Hot hand for jockey Hernandez
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nobody has held a hotter hand in the Churchill jockey colony since the 38-day meet started April 28 than Brian Hernandez Jr.
After a terrific Derby weekend that included an upset of the Pat Day Mile on 39-1 shot Funny Duck and key allowance scores with McCraken and Crosswalk, Hernandez rode four winners on the Thursday program, the first post-Derby card. All four were part of a Single 6 force out that returned a whopping $81,891 for a winning 20-cent ticket, including Angaston, a 33-1 shot.
“Things are just clicking right now,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been very lucky to have horses for the right spots and a few nice surprises like Funny Duck.”
After the first seven programs, Hernandez topped the local standings with 10 wins.
New bets in the Thursday Single 6 totaled $1,838,298, chasing a halved carryover pool of $385,132 from the Derby Day pick six. The other $385,132 half of the Derby Day carryover was used to seed the Single 6 on Friday, with solo-sweep jackpot rules in effect for the balance of the meet.
Hollywood Park legend retired
Woodmans Luck, best known as the last horse to win a race at Hollywood Park in California, has been retired by Churchill-based trainer Michelle Lovell.
Woodmans Luck, a 10-year-old California-bred gelding, compiled a record of 13-19-13 from 80 starts, with his last race a sixth-place finish in a $20,000 claiming race April 11 at Keeneland. Easily his most memorable performance came when he was ridden by Corey Nakatani in winning the final race at Hollywood on Dec. 22, 2013, in a photo finish.
Mother’s Day co-features
Back-to-back allowances (races 8 and 9) anchor a 10-race Sunday card that will draw one of the larger ontrack crowds of the meet as families come out in force to celebrate Mother’s Day. First post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern.
After Sunday, Churchill goes dark for three days before another four-day week resumes Thursday with a first post at 5 p.m.
