Brian Hernandez Jr will need a minute to digest his signature victory in the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Maybe even more time since the milestone derby capped the best weekend of a jockey career spent mostly under the radar.
The Louisiana native rode Mystik Dan to an epic win at Churchill Downs, sliding past favorite Fierceness along the rail at the final turn and holding off Sierra Leone and Forever Young by a nose in an epic three-horse photo finish.
Hernandez was not even sure he had won until seeing the replay and keeping his eyes glued to the flat screen that showed the continuous loop.
Photo: Michael Clevenger and Christopher Granger-USA Today
“I’m like: ‘Woo, I think we just won the Kentucky Derby,’ but then those horses, they were so far out there, you couldn’t really see them, and then they surged so quickly,” the 38-year-old said. “I was like: ‘Oh man, I hope we won. I hope we won.’ And then when they hung up our number, it was just instant relief.”
Hernandez’s derby victory aboard Mystik Dan at 18-1 odds came a day after he rode filly Thorpedo Anna to a wire-to-wire rout by four and three-quarter lengths in the 150th Kentucky Oaks.
That made him the first jockey to complete the Derby-Oaks double since Hall of Famer Calvin Borel achieved the feat in 2009 aboard Mine That Bird and filly Rachel Alexandra respectively. Kenny McPeek became the first trainer to earn the double since Ben Jones in 1952.
“We came into the weekend thinking we had really good chances both Friday and Saturday,” Hernandez said. “To have the horses pull it off for us, we really have to thank all the guys back in the barn.”
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take to sink in. It’s definitely a surreal moment,” he added.
Hernandez’s victory was fitting since he studied Borel’s derby wins aboard Mine That Bird and Super Saver (2010), along with being around him during 20 years of racing in Kentucky.
Those lessons paid off as he broke through after four derby finishes ranging from eighth to 12th, including 11th last May on Sun Thunder.
His seminal moment should not have been shocking considering Hernandez already had an Eclipse Award to his name as top apprentice rider in 2004 along with a Breeders’ Cup Classic win in 2012 with Fort Larned. He was also third in the Preakness two years ago with Creative Minister and has a slew of graded stakes wins.
Winning the Kentucky Derby brings a whole different type of recognition, along with a sparkling title that will precede Hernandez for the rest of his life.
McPeek said immediately afterward that the rider can no longer be considered underrated after a “brilliant” ride, and called the gutsy inside path taken to victory typical for the jockey.
“He knows what to do there,” McPeek said. “I always had a world of confidence in him. Rarely second-guess anything he does.”
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