Juan Hernandez © Benoit Photo
HERNANDEZ BACK TO WORK SUNDAY AFTER A SIX-WIN SATURDAY
Over the past several years jockey Juan Hernandez has ruled the Del Mar jockey standings. The 33-year old rider has won four straight riding titles and six of the last seven dating back to the fall of 2021. In every one of his winning campaigns there’s one particular weekend when he takes control, winning several races and making his lead insurmountable.
This year it may have come a little bit earlier than usual. Saturday, Hernandez won six races which boosted his lead in the jockey standings to eight over Antonio Fresu, who was having a day of his own, finishing second in seven races. When one jockey is winning six of the 10 races, there’s isn’t much left to do but run second.
“It felt great,” Hernandez said when asked what it was like to get on such a roll. “You always feel good when you win a race, it’s a good feeling. But to win six. I looked at the form in the morning and I felt like I had a really good chance to win a couple of races. I never thought I would win six.”
Hernandez won the second race on Bottle of Rouge; Race 4, the G3 Best Pal, with Desert Gate; and Races 6 through 9 including the second graded stake of the day, the G2 Yellow Ribbon on Heredia. Three of his victories came on Bob Baffert horses.
“My agent Craig (O’Bryan) picked some good horses for me and we got lucky, too,” Hernandez contends. “We had good trips and the horses ran great. We had a great day.”
Hernandez has won five races on a single card six times. He’s done it twice at Golden Gate, three times up at Santa Anita and once at Del Mar. A seventh win on the day was on his mind when he went out to ride the nightcap Saturday.
“I was trying to go for seven,” Hernandez admits, “but my filly didn’t fire. But I’m pretty happy with six and hopefully we’ll keep the momentum going for today (Sunday).”
The record for wins on a single card at Del Mar is seven shared by Victor Espinoza in 2006 and Drayden Van Dyke in 2018. Hernandez has joined some pretty elite company with his six pack of wins: Bill Shoemaker (1954); Laffit Pincay, Jr. (1976 and 1978); Rudy Rosales (1969) and Flavien Prat (2022).
Hernandez now has 24 wins at the summer meet while Fresu sits in second with 16 but given we’re not even halfway through the meet, Fresu still has time to make up the deficit. Just don’t expect Hernandez to let up on the gas. Despite his banner day on Saturday, Hernandez was back out at the track Sunday morning working horses.
“We had to work a couple of important horses today,” he notes. “I worked Sweet Azteca. She worked pretty good, went nice and easy. And we have a couple more on the turf like Queen Maxima. She’s getting ready to run. Maybe I’ll take off Monday or Tuesday.”
PACIFIC CLASSIC PREVIEW: THREE WEEKS TO DEL MAR’S MARQUEE RACE
We are now less than three weeks away from the 34th running of the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar and the list of contenders is beginning to grow. In the game of horse racing, nothing is official until the horse actually steps into the gate but the Classic is as good as done when the racing office draws the entries the Tuesday before the race.
Trainers will nominate horses to the race weeks in advance but that could mean anything from definitely pointing to the race to keeping it an option. Nominations for the Classic close Thursday, August 21.
So any list at this point in time is filled with fact mixed with rumors, conjecture and a small dose of wishful thinking.
That being said, there are a couple of horses that trainers have indicated are being pointed toward the $1 million race on Saturday, August 30 beginning with one trainer who doesn’t make it a habit to reveal his intentions weeks in advance. But Bob Baffert has been quoted several times as saying his G2 San Diego Handicap winner Nysos will run in the Pacific Classic.
He’s also mentioned Mirahmadi as a possibility for the mile and a quarter race that’s a ‘Win and You’re In’ for the Breeders’ Cup Classic this fall at Del Mar.
Trainer John Shirreffs has mentioned running the veteran Express Train in the Classic, though he’s also considering the 8-year old for the G2 Pat O’Brien the week before.
The Pat O’Brien on Saturday August 23 is seven furlongs, shorter than what Express Train has been running for most of his career, but not unprecedented.
“He ran really well going short when I ran him first off the layoff,” Shirreffs notes referring to his third-place finish in the Kona Gold at Santa Anita in 2024, Express Train’s first race in 19 months.
Shirreffs says he’ll make a decision after Express Train’s next work, which should be next week. He breezed Thursday (4f, :49.00), his first work since running third in the San Diego.
Shirreffs’ other star in the stable, Baeza, also breezed four furlongs Thursday (4f, :48.00), his first work since returning from New York after his runner-up finish to Sovereignty in the G2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. The G1 Travers had been mentioned as a possible next race for the son of McKinzie but now Shirreffs says he is not going back to New York with the colt.
“He had his first breeze yesterday and he looked good,” Shirreffs says. “We’ll tell more after his next breeze.”
Various reports have Shirreffs considering the Pacific Classic or staying with his own age group in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx in September.
Another horse reportedly pointing to the Pacific Classic is 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner White Abarrio. Trainer Saffie Joseph made that announcement last week.
Also mentioned as possible contenders for the Classic are Mark Glatt’s Judge Miller and Ultimate Gamble and Craig Dollase’s Midnight Mammoth, winner of last year’s G3 Cougar II at Del Mar.
Of course everyone is keeping an eye out and an ear open for any word from the Michael McCarthy barn about his super horse, Journalism, who put in his first work Saturday since his win in the Haskell last month.
The connections for the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes runner-up -- and winner of the Preakness -- have been weighing their options between staying home and running in the Pacific Classic or shipping back east for the G1 Travers at Saratoga. We should learn more next weekend when they put another work into Journalism.
Two horses that had been rumored heading to the Classic are no longer under consideration. Full Serrano, who came within yards of winning last year’s Pacific Classic before getting rundown by Mixto, will not make the big race. He worked Sunday morning for trainer John Sadler.
“He went a minute and went beautiful,” Sadler notes. “We’re going to look for something late in the meet.”
He added a definitive ‘no’ when asked about the Pacific Classic.
Tarantino was also in the rumor mill heading to the Classic but trainer Peter Eurton says he might go back east to the Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on August 22 or to the Far East to South Korea for the Korea Cup. Eurton says they’ve received an invitation to that big race on September 7.
G1 DEL MAR OAKS HIGHLIGHTS NEXT WEEK’S STAKES ACTION
The stakes racing so far at Del Mar has been nothing short of exhilarating with close finishes and outstanding performances. It continues next week as we cross the half-way point of the summer meet. Three stakes are on the docket including another Grade I.
Friday it’s the 28th running of the CTT and TOC Stakes, a mile and an eighth test on the turf for fillies and mares. It’s attracted 20 nominations including Mrs. Astor from the Jonathan Thomas barn, last year’s G3 Red Carpet winner during Del Mar’s Bing Crosby meet.
Entries for Friday’s races will be drawn later today (Sunday).
Saturday is the 69th running of the G1 Del Mar Oaks. The top 3-year-old grass fillies on the grounds will go a mile and an eighth on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Twenty fillies have been nominated for the race, including several from last month’s G2 San Clemente. The winner, Thought Process, is being pointed to the Oaks according to trainer Philip D’Amato. Runner-up in the San Clemente, Casalu, from the Bob Baffert barn and the third-place finisher, Will Then, from Jonathan Thomas’ stable have also been nominated for the Oaks.
Baffert nominated Tenma for the race, which would be a change of surface for the 2024 Del Mar Debutante winner. The daughter of Nyquist and winner of the G2 Santa Anita Oaks earlier this year, has never raced on the turf.
Saturday’s entries will be drawn on Wednesday.
On Sunday Del Mar will tee-up the 32nd running of the $150,000 Solana Beach for Cal-bred fillies and mares going one mile on the turf.
Grand Slam Smile, runner-up in the Osunitas last month, returns to Cal-bred company and is one of 13 nominees for the race.
Entries for Sunday’s races will be drawn Thursday.
PEGRAM TO BE PRESENTED WITH PINCAY AWARD SUNDAY
Horse owner and racing executive Mike Pegram will be awarded the 2025 Pincay Award Sunday prior to the third race at Del Mar. The 73-year-old Kentucky native has been involved in horse racing since the 1970’s when he raced Thoroughbreds with his father. He may be best known for his partnership with trainer Bob Baffert and their near miss in the 1998 Triple Crown with Real Quiet.
Pegram becomes the 21st recipient of the Pincay Award presented to those who have served the sport of racing “with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction.”
He will be presented the award by Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr. prior to the G3 Sorrento, a race one of his Hall of Fame horses won in 1998. Silverbulletday went on to win eight straight graded stakes including the G1 Kentucky Oaks in 1999.
COOLING OUT: All three of Bob Baffert’s Saturday winner’s came back in good order. Bottle of Rouge, a convincing maiden winner, may be heading to the Debutante next month. Privman will look to step up from his impressive allowance win yesterday, and Desert Gate, winner of the G3 Best Pal, is likely headed to G1 Del Mar Futurity though Baffert was hesitant to say for sure. “Obviously that’s the spot to go,” Baffert said, “but they’re young horses. Right now we just want to keep them healthy. When we get closer we’ll figure out what we’re going to do with him.”…Heredia came out of her win in the G2 Yellow Ribbon in good shape and will ship back to trainer Graham Motion’s barn at Fair Hill in Maryland on Tuesday…Final Boss, winner of Race 7 Saturday, a gritty third-level allowance race, came out of it fine and is being considered for the G2 Del Mar Handicap on Pacific Classic Day…The runner-up to Final Boss, Gold Phoenix, will also be pointed to the Handicap. “He needed a prep to get him to the Del Mar Handicap,” trainer Phil D’Amato notes, “and that’s what we got.” Gold Phoenix has won the Handicap three years in a row…Notable works on Sunday: Dirt – Brant (3f, :36.40); Hejazi (3f, :35.00); Dr. Venkman (4f, :48.80); Grand Slam Smile (4f, :49.00); Medoro (4f, :48.40); Full Serrano (5f, 1:00.20); Stronghold (5f, 1:00.20); Sweet Azteca (5f, 1:00.00); Tenma (5f, 1:00.40); Mirahmadi (6f, 1:12.60), and Speed Boat Beach (6f, 1:11.60). Turf – Almendares (4f, :49.60); Jungle Peace (4f, :50.20); King of Gosford (4f, :49.60); Will Then (4f, :49.80); Ag Bullet (5f, 1:00.60); Motorious (5f, 1:02.00); Queen Maxima (5f, 1:01.80), and Thought Process (5f, 1:00.20).