If you asked the management at Churchill Downs to write a script for how they would like to celebrate the venerable track’s 150th Derby, I’m not sure they could have come up with this one.
Trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez broke a combined 0-33 record of frustration in Derby 150. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The weekend party got started on Friday. The duo took down the Kentucky Oaks in dazzling fashion when their filly, Thorpedo Anna (our pick), splashed her way to victory after a rail-skimming ride that Calvin Borel would have been proud of. Both McPeek and Hernandez have often been operating under everyone’s radar.
Hernandez is from cajun country in Louisiana and is as likable as talented. He’s probably the most underrated jockey in America. With half of the Oaks/Derby double in the bag, they started formulating their strategy for adding roses to their resumes.
Most experts gave Mystik Dan a slim chance to hit the board in the Derby. He certainly moved up with the potential for an off-track as he scored the biggest win of his career in the mud in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. After that win, McPeek had to push his horse for some more Derby points in the Arkansas Derby. He finished a decent third that day but was no match for Bob Baffert’s Muth.
In their morning breezes, Thorpedo Anna took it to Mystic Dan, and they both helped each other attain maximum fitness for their weekend assignments to come.
In Derby lore gone by, there was an old axiom: the winner “never had a straw in his path.” At post-time, the 156,710 in attendance didn’t seem convinced that Mystic Dan could put his name on Derby’s holy grail, being dismissed at 18-1. The 3-1 favorite was Fierceness and rightfully so. He was by far the fastest horse on paper, but someone forgot to read that section to Hernandez and Mystic Dan.
After getting a comfortable position down on the rail in eighth, Hernandez made a “Bo-rail” like decision to keep Mystik Dan down on the inside and made a bold move in very tight quarters to move up to sixth round the turn for the back stretch. Once there, his eyes had to be as big as his horses, because they left the rail wide open for another patented signature Borel-like move, the rail skim on the turn.
By that time, Fierceness was packing it in after getting heat from his inside and outside. While scooting up the rail to take the lead, Hernandez said that he said to himself, “oh my gosh, I’m going to win the Kentucky Derby!” Uh oh...at the head of the stretch, Resilience was blowing past horses; both Forever Young (JPN) and Sierra Leone were revving up their cavalry charges. The wide move took its toll on Resilience as he dropped out of contention. Meanwhile, “Calvin” Hernandez was in sprint mode, but you could tell he was getting tired.
With 100 yards to go, it looked like Mystik Dan was in hot water with Sierra Leone and Forever Young (JPN) gobbling up huge chunks of Twin Spires real estate. They all three hit the wire together. Not even Hernandez knew who won.
On the gallop out, he asked an outrider who won and indicated that he thought his horse won. “The fastest two minutes in sports became the longest two minutes in sports,” Hernandez said. Indeed, the photo showed that he and Mystik Dan had won by the shortest of noses, with Sierra Leone a fire-breathing 2nd and another nose to Forever Young (JPN). His stablemate, TO Password (JPN), finished a credible 5th.
Japan has to be respected as an international force in racing. Another Japanese horse, TO St. Denis, almost won on the Oaks undercard after setting impossible fractions. But the day and now weekend at Kenny’s was a smash.
It was the first time since 1952 that a trainer won the Oaks and the Derby. How fitting that Hernandez became the first rider since 2009 to take the Oaks/Derby double. That jockey was none other than his cajun mentor, Calvin Borel.
The fractions were tepid but not insane, :22.97 and :46.63. Track Phantom, Fierceness and Just Steel led them to the six-furlong mark in 1:11.31 and a mile in 1:37.46, but that’s where the race fell apart with Mystik Dan pulling off his rail-skimming heist with no straw to be seen.
The final time was a relatively slow 2:03.3. The victory was worth another $3.1 million added to the McPeek/Hernandez Oaks purse. Catching Freedom put in his late charge to get 4th. My pick, Honor Marie, had a nightmare start and was sandwiched between horses, was caught in traffic and steadied on the first turn, dropped to last, but was able to weave through the traffic to finish an impressive eighth.
McPeek was asked after the Oaks win if Thorpedo Anna was being considered for the Preakness, but that’s all gone away with Mystik Dans’ Derby win. McPeek reported at the post-Derby press conference that Thorpedo Anna was fine, but she was very spent and didn’t eat up all of her oats. Mystik Dan paid a generous $39.22 to win, $16.32 to place, and $10 to show.
The favorite, Fierceness’s (15th) rider, John Velazquez, didn’t seem to offer much of an excuse for his horse except that “his first jump wasn’t good, but his second and third jump was OK. He got pretty aggressive since I had to give him a nudge out of there. The horses on the outside put the pressure on and then he got into the bridle. I tried to keep him as settled as much without letting him do too much, but he was already engaged. When I let him go, he didn’t have it.”
Sierra Leone’s (2nd) jockey Tyler Gaffalione said that “they followed Forever Young (JPN) and everything was going to plan. He had plenty of horse. He wanted to lean in today and that made it difficult. I had a hard time keeping him straight, and that cost us. He gives you everything, very responsive, but he loses concentration.”
It will be interesting to see who’s waiting for Mystik Dan in Baltimore. What I know for sure is that neither the owners nor the jockey will ever forget their weekend at Kenny’s.