Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. has only ridden at Saratoga twice in his 11 years as a jockey. The first was in 2010, when he was aboard Millennia for a sixth-place finish in the Riskaverse Stakes. He got a bit more attention for his most recent ride at the Spa. That of course was a victory on Fort Larned in the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap, the first Grade 1 victory for horse and jockey, at last summer’s Saratoga meet.
This summer the 27-year-old will have more opportunities to find the Saratoga winner’s circle. While the Louisiana native will continue riding at Ellis Park regularly for the summer, he is scheduled to have a handful of mounts at the Spa. One of these opportunities will take place in the Whitney, where he will be looking to give Fort Larned back-to-back victories in the race for older horses. Hernandez is excited about riding the son of E Dubai and refers to him as a “very rare horse.”
“He [Fort Larned] is a very special horse,” Hernandez said. “Horses like him don’t come around very often.”
Fort Larned is coming off a gate-to-wire victory in the Grade 1 Steven Foster at Churchill Downs, which was his first time finding the winner’s circle since winning last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Daisy Devine is another mount that has Hernandez quite enthusiastic. The Kafwain mare is scheduled to run sometime later in the meet. He rode her last time out to a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Early Times Mint Julep at Churchill.
“Daisy Devine is one of those horses who will always try hard when she runs,” he said.
Hernandez is quite thrilled about riding at the Spa, talking about its quality racing and its atmosphere.
“Saratoga is one of those places where everyone who loves horse racing dreams of going,” said Hernandez, who started his career at Delta Downs in 2003 and enjoyed his best year in the saddle in 2012 when his mounts earned more than $8-million. “It has a great county fair style atmosphere and people go there for racing. When you’re up there, you want to win races. But the Grade 1s are always the best.”
