18-1 favorite Mystik Dan shocks in the Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP/WCMH) -- For only the tenth time in 150 races, the Kentucky Derby was determined Saturday by a nose, with 18-1 longshot Mystik Dan coming out as the winner.
Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone, and Forever Young all approached the finish nose to nose to nose for a photo finish, resulting in a several-minute delay in sorting out the official winner. It was the tightest Derby finish since 1996.
Mystik Dan and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. rode the rail down the stretch with a short lead. Forever Young from Japan and Sierra Leone gave chase and pressured the leader to the wire in front of 156,710 at Churchill Downs.
“The longest few minutes of my life,” Hernandez said after he and the bay colt walked in circles while the stunning result was settled. “To see your number flash up to win the Derby, I don't think it will sink in for a while.”
Hernandez and trainer Kenny McPeek had teamed for a wire-to-wire win in the Kentucky Oaks for fillies on Friday with Thorpedo Anna. McPeek is the first trainer to sweep both races since Ben Jones in 1952 and the fourth ever.
Fierceness, the 3-1 favorite, finished 15th in the field of 20 3-year-olds.
McPeek's only other victory in a Triple Crown race was also a shocker: 70-1 Sarava won the 2002 Belmont Stakes — the biggest upset in that race's history. The colt spoiled the Triple Crown bid of War Emblem.
Mystik Dan ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.34 and paid $39.22 to win. A $1 trifecta netted the winner $1,113.84, while a $1 superfecta was worth $8,254.
Sierra Leone returned $6.54 and $4.64. Forever Young was another nose back in third and paid $5.58 to show.
Sierra Leone lugged in and bumped Forever Young three times in the stretch, but jockey Ryusei Sakai didn't claim foul.