Prat hitting the road before move to New York

The everyday presence of jockey Flavien Prat at Santa Anita is nearing an end.

Prat, the runaway leading jockey, is riding at Santa Anita this weekend, but is likely to ride only one more day at the track, on April 3, before relocating to the East Coast next month.

Prat is traveling to Dubai next week where he is booked to ride Hot Rod Charlie in the Dubai World Cup, Dr. Schivel in the Golden Shaheen Stakes, and Pinehurst in the United Arab Emirates Derby.

On the first weekend of April, Prat is booked to ride the Arkansas Derby program at Oaklawn Park on April 2 before riding at Santa Anita the following day. Prat is not scheduled to ride at Santa Anita on April 1, according to his agent, Brad Pegram.

:: Win big at Santa Anita: Get DRF Past Performances, Picks, Clocker Reports and Betting Strategies.

Prat will begin riding at Keeneland when that track opens its spring meeting April 8 before making the full-time move to New York later in the spring.

Amid that travel, Prat plans to his move his family to New York.

“We’ll get some miles,” he said of his airplane rewards. “We’ll go to New York and get ourselves settled in.”

Later this spring, Prat is likely to return to Santa Anita to ride major stakes, but the frequency of those trips is “a fluid situation,” Pegram said.

Prat, 29, announced earlier this month that he plans to move to New York to increase his chances of winning the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding rider. He was nominated for the prize in 2021, but lost out to Joel Rosario.

Thursday, Prat said the opportunity to ride more races in New York was another leading factor. Santa Anita races three days a week, while the Belmont Park spring-summer meeting runs four days a week.

“Having more racing days is one of the main reasons that I’m going to move,” he said. “At my age, you want to ride.

“I’m excited. It’s going to be a new environment. Obviously, a lot of challenge. It won’t be easy. I want to give it a try.”

Through Thursday, Prat had won 67 races at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, well clear of Juan Hernandez, who was second with 37 wins. The meeting continues through June 19.

Prat has won 15 stakes at the meeting, with Hernandez second with eight. Sunday, Prat rides Riding With Dino in the $100,000 Sensational Star Stakes for statebreds on the hillside turf course, while Hernandez rides race favorite Brickyard Ride.

Riding With Dino, trained by Bob Hess Jr., was a game second in the El Dorado Shooter Stakes at six furlongs on the synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 19.