Hole-in-one realized, Van Dyke eyes another first

ARCADIA, Calif. – When jockey Drayden Van Dyke reached the 15th hole at the Santa Anita Golf Course during a charity tournament on Oct. 10, the round was not going well.

“I played like crap all day long,” he recalled.

Then on the 15th hole, a par 3 at about 175 yards, he recorded his first hole-in-one by knocking in a 4-wood.

“It was the best shot I ever hit,” he said. “It bounced and fell in.”

Van Dyke did not realize he had achieved a hole-in-one until he arrived at the green.

“I thought it rolled off the back of the green,” he said. “We drove up to the hole and the flag was tilted over.”

Van Dyke walked to the cup and saw his Titleist 1 ball resting in the hole. The next few moments were full of pictures and high fives with playing partners and friends.

Van Dyke won a John Deere Gator, a small utility vehicle, which he said he sold. He said proceeds will be donated to charity, including the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

The champion apprentice jockey of 2014, Van Dyke took up golf recently, and admits he does not have the same game as some of his professional colleagues, notably lifelong player Corey Nakatani. There is an occasional friendly wager between the men.

“He calls me the ATM on spikes,” Van Dyke said. “I enjoy playing.”

Last month, the 23-year-old Van Dyke won his first million-dollar race, winning the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing on It Tiz Well. She is his mount for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 3. Van Dyke has never ridden a Breeders’ Cup winner.

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With a little more than three weeks to the event, he has three mounts – It Tiz Well, Cambodia in the Filly and Mare Turf, and Mubtaahij in the Classic.

“That would be amazing if I can get a Breeders’ Cup win,” he said.