Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it.

After an extended review of a taut photo finish, trainer Ken McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. completed a remarkable double when Mystik Dan captured the 150th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve by a whisker Saturday, one day after they combined for a Longines Kentucky Oaks triumph with Thorpedo Anna.

Mystik Dan takes command in Kentucky Derby stretch. (Eclipse Sportswire)

When Hernandez executed a brilliant move up the rail as the field of 20 rounded the final turn and his mount pounced at the opportunity, it made all the difference in edging hard-charging Sierra Leone by what was officially listed as a nose. Sierra Leone nipped Japan’s Forever Young, who was in the middle of the three-horse photo, by another nose. According to Churchill Downs, it was the first three-horse photo finish since triumphant Jet Pilot, Phalanx, and Faultless in 1947.

Catching Freedom took fourth. In another testament to Japan’s rising fortunes at the Derby, T O Password snagged fifth. Favored Fierceness, brilliant on his best day but terribly erratic, challenged front-running Track Phantom as they approached the final turn before retreating rapidly and fading to 15th.

Jockey John Velazquez indicated he had difficulty getting Fierceness into a nice rhythm as he did when they smashed the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa field by 13 1/3 lengths, a record margin for that key Derby prep. “When I let him go, he just didn’t have it,” Velazquez said of the Kentucky Derby.

McPeek became the first trainer to sweep the Derby and the Oaks in the same year since legendary Ben Jones accomplished that with Real Delight in the Oaks and Hill Gail in the Derby in 1952.

“It’s just amazing. Just a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant ride,” McPeek said, adding, “Brian is probably one of the most underrated riders. But not anymore, right?”

Said Hernandez: “This is unbelievable. That was the longest few minutes of my life, waiting for them to post that photo. This is a lifetime achievement. This goes to our whole family.

“To be able to live that dream that I had when I was a 6-year-old kid, riding my bike around my grandparents’ farm and telling them I was going to win the Kentucky Derby one day, well, here we are.”

No jockey had swept the Oaks and Derby in the same season since Calvin Borel in 2009 scored with the magnificent Rachel Alexandra in the Oaks and rode the rail to get the job done with Mine That Bird, a tremendous long shot that had vanned in from New Mexico.

Winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. celebrates Mystik Dan’s victory. (Eclipse Sportswire)

After Mystik Dan drew post-position three, Hernandez said he studied the replays of several Derbys in which Borel – known as Bo-Rail – produced masterful ground-saving trips.

The outspoken McPeek, 61, had exuded confidence in the days leading to the celebration of Derby and Oaks milestones at Churchill Downs. He said repeatedly about the Oaks, “They better bring a bear because I’ve got a grizzly.”

After Thorpedo Anna led virtually throughout in dispatching the Oaks field by 4 ¾ lengths, the emcee at the conclusion of that post-race press conference suggested to McPeek that he might see him at another news conference the following day. “Count on it,” the trainer told him.

When McPeek, who grew up in Lexington, Ky., was reminded of that, he responded, “I believe in mojo. I believe in positive energy and we have two really good horses.”

McPeek has endured more than his share of frustration since he opened his stable in 1985. He wound up second with Tejano Run in the 1995 Derby and had three runner-up finishes in the Oaks. He had competed in the Oaks 14 times without winning.

Mystik Dan won for the third time in seven lifetime starts while capturing his first Grade 1 race. He had run third, beaten by 6 ¼ lengths in the March 30 Arkansas Derby, in his only other Grade 1 start for owners-breeders Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, and 4G Racing along with minority partner Valley View Farm. He paid $39.22 for a $2 win wager in the Derby. He completed the mile and a quarter in 2:03.34.

Sierra Leone and Forever Young, left, bumped in the stretch. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Sierra Leone, purchased for $2.3 million as a yearling, made a valiant charge but cost himself dearly when he lugged in with Tyler Gaffalione aboard.

“He ran his race,” said Chad Brown, Sierra Leone’s trainer. “When you have a deep closer like that, you have to go through some traffic and go wide. I’ll have to look at his trip a little bit closer. But it doesn’t really matter. He got beat a nose.”

McPeek’s operation stands out from others that are nationally prominent in that he is not typically backed by big-money owners. He is well known for his keen eye at sales. Thorpedo Anna, for instance, was a $40,000 yearling purchase while Gasaway sent his Colonel John mare, Ma’am, to Goldencents, hardly a sire that commands a six-figure stud fee.

“This isn’t a huge million-dollar operation,” McPeek said. “We don’t throw a lot of money at this.”

Instead, a sharp trainer and a crafty jockey proved to be an unbeatable combination. Twice.