flavien prat | Horse Racing Free Tips

Three Saratoga Stakes Wins Net Flavien Prat Jockey Of The Week Title

Whether riding at the West Coast's premier meet, Del Mar, the East Coast's premier meet, Saratoga, or anywhere in-between, Flavien Prat just wins stakes races. With three stakes wins, two of which were graded, Flavien Prat was voted Jockey of the Week for Aug. 2 through Aug. 8. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Prat rode at Del Mar on Thursday then headed to Saratoga to ride over Whitney weekend. On Friday, trainer Chad Brown called on Prat to ride Public Sector (GB) for the third time in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes. Sent to the post as the 4-5 favorite in the field of seven 3-year-olds, Public Sector (GB) raced off the pace while saving ground. When a seam opened up along the rail past the sixteenth pole, Public Sector (GB) powered home to win by a length in 1:35.03 over the one mile distance.

“I thought I was going to be able to go around the leader, but then I saw the leader came out and I dropped in and had room,” said Prat. “We were pretty much making the move together but when I really asked him to make the move, he responded really well.”

On Saturday, it was trainer Chad Brown again to give a leg up to Prat on Flavius in the Fasig-Tipton Lure Stakes at 1-1/16-miles on the Mellon turf course for older horses. Breaking from post position five, Flavius went straight to the lead and continued to find more under Prat's encouragement for a one and one-half length win in 1:41.53.

“I didn't see a lot of speed in the race,” Prat said. “I wanted to be in the race and I found myself on the lead. He was travelling super and he kicked on really well.”

To finish the weekend on Sunday, Prat was the pilot on Con Lima, trained by newly minted Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational. Breaking from post position five, Con Lima went to the front and held off a late challenge from Higher Truth and Jose Ortiz to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:54.42 for the 1-3/16 miles on the turf.

“The speed was pretty much me and the Godolphin filly, and it seems she broke a step slow,” said Prat. I broke better than her and I ended up on the lead. She really kicked on well.”

The win marked the 26th graded stakes event for Prat for 2021. He currently ranks second in that category to Joel Rosario who has 31.

Prat's weekly statistics were 11-4-4-0 for an in-the-money percentage of 72.7% and total purses of $674,080. Prat currently sits atop the standings at Del Mar with 21 wins.

For Jockey of the Week, Prat out-polled Corey Lanerie with three stakes wins, Joel Rosario who won the Grade 1 Whitney, Luis Saez with three stakes wins including the Grade 1 Test, and John Velazquez who won the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational.

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Sunday Carryover Boosts Wednesday Pick 6 At Saratoga

The Pick 6 on Wednesday will be bolstered by a $187,640 carryover as the multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $1,787 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly. Sunday's sequence commenced when Masked Marauder [No. 10] was victorious in Race 5, taking the 5 1/2-furlong maiden claiming contest for New York-breds 3-years-old and up over the Mellon turf course, returning $12.40 on a $2 win wager. River Card Stable's Masked Marauder was ridden by Eric Cancel for trainer Wayne Potts.

In Race 6, 36-1 longshot Dream Lith [No. 8, $75] won the 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint. David Cohen guided the Medaglia d'Oro filly – owned by Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith – to victory for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Peter Brant's Regal Glory [No. 7, $5.20] kicked off the stakes action at the Spa with a win in the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose in Race 7, besting Hendy Woods to win the one-mile inner turf contest for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up who had not won a graded stakes in 2021. Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Regal Glory won for the third time in four starts.

Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred Wicked Halo [No. 7, $11.40] posted a front-running score in the $200,000 Grade 2 Adirondack for juvenile fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in Race 8. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Wicked Halo outkicked Interstatedaydream as Ortiz won his second consecutive stakes.

In the ninth race, Con Lima [No. 5, $8.10] won the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational to win the second leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro, and Troy Johnson. Ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Con Lima built on her runner-up effort in the first leg of the Turf Triple series in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational to win going 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf course.

Michael Imperio's Danzigwiththestars [No. 2, $23.80] triggered the carryover with his win in the 10th-race finale, winning the one-mile inner turf allowance contest under jockey Luis Saez for trainer Domenick Schettino.

Wednesday's Pick 6 kicks off in Race 5 at 3:21 p.m. Eastern and includes the $120,000 Mahony for 3-year-olds in Race 9. First post on the 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Con Lima Sets Pace, Holds Off Higher Truth To Win Saratoga Oaks

After being inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday, Todd Pletcher visited another familiar spot Sunday, the winner's circle at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. His 3-year-old graded stakes winner Con Lima added another stakes win to her resume, taking the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational by three-quarters of a length over Higher Truth.

Gam's Mission broke fastest, but Flavien Prat had Con Lima on the lead with a few strides of the gate, taking over before the first turn of the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Oaks. Running easily on the front, Prat and Con Lima controlled the pace, setting fractions of :23.64 for the first quarter and :50.02 for the first half-mile. Behind her, Gam's Mission and Higher Truth stalked in second and third, poised to challenge Con Lima in the stretch.

Around the final turn, Gam's Mission made her move first but was not able to pass Con Lima, fading in the stretch. Higher Truth pursued the front runner in the last furlong, making up ground to get within a three-quarters of a length of Con Lima at the wire. Creative Flair, who was taken up early and had to go wide to find running room, was able to pass horses in the stretch to grab third. Plum Ali, Gam's Mission, Out of Sorts, Messidor, and Rocky Sky rounded out the field of eight.

The final time for the 1 3/16 miles was 1:54.42. Find this race's chart here.

Con Lima paid $8.10, $5.00, and $3.30. Higher Truth paid $6.80 and $4.00. Creative Flair paid $3.30 to show.

“I was analyzing the race beforehand and we were the only speed but I wasn't 100 percent sure with a couple of the Euros if they would show some initiative. I left it in Flavien's [Prat] hands and Plan A was to break well and see if anybody would try to take the lead away from us and if they didn't, we'd be happy to have it. It worked out really well,” Pletcher said after the Saratoga Oaks.

“The speed was pretty much me and the Godolphin filly [No. 7, Creative Flair] and it seems she broke a step slow. I broke better than her and I ended up on the lead,” jockey Flavien Prat told the NYRA Press Office after the race. “Going to the first turn I felt really comfortable. I was really pleased with the way she was traveling and I felt we were doing some easy fractions. She really kicked on well.”

Bred in Texas by Lisa Kuhlmann, Con Lima is a 3-year-old filly by Commissioner out of Second Street City, by Consolidator. Purchased for $22,000 from Niall Brennan Stables at the March 2020 Ocala Breeders Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale, she is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Del Toro, Eric Nikolaus, and Troy Johnson. With her win in the G3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, Con Lima has five wins in eight starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of seven wins and five seconds in 13 starts, with career earnings of $884,865.

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Flavius Best In Lure Stakes At Saratoga

Juddmonte homebred Flavius, with Flavien Prat in the irons, wired Saturday's $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure, at 1 1/16-miles on the Mellon turf for older horses at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trainer Chad Brown, who captured his 2000th career win on Friday, saddled a trio of Lure starters comprised of Value Proposition, Delaware, and Flavius, who entered from a runner-up effort in the Seek Again on May 22 at Belmont Park.

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Value Proposition, racing for purse money only after losing a front shoe on the way to the gate, broke well from post 3 and secured a ground-saving position as Flavius exited post 4 with intent, establishing the opening quarter-mile in 24.52 seconds on the firm turf.

Flavius maintained his lead down the backstretch through a half-mile in :48.99 with Tell Your Daddy providing pressure from the outside in second position as Value Proposition continued to enjoy a pocket trip. Fighting Seabee advanced up the rail as Value Proposition angled out into the final turn to launch his bid, while Hall of Famer John Velazquez asked Tell Your Daddy for his best run.

With many rivals lining up at the top of the lane, Flavius never relinquished as the bay ridgling responded to Prat's encouragement and continued to find more en route to a 1 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:41.53.

“I am so appreciative for this horse. Juddmonte are very good clients of mine,” Brown said. “They are very patient with this horse and decided to leave him in training for another year. It took a little time to get him back in form, but I loved his race today. I appreciate Flavien taking the initiative of taking it to them early. This horse switched off nicely down the backside and it seemed when he had his ears up moving comfortably down the backside, so I knew he had a big chance. He ran lights out today. It was an impressive performance.”

By War Front and out of the multiple graded-stakes winning Dynaformer mare Starformer, Flavius launched his career in Ireland with trainer Dermot Weld. He joined Brown's stable in 2019 and captured the Tourist Mile in September at Kentucky Downs in his fourth start for the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer.

Flavius launched his 6-year-old season with a close fourth in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile in March at Santa Anita ahead of his Seek Again effort.

“I didn't see a lot of speed in the race,” Prat said. “I wanted to be in the race and I found myself on the lead. He was traveling super and he kicked on really well. When I rode him in the Kilroe, it was against a good group of horses. I thought everything worked out well today.”

Tell Your Daddy stayed on strong to complete the exacta by 1 1/2-lengths over Value Proposition. Rounding out the order of finish were Dreams of Tomorrow, Delaware, South Bend, Fighting Seabee, and Temple. Midnight Tea Time, Guildsman, and main-track-only entrant Tacitus were scratched.

“He ran real good and gave me everything he could,” Velazquez said of Tell Your Daddy. “We got a good position. The winner was a little bit better than us.”

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Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Flavius banked $66,000 in victory while improving his record to 12-4-3-1. Sent to post as the 6-5 favorite, he paid $4.70 for a $2 win ticket.

“This has a been a horse that we brought over here with expectations that he could move up to the next level, and he's gotten close to this level,” said Garrett O'Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte's American division. “I think today his race was perfect. It's nice to keep horses like this a little bit longer in training and when they reward you, it makes it worthwhile.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose, the $200,000 Grade 2 Adirondack, and the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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