Rafael Hernandez was merely visiting Woodbine when he rode Stronach Stables’ Shaman Ghost, trained by Brian Lynch, to victory in the 2015 Queen’s Plate. That year, Hernandez, who was 31 years old at the time, rode 17 races at the Toronto track, including the Plate, and won seven of those. At the time he admits he didn’t realize how big the Queen’s Plate was to Canadian racing.
Lynch had learned about Hernandez from successful American trainer Wesley Ward, who spotted the rider in action at little-known Fairmount Park in Illinois. Hernandez was winning at a remarkable 39 per cent clip at that track. Ward set the rider up with an agent at Churchill Downs and watched him hold his own against the best jockeys in the world.
Lynch hired him to ride Shaman Ghost in the Plate and credited the rider’s patience in the 1 1/4 mile Canadian classic as a major key to the colt’s victory.
