Flavien Prat Profile

The French jockey Flavien Prat claimed the biggest win of his career on Country House in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, matching this by claiming the 2021 Preakness Stakes with Rombauer.

Flavien Prat is a prominent horse racing jockey who has won several of the sport's most notable events, including the Kentucky Derby and several Breeders' Cup races. He has a career record of over 1,000 wins from 5,000+ starts, with earnings in excess of $80million.

Rise to stardom

Flavien Prat was born on August 4, 1992, in Melun, Seine-et-Marne, France. Prior to his move to the United States, Prat raced in his home country where he became a champion apprentice jockey and winner of several Group 1 races.

Since he moved to the United States in 2015, he has ranked on many notable charts, such as the TRC Global Rankings, as well as finishing fifth in the national earnings' list for jockeys in 2019.

Born into a family that was involved in horse racing, with his father being a trainer back in France, Prat went on to become a truly international rider. He has participated in races all over the world, including the United States, Germany, Italy and France.

Career highlights

Prat's first consistent period of racing in the United States was in southern California in the winter of 2009. However, it did not last long, with Prat quickly returning to France.

Prat returned in 2015 for his first full North American racing season. This was a big year for the jockey as he scored his first graded stakes win in the Grade 3 Precisionist Stakes at Santa Anita Park on May 2. He was aboard Catch A Flight for that big victory.

During that first season, Prat took second spot on the Del Mar summer meet standings board. At the track, he scored his first Grade 1 victory in the Bing Crosby Stakes, where he guided Wild Dude. On September 4, Prat won four races in one day for the first time in his career.

In 2016, Prat scored his first Breeders' Cup win by winning the Turf Sprint with Obviously. That same year, he ran in eight Breeders' Cup races, finishing third in two of them.

Prat guided Paradise Woods and Moonshine Memories to Grade 1 victories in 2017. He also scored other Grade 1 victories with Avenge and Ransom The Moon. All of those performances led to the Breeders' Cup, and the jockey continued to impress as he took his second World Championships victory with Battle of Midway in the Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

In 2018, Flavien Prat came away with several notable wins. They included the Bing Crosby Stakes, the John C. Mabee Stakes, the Chandelier Stakes, the Del Mar Debutante Stakes, the Del Mar Handicap, the San Vicente Stakes, the Bay Shore Stakes, the Brooklyn Invitational Stakes, the Edgewood Stakes, the Lazaro Barrera Memorial Stakes, the Los Alamitos Derby, the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, the Santa Barbara Stakes, the Shoemaker Mile Stakes, the Thunder Road Stakes and the Tokyo City Cup Stakes. In total, he enjoyed 182 wins and earnings of $12.9million in that year alone.

Prat earned even more in 2019 - $19.7million - aided by being the regular rider of Bellafina, who was a multiple Grade 1 winner in both 2018 and 2019. She also secured the Grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Ynez Stakes in the latter year. She finished a disappointing fifth in the Longines Kentucky Oaks, but Prat made up for this next time out.

The day after that fifth-place run, Prat joined Country House to win the 2019 Kentucky Derby. The event was chaotic, with the victory coming due to the disqualification of first-place finisher Maximum Security.

The 2019 Kentucky Derby victory gave Prat his first-ever Triple Crown race win, as his best finish up to that point had been third aboard Battle of Midway in the 2017 Kentucky Derby. He matched this third-place finish in 2021 with Hot Rod Charlie, who finished a single length behind winner Medina Spirit.

Country House, ridden by Flavien Prat, en route to victory in the 2019 Kentucky Derby

Prat's 2019 was not over with the Derby victory though. His season got even better as he was a jockey in all 14 Breeders' Cup races. His best result was a win aboard Storm the Court, who upset the Juvenile field by coming home in front at 45/1 for what was Prat's third career victory at the prestigious meeting.

In the 2021 Kentucky Derby, he guided 8/1 shot Hot Rod Charlie to third place. He then rode Rombauer to victory in the Preakness Stakes to secure his second Triple Crown success.

Major racing victories

Flavien Prat has raced in many different countries and has consistently ridden in top races.

Prat's victories in his home country of France include the Prix Perth (2012), the Prix Daniel Wildenstein (2013), the Prix de Pomone (2013) and the Prix Marcel Boussac (2013).

His most prominent victories have come in the United States and include big races such as the American Stakes (2015), the Bing Crosby Stakes (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018), the Precisionist Stakes (2015), the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (2016), the Arcadia Stakes (2016), the Gamely Stakes (2016 and 2019), the La Brea Stakes (2016 and 2018), the Rodeo Drive Stakes (2016, 2017 and 2018), the Turf Sprint Stakes (2016), the Affirmed Stakes (2017), the Best Pal Stakes (2017), the Buena Vista Stakes (2017 and 2019), the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (2017 and 2018), the Santa Anita Oaks (2017 and 2019), the San Vicente Stakes (2017 and 2018), the Zenyatta Stakes (2017 and 2020), the Los Alamitos Derby (2018), the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (2018 and 2020), the Shoemaker Mile Stakes (2018) and the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (2019).

Prat has won several Breeders' Cup races, including the Turf Sprint (2016), the Dirt Mile (2017) and the Juvenile (2019).

The jockey's most prestigious victory came in the 2019 Kentucky Derby on Country House. He secured his second Triple Crown victory with Rombauer in the 2021 Preakness Stakes.

Flavien Prat's horses

Flavien Prat regularly gets the call for the top American sprinters, with some of his most notable mounts being Bal a Bali, Hoppertunity, Obviously and The Pizza Man.

One of Prat's most famous runners is Country House, winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby. That victory came after Maximum Security was disqualified following an objection call from Prat and the Long Range Toddy team. Country House retired in 2021 with a record of 2-2-1 from seven career starts, having earned $2.1million.

Another one of Prat's prominent horses is Battle of Midway, an American Thoroughbred who upset the 2017 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile field. He also took third in the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Battle of Midway had a career record of 8-4-2 from 16 starts and earnings of $1.6million. The racehorse suffered a severe injury during training on February 23, 2019, which resulted in him being euthanised. He was a colt from Smart Strike and bred by Thor-Bred Stables. His dam was Rigoletta.

Tom Reed
5 May 2022

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