Asked to sum up his victory with Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, trainer Ken McPeek succinctly said, “Wow,” Sunday morning on the Churchill Downs backside. An 18-1 outsider, Mystik Dan just held on to a nose victory after a rail-skimming trip under Brian Hernandez, Jr.
“Brian Hernandez gave him the ride,” a joyous but sleep-deprived McPeek said. “Look, he doesn't win the race without the job Brian did.”
For his part, Hernandez was appreciative of McPeek's faith in him.
“I was fortunate to ride for Kenny,” said Hernandez. “He and the owners entrusted me to have the daring trip that we had. And we were fortunate to have a horse that trusted us, and he went through a couple of tight spots, and never thought twice about doing it. It was like, 'No problem,' and did it. It's a big team effort, more than anything.”
Of his trip in the Derby, Hernandez said, “It got pretty tight. Going around the second turn, I was watching those horses to the outside, and the thing about a race like that, everyone starts to make their moves. They can just stack and stack and stack, but we were just sitting there waiting. And the minute that Joel [Rosario, riding 41-1 Track Phantom] made a half a step to go meet those horses, we're shooting through. When we did that, [Joel] tried to come back down, but by then, Mystik Dan was already through there.”
With the wire fast approaching, Mystik Dan was all out to hold off the late-closing Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) in a dramatic three-way photo finish.
“We kind of busted through there right before we straightened up and headed for home,” Hernandez said. “And Mystik Dan switched leads, and spurted off, it was like, hurry up and get to the wire as fast as we can. It was just rolling. When we got to the eighth pole, I was thinking, 'Wow, we're about to win the Kentucky Derby. And then, right at the wire, it was like, maybe we got beat. He never stopped running. It was the first time they were going a mile-and-a-quarter, those horses were getting to him late, but he was there for us.”
The Derby win completed a big 24 hours for McPeek and Hernandez, who teamed to win the GI Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) Friday.
“For three weeks, I've felt that we had a shot at winning both races,” McPeek said. “Both horses have been doing fantastic. There was never any little issue, anywhere or anytime, with either horse. It was always all systems go.”
Two members of the partnership that owns Mystik Dan were at the McPeek barn Sunday, checking out the horse, talking to the news media, and accepting the presentation of WWE championship title belts that the fight organization is presenting to winners at various sporting events this year.
When asked how many trips to the Kentucky Derby they've made, both Lance Gasaway and Sherilyn Gasaway, wife of Lance's cousin Brent, made a startling admission.
“Just one,” the two said in unison.
McPeek is taking a wait-and-see approach to an engagement in the second leg of the Triple Crown in the May 18 GI Preakness S.
“We're not committing,” the trainer said. “When I ran him back in two weeks [at Churchill Downs last November], it completely backfired. And we skipped the Rebel because it was too short as well. So we'll watch him over the next week, and probably decide then. It will be a last-minute decision. We'll let him tell us.”
The newly minted Derby winner will ship to McPeek's Saratoga base and, should he skip the Preakness, will prepare there for the June 8 GI Belmont S.
Thorpedo Anna will likely make her next start in the June 7 GI Acorn S. Of speculation the filly could take on the boys in the Belmont, McPeek said, “I couldn't have Brian riding both horses.”
Also heading to Saratoga is Derby runner-up Sierra Leone.
“He's good, but he's not going to the Preakness,” trainer Chad Brown said of Sierra Leone. “I'm going to take him to Saratoga tomorrow and he's going to train there for the Belmont. He's a little tired. He's a real laid back horse, but when we brought him he out, was a little more tired than he normally is after his races. I think giving him the five weeks to the Belmont is definitely the right thing to do.”
Sierra Leone rallied from 18th early on, made a wide, sweeping move off the far turn, traded bumps with third-place finisher Forever Young in the lane and still only came up inches short. Brown said Sierra Leone does have a tendency to lean in and that jockey Tyler Gaffalione was trying to keep the colt straight in tight quarters with Forever Young without accidentally striking that rival with his stick.
“There was so much bumping going on there,” Brown said. “When horses are fatigued, they have a tendency to lean in a bit like he did with his last two wins and it's going to be more exaggerated when they're more tired. He had so much to do and by the time he got to the eighth pole, he was leaning in a bit.
“What Tyler was attempting to do is make room for his left stick, which the horse really respects, and keep him straight. And he was looking for sort of a pathway to use his left stick. But with the bumping, the tight duel between those two horses, it disarmed him with the stick. All he had was a rein to pull on and it really hurt his momentum. He couldn't use it because he had no room to use his left stick without hitting his horse. He didn't want to do that either. So he was trying create a path not only to straighten out my horse who really respects that, he was trying not to foul the other horse with the stick.”
Brown concluded, “I'm very proud of the horse. I'm disappointed with the result, but I'm so proud of the horse. In my mind, he ran the best race. That's no disrespect to the winner. It's just, it's a hard race to win, everything has to go right. With the winner, the horse showed up and was prepared right and he ran terrific. You have to have a trip where everything goes right.
“It's not [Mystik Dan's] fault the doors opened for him, I wish that would have happened for me. But I don't think lesser of the winner's performance. It's just an example of two trips. But that's what has to happen here. For us, I don't think we had a bad trip. But our horse was very far back on a track that favors speed and he had to go around a lot of horses and he had a ton of ground to make up. To almost get there despite all that, I really feel he ran the best race. We'll see going forward the rest of the year where he stacks up with the entire body of work.”
Susumu Fujita's Forever Young was scheduled to return to Japan Tuesday starting with a van trip to Chicago and then a flight to Narita.
Fujita left Louisville after the race Saturday night, but told Hiroshi Ando, racing manager for trainer Yoshito Yahagi, that he “enjoyed the massive atmosphere and was proud of his horse's performance.”
Despite the bumping down the lane between Sierra Leone and Forever Young, no claim of foul was made by jockey Ryusei Sakai.
“Claims of foul do not happen much in Japan,” Ando explained. “It is the stewards' call, not us.”
Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness (City of Light) came out of his disappointing 15th-place effort none-the-worse for wear, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.
“The colt seems fine this morning,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He cooled out fine and scoped clean and he's doing OK. I haven't had a chance to discuss what's next with [owner] Mike [Repole], but I think we will take a couple of weeks and let the dust settle before we make any decision. I believe he'll ship up to Saratoga in the next week.”
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