Our questions are answered by jockey who has enjoyed an annus mirabilis – notably via a memorable Kentucky Oaks-Derby double with Mystik Dan and Thorpedo Anna
Brian Hernandez is enjoying the year of all years. The Louisiana native has long been a prolific-winning jockey since he earned an Eclipse award as outstanding apprentice in 2004 with a haul of 243 victories.
To this regular supply of quantity, however, he has added quality in 2024, and how! During a heady couple of days in May, Hernandez became only the eighth jockey to complete the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double (and the first since Calvin Borel in 2009), on the Ken McPeek-trained pair Thorpedo Anna and Mystik Dan.
Mystik Dan subsequently finished second in the Preakness and, since finishing a disappointing eighth in the Belmont in June, is now approaching a return to action after time off.
In the meantime Thorpedo Anna has continued to dominate her division and, after giving Fierceness a proper scare in the Travers, landed the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar in November back amongst her own sex.
“To be able to get all this many three-year-olds and good horses all in the same year, like we have, has made it a magical year,” said Hernandez. “Winning the prestigious races has been the icing on the cake.”
Hernandez, who is 39, lives in Simpsonville, Kentucky, with wife Jamie and three children. He is the son of Brian Hernandez Sr. who had a 20-year career as a jockey.
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
I have always respected the game and looked up to a lot of riders in the past. The one person I have looked up to most has been my Dad. I was lucky enough to be able to follow him around as a young kid. It’s been very fulfilling to follow in his footsteps. During the summertime my brother Colby and I were always on the backstretch and that helped shaped us to get ready to becoming jockeys.
Which is your favorite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
Now that we have made Kentucky our home, Churchill Downs is the place where I spend most of the year. That would be my favorite venue, in a tie with Fair Grounds, down in Louisiana. I grew up going to the Fair Grounds and idolised the guys who rode there, wanting to ride there myself one day.
Racewise it has to be the Kentucky Derby, by far. That’s the race everybody recognises and everybody around the world watches so when you are able to participate in a race like the Derby it means the world. Up until this year I hadn’t had any on-the-board finishes.
Going into the Oaks on Friday we knew we had a really big chance with the filly. When she went out and really dominated, both Kenny and myself were quietly confident Mystik Dan would be able to pull it off, if we worked out the right trip. Having won the Oaks on Friday made us go into Saturday with a lot of belief and confidence.
Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
We have to give all the credit in the world to Mystik Dan for giving us our first Kentucky Derby. I think it’s a tie between him and Thorpedo Anna (right). You have to respect the ride she has taken us on. She has taken us all around the country, making me a well-known figure from Kentucky out to New York and over in California.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
That is definitely a tie between winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic back in 2012 on my birthday over at Santa Anita, and doing the Oaks-Derby double. Before the Classic, Fort Larned had finished third in the Jockey Club and I remember walking back through the Belmont tunnel with his trainer Ian Wilkes feeling a little disappointed. Ian looked over at me and said: ‘Don’t worry about today. We are going to show them what he really has in six weeks at the Breeders’ Cup.’
When we got there on the Saturday he re-emphasised it. ‘If you can break real good, he’s going to win today’, he said. He went out there and showed the world how fast he was. He was my first big horse. He showed with the right horse under you, a young jockey can get the job done. I was fortunate to have the right people in my corner.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
I would like to make it easier for the general public and new fans to understand racing so we can bring more people into the sport. If you are not into racing, it’s not that straightforward to pick up things like how to read the form. Racing is going through a lot of changes since HISA came in and there are still some growing pains which I hope will eventually be worked out.
Brian Hernandez was speaking to Jon Lees
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