Flavien Prat got his seventh win on the day aboard Growth Trajectory. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
Flavien Prat posts NYRA record seven wins on Sunday’s 11-race card at Belmont at the Big A
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Flavien Prat set a single card record at The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) with seven wins from 10 mounts on Sunday’s 11-race card at Belmont at the Big A, which closed out the fall meet.
With consecutive victories in Races 2-7, Prat also became just the seventh rider at NYRA to win six consecutive races, coming within one of Ramon Dominguez’s record of seven in a row set over two cards from December 14-15, 2011.
Prat posted an impressive 10-7-3-0 ledger on the day, never finishing outside of the exacta and securing a pair of stakes wins with Bishops Bay in the Grade 3 Forty Niner and Cugino in the Grade 2 Red Smith.
“It was a great day,” said Prat, who is represented by agent Brad Pegram. “I’m grateful to ride good horses that were doing good going into today. They all responded properly.
“When I came here today, I thought I had some good mounts, but it’s happened before where you think you’re going to win a few and get nothing,” Prat added. “The horses have been running well and showing up – it’s great.”
After a second in the opener aboard Ruth in the Listed Turnback the Alarm, Prat rattled off six consecutive wins in the next six races on the card. The streak began when Prat led a Chad Brown-trained exacta aboard Rebel Instinct [No. 5, $3.38*]in a one-turn mile maiden in Race 2.
Race 3 saw another Brown-trained exacta with Prat leading the way aboard Every Vote Counts [No. 7, $5.76*] in a one-mile maiden over the inner turf. In Race 4, the Grade 3 Forty Niner going a one-turn mile on the main track, Prat and the Brad Cox-trained Bishops Bay [No. 5, $3.16*] fended off a rail-rallying Nelson Avenue.
The jockey secured his fourth win in a row with Vibrant Express [No. 7, $5.10*] in a six-furlong New York-bred maiden claimer for trainer George Weaver, in Race 5. He next found the winner’s circle in another Brown-trained exacta aboard Concurrently [No. 7, $4.26*] in a one-turn mile maiden, in Race 6.
In Race 7, the 11-furlong inner turf Grade 2 Red Smith, it looked like the streak may come to an end before Cugino [No. 5, $4.36*] battled back to put his nose in front of Common Defense. With his sixth overall victory, Prat equaled the record for most victories on a single NYRA card, becoming just the 20th jockey to accomplish the feat.
“I really thought I had good mounts today and they’ve all been running well,” Prat said. “When you win the first one and the second one, you get into a good groove – hopefully, it won’t stop!”
After a narrow second in the following race and no mount in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler [Race 9], Prat stayed hot in Race 10 with his fourth win for Brown, this time aboard Growth Trajectory [No. 6, $3.90*] in a one-mile inner turf allowance to secure the record seventh win.
Prat, in the Race 11 finale, finished second aboard a rallying Tuthilltown, just a head back of the victorious Greyjoy in the six-furlong outer turf maiden for New York-breds. Nonetheless, the jockey capped a memorable weekend that included victories in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile [Nysos] and Filly and Mare Sprint [Splendora] on Saturday at Del Mar.
“I flew home late last night, but I had a chance to get a few hours of sleep. I felt good,” said Prat, with a laugh.
Live racing resumes Thursday on Opening Day of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack with a nine-race card, featuring the rescheduled Listed $150,000 Tempted in Race 2 and the Listed $150,000 Chelsey Flower in Race 6. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.
