DEL MAR, Calif.— He had such a good day last Saturday on Pacific Classic Day, jockey Flavien Prat has decided to make an encore appearance on closing weekend at Del Mar. The popular rider will ride all three days.
Prat is available because of a break in racing in New York. Saratoga closes today and the Belmont Park at Aqueduct meet doesn’t open until September 15. That leaves Prat with a little time on his hands and after the success he enjoyed Saturday with four wins, three of them graded stakes, the five-time leading rider at Del Mar decided this would be a good spot to pick up some work. He has mounts in six of the eight races on Friday.
Prat shook up the Del Mar jockey colony prior to this year’s summer meet when he left for the east coast, luring several jockeys to Del Mar in hopes of filling the void left behind by the 2021 summer meet riding champion.
On Saturday, Prat returned to his old stomping grounds and won the G1 Pacific Classic with Flightline, the G2 Del Mar Handicap with Gold Phoenix and the G2 Del Mar Mile with Hong Kong Harry. His total earnings on the day was $1,012,340.
Going into closing day at Saratoga, Prat is fourth in the jockey standings with 36 victories.
DMTC Press Release
Photo: Flavien Prat aboard Flightline after the duo dominated in the TVG Pacific Classic (Benoit Photo)
