Hernandez cleans up with other riders out of town

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Juan Hernandez remained at Santa Anita over the weekend while several of his prominent colleagues rode at Churchill Downs.

Staying home was a profitable decision. Hernandez won five races from Friday through Sunday, including a sweep of the two stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday with Astute in the Angels Flight Stakes at seven furlongs and Madone in the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes at a mile on turf.

Sunday, Hernandez was aboard the promising 2-year-old gelding Big City Lights, who won his debut in a maiden special weight race for California-breds at 4 1/2 furlongs by an eye-catching 12 1/2 lengths.

“It was nice to win a couple of stakes,” Hernandez said on Sunday morning.

The successful weekend did nothing to change Hernandez’s position in the overall standings at the winter-spring meeting. Flavien Prat is the runaway leader with 99 wins through Sunday, while Hernandez is second with 60 wins, 11 clear of third-place Umberto Rispoli. Prat and Rispoli rode at Churchill Downs on Friday and Saturday. Prat had four wins on Sunday’s nine-race program.

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Regardless, Hernandez is in the midst of his best season at a Southern California track since arriving from Northern California last summer. Hernandez did tie for the riding title at the two-week Los Alamitos summer meeting last year, and was later second in the standings at the Santa Anita autumn meeting, but his sustained success at the current meeting has caught the attention of a variety of trainers.

Hernandez rode Astute for the first time in the Angels Flight Stakes for Richard Mandella.

“He’s a good, solid rider,” Mandella said. “I use Flavien so much. When I’ve used him, I’m very confident in him.”

Hernandez has won seven stakes at the meeting and has chances to add to that total in coming days. He is booked to ride Neige Blanche in Saturday’s Grade 3 Santa Barbara Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/2 miles on turf and Warren’s Showtime in Sunday’s $100,000 Fran’s Valentine Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares at a mile on turf.

Hernandez was aboard Neige Blanche when the filly was fourth in the Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on March 27 in her 2021 debut. Hernandez has been the regular rider of Warren’s Showtime since last November, a span of five consecutive second- and third-place finishes in stakes.

Big City Lights was heavily favored to win his debut and finished in a quick 51.63 seconds. Trained by Luis Mendez for William Peeples, Big City Lights dueled for the early lead in the first 100 yards before taking a commanding advantage.

“He needed a couple of jumps to put himself into the race,” Hernandez said. “After that, he was gone.”

By Mr. Big, Big City Lights could have his stakes debut in the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Futurity for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on June 20, closing day of the winter-spring meeting. The race was originally valued at $75,000, but the purse was recently enhanced, according to racing secretary Chris Merz.