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‘His Time Has Come’: Juan Hernadez Riding Hot At Santa Anita Park

With his third triple in the last three racing days on Saturday, hot-riding Juan Hernandez moved within two victories of tying Flavien Prat for the riding lead at Santa Anita's Autumn Meet that concludes on Oct. 25.

While Prat has been fulfilling stakes engagements at Keeneland during this holiday weekend, Hernandez closed the gap. Prat's record reads 16-17-9 from 56 mounts, a 29 percent winning clip, while Hernandez has a 14-3-5 mark from 55 mounts, 25 percent.

The success of the 28-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, who was a force in the Bay Area before coming to Southern California under the astute guidance of veteran agent Craig O'Bryan, may have caught some observers by surprise, but not O'Bryan.

“He was the runaway leader at Golden Gate last year winning at 32 percent,” O'Bryan said. “His time has come. He knew he was ready.

“I think you'll see him more and more confident the longer he stays. I'm not surprised at his success here, but I was surprised that I got him; (Northern California-based trainer) Blaine Wright kind of put it all together, so that part was great, but Juan is a good rider, very smooth and a really nice guy, too, a good family man with two kids.”

Humility aside, winning races on a major circuit requires equal amounts of desire and diligence from both jockey and agent. Juan and Craig have those attributes in abundance.

Among the jockeys O'Bryan has represented are three Hall of Fame members: Eddie Delahoussaye, Alex Solis and Gary Stevens.

“Juan is definitely holding up his end of the bargain; he's a very good jockey,” said Craig, whose father George was a top agent and whose 33-year-old son, Brandon, represents apprentice Jessica Pyfer, winner of her first race Friday on only her sixth mount.

Craig has been plying his trade as an agent for 49 years and George, bless his soul, “will be 100 late this month,” Craig said. “Brandon got off to a good start. You never want to go too long without getting your first win.”

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Heavily Favored Mo Forza Rolls To Another Victory In City Of Hope Mile Stakes

Heavily favored and on his way. That pretty much sums up the performance tendered by Mo Forza in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as the 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo rallied from off the pace to win by 1 3/4 lengths while in-hand under Flavien Prat. Trained by Peter Miller, Mo Forza got a mile on turf in 1:32.09 and he and his connections now eye an engagement in the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Breaking alertly from the outside in a field of seven, Mo Forza rated kindly and settled into a fluid rhythm down the backside, about five lengths off pacesetting Blitzkrieg with a half mile to run. Three-deep turning for home, he was hand ridden while lugging in a bit through the lane and won with consummate ease over multiple graded stakes winner Sharp Samurai.

“He pretty much had the same trip as he did in the Del Mar Mile (G2, Aug. 23),” said Prat. “I think he's getting more professional, which is great. Today he showed up again. We can probably go further, but as of right now, he's running pretty well, so I wouldn't change anything.”

A 4 1/4-length winner of the Del Mar Mile Handicap on turf, Mo Forza was off as the 3-5 favorite and paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10.

“That's him,” said Ruben Alvarado, assistant to Miller. “He relaxes early and then you saw the way he finished up. He ran today just like he did at Del Mar. We're very happy and we're looking forward to the Breeders' Cup.

Bred in Kentucky by former trainer Barry Abrams' Bardy Farm and owned by Bardy Farm and OG Boss, Mo Forza, who is out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed, notched his fifth graded stakes win and he has now won five out of his last six races with four of them over the Santa Anita turf. With six wins from 12 overall starts, he's four for five at one mile on grass and with the winner's share of $120,000, has earnings of $734,460.

Sharp Samurai, who sat a close third behind Blitzkrieg and eventual third-place finisher Bob and Jackie, kept to his task to finish second by 1 1/4 lengths and paid $3.00 and $2.60 as the 7-2 second choice with Juan Hernandez up.

Off at 24-1 with Heriberto Figueroa, Bob and Jackie prevailed by a head over Blitzkrieg and paid $5.60 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.58, 45.61, 1:08.76 and 1:20.53.

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Mo Forza Breeders’ Cup Bound after City of Hope Win

The heavy chalk with an eye on the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile in five weeks, Mo Forza more than delivered in the GII City of Hope Mile S. As per his usual style, he wasn’t swift out of the gate, but settled confidently on the outside in fifth and had an air of controlled power as he let the race unfold. Blitzkrieg (War Front) was hustled to the lead as Bob and Jackie hounded him and Sharp Samurai threatened in third. The order remained the same as the first quarter passed in :22.58 and the half in :45.61, but the complexion of the race was clearly changing as six panels were recorded in 1:08.76. Mo Forza, under supremely confident handling, reeled in the four in front of him and slingshotted by under a hand ride. The 1 3/4-length margin belied the effortlessness of his win. The final time was just a couple of ticks off the course record.

“He pretty much had the same trip as he did in the Del Mar Mile ,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “I think he’s getting more professional, which is great. Today he showed up again. We can probably go further, but as of right now, he’s running pretty well, so I wouldn’t change anything.”

Mo Forza was no overnight success, requiring six starts to break his maiden in 2019, which he finally did last September at a mile over this course and distance. Once he got the hang of winning, he was unstoppable for four straight starts, leapfrogging his conditions straight from the maiden to consecutive wins in the GII Qatar Twilight Derby, the GI Hollywood Derby, and the GII Mathis Brother Mile S. He rode that streak into the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S., his first start outside of California, but had a wide trip and finished a well-beaten ninth. Freshened for seven months, he reappeared with a vengeance in the Aug. 23 GII Del Mar Mile H., where he won for fun by 4 1/4 lengths and got a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the best of his career.

Pedigree Notes:

Uncle Mo, currently the third-leading sire in North America by earnings, continues his stellar year with yet another graded score to his credit. The Coolmore sire has 19 individual black-type winners of 2020–second-best on the continent–to go with his 67 total stakes winners in six crops to race. Mo Forza is one of Uncle Mo’s 38 graded winners, but the first of his stakes winners out of an Unusual Heat daughter. Unusual Heat, who died at age 27 in 2017, stood his entire career in California and averaged only 44 foals a year. His daughters have produced 19 black-type winners to date. The unplaced Inflamed, a full-sister to GII La Jolla H. winner Burns and to SW & GISP Brushburn, produced Mo Forza as her first foal. She has a yearling colt by Munnings and produced a filly this year by Tapiture after selling with that one in utero for $525,000 at the Keeneland January sale. She has since been bred back to Uncle Mo for 2021.

Saturday, Santa Anita
CITY OF HOPE MILE S.-GII, $201,000, Santa Anita, 10-3, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:32.09, fm.
1–MO FORZA, 126, c, 4, by Uncle Mo
               1st Dam: Inflamed, by Unusual Heat
               2nd Dam: Little Hottie, by Afternoon Deelites
               3rd Dam: Mistrely, by Miswaki
O-Bardy Farm & OG Boss; B-Bardy Farm (KY); T-Peter Miller;
J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 12-6-3-1,
$734,460. Werk Nick Rating: F.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sharp Samurai, 122, g, 6, First Samurai–Secret Wish, by
Street Cry (Ire). ($85,000 Ylg ’15 KEESEP). O-Red Baron’s Barn
LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC & Mark Glatt; B-Cudney Stables
(KY); T-Mark Glatt. $40,000.
3–Bob and Jackie, 122, c, 4, Twirling Candy–Fateer, by
Eskendereya. O/B-Zayat Stables, LLC (KY); T-Richard Baltas.
$24,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 0.60, 3.90, 24.40.
Also Ran: Blitzkrieg, Majestic Eagle, Royal Ship (Brz), Restrainedvengence. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Four Graded Stakes Wins Net Flavien Prat Jockey Of The Week Title

After two graded stakes victories on Saturday and two on Sunday, Flavien Prat was voted the Jockeys' Guild Jockey of the Week for Sept. 21 through Sept. 27. The award is voted on by a panel of racing industry experts. This award is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Flavien Prat, who was the leading rider from the winter/spring meet at Santa Anita, began opening weekend of the Fall Meet where he left off by dominating the southern California riding colony. Prat had mounts in nine stakes races over the weekend, taking the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes with the Peter Miller-trained Get Her Number on Saturday as well as the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship with regular mount, United, trained by Richard Mandella. On Sunday, trainer Simon Callaghan gave a leg up to Prat who guided Harvest Moon to their fourth consecutive win in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes. He ended the weekend riding Cupid's Claw, trained by Craig Dollase to win in the Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup.

On Sunday, Prat summed up his weekend, “It's been a great weekend I thought. Yesterday we had some good runs with the two-year-old (Get Her Number) and also United. Today Simon Callaghan's filly (Harvest Moon) ran great.”

As for Cupid's Claw, Prat continued “I give all the credit to Craig (Dollase) I thought he made a great move going long on the dirt and it worked out well. You feel fortunate when you look at the program and you have such a great bunch of horses to ride all weekend long, it's a goal for every rider, I'm living the dream.”

Prat's weekly statistics were 7 wins, 7 seconds and 4 thirds from 24 mounts for a win percentage of 29.17, an in-the-money ratio of 75 percent and total purses of $708,100 for leading money-earner honors.

Prat out-polled fellow jockeys David Cabrera with two stakes wins at Remington Park, Glenn Corbett with three stakes wins at Prairie Meadows, Juan J. Hernandez who won two stakes races at Santa Anita including his first Grade I win with Mucho Unusual in the Rodeo Drive Stakes and Luis Saez who won two stakes races at Santa Anita.

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