'Come and get me:' Johnny V spectacular aboard Authentic

John Velazquez knew when it was time to ask Authentic for his best Saturday in the 2020 Kentucky Derby.

After setting the pace, Authentic turned for home with a challenger directly to his outside. That foe was none other than Tiz the Law, the race’s 7-10 favorite.

“I waited until I saw that white face next to me and, ‘OK, now we're going,’” Velazquez said. “And I was hoping my horse responded to the things I wanted to do.”

Authentic did just that, thundering home under Velazquez’s urging to capture the 146th Run for the Roses. Trainer Bob Baffert gave all the credit afterward to the Hall of Famer known by racing fans everywhere as “Johnny V.”

“I've been fortunate to have these great jockeys win these races,” said Baffert, who won a record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby. “But that was won by Johnny.”

Saturday’s Kentucky Derby marked the first time Velazquez had ever been aboard Authentic. Jockey Drayden Van Dyke piloted the Into Mischief colt in each of his first four starts, with Mike Smith riding him to victory July 18 in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes.

Smith retained the mount Saturday on Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Honor A. P., so Baffert tabbed Velazquez as Authentic’s rider. The 48-year-old was handed a talented but easily distracted colt who his trainer describes as “very skittish.”

“You know, I watched his races, obviously,” Velazquez said. “We see he's a little quirky. I don't worry about those things."

Authentic broke from the far outside Saturday in the field of 15, going off at 8-1 odds. As a natural pace setter, the plan all along was to get to the front.

Velazquez was tasked with moving Authentic up while also saving enough horse for the final stages of the 1¼-mile race. In addition, he needed to position the colt toward the rail so as not to get stuck wide through the first turn but stay out of traffic through that process.

The first trip past the grandstand was flawless. Authentic seemingly glided his way to the front, staying clear of rivals to come in and set the pace.

“It just happened to work out the way we planned it,” Velazquez said. “We thought from the outside, we might break a little slow. But we wanted to make sure we let him run out of there and get a position. By the time we get to the first turn, I knew he was going to be in the lead anyway.

“But I wanted to do it gradually. I didn't want to just go from breaking a little slow to go to the lead right away. So I kind of held him little by little, little by little, and didn't let him go until we got to the turn.

“Once he got to the turn, he settled well. I had a nice hold of him and made sure that he didn't overuse the first part of the race. After that, I was comfortable. He let me do whatever I wanted to do with him.”

Authentic posted fractions of :22.92, :46.41 and 1:10.23 through the first six furlongs. Coming through the far turn, 7-10 favorite Tiz the Law pulled up to engage Authentic in a duel to the finish.

Under jockey Manny Franco, Tiz the Law was nose-to-nose with Authentic entering the stretch run. The two Grade 1 winners even brushed near the 3/16ths marker.

Velazquez and Authentic were resolute. The jockey went to a steady left-handed whip, urging his mount into the clear.

“When I went left-handed this horse responded so good,” Velazquez said. “It was like, ‘Oh yeah, come and get me.’”

Tiz the Law gave him a game challenge, but in the end, it was Authentic who scored by 1¼ lengths in 2:00.61.

Velazquez went to the Kentucky Derby winners’ circle for the third time in his career. The native Puerto Rican also won the Derby with Animal Kingdom in 2011 and Always Dreaming in 2017.

Since 1990, Velazquez has made more than 34,000 North American starts and racked up 6,229 wins. Those victories have come aboard some of the sport’s biggest stars, from Ashado and Rags to Riches to Wise Dan and Sistercharlie.

Along the way, Velazquez has picked up “some rocking chair wins,” as Baffert teased him Saturday.

But when it came to Authentic’s 2020 Kentucky Derby triumph?

As Baffert put it, “He earned that one right there.”