Veteran jockey Rafael Bejarano will have the Kentucky Derby mount aboard Calumet homebred Happy Jack, trainer Doug O'Neill told the Daily Racing Form on Tuesday.
The 3-year-old son of Oxbow finished third in both the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and G2 San Felipe Stakes with Southern California-based Abel Cedillo in the irons. Bejarano, based in Kentucky, will pick up the mount for the first Saturday in May.
O'Neill and Bejarano have a strong history together, teaming up with Goldencents for back-to-back victories in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
The Peruvian-born Bejarano has twice hit the board in Triple Crown races, finishing second in the 2005 Belmont Stakes aboard Andromeda's Hero and third in the 2006 Belmont with Sunriver (trained by Nick Zito and Todd Pletcher, respectively). He owns 4,256 victories over the course of his 20-year career in the saddle.
Bejarano's best finish in the Run for the Roses came in 2009, when he was fourth aboard the Gary Stute-trained Papa Clem. He has ridden in the race a total of 11 times.
Read more at the Daily Racing Form.
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