Flavien Prat

With two weeks remaining until the first weekend of May, several chief protagonists for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks turned in some key breezes in Kentucky and California. Jeff Drown's Zandon (Upstart), who cemented his spot in the Derby field with an eye-catching victory in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 9, has remained in Lexington to train up to the big race and went a half-mile in :48.60 (see below). The $170,000 Keeneland September graduate covered his opening furlong in :12.80, then...

Covering the first ever night of racing at Pompano Park, which took place Feb. 4, 1964, Earl Straight of the Fort Lauderdale News had this to say: "Harness racing has arrived in Broward County and it is going to be with us for a long, long time." He wasn't stepping out on a limb. With almost no competition for the gambling dollar, all forms of horse racing were thriving back then and there was no reason to believe that Pompano would be an exception. It was supposed to be to...

The owner of some very solid West Coast form, Count Again (Awesome Again) nevertheless projects to be at least a little bit forgotten from a pari-mutuel perspective in a high-class renewal of the GI Maker's Mark Mile, the Good Friday feature at Keeneland. A maiden winner during this track's fall meet in 2019 when under the care of Neil Howard, the bay won the 10-furlong GIII Singspiel S. for trainer Gail Cox in 2020, but has been kept between eight and nine panels since being switched to the barn of...

Godolphin's Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile), bet hard throughout, ran to the money in Sunday's GIII Beaumont S. at Keeneland, picking up her first stakes win with a daylight romp against six overmatched rivals. Debuting with a smooth 4 1/2-length wire-to-wire score while geared down late Aug. 20 at Ellis, the homebred disappointed a bit when flattening out to fifth in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. on this strip Oct. 8. Finishing second as the favorite in the Fern Creek S. Nov. 27 at Churchill, the bay was a distant runner-up...

hiSure, horses like Go For Gin and Thunder Gulch parlayed victories in the GII Remsen S. at two into GI Kentucky Derby glory in 1994 and 1995, respectively, but there are few races over the last 30 years that have taken more of a beating than that late-season Aqueduct feature as a pointer to success in Louisville. Perhaps that theory is due for a rethink. In the space of about 30 minutes Saturday afternoon, 2021 Remsen winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) clawed his way past Early Voting (Gun Runner) to...

Just One Time (Not This Time) took her career to the next level with her first Grade I score in Keeneland's Madison S. Saturday. Away without incident after being pounded down to 2-1 favoritism late, the lightly raced PA-bred sat towards the back as Lady Rocket (Tale of the Cat) and Kimari (Munnings) knocked heads with longshot Club Car (Malibu Moon) through a snappy first quarter in :22.11. Just One Time has just one beat, Bell's the One (Majesticperfection), as the favorites continued their battle through a :44.50 half-mile. That Grade...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 03/17/2022 Licensee: Flavien Prat, jockey Penalty: $500 fine Violation: Excessive use of the whip Explainer: Jockey Flavien Prat is fined $500.00 for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1688(b)(8)(d) (Use of Riding Crop--more than six times)...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In the spring of 2018, Bucchero (Kantharos) took the Ironhorse Racing Stable on the ride of a lifetime. Having burst onto the scene with an upset victory in Keeneland's GII Woodford S. the previous fall, the popular Indiana-bred finished fourth, beaten just one length, in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Behind him that afternoon were the likes of Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Marsha (Ire), both world-class turf sprinters, and it got IHR managing partner Harlan Malter's wheel's spinning. If Bucchero could mix it...

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella looks to have a great chance of saddling his first GI Kentucky Derby starter since the mid-2000s with a major contender in GII San Felipe S. romper Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah), and Tuesday, Mandella sat down with the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to talk about his electric speedster, the impending Hall of Fame induction of former trainee Beholder, his view on the state of California racing after its trials of the past few years and more. "Truly excited," Mandella, calling in via...

Flavien Prat is in the right place at the right time in Southern California. Young and gifted, he dominates the circuit in a way no jockey has in years. He picked up his 60th win of the meet Saturday, 25 more than runner-up Juan Hernandez. He won three stakes on the card, giving him 15 for the meet. And he rides for just about all the top barns on the circuit, most notably Bob Baffert. It's far, far from broke, but Prat is intent on fixing it. On Saturday, he...

As Time Goes By (American Pharoah), second behind Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in last year's GI Beholder Mile, got the job done in the 2022 renewal of the race with an authoritative victory at Santa Anita Saturday. Sent off the 1-5 favorite while facing just three rivals, the dark bay mare was away half a step slowly, but was hustled out to the early lead. She was clear down the backstretch as the quarter went up in :22.76 and the half in :46.22. In front by three lengths at the top...

Trainer Richard Baltas sends out expected favorite GI Rodeo Drive S. winner Going to Vegas (Goldencents) in Saturday's GII Buena Vista S. at Santa Anita. Last seen finishing 11th in a 12-horse field after setting the early pace in the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, Going to Vegas shook off the rust with a five-furlong drill in 1:00 (2/20) Feb. 26 in Arcadia. Flavien Prat, who won the GII John C. Mabee S. aboard the 5-year-old mare last September, has the mount. To win, she'll have...