The photograph to find out the winner of the 150th operating of the Kentucky Derby took a jiffy to publish however to these concerned it’d as properly have been hours.
Mystik Dan, with a sensible experience up the rail, had pulled to about a three-length lead with about a sixteenth of a mile to go. But Sierra Leone was coming quick on the outdoors and Forever Young was in between horses with a lot of end. The lead stored getting smaller and smaller till it appeared to evaporate. Watching it reside, the eye couldn’t choose a winner. But, the replay appeared as if Mystic Dan had held on. Maybe.
“It took about two minutes,” mentioned profitable jockey Brian Hernandez. “And then finally when they said, ‘Yeah, you’ve just won the Kentucky Derby,’ I was like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s a long two minutes.’ Yes, that was the longest two minutes in sports — from the fastest two minutes to the longest, by far.”
The official margin of victory was a nose and one other nose separated Sierra Leone and Forever Young. But, it was actually only one nose, and a small one at that, separating all three horses. It was the closest end since 1996 when Grindstone beat Cavonnier by a nose and the closest three-way end since 1947 when Jet Pilot received by a head. Most of the 156,170 in attendance knew they noticed an ending for the ages.
Mystik Dan wins the Kentucky Derby over Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a photograph end Saturday at Churchill Downs.
(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
“Between the post position draw and the job that Brian did gave us a huge opportunity because we saved ground, saved ground, saved ground,” mentioned profitable coach Kenny McPeek. “And when you look at that photo finish, I think we needed all of it to hold off the second and third place horses.”
The win accomplished a dream couple days for each Hernandez and McPeek. The pair received the Kentucky Oaks, the feminine equal of the Derby, with Thorpedo Anna. It was solely the fourth time the identical coach had received each races. Saturday was the first Derby win for each McPeek and Hernandez.
“For three weeks, I’ve felt like we were going to win both races,” McPeek mentioned. “I can’t tell you why. Both horses have been easy to deal with, the team has done such a great job every day. There’s been no drama. I just believe in mojo, in positive energy and we’ve had a lot of it.”
Mystik Dan’s path to the Derby went via Hot Springs, Ark., the place he was fifth in the Smarty Jones, received the Southwest Stakes over a muddy observe after which completed third in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn. In two weeks is the Preakness and it needs to be a rematch between Mystik Dan and Arkansas Derby winner Muth, who was ineligible for the Derby as a result of he’s educated by Bob Baffert.
It was the second straight 12 months that coach Todd Pletcher and proprietor Mike Repole had the favourite however got here up quick for very totally different causes. Last 12 months that they had the favourite in Forte however he was scratched by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on race day. On Saturday, Fierceness didn’t break sharply however was hustled to the lead by jockey John Velazquez. He backed off a little down the backstretch however folded in the stretch of the 1 ¼-mile race.
The rap on Fierceness is that he solely runs properly each different race, and he match that sample in the Derby.
“Johnny [Velazquez] said he hopped a little at the start,” Pletcher mentioned. “Then he got wound up in all the company around him trying to make the lead. He couldn’t shake loose like he did in Florida. Just one of those races.”
The race was a celebration for Japanese racing with Forever Young ending third and T O Password getting fifth. Forever Young was the third betting alternative regardless of the undeniable fact that horses that had their final race in the Middle East had been 0 for 19. Now that handicapping angle could go in the trash can.
Jockey Kazushi Kimura is hoping that T O Password sticks round.
“This was his third time running and he was in a new country,” Kimura mentioned. “He probably wasn’t 100% mature. [Saturday] he finished up strong. I hope the horse can stay for the Preakness.”
The solely California horse in the race, Stronghold, was in a good stalking place via the first mile however bought swallowed up by closers and completed seventh.
“I had a beautiful race all the way around,” mentioned jockey Antonio Fresu. “I was very relaxed all the way and then in the stretch when I tried to make a move, he went for it a little bit, he got discouraged but didn’t show up in the last part.”
The last order of end was Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone, Forever Young, Catching Freedom, T O Password, Resilience, Stronghold, Honor Marie, Endlessly, Dornoch, Track Phantom, West Saratoga, Domestic Product, Epic Ride, Fierceness, Society Man, Just Steel, Grand Mo the First, Catalytic and Just a Touch.
Mystic Dan paid $39.22 to win, $16.32 to position and $10.00 to indicate. Kentucky makes use of penny breakage whereas most states, reminiscent of California, spherical right down to the dime.
Up subsequent is the Preakness and there possible received’t be a lot of horses that ran in the Derby. But there’ll possible be one and it’s the solely received that counts. The winner of the Kentucky Derby, Mystik Dan.