Del Mar change: Hernández rides Reincarnate in Pacific Classic

Del Mar’s leading jockey Juan Hernández was in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic with Adare Manor, and then he was out when trainer Bob Baffert scratched the mare Friday morning.

Now Hernández is back in.

Trainer Bob Baffert got the OK from stewards Friday to place Hernández on Reincarnate, the 4-year-old colt who is coming off back-to-back second-place finishes in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G2) and Cougar II (G3).

Hernández continues to rise as California star.

The odd man out in horse racing’s version of musical chairs is Kazushi Kimura, who scored his 900th career victory Friday when he rode Soul of a Warrior to a first-place finish.

Owned by Michael Lund Petersen, Adare Manor was scratched after Baffert detected something wrong after Thursday morning track work.

“She tied up a little bit after a gallop (Thursday),” Baffert said. “(Friday) we looked at her, and she’s still a little tied. I don’t feel like she’s 100 percent for (Saturday), and she has to be on her game to run (Saturday), so we’re just going to have to sit it out.”

Tying up is not uncommon behavior for horses. It’s nothing like colic. It’s something that happens when a horse gets nervous or uncomfortable. It’s painful, uncontrollable muscle contractions similar to a muscle cramp in humans. The cramping occurs in the large muscles of the back, the hind quarters and sometimes the shoulders during exercise.

The remedy is to rub the horse, provide plenty of water and remove all grain and feed and provide only hay or grass.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s part of horse racing,” Baffert said. “We have to take care of our superstars.”