the blinkers, so he doesn’t necessarily need them. He doesn’t work with blinkers in the morning, and we’re very happy with him in the morning. So hopefully he can be a horse and see his competition in front and to the sides and compete as he wants to compete.”

The gray Race Day colt has come far since he was a $15,000 weanling purchase on behalf of WSS Racing, the moniker for former WalMart chief executive officer Bill Simon. He broke his maiden in his second career start, when he was made available for a $30,000 claiming tag last Oct. 14 at Keeneland. He followed that with a Nov. 10 allowance win at Churchill Downs for his only other victory.

He advanced to stakes company after that and has been a model of consistency, hitting the board for five consecutive races. That streak culminated in a strong performance in the Arkansas Derby, when he closed to be second, 2 3/4 lengths behind Cyberknife.

His sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby is much better than it appeared. He and Gutierrez were forced wide through much of the 1 1/4-mile classic. They found themselves 11 wide at the quarter pole in finishing 4 3/4 lengths behind 80-1 bomb Rich Strike.

“Rich Strike and Barber Road were together when they made their final move,” Ortiz noted. “Rich Strike (and Sonny Leon) went inside and saved ground. Barber Road was unfortunate to go wider.”

Although Gutierrez had ridden the 3-year-old in all but two of his nine starts and played an integral role in development that led to $650,720 in earnings, the decision was made to turn to Rosario, 37, a two-time Belmont winner. Ortiz, based in Arkansas and Kentucky, emphasized that Gutierrez has been and remains a valued member of his team.

His father, Carlos, also plays an integral role in his operation by breaking his yearlings in Ocala, Fla. “Everything I do is based off my dad’s career or what my dad taught me, things my dad has shown me year after year,” Ortiz said. He also has been an understudy to Graham Motion and Kellyn Gorder.

Ortiz will be beside his father for the Belmont. In a sense, they cannot lose.

“It feels really special,” Ortiz said. “I always dreamed of this day, period.”