Flavien Prat
PRAT WILL HUSTLE BACK TO DEL MAR FOR BETTY GRABLE – AND 7 MORE
Jockey Flavien Prat is scheduled to ride nine of the 12 races on the Breeders’ Cup card today at Keeneland.
Then, about 22 hours after he finishes his Kentucky business day with mounts on United in the $4 million Turf and Higher Power in the $6 million Classic, the 28-year-old Frenchman is booked to ride Zorich (4-1) in the first race on the Sunday card at Del Mar.
And that’s just the start. Prat’s scheduled to ride all eight races on the Del Mar program, most notably the featured $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes, an event he’ll be attempting to win for the fourth year in a row.
Such is life when you’ve established yourself as the top rider on the Southern California circuit, with five Del Mar riding titles in the last four years (one of them in a Bing Crosby Season) and nationally with a victory in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
The plan calls for Prat to catch a dawn patrol flight out of Kentucky on Sunday morning, arrive in San Diego, undergo coronavirus testing at Scripps Hospital, be isolated with other returning jockeys in an auxiliary jockey’s room, and then ply his trade all afternoon long. It will be Prat’s first day at Del Mar after spending the previous nine at the Lexington, KY, track.
Prat won a record 15 stakes at this past summer meeting to boost his Del Mar career total to 59. He needs three more to crack the track’s top 12 all-time.
Three of Prat’s stakes victories have come in the Betty Grable, a 7-furlong extended sprint for older fillies and mares. They were aboard Majestic Heat for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in 2017, Spiced Perfection for Brian Koriner in 2018 and Queen Bee to You last year.
“Majestic Heat was an outstanding mare and so was Spiced Perfection,” Derek Lawson, Prat’s agent recalled. “We won the Grade I La Brea with Spiced Perfection. Queen Bee to You ran lights out (winning clear by 4 ½ lengths) and it was an honor to ride her when she was going so well.”
Winning the same stakes race here four years in a row is not unprecedented for Prat. He returned to the winner’s circle following the Bing Crosby with Wild Dude in 2015, Lord Nelson in 2016 and Ransom the Moon back-to-back in 2017-18.
His chances for a Betty Grabel fourpeat ride, along with him, on Peter Miller trained Mo See Cal, a 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo who’s last race was the 2019 Betty Grable. She finished third, 7 ¾ lengths behind Prat and Queen Bee to You that day.
The field from the rail with riders and morning line odds in parenthesis: Sheza Girly Girl (Tiago Pereira, 15-1); Smiling Shirlee (Mike Smith, 8-1); Miss Megan (Abel Cedillo, 12-1); Nardini (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 8-1); Hotitude (Ricardo Gonzalez, 12-1); Warren’s Showtime (Juan Hernandez, 5-2); Mo See Cal (Prat, 3-1), and Just Grazed Me (Umberto Rispoli, 2-1).
BREEDERS’ CUP DAY ONE WASN’T BRIGHT FOR DEL MAR CONTINGENT
With one exception, there were no bright moments for Del Mar jockeys or trainers as the first five Breeders’ Cup races were held Friday at Keeneland. Maybe that will change in the nine BC events on the card there today.
On Friday, no Del Mar riders, trainers or horses wound up in the winners’ circle and the day’s major hope, Del Mar Debutante winner Princess Noor – the 9-5 morning line favorite in the Juvenile Fillies – faded to fifth under Victor Espinoza for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
The bright spot, for followers of Del Mar connections, came in the climactic $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, when Doug O’Neill-trained Hot Rod Charlie – who failed in three attempts to break his maiden at the summer meeting – finished second at odds of 94-1, paying $51.60 and $24.00 to place and show.
The Breeders’ Cup notes team caught up with O’Neill this morning and provided the following report:
Hot Rod Charlie – Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing and Strauss Bros Racing’s Hot Rod Charlie will be headed back to California following his runner-up finish in the TVG Juvenile.
“He looks good this morning,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “His legs are cold and he ate up. I can’t thank my crew enough for the job they did with him here.”
Following a pattern O’Neill has used over the years, Hot Rod Charlie came to Keeneland nearly two weeks before the Breeders’ Cup and had a 5f work over the track last Saturday.
“One thing I love about Keeneland is there are lot of options here with the (all-weather) training track that I am sure he probably was on,” O’Neill said. “He really thrived here.”
Hot Rod Charlie is nominated to the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity to be run at 1 1/16m on Dec. 19 but he is no guarantee to resurface there.
“I am going to huddle with the owners in the next few days,” O’Neill said of plans for Hot Rod Charlie. “But probably in my gut I am thinking you will not see him until early next year.”
MALDONADO, BAZE DOUBLE; GONZALEZ NOTCHES FIRST STAKES WIN
Edwin Maldonado and Tyler Baze accounted for half the victories on an eight-race card with two wins each on Friday. But the big moment of the day here was for Ricardo Gonzalez, who got September Secret up at the wire in the $150,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies to record his first Del Mar stakes win.
Gonzalez, who likes to go by “Ricky,” is a 25-year-old native of Mexico who came down from Northern California this past summer and has established himself on the Southern California circuit with efforts like the one in the Juvenile Fillies. Trainer Peter Miller’s assessment of the ride, provided from Kentucky, could be summed up, in the words of Shakespeare, with “All’s Well That Ends Well.”
“Once I quit cussing him, I started cheering him … It was a roller coaster of emotions," Miller said.
Wins in the fourth race on Coalinga Road ($6.00) for Carla Gaines and the sixth aboard Cherry City ($8.80) for Mark Glatt gave the 38-year-old Baze three for the meeting and moved him to third place in the standings, one behind Mike Smith and in arrears of leader Abel Cedillo. Maldonado guided Donut Girl (2nd, $10.00) and Awhitesportcoat (5th, $10.60). The two wins boosted Maldonado, a 37-year-old who hails from Columbus, Ohio, into a five-way tie for fourth in the standings.
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, 55, narrowly missed getting his 72nd Del Mar stakes victory when Dylan’s Wild Cat, among four horses in a blanket finish, was nipped at the wire in the Golden State Juvenile Fillies. But Smith bounced back in the next race, taking the nightcap on Sensible Cat ($13.40) to provide trainer Gaines with her second win of the day.
SURPRISE! UPCOMING JUVENILE STAKES HAVE BIG BAFFERT INFLUENCE
Eleven 2-year-old fillies are nominated to next Saturday’s featured $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes and five of them hail from the stable of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Twelve 2-year-old males were nominated for the Grade III, $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes on November 15, and while only one is conditioned by Baffert, he’s the marquee name of the dozen – Spielberg.
So when juveniles take center stage on the third weekend of the meeting, the question will be one that’s often asked at Del Mar: “Is it going to be the Baffert show or not?”
Three of Baffert’s quintet of nominees for the 6 ½-furlong Desi Arnaz – Beautiful Gift, Heels Up and Private Mission -- are coming in off straight maiden-race victories. The other two are coming in off stakes assignments. Kalypso notched her first career victory in the Anoakia at Santa Anita on October 18 in her third start after two misses here last summer. Varda broke her maiden at Del Mar on August 30 and was second to stablemate Princess Noor in the Grade II Chandelier at Santa Anita on September 26.
Entries close and post positions for the race will be drawn Sunday.
Spielberg, the million-dollar auction baby, used a maiden event last Sunday to grind out a neck victory in his fourth career start – two of them being the Grade I Del Mar Futurity (2nd) and Grade I American Pharoah (3rd) at Santa Anita.
After the recent win here, Baffert offered the possibility of a return in the Bob Hope.
Close of entries and the draw for the Hope is Thursday.
CLOSERS – The victory by Cherry City in Friday’s sixth race was career No. 998 for trainer Mark Glatt. He has four entered in Sunday’s card in pursuit of the milestone 1,000 … Shelbe Ruis, who saddled Miss Kitness ($27.40) to a wire-to-wire victory in Friday’s third race, recently became engaged to assistant Tony Garcia. No wedding date has been set for the daughter of Mick and Wendy Ruis, who trains for the growing family stable and won the 2016 Del Mar Debutante with Union Strike.
Del Mar Statistics
Presented by Torrey Hollistics
Jockey Standings
(Current Through Sunday, November 6, 2020 Inclusive)
| Jockey | Mts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Win% | In-money% | Money Won |
| Abel Cedillo | 22 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 27% | 45% | $209,080 |
| Mike Smith | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 88% | $170,640 |
| Tyler Baze | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 18% | 24% | $112,540 |
| Umberto Rispoli | 17 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12% | 47% | $111,820 |
| Alexis Centeno | 15 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13% | 40% | $59,000 |
| Juan Hernandez | 15 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 13% | 47% | $98,638 |
| Tiago Pereira | 20 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10% | 30% | $100,980 |
| Edwin Maldonado | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13% | 25% | $66,420 |
| Ricardo Gonzalez | 17 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6% | 47% | $138,640 |
| Mario Gutierrez | 15 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7% | 33% | $69,580 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through Sunday, November 6, 2020 Inclusive)
| Trainer | Sts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Win% | In-money% | Money Won |
| Doug F. O'Neill | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 30% | 40% | $89,520 |
| Richard E. Mandella | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 40% | 100% | $96,120 |
| Bob Baffert | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 100% | $68,400 |
| Carla Gaines | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50% | 50% | $71,280 |
| Peter Miller | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40% | 40% | $110,960 |
| Richard Baltas | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 13% | 63% | $74,720 |
| Patrick Gallagher | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33% | 100% | $52,600 |
| Shelbe Ruis | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25% | 75% | $32,700 |
| Robert B. Hess, Jr. | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13% | 38% | $46,380 |
| Manuel Ortiz, Sr. | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% | 100% | $14,760 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Sunday, November 6, 2020 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 10 out of 26 -- 38.46%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 6 out of 13 -- 46.15%
Winning favorites on turf -- 4 out of 13 -- 30.77%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 3 out of 3 -- 100.00%
In-the-Money favorites -- 18 out of 26 -- 69.23%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 3 out of 3 -- 100.00%