SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jose Ortiz put the Grade 3, $350,000 Poker Stakes on ice early on. Ice Chocolat broke alertly in the one-mile race on the inner turf for older horses and, when no one went with him in the opening jumps, Ortiz took initiative. He rationed his mount well through moderate opening fractions, and Ice Chocolat kept finding more to the wire, turning back foes to win by a length. "He did relax well," said Ortiz, a multi-time leading rider at Saratoga. "Mark [Casse] usually doesn't give many instructions. He broke clean, so I helped him through the turn and see what happened. I wasn't expecting to be there, but how he broke, I went with intent. If they cleared me, then I would have took back, but they left me alone, and the horse took care of the rest." This was the second graded stakes win of the week for Ortiz, who moved his tack to Kentucky this spring but does plan to ride the summer meet at Saratoga. After winning the Grade 1 New York Stakes on Didia Friday and now the Poker, he is inching closer to a milestone, with 2,998 North American wins. Ortiz has five more mounts today at Saratoga, including three Grade 1 rides - Frost Free in the Woody Stephens, Thin White Duke in the Jaipur, and Far Bridge in the Manhattan. Ortiz has ridden Ice Chocolat, a 6-year-old Brazilian-bred gelding, in his two most recent starts for Casse and owners Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, and Peter Deutsch. Wachtel and Barber celebrated their own double on Saturday, as they also co-own Baby Yoda with Pantofel Stable and Jerold Zero; that popular runner took the Grade 2 True North Stakes in the race before the Poker. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Ice Chocolat, a Group 3 winner in Brazil, scored his first graded stakes win in the U.S. - although he has placed in six graded stakes in the U.S. and Canada, including a third in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap last summer at Saratoga. Last time out, Ortiz was in the tack for an eighth-place finish in the Opening Verse Stakes at Churchill Downs, behind Poker post-time favorite Carl Spackler and fellow entrant Talk of the Nation. "I don't think I broke as clean as today," Ortiz said. "I think he likes to be forward, even if he's not on the lead - be close. And today, he was forward, and relaxed well, and he finished well." In the Poker, Ice Chocolat ($50) did relax beautifully through his opening splits of 24.41 seconds for the quarter and 48.17 seconds for the half on the course officially rated firm after rain yesterday. Talk of the Nation - who led early in the Opening Verse before missing by a head - was tracking about a length back. Talk of the Nation ranged up on the outside under Ortiz's brother, Saratoga leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr., and was near-even through six furlongs in 1:11.34. Meanwhile, Casa Creed, a multi-time Grade 1 winner at Saratoga, looked to be revving up with a run on the far outside. In the final yards, Ice Chocolat, under strong urging, had enough to turn back Talk of the Nation, kicking clear to win by a length. He stopped the clock in 1:33.97 for the mile and was given a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. “He brought his ‘A’ game today,” Casse said. “You have to give a lot of credit to Jose. I don’t give instructions. I told him to just play the break and see what happens. He said he broke running, and from there, catch me if you can. … Jose won it in the first half-mile.” Mysterious Night, who had been tracking in the second flight, ran on well to edge Talk of the Nation by a head for second. It was another length to Casa Creed, who finished out of the top three at Saratoga for the first time in his career. Carl Spackler never seriously threatened while finishing fifth - also the first loss for him at Saratoga. Kubrick and Lucky Strike, also trained by Casse, rounded out the order of finish. Front Run the Fed was scratched. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.