The TDN Writers' Room team had so much to say and so many people to talk to when it came to this year's GI Kentucky Derby, that we decided that one podcast was not enough. Our traditional podcast features winning trainer Cherie DeVaux (watch that here), but how could we overlook jockey Jose Ortiz or co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito? We couldn't, so we gave each of them a podcast of their own.
It was a memorable couple of days for Ortiz, who won both the Derby on Golden Tempo (Curlin) and the GI Kentucky Oaks on Always a Runner (Gun Runner). In the Derby, he edged out his brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode runner-up Renegade (Into Mischief).
“Honestly, when you are riding, normally, there's a killer instinct and you aren't thinking about who you are riding against,” Ortiz said. “But I knew it was (Irad) because I was following him almost every step of the way in the second half of the race. Afterwards, I felt bad for him because I know what it means to him to win the Derby.”
Though his brother had suffered one of the toughest beats of his career, Jose said that Irad could not have been more gracious.
“He told me he thought at one point that he was going to win, but then he felt something coming on the outside and when he looked, he saw the black and cherry and he said, 'Wow, that is Jose.' I mean, it's great because as close as he was, his first reaction was just being happy for me and congratulating me,” Ortiz said. “He didn't even think about him losing the race of his dreams. I think that was pretty remarkable. It speaks to the kind of person he is.”
The Phipps Stable, which owns Golden Tempo in partnership with St. Elias Stable, is one of the most renowned stables in the history of the sport and its roots go all the way back to the formation of the Wheatley Stable in 1926. As the stable's racing manager Phipps Pulito is now in charge of what is a racing institution. To see the iconic cherry and black silks in the Kentucky Derby winner's circle was among the highlights of the day.
“I'm proud, really proud of what we accomplished,” she said. “Look at what my grandfather, my father, and my great grandmother built, and I got to reap the rewards of that on Saturday. That is absolutely amazing. That is not lost on me in the slightest bit. And winning it for St. Elias and the Phipps Stable in the Phipps Stable silks is something really special.”
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