“Wow!” is what Kenny McPeek said about winning the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday with Mystik Dan (18:1) after winning the Kentucky Oaks on Friday with Thorpedo Anna. And that was the refrain that spread through the stands and the global online audience. It was a nail-biting finish, for sure. While Mystik Dan was leading down the stretch by 2 1/2 lengths, Sierra Leone and Forever Young made a strong challenge, running in unison to catch the leader. If the race had been a few feet longer, one of them might have done it. As it was, this was the first photo finish that involved three horses since 1947 when Jet Pilot finished a head in front of Phalanx, who was a head in front of Faultess, only this was closer. The last time the Kentucky Derby was won by a nose came in 1996 when Grindstone edged Cavonnier.
McPeek became the fourth trainer in the history of the races to win the Oaks/Derby double. Ben Jones was the last trainer to win both races in 1952 with Real Delight and Hill Gail. Remarkably, Jones also won both races in 1949 with Wistful and Ponder.
Eight jockeys have won the Oaks/Derby double, with the most recent (after Hernandez) being Calvin Borel in 2009, who rode Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird. Interestingly, Hernandez had studied Borel’s rail hugging rides in preparation for the Derby, after the horse drew post position #3, hoping to turn a potentially bad draw into and advantage — I guess that paid off. Hernandez was so close to the rail that he bumped his boot against it.
And that’s the nice thing about Kenny [McPeek]. He entrusts me to do things like that. We thought we had the right kind of horse to give him that kind of trip. So we found our spot under the wire the first time quickly. Then from there, he was just so nice and comfortable the entire way. I was really proud of him that he was able to just cruise along nicely.
When I called on him to hit the spot that I needed to right before we straightened, to kind of get a little separation on the deep, deep closers, he did it. He jumped off quickly and we were able to get that separation, and that made the difference of them not getting to him in the wire.
When we got to the eighth pole and he was still running, I just kind of had my head down riding. Three jumps before the wire, I didn’t see them at all. And then right at the wire, they surged late, and I was like: ‘Oh, God, did we win the Kentucky Derby?’ I was asking the outrider that, and he said: ‘We think you won but they haven’t said it officially yet.’
Brian Hernandez
The involvement of Kenny McPeek started before the Derby-winning colt’s birth. McPeek trained Mystik Dan’s mare, Ma’am, and when she neared retirement, he convinced the the co-owners, Lance, Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway not to retire her but to breed her with Goldencents, a 2013 Derby entrant.
“With my fingerprints all over (the pedigree), it’s really great,” McPeek said. “And I trained the grandsire Harlan’s Holiday too. It’s a lot of gratification doing something like that for nice people like the Gasaways.”
I will admit that Mystic Dan was not on my radar for the race, although he should have been. Looking at Beyer speed numbers, he had posted the second highest (101) after Fierceness (110). So the speed was there and the trip was perfect. Meanwhile, Fierceness faded to 15th.
Before the race, I favored Forever Young, who ran a very strong race despite being bumped three times by Sierra Leone up the stretch and being crowded at the start. He clocked the best finish of a Japanese horse in the race. I would have liked to see him race more in the US, but I believe he is already on his way back to Japan.
I also liked Sierra Leone, who, as a closer, I thought didn’t have much of a chance in such a crowded race. He certainly made a valiant effort with his closing run. You could see that he was getting tired as he started to drift left (bumping Forever Young), but as I said above, had the race been a bit longer, I think he might have won. With his racing style, it’s no surprise that his trainer, Brad Cox, said the horse won’t run in the Preakness, but is being aimed at the Belmont.
Right now, Mystik Dan’s connections have not committed to the Preakness. So it’s unlikely we will have a Triple Crown contender this year. But other than a Triple Crown winner, it’s one of the most exciting seasons already that we’ve seen in decades.
Still not as fast as the immortal Secritariat,but good.
Totally agree with your commentary. I did not have Mystik Dan as the winner either, but I had 5 of the top 7 in my “mix” to win. I went with Fierceness and Just a Touch instead. Plus, I had envisioned a stretch run with Fierceness and Forever Young. Little did I know that would be Sierra Leone by FY’s side down the stretch… Looking back at my notes that I kept for each horse, I missed clear indications that Mystik Dan would be the one. I had noted that McPeek was supremely confident he had the horse to win b/c Dan was fresh (having not run since March 30), and that he had “learned” how to go two turns and settle, “not jump the gun” (acc to McPeek). I also set aside the fact that Dan raced twice previously at CD and won there, plus he had gotten to CD early after the AR Derby. What tripped me up some about the colt was the mixed messages about his pedigree getting the 10f by the experts. I didn’t take into consideration the #3post and a rail ride. Plus, I didn’t think about his speed to bolt out of the gate and get in front of Dornoch, who quite frankly, I envisioned would have a similar trip to Dan’s. In any event, I love your blog and I also look forward to the rest of the season with all of our great three-year-old contenders moving forward. For instance, what is to become of Fierceness? When will we see him next?