Prado rides five winners on card

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - With Ramon Dominguez away, Edgar Prado will play.

With Dominguez beginning a three-day suspension Thursday, Prado took over the role of dominant jockey, riding five winners from seven mounts on Aqueduct's nine-race card.

Prado won the third aboard Rule by Night ($6.40), the fifth on Vinnies Wild Tale ($6.50), the seventh on Eighttofasttocatch ($29.60) - a horse he picked up on race day - the eighth on Four Shore ($7.10) and the ninth on Budget ($14).

It was the first time a jockey won five races at a New York Racing Association track since Dominguez won the first five races on Feb. 17.

"Feels great," Prado said afterward. "This business goes up and down like a roller-coaster."

Prado has won 13 races with his last 31 mounts beginning April 11. On April 10, he rode She'll Be Doggone in the Grade 3 Comely and was criticized by that filly's trainer, Tony Dutrow, for putting the filly in a dangerous spot. Prado had to check She'll Be Doggone out of the race when a hole closed in upper stretch. The filly was later diagnosed with a broken bone in a foot and has been retired.

"I still can ride, I still love horses, I love the job that I do," Prado said. "Happiness is the key to success, and I enjoy what I'm doing. After that incident I wanted to continue to work hard and show what I can do. It's a great feeling today, really."

Prado, 42, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. His 6,346 career victories rank him 14th all-time - with four more wins he will pass Carl Gambardella. He ranks seventh all-time in purse money won ($226,484,073).