Proper Prado ready to make noise

ALTOONA, Iowa - Proper Prado appears to have landed in a very good spot to score his first stakes win Monday when he leads a six-horse field in the $50,000 Prairie Mile at Prairie Meadows.

Proper Prado closed out his juvenile campaign last Nov. 29 when he was a closing third, beaten 2 1/2 lengths by The Cliff's Edge, in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill. Trained by Bob Holthus, Proper Prado ended the year with a 2-1-3 record from 9 starts and over $100,000 in earnings, and looked set to make an impact in the 3-year-old ranks this year.

But five starts into his 3-year-old campaign, the late-running son of El Prado is still looking for his first win of the year. Proper Prado has finished second in three races this year, including the Northern Spur Breeders' Cup at Oaklawn in April, and his two off-the-board finishes came at the hands of Smarty Jones. Tim Doocy picks up the mount on Proper Prado.

Okie Style is the only stakes winner in the field. Okie Style has won four times, all stakes, in seven career starts. In his most recent start, Okie Style rallied for a 2 1/2-length score in the one-mile Nebraska Derby at Fonner Park. Last year he won the Iowa Stallion Stakes and the Prairie Freshman here.

Perry Compton will ride Okie Style for the first time on Monday.