juan hernandez | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘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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Mucho Unusual Gives Jockey Juan Hernandez First Grade 1 In Rodeo Drive

Scoring his third victory of the afternoon, jockey Juan Hernandez guided George Krikorian's homebred Mucho Unusual to the front after the opening quarter mile, then lulled the competition to sleep, taking Saturday's Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Rodeo Drive Stakes on turf by 1 1/4 lengths for his first career Grade 1 triumph.

The victory ensured Mucho Unusual a fees-paid spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Trained by Tim Yakteen, Mucho Unusual, a California-bred 4-year-old filly by Mucho Macho Man out of Not Unusual, by Unusual Heat, was winning for the fifth time in 16 career starts. This was her first G1 victory, her biggest previous win coming in the G2 San Clemente Stakes in 2019, when she also finished a close second in the G1 American Oaks.

Mucho Unusual paid $8.80 after covering 1 1/4 miles on firm turf in 2:00.19.

Maxim Rate finished second, with 7-5 favorite Lady Prancealot third, Tonahutu fourth and Pretty Point fifth in the field of six fillies and mares.

Tonahutu broke on top in the short run down the hillside turf course, but Hernandez put Mucho Unusual on the lead crossing the dirt and onto the main turf course. Mucho Unusual hung up fractions of :24.29, :49.52 and 1:14.07 for the first six furlongs, with Tonahutu and Maxim Rate her closest pursuers.

Approaching the stretch, after a mile in 1:37.28, Mucho Unusual still maintained an uncontested lead and she was never seriously threatened down the stretch as Lady Prancealot attempted to make a wide, belated bid from far back.

Mucho Unusual was coming off a half-length defeat when third in the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar, a race restricted to Cal-breds. Prior to that, Yakteen sent the filly to Keeneland, where she finished eighth in the G1 Jenny Wiley.

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Big Runnuer Never Headed In Opening-Day Eddie D. Stakes At Santa Anita

Breaking sharply from the far outside in a field of seven, favored Big Runnuer made the lead and never looked back, as he took Friday's main event on opening day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., the Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes, winning by one length under upstart Juan Hernandez, thus providing the 28-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, with his first ever Santa Anita stakes win. Trained by Victor Garcia and owned by his father “King” Juan Garcia, Big Runneur got 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:01.15.

A winner of his last two races, most recently the 5 1/2-furlong Siren Lure Stakes at Santa Anita on June 21, Big Runnuer, a 5-year-old horse by Stormy Atlantic, had been ridden in his last two starts by Ruben Fuentes.

“I had never ridden him,so I asked Ruben (who is currently serving a riding suspension) what he knew about him,” said Hernandez. “He told me he was a very nice horse with natural speed. It looked like we had some speed inside of us, so I thought we'd stay where we were and stay comfortable. But he broke sharp and when we cleared them and got to the rail, it was over. I asked him to change leads and it was no problem. He's a nice horse.”

Off at 3-2, Big Runneur, who is now four for five on the Santa Anita grass, paid $5.00, $3.20 and $2.60.

“He broke sharp (today), other times he was a jump or a jump and a half slow, but this time he broke sharp and he took the lead so easily,” said Garcia, whose father Juan was a legendary conditioner at Agua Caliente, just south of San Diego. “I saw the first fraction at 21 (seconds) and is said, 'Well, he's not going too fast. With the blinkers on, he is more focused on the race.”

Out of the Elusive Quality mare Elusive Luci, Big Runneur, with his first graded stakes victory in-hand, is now 7-4-1-2 overall and with the winner's share of $120,000, he has earnings of $253,660.

The second choice at 5-2, Doug O'Neill's Wildman Jack came rolling from off the pace to be second by 1 ¾ lengths over Grit and Curiosity. With Abel Cedillo up. “Wildman” paid $3.60 and $2.80.

Ridden by Luis Saez, Grit and Curiosity was off at 7-1 and paid $3.60 to show.

Fractions on the race were 21.96, 43.98 and 55.23.

Named in honor of retired all-time great Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, the Eddie D was run as the Morvich Stakees prior to being renamed in 2012. Delahoussaye, America's leading rider by wins in 1978, won the 1984 Morvich aboard the Eddie Gregson-trained Tsunami Slew.

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Can New Kids On The Block Challenge Prat’s Del Mar Dominance?

In the past two summer seasons at Del Mar the jockey title has been a duel between Flavien Prat and Drayden Van Dyke with each rider prevailing once.

It could happen again.

But Derek Lawson, agent for defending champion Prat, has noted the emergence of some ambitious newcomers on the Southern California circuit and cautions against jumping to a two-man conclusion for the 2020 season that starts today.

“It will be extremely competitive,” Lawson said by telephone Thursday. “I hope we (Prat) do well enough to win. But it's not a slam dunk for anybody.”

Prat tied Rafael Bejarano for the 2016 summer title with 38 wins, led the 2017 meet outright over Bejarano with 35, relinquished the crown to Van Dyke in 2018 by a 42-37 margin and grabbed it back, 42-32, over Van Dyke a year ago.

Prat, a native of Melun, France, who turns 28 next month, has maintained his Southern California circuit dominance and high national profile following a 2019 season in which he won the Kentucky Derby, via disqualification, and a meet-leading 10 stakes victories during the Del Mar summer. He won the Santa Anita winter-spring riding championship with 90 wins over the course of the COVID-interrupted December-to-June season.

Through Thursday, Prat ranks seventh nationally with 97 wins from 372 starters (26 percent) and purse earnings of more than $5.3 million according to Equibase statistics.

To stay at the top this summer, however, Prat will have to fend off a foursome that has put up some impressive 2020 numbers as well. A rundown, with statistics in parenthesis and comments from Lawson.

Abel Cedillo—(No. 14 nationally, 61 wins from 419 starts, 15%, $3.6 million in purses). “He's proven that the move down from Northern California last year was the right one for him and his family and he's in a position to continue to make his mark.”

Van Dyke – (No. 25, 35 for 212, 17 percent, $2.6 million). “He's always going to be at or near the top, especially here. He rides for Bob Baffert and will be on a lot of the very good 2-year-olds Bob breaks out here every year.”

Umberto Rispoli – (No. 27, 50 for 269, 19 percent, $2.5 million). The Italian champion, 31, a veteran of racing in Europe, Japan and Hong Kong decided to come to America and race at Santa Anita last winter. “He's a very good rider, obviously, and he adds an international flavor – with Flavien from France and him from Italy – to the meet.”

Juan Hernandez – (No. 31, 134 for 444, 30 percent, $2.2 million). “He follows the path of Cedillo last year and if you look at the statistics, he's No. 1 in the country for wins. So, obviously, he knows how to get the job done.”

Forty-two wins secured the title the last two years. Lawson, prone to set goals, hopes to book Prat on 50 winners this summer. He realizes it's a high bar.

“It's a shorter season and there won't be fans in the stands,” Lawson pointed out. “That's the same for everybody. The disadvantage for us could be going out of town, but I'm not looking to do it very often. It's going to take hard work, staying focused and some luck no matter what.”

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