Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted January 24 Journalists Share Posted January 24 After threatening a breakthrough for the past several seasons, jockey Flavien Prat finally reached the summit of his profession Thursday when he was recognized with the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey for the first time in his career. The Frenchman, who relocated to New York from California a few seasons ago to improve his chances of achieving this type of accolade, rode the winners of a record 82 black-type races in 2024, some 56 of those at the graded level, also a record. Overall he rode the winners of 230 races and amassed earnings of $37.3 million. On the possibility of winning his first Eclipse Award, Prat told NYRA's publicity department, “It means a lot. Honestly it would be a dream come true. It's something you work all your life for and to achieve it would be something, just to do it once. Hopefully, it would be great and would be something I would remember forever.” The French native–who started to win riding titles at Santa Anita and Del Mar in 2016–almost three years ago made the decision to move his tack to Kentucky that spring and then to New York for the spring/summer. That choice, along with copious amounts of hard work, gave him the opportunity for a shot at the record books. Prat's 2024 season was marked by a trio of notable milestones. First, as a member of arguably the toughest jockey colony at Saratoga, Prat set a record for stakes wins with 18 during a single meet at the Spa–14 of which were graded. The post Prat Breaks Through, Wins First Eclipse As Outstanding Jockey appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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