Prat Sets Stakes Win Record With Victory in Remsen
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Poster (inside) holds off Aviator Gui to win the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
For jockey Flavien Prat, it was an unforgettable trifecta.
In one fell swoop, he managed to break the record for stakes wins in a year, tie the mark for most graded stakes victories, and come up an intriguing Triple Crown prospect.
Not bad for a little less than two minutes of work.
The milestone and a tip of the hat toward the future came courtesy of Godolphin's Poster , who in his dirt debut benefitted from an assertive ride by Prat to capture the $250,000 Remsen Stakes (G2) for 2-year-olds Dec. 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"I'm very thankful. There's a lot of people behind me who supported me all year long, and Godolphin is a big part of it. They've been very supportive of me, and my agent (Brad Pegram) has done a great job as well. Just very thankful," said Prat, who surpassed Irad Ortiz Jr.'s mark of 79 stakes wins and tied Jerry Bailey's mark of 55 graded stakes victories. "It's good. It's off my back and it was something that was in the back of my mind for sure. You never know if that opportunity is going to come again, so it was something that I was definitely trying to achieve. I have great people supporting me all year round."
For trainer Eoin Harty, having a rider in a groove like Prat was a blessing as Poster rallied widest on the final turn, grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch, and then held off a late bid by Aviator Gui to win by a nose.
"(Prat) said he felt he moved a bit too soon, but if he didn't make the move then, it might be a little too late," Harty said. "That is why you employ guys like Prat."
Flavien Prat aboard Poster after the pair's victory in the Remsen Stakes
When asked if he gave Prat any instructions, Harty responded with an answer reflective of talking with a rider having a record-breaking year.
"None," Harty said. "A guy riding like that, at the top of his game, I'd just be an albatross around his neck. Just let him do this thing."
As a qualifying race for the Kentucky Derby (G1), Poster picked up 10 points in a race that has produced the winners of two Triple Crown races and the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in its previous three editions. Just last year, the Remsen winner was Dornoch , who went on to capture the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Haskell Stakes (G1), while the runner-up by a nose was Sierra Leone , who prevailed in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
"If he can have the same talent as the horses who were successful in this race last year, we will be very, very happy," said Michael Banahan, Godolphin USA's director of bloodstock.
Poster, a homebred son of Munnings out of the Tapit mare Pin Up, came into the Remsen undefeated in two starts, but they were both on the turf. Given his breeding, it's not surprising the connections opted to give him a try on dirt before the year came to an end.
"When he won at Keeneland (Oct. 12 in his second start), we decide to give him an opportunity to see if he could add to our mix of 3-year-olds on the dirt," Banahan said.
Now, Poster is in the Triple Crown mix with stablemates such as East Avenue , who was the favorite in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) but lost all chance with a disastrous start. Winner of the Breeders' Futurity (G1), Banahan said East Avenue is at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots with a probable target of the Risen Star Stakes (G2).
"This win gives us a great winter to dream about these horses," Banahan said. "We'll come up with a plan to divide and conquer."
Harty said a return to New York for one of the 3-year-old Kentucky Derby preps is a possibility.
LNJ Foxwoods' Tux set the pace in the Remsen with 4-5 favorite Keewaydin on his flank through fractions of :23.95 and :48.59. Prat and Poster were last in the field of six after the opening quarter-mile and as the leaders began to tire leaving the quarter pole, they swept past them and grabbed a two-length lead in midstretch.
The lone threat came from Three Chimneys Farm's Aviator Gui, who had to wait for room in the stretch then swung wide and chewed into the lead while lugging in but fell a stride short of reaching the front.
Poster ($11.60) covered the distance in 1:50.37 on a fast track in giving Prat his 80th stakes win of 2024.
"Considering his pedigree, I know the family's ins and outs, and I didn't think he'd have a problem with (dirt) and I'm glad to be proven right," Harty said.
(l-R): Michael Banahan, Flavien Prat, and Eoin Harty in the trophy presentation for the Remsen Stakes
Aviator Gui, a son of Uncle Mo who was coming off a fourth in the Awad Stakes on turf, picked up five qualifying points while giving trainer Chad Brown the sting of a second straight nose loss in the Remsen.
"I thought (Aviator Gui) had the momentum to go by, but he needed just a little more ground," Brown said. "He ran a really good race. He had been training in the morning like he was going to make a big forward move on the dirt and I'm happy to see that.
"I continue to be unlucky in this race ... Lugging in in the Remsen again," Brown said with a laugh stemming from Sierra Leone's nose loss in the 2023 Remsen when he lugged in. "I never really saw that from that horse before, so I've got a little bit of work to do with him. He ran good and he showed he belongs around two turns. We'll talk to the team at Three Chimneys and probably take him south."
Brown, who also trains Keewaydin, said the favorite had "no excuse."
Tux was third, followed by Studlydoright and Keewaydin. The second through fourth-place finishers earned Kentucky Derby qualifying points on a 5-3-2-1 scale.