Prat pays a visit to old stomping grounds to ride Flightline in Pacific Classic
For the first time since Memorial Day, jockey Flavien Prat is back in Southern California. He is riding on Saturday’s blockbuster program at Del Mar, his first appearance there since November.
The lure is the brilliant 4-year-old Flightline, an overwhelming favorite in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Prat has mounts in seven other races, including three other stakes.
Prat, 30, has not ridden regularly in Southern California since early April, shortly after he announced that he would ride in Kentucky in the early spring and New York through the fall. At the time, he said he planned to return to Southern California in the winter, a schedule he said is still in place in a phone conversation from Saratoga on Friday.
“That’s the plan,” he said. “The goal is to come back for the winter.”
Prat, who still has a home near Santa Anita, was the clear leading rider at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting when he left. In his absence, Prat was overtaken by Juan Hernandez, who is the leading rider at the Del Mar summer meeting.
From 2016 through last year, Prat won or tied for the riding title at the Del Mar summer meeting on five occasions. He had a similar stranglehold on the riding title at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting in recent years.
Prat left California seeking a higher profile and to boost his chances of winning the Eclipse Award as the nation’s leading rider. Through Thursday, Prat ranked third in the nation in earnings with more than $18.3 million, trailing leader Irad Ortiz, Jr. with more than $22.8 million.
Prat had a personal best of more than $23.2 million in earnings last year, good enough to be nominated for an Eclipse Award, which eventually went to Joel Rosario. With months of major stakes still to be run this year, Prat is very likely to challenge his career best for earnings.
As for everyday racing, Prat ranked fourth in the standings with 33 wins through Thursday at Saratoga, 14 wins behind leader Ortiz.
Prat will be based at Aqueduct beginning in mid-September. In the fall, he will ride in New York and at Keeneland, which hosts the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 4-5.
Five months after he left California, Prat said he is settling into the New York racing circuit.
“Overall, I’m happy,” Prat said. “I’m getting to know people. I feel like things are going in the right direction.
“When I started, obviously I got support from Chad Brown. Other than that, in everyday races, I didn’t have much business. I didn’t know a lot of people. I feels like I’m getting comfortable now.
“I’m getting used to the track and the trainers, and I feel like things are going in the right direction.”
A multi-win day on Saturday is quite possible for Prat. Aside from Flightline, he is booked to ride three Grade 2 turf races worth $300,000 each. Those mounts are Hong Kong Harry in the Del Mar Mile, Dandy Warhol in the Del Mar Derby, and Gold Phoenix in the Del Mar Handicap. Prat has mounts in four maiden or allowance races.
Prat rode Flightline to three wins in 2021, including the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita last December. Flightline has started once this year, recording an impressive win in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap at Belmont Park in June despite a troubled trip.
Trained by John Sadler, Flightline will be a heavy favorite in a field of six that includes Country Grammer, the winner of the $12 million Dubai World Cup at 1 1/4 miles in the United Arab Emirates in March.
The $1 million Pacific Classic will be Flightline’s first start at 1 1/4 miles.
“It’s a big task going from a mile to a mile and a quarter,” Prat said. “If anyone can do it, it will be him.”