Hernandez Jr. forced to make tough call on horse ahead of Derby

For a jockey, if given the chance, the decision to ride a horse in the Kentucky Derby should be a no-brainer.

But for Brian Hernandez Jr., it was one of the most difficult choices he has had to make in his career.

Hernandez had to select one of the two top contenders - McCraken or Girvin - for Saturday’s Derby after successfully campaigning both throughout the Derby prep season. McCraken won the Sam F. Davis Stakes with Hernandez aboard, but most recently finished third in the Blue Grass Stakes, also with Hernandez in the irons.

Girvin has won three of his four races, including the Risen Star and the Louisiana Derby with Hernandez.

From the outside it looks like an embarrassment of riches: two strong Kentucky Derby horses to choose from. But the decision could mean the difference between becoming a horse racing hero and another also-ran. It’s as much a business decision as anything - who a jockey chooses can have lasting effects on their relationship with owners and trainers.

In the end, Hernandez chose McCraken.

“It was a really, really tough decision because both trainers and owners have been extremely loyal to me throughout the year,” Hernandez said in an interview with The Louisville Courier-Journal. “It was one of those decisions that took a whole lot of time and a whole lot of talking with my agent. And we went with McCraken.”

Hernandez said choosing McCraken came down to honoring his relationships with owner Whitham Thoroughbreds and trainer Ian Wilkes more than anything. Hernandez remembered how Whitham Thoroughbreds and Wilkes remained faithful to him with another horse, Fort Larned. Together they won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2012.

Mike Smith will ride Girvin.

Hernandez isn’t the only jockey who has the blessing or burden, depending on how you look at it, of having to make a choice between one or more horses in the Derby. Julien Leparoux rode Classic Empire to wins in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November and the Arkansas Derby in April, but also rode Irap to a strong win in the Blue Grass Stakes.

Like Hernandez, Leparoux picked Classic Empire out of loyalty to Classic Empire’s connections. Irap will have Mario Gutierrez in the saddle. Gutierrez won the Derby last year with Nyquist and in 2012 with I’ll Have Another for Irap’s owner, J. Paul Reddam, and trainer Doug O’Neill.

It's common for jockeys to ride as many 3-year-olds as they can in the lead-up to the Derby, and travel around the country scouting for the best horse on offer to them for the Run for the Roses.

Sometimes connections make the decision for the jockeys. John Velazquez won his first and only Derby in 2011 after picking up the mount on Animal Kingdom last minute when Robby Albarado was deemed unable to ride due to injuries suffered days earlier.

Velazquez just happened to be without a horse after his mount, Uncle Mo, was scratched.

It’s all part of the big gamble of competing in such a prestigious, pressure-filled race, and jockeys have in the past made the wrong bet.

In 2013, Velazquez had the choice of Verrazano or Orb in the Derby. Both colts showed immense talent and were favorites going in. Velazquez chose Verrazano, and Joel Rosario rode Orb.

On the first Saturday in May, Orb with Roasio atop skipped over a sloppy Churchill Downs track to win the Derby, while Verrazano struggled in the mud and finished 14th.

Albarado, on long shot Golden Soul, finished second.