Prat looks set to add to his lead in jockey standings

ARCADIA, Calif. – Now that all the Breeders’ Cup preps are out of the way at Santa Anita, the autumn meet can proceed as normal and jockey Flavien Prat can resume dominance.

Prat won five stakes last week, opening week of the autumn meeting, and went 7 for 24 to lead the standings. When the meet continues Friday, the circuit’s top rider is almost certain to extend his lead. It’s just a matter of how far.

Prat rides contenders in the first eight races. The one race he might miss is the ninth, because his mount is on the also-eligible list. Otherwise, Friday is all-Prat. Maybe it will be all chalk, like opening week.

Favorites won 18 of the 30 races, Prat went 5 for 8 with favorites. Most of his Friday mounts will be well supported, including three for trainer Richard Baltas.

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Prat and Baltas team in race 1 with turf miler Go Greta, who drops to $25,000 claiming, nonwinners of two. Go Greta, whose Beyer Speed Figures are the highest in the field, should be heavily backed. Bettors who eschew favorites should at least be aware that Baltas and Prat teamed to win with 12 of their last 21 turf-route favorites.

Race 2 is a mess. Prat rides stretch-out Simmer Down in the dirt mile, which is for $16,000 claiming, nonwinners of two. The main track was kind to route speed opening week, a trend that would benefit Simmer Down. Prat’s mount in race 3 is first-time gelding Liar Liar. His main rival in the starter-allowance turf mile is last-out runner-up Best Chance.

Perfect Ice Storm picks up Prat and returns to Santa Anita in race 4, a $10,000 claiming route for fillies and mares. She misfired last out at Los Alamitos, where she has never run well. At Santa Anita, she is 2 for 5.

Prat rides Deise Delight in race 5; the stretch-out filly runs a mile on turf in a field light on speed. Race 6 goes through Sauls Call, a Steve Miyadi-trained 2-year-old gelding seeking his third straight under Abel Cedillo. Prat rides I Know Cash Flow.

Prat and Baltas team with Gidgetta in race 7, a second-level allowance turf sprint at six furlongs on the main turf oval. Gidgetta finished third as the favorite last out, compromised by the five-furlong distance. Her best races are six furlongs and beyond at Santa Anita.

To win the seventh, Prat and Gidgetta must catch front-runners A G Indy and Five Pics Please.

Maiden 2-year-old fillies will race six furlongs in race 8. I Got a Gal might be the one to catch for trainer Peter Eurton and jockey Umberto Rispoli. Racing 5 1/2 furlongs first out, I Got a Gal pressed the pace while pinned inside, was stuck behind runners into the lane, and retreated to finish fifth. Not bad, actually.

“She’s got to be a little bit tighter,” Eurton said. “We haven’t really pushed her buttons; all her works have been very comfortable. I think she wants more ground, where she can get more into a rhythm.”

Prat rides Baltas-trained first-time starter Aqua Julia.