Brian Hernandez Jr. celebrates in the winner’s circle after riding Mystik Dan to win the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. Brian Hernandez Jr. celebrates in the winner’s circle after riding Mystik Dan to win the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. Brian Hernandez Jr.
“We just needed to be able to save every inch of ground,” Hernandez said. “That’s what we were able to do.”made Borel proud with one of the most efficient, masterfully made trips in recent history, traveling just 8 feet more than the 1¼-mile Derby distance measured from the furthest inside part of the track, according tolooking to add a second Triple Crown victory to his resume and establish himself in the top tier of jockeys currently riding.
Retired jockey Donna Brothers thinks Hernandez did a great job getting inside position in a field of 20, staying close but not too close to the leaders, showing patience and being “brazen” by shooting through the tight seam available between the closest horse and the rail. Fellow NBC Sports analyst Jerry Bailey, a two-time winning jockey in each leg of the Triple Crown, praised Hernandez for doing his best impression of Borel.
Anything short of perfect would have handed the race and the bed of roses to Sierra Leone or Forever Young, the rivals who stormed down the stretch but could not catch up to Mystik Dan before the wire. As Brothers said, “It definitely made the difference between winning the Kentucky Derby and losing the Kentucky Derby.”“It’s going to be a whole different ballgame,” Hernandez said. “There’ll be a little more pressure on us.
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