Tom Bellhouse bought Irad Ortiz Jr. a hot chocolate. Offered him a seat in the West Point Thoroughbreds’ golf cart. Nobody else was around. It was 5 o’clock in the morning at the Morning Line Kitchen. Bellhouse was waiting for Kiaran McLaughlin’s first set. Ortiz was waiting for his agent, waiting for a break. It was 2011.
“Every morning, Irad would be there. He didn’t speak hardly any English. He was like this little kid who nobody knew. We’d sit there every morning,” Bellhouse said. “Come to the Belmont Fall meet, I’m in the paddock. He’s not riding for us. He comes running up to me, ‘Mr. Tommy, Mr. Tommy, I’m in fourth place in the standings.’ I said, ‘I know, I watch every day.’ I said to Terry (Finley), ‘There is something special about this kid.’ ”
Fifteen years later, Ortiz paid Bellhouse back for all those hot chocolates, all those seats, all those talks, with a flawless ride aboard West Point’s Counting Stars in the Grade 1 Acorn at Saratoga. Trained by Mark Casse, the daughter of Honor A. P. settled in third, brushed off previously undefeated Always A Runner and scored by 3 ¾ lengths.
“Today is…today is…I can’t even talk about it without getting choked up,” Bellhouse said. “He’s special to me. So special.”
Ortiz guided Counting Stars to her debut win at Churchill Downs in September. The five-time Eclipse Award winner missed her next seven starts which included wins in the Astral Spa, the Year’s End, the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park and a third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Francisco Arrieta was aboard for those top-shelf efforts.
Ortiz called Casse at 8 o’clock after the Kentucky Derby looking to ride Silent Tactic in the Preakness. Casse took the call. Of course.
“Well let’s see but I want you to ride Counting Stars in the Acorn,” Casse said.
Silent Tactic didn’t make it to the Preakness and about 10 days later, Ortiz’s agent Steve Rushing gave Casse the call on Counting Stars.
“Francisco rode her great but the old saying, ‘Don’t bring sand to the beach.’ I have to tell you, if Irad doesn’t ride her then Francisco rides her,” Casse said. “I had Francisco waiting. I had no qualms with him. He’s a great rider.”
Terry Finley had no qualms about Counting Stars, the Acorn or Ortiz.
“She turned down the backside the other morning, she changed leads after the end of a mile and a quarter and just exploded. She was oozing confidence,” Finley said. “I was telling Irad all this and he’s such a pro, he said, ‘Oh yeah, I might be on the lead, if Brad Cox goes I’ll be sitting right there and I’ll have the same race as the Fantasy.’ Which was two races ago. He knew exactly where we’re at, so I walked around the last couple of days full of confidence. He knew every single thing about her.”
And then put it all to work.
Counting Stars broke sharp from post two and cleared Prom Queen (Brad Cox) to her inside. Established on the rail, Ortiz forced Maximum Offer to engage from post four and then eased back as Meaning moved into an outside stalking spot in second. Always A Runner slotted into fourth from the outside post. Maximum Offer led through the first quarter mile in :23.41 and a half mile :47.73. The quintet spanned 3 lengths after three quarters in 1:11.51.
Meaning put away Maximum Offer but was quickly joined by Always A Runner. All the while, Ortiz was waiting like he was drinking one of those hot chocolates back in the summer of 2011, sliding back to fourth, then feathering four wide passing the quarter pole. Counting Stars swapped to her right lead, pinned her ears, brushed with Always A Runner and skipped clear to register her fifth career victory and first Grade 1 stakes score.
Third behind Always A Runner and Meaning in the Kentucky Oaks, Counting Stars flipped those results in the Acorn.
“I was really confident going into the Oaks, I didn’t think anything could beat her,” Casse said of her 2 1/4-length defeat. “I was a little disappointed. When that happens, you’re like, ‘Maybe two better fillies beat her.’ I can only worry about my own, I can’t worry about everybody else, and I felt like she was doing as good if not better than ever.”
Counting Stars breezed twice since the Oaks, going an easy three-eighths in :38 at Churchill Downs May 21 and a bullet half-mile in :47.01 at Saratoga May 29. Casse was confident, as he’s always been with the $150,000 OBS April purchase.
“Some of the people who owned Sandman bought into her,” Casse said. “We were at the Arkansas Derby and they’re like, ‘We are so excited.’ I said, ‘You’re going to be excited about the next one.’ That was in April of her 2-year-old year. Sometimes you can tell.”
Casse, as he does when he wins Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga, got a bit wistful as he walked out of the winner’s circle.
“I’m so lucky to be in this sport, who would have thought when I was here at 10 years old, getting autographs from Angel Cordero,” Casse said. “I just take it as it comes. I don’t take myself too serious. I just feel very fortunate that I have a lot of wonderful people who give me good horses.”
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