Kentucky Derby-winning jockey from Hastings still absorbing ‘unbelievable’ win

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Jockey Mario Gutierrez thinks his supporters at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse were a big part of his surprise victory Saturday at the Kentucky Derby.
Gutierrez said Sunday he is on cloud nine after his riding debut at the world’s most prestigious horse-racing event, where he won aboard Canadian-owned I’ll Have Another.
At the 138th running of the race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Gutierrez, 25, guided the three-year-old colt owned by Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ont., to victory around the one-and-a-quarter-mile track in two minutes, 1.83 seconds.
The 4-1 favourite, Bodemeister, led for most of the race but was overtaken by I’ll Have Another in a thrilling finish. Gutierrez became the first jockey to win the event from the outside 19th position.
“I want to thank everyone from Vancouver who kept supporting me,” Gutierrez said of his victory and loyal fans.
The betting line had I’ll Have Another at 15-1 odds.
“You guys, with all your support, helped me through this,” a humble Gutierrez said. “That support got me through the race and helped me to keep focused.
“You can’t go this far without help.”
More than 8,000 people jammed Hastings Racecourse on Saturday wearing “Go Mario Go” buttons to watch the Derby on a giant screen.
Gutierrez, the son of a Mexican jockey, began riding at Hastings in 2006. He quickly became a fan favourite, winning the leading jockey title in 2007 and 2008, which earned him the nickname Marvellous Mario.
“Everyone from Vancouver kept supporting me,” the winning jockey adds. ”I just needed the opportunity.”
Opportunity did knock for Gutierrez, who had gone to Santa Anita in Southern California to work as a glorified exercise rider in the fall. When the owner of I’ll Have Another was looking at a jockey change, Guterriez recalls, “I was in the right place at the right time.”
I’ll Have Another was promising as a two-year-old, but a shin injury after a weak performance in the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga left the colt’s career in doubt.
The horse was given time off to heal and when he was healthy the jockeys at the big-league racetrack in Santa Anita were not interested in riding him.
Gutierrez jumped at the chance to ride the long shot in February and won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Then, at the Santa Anita Derby, the two won again.
Going into the Kentucky Derby, bettors at Churchill Downs were still not convinced the two could pull it off.
The dream is far from over for Gutierrez. He will be back in Vancouver later this week to thank family and friends for their support, then he will go to California to prepare for the other two races of the Triple Crown.
The Preakness Stakes run May 19 and the Belmont Stakes run June 9.
“This is not over,” Gutierrez said of the other big races.
He thinks they have a shot at the Triple Crown, something no horse has accomplished since Affirmed did it in 1978.
“Some people think there will never be another Triple Crown winner,” said Gutierrez. “But with this horse, hopefully he can pull it off. He is an amazing horse and I have always believed in him.”
Winning the Kentucky Derby was a nice payday for Gutierrez. He gets 10 per cent of the prize purse of $1,459,600 US. “I made in two minutes here more than what I make in a whole year,” he quipped. “This is not just a race, this is the Kentucky Derby.
“It is unbelievable. It is undescribable. I can’t believe I did it. It is like a dream.”
Gutierrez hopes to be back at the Vancouver racetrack again as a jockey.
Glen Todd is a horse owner who has had Gutierrez as a jockey for many of the Hastings races since he arrived from Mexico in 2006.
“His hands are gifted,” he said of Gutierrez. “The horses relax and run for him because of his hands.”
“Now he is in the big leagues,” he said of the win on Saturday. “If he goes on to win the next two races in the Triple Crown that is going to be big.”