Prat having career year, leads pack at Del Mar

DEL MAR, Calif. – Flavien Prat entered the final two weeks of the Del Mar meeting as the leading jockey in both wins (27) and prize money (more than $2.1 million), continuing a banner year for the 27-year-old native of France.

Prat on Saturday won the Pacific Classic for the first time, aboard Higher Power. Earlier this year, he was placed first in the Kentucky Derby when Country House was moved up via disqualification, and he won the Queen’s Plate with One Bad Boy, both first-time wins in those races, too.

He began Wednesday’s card at Del Mar with $12,553,416 earned by his mounts this year, less than $400,000 shy of his previous single-season best, set last year. And there’s still more than four months to go before the calendar switches to 2020.

“It’s been a great year so far,” Prat said.

He is becoming the go-to rider for many top stables on this circuit. John Sadler, trainer of Higher Power, tabbed Prat because “he’s a top rider here, he won the Derby, and he was available.”

“He was the best rider for this horse today,” said Sadler, who will put Prat on Catalina Cruiser for the first time Saturday in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien.

Prat had a seven-win cushion on second-place Drayden Van Dyke entering the final 11 days of the meet. If he wins the riding title, it will be his fourth here. He tied with Rafael Bejarano in the summer of 2016 and won the title outright at both the summer and fall meets in 2017.

Draft Pick likely for Awesome Again

Draft Pick, runner-up to Higher Power in the Pacific Classic on Saturday, likely will get another shot at the Grade 1 level in the Awesome Again on Sept. 28 at Santa Anita, trainer Peter Eurton said.

“He came out of the race really good,” Eurton said. “He fought back for second. That was all Joe Talamo.”