Junior Alvarado Dominates Field with Horse Sovereignty to Become a First-Time Kentucky Derby Winner

Junior Alvarado has proved his sovereignty…

The 38-year-old Venezuelan jockey rode Sovereignty to victory on a muddy track at Churchill Downs on Saturday to win the Kentucky Derby for the first time in his career.

Junior AlvaradoLess than two months before the Kentucky Derby, Alvarado was praying to God to heal him.

On March 23, he was riding the horse Term at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, when his thoroughbred suffered a heart attack, sending Alvarado off his saddle. He was clipped by another horse while on the ground tending to his own, resulting in a hairline fracture in his shoulder that would sideline him for three weeks.

Alvarado was heartbroken. His dream was winning the Derby, and he felt he had a legitimate shot this year with his horse Sovereignty. Alvarado wasn’t sure if he would ever get an opportunity like this again if he didn’t return in time.

“I have a lot of faith in God,” Alvarado said Saturday about the mental challenge he faced. “Every day since I got the injury I kept telling God, ‘Please heal me, please heal me. If it’s meant to be, I know you’re going to put me right back in action before the Derby.’”

Alvarado’s prayers were answered.

He recovered in plenty of time for the 151st Run for the Roses to claim his first career win in horse racing signature’s event after five previous losses.

Not only was Alvarado’s spot on Sovereignty in jeopardy after falling in March, he also ran the risk of being replaced by a different rider. But the day after Alvarado was released from the hospital, he received a call from Sovereignty trainer Bill Mott, who assured Alvarado the horse was his to ride once he recovered.

“When Mr. Mott called me the day after I got out of the hospital, he gave me a big peace of mind,” Alvarado said. “You don’t get that in the business often. This is the nature of the business: Somebody else gets to ride the horse, he’s riding good, and you get to keep him.”

“But having the peace of mind and being able to do what I needed to do was something that I always will appreciate from Mr. Mott.”

Alvarado kept his calm even after a second fall on Thursday, two days before the Derby, when he tumbled off Caramel Chip during the ninth race of the day.

While Alvarado literally had to get himself back on the horse, Sovereignty was having a much smoother run-up to the Derby, according to Mott, even after finishing second in his most recent race under jockey Manny Franco in late March.

“I didn’t have any reservations about him,” Mott said in reference to Sovereignty. “You got to go out and run the race, but the way the horse was doing, I really couldn’t have asked for anything different in the last five weeks since his last race. Everything had gone smoothly. Ordinarily to win these kinds of races, you can’t have any hiccups in your training schedule or the way the horse is doing.”

Mott, who previously won the 2019 Kentucky Derby with horse Country House after a disqualification, said winning with his “regular rider” Alvarado made Saturday’s result particularly special.

Alvarado’s journey, of course, began long before his fracture in March or even his previous Derby appearances. It began in Venezuela, where his father was a jockey. He said that growing up, the only race he could watch on television was the one he just won at Churchill Downs.

He first told himself it would simply be nice to race in the event. Later on he wanted to win it.

“Today we did that,” Alvarado said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able actually to find the right words that can describe this feeling that I have right now.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. Wins Record Fifth Bill Shoemaker Award at Breeders’ Cup

Irad Ortiz Jr. is celebrating a winning weekend with a special title.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican jockey, who guided three horses to Breeders’ Cup victories November 3-4 at Santa Anita during the World Championships, won the 21st Bill Shoemaker Award as the outstanding jockey of the event.

Irad Ortiz Jr.,The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who rides the most winners in the 14 championship races with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes.

Ortiz clinched his fifth Shoemaker Award by riding Elite Power to victory Saturday afternoon in the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), the final Breeders’ Cup race of the weekend.

Ortiz also rode his other winners on Saturday: White Abarrio in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and Goodnight Olive in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Two riders had two victories each over the weekend: Junior Alvarado and Ryan Moore.

Alvarado won Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Cody’s Wish.

Moore won Friday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on Unquestionable (FR) and Saturday’s $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) on Auguste Rodin (IRE).

The Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Bill Shoemaker, who captured the Kentucky Derby four times, won 8,833 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Ferdinand at Hollywood Park.

With this year’s win, Ortiz breaks a tie for most Shoemaker Award wins with Garrett Gomez (4).

Bill Shoemaker Award winners: 

2003: Alex Solis
2004: John Velazquez
2005: Garrett Gomez
2006: Frankie Dettori
2007: Garrett Gomez
2008: Garrett Gomez
2009: Julien Leparoux
2010: Garrett Gomez
2011: John Velazquez
2012: Mike Smith
2013: Mike Smith
2014: John Velazquez
2015: Ryan Moore
2016: Mike Smith
2017: Javier Castellano
2018: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2019: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2020: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2021: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2022: Ryan Moore
2023: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Junior Alvarado Rides Cody’s Wish to Dirt Mile Win at Breeders’ Cup Classic

Junior Alvarado’s Wish has come true…

The 37-year-old Venezuelan jockey helped rally Cody’s Wish from last and survived a stewards’ inquiry to defend his horse’s title in the $1 million Dirt Mile at the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Junior Alvarado, Cody's DreamRidden by Alvarado, Cody’s Wish ran the distance in 1:35.97. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite, the 5-year-old horse paid $3.60 to win.

Cody’s Wish dueled leader National Treasure down the stretch. Cody’s Wish twice bumped National Treasure and jockey Flavien Prat before the Preakness winner made contact with Cody’s Wish, triggering the inquiry.

“Right when I got next to National Treasure, I know he kind of came out and tried to meet with my horse,” Alvarado said. “I just think at that point where he’s brushing my horse, I had the bigger horse and the mean horse, probably. I think my horse was feeling a little bit of a fight, and he tried to go right after the other horse.”

While fans chanted “Cody! Cody!,” the stewards studied video replays for seven minutes while the two horses were walked in circles on the track, waiting to see which one would get his picture taken in the winner’s circle.

It was Cody’s Wish by a nose.

“I knew it was nothing really to change the outcome,” Alvarado said. “My horse was already in front; he was never going to let that other horse go by again.”

Bob Baffert, who trains National Treasure, nodded his head at the finish, seemingly knowing that he had lost by the slimmest margin in horse racing.

The victory ensured a storybook ending for Cody’s Wish in his final race before retirement. He won 11 of 16 career starts, including eight in stakes races, and over $3.1 million in earnings.

Waiting in the winner’s circle during the inquiry was Cody Dorman, a teenager who has a rare genetic disorder and uses a wheelchair. He and the horse first met during a Make-A-Wish visit to a Kentucky farm when Cody’s Wish was a foal in 2018. Cody’s Wish walked over to Dorman’s wheelchair and put his head in the boy’s lap, creating a touching bond.

“That horse probably saved Cody’s life in a lot of ways,” said Kelly Dorman, the boy’s father. “I know him and the horse have made a lot of lives better.”

The Dorman family was on hand last year when Cody’s Wish won the Dirt Mile by a head at Keeneland, and they joined Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in celebrating again.

“It’s probably one of the most memorable rides that we’ve all been on,” Mott said. “Sometimes it’s a small group that gets to enjoy the win. But I think this one’s been for a lot of people.”

Mott and Alvarado teamed to win their second Cup race of the weekend. They took the $2 million Juvenile Fillies with Just F Y I on Friday.