Juan Hernandez
HERNANDEZ EYES THIRD STRAIGHT JOCKEY TITLE AT DEL MAR
Juan Hernandez returns to Del Mar this week in search of a hat trick. Should he capture the riding title at the Bing Crosby meet it would be his third consecutive riding title at the seaside track. He ran away with the jockey’s race this past summer and captured his first local riding title last fall.
Hernandez also won the Santa Anita winter/spring meet title earlier this year and was in the mix until the final day of Santa Anita’s fall meet so he’s been riding a hot streak for the past 12 months and brings plenty of momentum into the Bing Crosby meet, which begins its ninth season this Friday.
“I’m really happy,” Hernandez says. “My agent and I have got some really good horses to ride in the past couple meets. Just working hard that’s the key to winning. Checking the barns and the trainers, see if they need any help. They may not need help in the morning but sometimes they will give you a mount in the afternoon.”
Similar to the Del Mar summer meet, Hernandez will have a new influx of top jockeys to deal with this fall. Flavien Prat and John Velasquez have both said they plan to ride during the Bing Crosby meet. That is in addition to the usual top riders returning to Del Mar: Umberto Rispoli, Abel Cedillo, Santa Anita fall meet riding champion Ramon Vasquez, Hector Berrios, and a resurgent Edwin Maldonado. Not to mention Mike Smith, Joe Bravo, Victor Espinoza, Mario Gutierrez and Kyle Frey.
“I don’t mind,” Hernandez says. “I like the competition. I like to ride with those guys because you can learn a lot from them and it’s a good experience to ride with them. That’s why I’m here. Since I was a bug boy in Mexico I wanted to come here and ride with the best jockeys in the world.”
Hernandez defeated Prat by three victories in the 2021 Del Mar fall meet jockeys race, compiling over $1.1 million in earnings, without the aid of a Breeders’ Cup purse which tended to inflate the earnings of several jockeys at last fall’s meet. He finished third on Mackinnon in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but otherwise all his winnings came from the races he rode during the regular portion of the meet. He finished with 17 victories from 79 starts, with 13 seconds and 11 thirds.
“Craig (O’Bryan, his agent) tells me we have some good horses to ride at Del Mar,” Hernandez explains, adding that he likes riding the fall meet.
“I like Del Mar,” Hernandez says. “The track is beautiful. I like both surfaces, turf and dirt. The only thing is the drive back and forth.”
Unlike in the summer, when the jockeys and trainers live in the San Diego area during the meet, most of them commute from L.A. during the fall meet. Hernandez says he will drive down to Del Mar on Fridays and return on Sunday to Los Angeles where he works horses at Santa Anita during the week. It’s this dedication that has endeared Hernandez to many top trainers in Southern California and earned him several mounts at this year’s Breeders’ Cup.
“It was really good,” Hernandez says. “We got a second and my horses ran good.”
Hernandez finished second aboard Cave Rock in the Juvenile, his best effort in the Breeders’ Cup since his runner-up finish aboard Anneau d’Or to Storm the Court in the 2019 Juvenile. He had three other mounts in this year’s Breeders’ Cup. He also rode Edgeway in the Filly & Mare Sprint (7th); Gaslight Dancer in the Juvenile Turf (6th) and Artemus Citylimits in the Turf Sprint (5th).
“We’ve done really good there at Del Mar the past couple of meets,” Hernandez notes, “and hopefully we can keep it going.”
DEL MAR WELL REPRESENTED AT THIS YEAR’S BREEDERS’ CUP
It was a Breeders’ Cup to remember for many of the connections who participated in racing’s biggest event after spending all or part of their summer at Del Mar this year. In addition to the 23 horses who raced or trained here in 2022, eight jockeys and 13 trainers were based at the seaside oval this summer before descending on Lexington last week. Here were some of the more notable performances…
Flightline – John Sadler - winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic: It’s safe to say Pacific Classic winner Flightline lived up his billing. After sitting close to a suicide pace set by Life Is Good, the undefeated son of Tapit pounced at the top of the lane, grabbed the lead and left the field in his wake, just like he had done in every race he’s ever run. In the end he won by 8 ¼ lengths, a Breeders’ Cup record for margin of victory in the Classic.
Blue Stripe – Marcelo Polanco – Hector Berrios – runner-up in the Distaff: The betting public seriously misjudged Blue Stripe’s chances in the Distaff, allowing the Argentinean-bred mare to go off at 24-1. Anyone who witnessed her win in the G1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar knew she was better than that and she proved she belonged in the same class with Malathaat and Clairiere as she battled the pair to arguably the most thrilling finish of this year’s Cup, losing the head bob and settling for second.
Slow Down Andy – Doug O’Neill - Mario Gutierrez – third in the Dirt Mile: The Del Mar Derby winner laid close to the pace throughout, tipping out to the middle of the track to make his stretch run. But the winner, Cody’s Wish, and Cyberknife were already engaged in a fierce stretch long duel and ‘Andy’ was unable to reel them in.
Cave Rock – Bob Baffert – Juan Hernandez – runner-up in the Juvenile: There isn’t a horseman out there who wouldn’t take a second-place finish in any Breeders’ Cup race. But Cave Rock, winner of the Del Mar Futurity, was the heaviest bet favorite of Future All-Stars Friday and when he got run down by Forte in the Juvenile, even his trainer Bob Baffert expressed a pinch of disappointment. But Cave Rock will be back next year to compete in the Triple Crown and a chance for redemption.
C Z Rocket – Peter Miller – runner-up in the Sprint: Here was a horse who was running in allowance races at Del Mar this summer. But he’s always been a fierce competitor (just ask Whitmore) so when he posted a runner-up finish in the G2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship last month, Miller decided to give C Z a shot at a third Breeders’ Cup. He didn’t disappoint, actually taking the lead at the sixteenth pole only to get run down in the shadow of the wire by a high flying Elite Power. If nothing else, C Z can boast he outdueled last year’s sprint champion Jackie’s Warrior.
Other notable Breeders’ Cup performances by horses or connections that raced or trained at Del Mar this summer:
Taiba – Bob Baffert – Mike Smith – third in the Classic;
Ce Ce - Michael McCarthy – Victor Espinoza – fourth in the Filly & Mare Sprint;
G1 Del Mar Debutante winner And Tell Me Nolies – Peter Miller – Hector Berrios – eighth in the Juvenile Fillies;
Track record setter Speed Boat Beach – Bob Baffert – ninth in the Juvenile Turf Sprint;
Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Comanche Country – Philip D’Amato – Umberto Rispoli – seventh in the Juvenile Fillies Turf;
G3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf winner Packs A Wahlop – Jeff Mullins – Mike Smith – eighth in the Juvenile Turf;
G3 Rancho Bernardo winner Edgeway – John Sadler – Juan Hernandez – eighth in the Filly & Mare Sprint;
G1 Bing Crosby winner American Theorem – Joe Bravo – George Papaprodoumou – eighth in the Sprint;
Going to Vegas – Philip D’Amato – Umberto Rispoli – 12th in the Filly & Mare Turf;
Slammed – 12th in the Filly & Mare Sprint;
Gold Phoenix – Philip D’Amato – 10th in the Turf;
COOLING OUT: The horses remained in their stalls Tuesday and Wednesday after training was canceled at Del Mar due to the Pacific storm that pelted the region. The main track was sealed Monday afternoon after the first day of training for the fall meet. The training track is closed for the fall. Training is expected to resume Thursday…In addition to Opening Day this Friday, Del Mar also will be celebrating Veterans Day. Any uniformed service veteran will receive free entry to the track at all admission gates. Del Mar also will be honoring all its employee veterans on the racetrack after the fifth race.