Argentinian Ordak Dan Travels to U.S. for Breeders’ Cup Turf

Argentinian Ordak Dan Travels to U.S. for Breeders’ Cup Turf: The Breeders’ Cup Series is approaching, and the horses who qualified overseas in the Win & You’re In races are getting ready to travel to the U.S. to compete. For South America, it seems that the only hope this year is the Argentinean-bred Ordak Dan, a horse who won the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo at Hipodromo San Isidro in Argentina and thus earned a spot to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Ordak Dan is a seven-year-old son of Hidden Truth out of Duna Ter (ARG), by Sir Chester (ARG), who is shipping to America for a second time to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Certainly life is giving Ordak Dan another chance since he qualified to the Breeders’ Cup Turf two years ago but was sidelined by an unexpected injury. To get some information about the horse, we contacted Ordak Dan’s owner Luis Erro, who kindly provided all the news we required.

On the phone, Luis Erro talked about his past experience with Ordak Dan in the United States: “The horse got injured in Miami while preparing for the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Turf just fifteen days before the race. We were between continuing the campaign in Santa Anita or returning him to the farm to rest, but finally, the vet suggested the best option was to take some time with the horse.”

Actually, the horse returned to Argentina to calmly recover in the Argentinian meadows. “The horse spent twelve months in Haras La Garibaldina located in Gualeguay under the care of Dr. Carabajal. We always went to visit him; we were very aware of his recovery,” Luis Erro stated.

After a full recovery, the horse was moved to Buenos Aires and put under the care of the trainer J. C. Etchechoury. An out-of-shape Ordak Dan tried the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini (GI) but failed badly to finish eighteenth. The horse was recovering and improving with each race, so his connections decided to try the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo again. This time, the horse showed the heart that characterizes him and won in great style, earning a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf over 1½ miles to be contested on October 31 at Keeneland. After this performance, Ordak Dan’s connections decided to give him another shot.

“This is an opportunity that occurs once in life. Also, my father who is 97 encouraged us to try it again. Then, in talks with the jockey and the trainer, we decided to give Ordak Dan a shot,” Luis Erro said.

Ordak Dan’s connections are not taking risk, and they will be giving a boost to his usual jockey. “Definitely the jockey will be Jorge Ricardo. He is very excited about the horse. He has shown a lot of enthusiasm for the horse, and, in fact, Ordak Dan’s last workout was remarkable,” Erro said.

Taking into account Ordak Dan’s shape, the whole team has high expectations for the horse even though they are trying the most international race of the series. “We are going to compete. We know that is a tough race where European horses participate, but we have faith in our horse. Ordak Dan flies on Wednesday, September 9. We hope he arrives in optimal condition; we want to win,” Luis Erro added.

Ordak Dan’s story is what encourages fans to love the horses. He definitely deserves a shot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf since he is a proven router and a horse with a big heart who is really tough to pass in the stretch.

Lady And The Track would like to thank Luis Erro for taking the time to talk to us. We look forward to seeing Ordak Dan run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf with a clean trip.

Gran Premio 25 de Mayo 2015 – Ordak Dan (ARG) Replay: