Jockey Flavien Prat takes Mathis Mile at Santa Anita for record 56th graded stakes win of the year

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Flavien Prat won the $200,000 Mathis Mile Stakes at Santa Anita on Thursday, the French jockey’s record-setting 56th graded stakes victory of the year.

Prat broke the old mark of 55, set by Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey in 2003.

“It is definitely worth all the work when something like this happens,” Prat said.

It was also Prat’s 81st stakes win of 2024, extending the mark he set on Dec. 7 at Aqueduct in New York. That’s when he surpassed Irad Ortiz Jr.’s single-season record set in 2022.

In the Mathis Mile, Prat was aboard 3-5 favorite King of Gosford. They battled down the stretch to beat Stay Hot by a length for trainer Phil D’Amato.

In the winner’s circle, Prat celebrated with his wife and two children as signs were held up signifying his record-setting victory.

“There are a lot of people behind this,” Prat said, mentioning his family, D’Amato, Hall of Famer trainer Richard Mandella and winning owner Michael Nentwig. “There couldn’t be a better place to win it than here at Santa Anita.”

He is one of three finalists for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding jockey. It will be announced in January.

Prat won the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic with Sierra Leone at Del Mar last month.

Prat moved from France to the United States in 2015 and settled in Southern California, where he became a dominant rider. This year, he shifted his base to New York. He set a record last summer Saratoga for stakes wins with 18, including seven Grade 1s.

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing