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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Leading at every step in Sunday's G2 Cygames Prix de Malleret at ParisLongchamp, Qilin Queen (Pinatubo) put another feather in the cap of TBT Racing with a game career-best. Hunted down all the way to the line by the hot favourite Sunly (Night Of Thunder), the 6-1 shot who had beaten only one rival in the Oaks clung on to score by a short neck under Kieran Shoemark. “We went to Epsom with big hopes, but were so disappointed and felt it was the soft ground,” trainer Ed Walker said. “We knew it would be quick here and she stays well, so we were confident she would stay the mile and a half. She's in the Yorkshire Oaks, so we'll try and get the Group One now.” The post Pinatubo’s Yorkshire Oaks-Bound Qilin Queen Too Tough In The Prix de Malleret appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Godolphin's Kentucky Oaks (G1)-winning homebred Good Cheer breezed a half-mile in :50.66, according to NYRA clockers July 13 over the Saratoga Race Course main track as she prepares for the 1 1/4-mile $600,000 Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 16 at the Spa.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Jockey Flavien Prat had himself a year in 2024 on the way to his first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. How good was he? He set records for Stakes wins (82) and Graded Stakes wins (56). He won the Breeders' Cup Classic. He won 16 Grade I races. The list could go on, but he has turned the page. He will make no predictions for 2025. The 32-year-old French native just wants to keep on riding. He sat down with Tim Wilkin to talk about life as a top jockey in the U.S. TDN: We're sitting here outside the jockeys' room at Saratoga and before you sat down, you went out and gave a pair of jockey goggles to somebody. Is that something you always do? Flavien Prat: Here, there are a lot of kids and most of them ask for goggles. I used to be a kid, and I did the same thing. TDN: How many goggles do you think you will give away up here? FP: Honestly, at the end of the meet, I don't know. I would say at least an average of two a day. TDN: So, close to 100. FP: Yeah, probably. TDN: It's important for you to be there for the kids. FP: Like I said, I used to be that kid that was asking for goggles back in France. When you are a kid, it is something that you really enjoy. Of course it makes me feel good. TDN: It's nice, I suppose, when you walk through the crowd on the way back here after a race to have a kid ask for goggles. But you must hear some not so nice things once in a while after a loss. FP: (laughs) You hear just about anything you can imagine. But, really, it's great to meet with the fans. It's important to be closer than usual. TDN: As we are speaking, it's opening day, and you won the first three races of the meet. Do you think you can win your first Saratoga riding title? FP: It's a possibility. There is a long way to go, and you need to have a clean meet. You have to be consistent and get the right horses for the right races. TDN: And there will be a few days you will miss because you'll be out of town. FP: That's right. TDN: Last year you had a season for the ages. You always want to do better, but can you do any better than what you did last year? FP: You sure can try. TDN: You are chasing yourself. FP: (smiles) There is nothing wrong with that. Even if you don't win as many races or you don't win as many good races, you can always do better on your riding, I think. There is always room for improvement. Can I do as good as last year, or even better? I will sure try. TDN: You have been riding in the U.S. for 10 years. What was the reason to come here from France? Excellent Truth (with Prat in the irons) after denying She Feels Pretty in the GI Dunkin' Diana Stakes | Sarah Andrew FP: I used to spend the winter in the States, and I always enjoyed myself. I was doing okay in France; I won a few stakes. Not bad. I was leading apprentice. It came very quickly and once I lost my bug it was a lot harder, and I was not prepared for that. I was very young. Things were getting better. I was second call for the Wertheimers. I won a few graded stakes. I just felt like every time I came here, I was very happy and enjoyed myself more than when I was in France, and I thought it was the right time to move. At the time, I was riding for Mr. Mandella, and he gave me a lot of support. That was very important. Looking back on it, how Richard Mandella supported me was very key to where I am now. TDN: Best horse you ever rode. Flightline? FP: (nods). Yes. Yeah. I have been very fortunate to have been on a lot of good horses. That day at Keeneland when he won the (Breeders' Cup) Classic, I think he could have won the Sprint, I think he could have won the Dirt Mile and he won the Classic. TDN: He was so good, maybe he could have won them all on the same day. FP: (laughs) I don't know about that, but he was very good. I had the chance to be part of his journey. Everyone had high expectations from the get-go. It came with more responsibility and pressure. Once he won the Pacific Classic and then the Breeders' Cup Classic, everyone expected him to win. As a rider, you know anything can happen. TDN: You always look for another one like that. FP: Always look for the good horses. I was very fortunate to be part of (Flightline's) journey. TDN: If you could ride any horse from history, who would it be? FP: Just one? I will say Secretariat. Europe, I would say Frankel. TDN: I ask everyone this question. If there was a movie made about your life and you could pick the actor to play you, who would it be? FP: They would need to be small, and they would have to have gray hair (laughs). There aren't too many. How about the guy who played in “Seabiscuit.” TDN: Tobey Maguire. FP: Yes. I thought he did a great job. TDN: Favorite horse racing movie. FP: It would be “Seabiscuit.” TDN: Are you into the history of this sport? FP: A little bit. I'm probably not the best one in the jocks' room but I will do it a little. TDN: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would it be? FP: Bobby Frankel. Chris McCarron. And Richard Mandella. TDN: Who buys? FP: I'll buy. Flavien Prat | Sarah Andrew TDN: Jockeys have to make a lot of sacrifices, especially with their diet. If you could have one day to eat whatever you wanted, what would it be? FP: French fries, for sure. I love French fries. And a nice piece of meat. I would be a happy man. TDN: What is your diet like? FP: A lot of meat, fish and salad. I don't eat lunch. I have coffee and yogurt in the morning and then nothing until dinner. TDN: Your body is trained for that. FP: On off days, because you're at home, I'll snack. It is so much easier when you ride. TDN: Pound for pound, jockeys may be strongest athletes in the world. Explain to me how hard it is to hold a 1,000-pound (or heavier) horse together. FP: It's very physical. It demands every part of your body and your mind. So, it's very demanding. I am lucky enough that I don't have to reduce. There are a lot of guys that have to reduce. TDN: You have a full workload every afternoon. How tired are you at the end of a race day? FP: What is very tiring is when you have to work horses in the morning. Those days go non-stop. That is when you get tired. I would say I average four or five a morning and then you ride all day. TDN: No time for a nap. FP: Quick nap. Power nap. TDN: If you were not a jockey, what do you think you would be doing? FP: I was always intrigued with flying airplanes. TDN: Did you play any other sports growing up? FP: I played soccer. I was terrible at it. I played because most of my friends played. I enjoyed it, but I was very bad at it. TDN: You were always interested in horse racing from a young age. FP: I was. It was always on my mind. TDN: Do you have a nickname? FP: Richard Mandella called me Flavor Flav when I came here. It stuck a little bit in California. TDN: Do you have a favorite television show? FP: I like “Knockers. TDN: Would you call yourself a funny guy? FP: (laughs) I don't think so. TDN: Who is the funniest guy in the room? FP: I don't know. Eric Cancel is pretty funny. Let's say him. TDN: What is so unique about this sport is that all the competitors are in the same room. Is there ever any yelling? Arguing? Fisticuffs? FP: It happens. As you get older, you learn how to manage it. There is emotion. When I was younger it was harder to manage. There is always tension. It's a competitive sport. TDN: Favorite racetrack. FP: Santa Anita is the prettiest. The first time I went to the track – and I remember like it was yesterday – any condition … raining, hot, cloudy … you name it, it's always pretty. TDN: During your record-setting season last year, if I got it right, you rode at 20 different racetracks. You go everywhere. FP: Yes. I enjoy it because when I travel, it's to ride good horses. I think it is something that everyone would love to do. TDN: Is there one race you haven't won that you really want? FP: There are a lot of them. The post Q and A with Flavien Prat appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
John Size won a 13th trainers’ premiership at Sha Tin on Sunday thanks to a treble on the night spearheaded by Bundle Award’s last-gasp win in the feature Class One Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy (1,600m). The 71-year-old entered the penultimate meeting of the season with a six-win lead over David Hayes but put the exclamation point on his season by sprinting into a nine-win lead to put the race beyond doubt. With Hayes having entries in only eight of the nine races at Happy...View the full article -
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