2 Ky. Derby jockeys already look like winners this week

Louisville, Ky. 

They have been at Churchill Downs all week, exercising horses in the mornings and riding some winners in the afternoons. All the while Joel Rosario and Flavien Prat have been answering questions and thinking about their game plans on what may be the top two contenders in Kentucky Derby 2022.

“I just thank God we have the opportunity,” said Rosario, the reigning Eclipse Award winner who will ride Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Epicenter on Saturday evening. “We can’t be any more blessed than that.”

“We’re going to keep our head down, keep working hard and try to make the best out of every opportunity,” said Prat, who will be on Blue Grass (G1) winner Zandon.

See in-depth records on Kentucky Derby 2022 jockeys.

Each rider also has been blessed with a previous win in America’s biggest race. Rosario did it nine years ago on Orb, the last closer to cross the finish line first in the Derby. Prat also got his victory on a closer in 2019, when 65-1 long shot Country House was the biggest beneficiary of the disqualification of Maximum Security.

Zandon is another deep closer who will try to break up the recent domination of Derby pacesetters and stalkers. Prat said he did not want to be as far back this weekend as he was last month at Keeneland, where Zandon was in last place midway through the Blue Grass.

“In the Derby, hopefully, we have some pace,” Prat said on Horse Racing Nation’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. “Obviously, he’s going to come from behind, but you don’t want to be too far back. We’re going to have to work a trip from there.”

Prat, 29, a native of Melun, France, did just that in the Blue Grass, picking just the right spot and the right time to make a bold move to burst through homestretch traffic.

“I was proud of the horse,” he said, deflecting a compliment about his ride. “He was there for me when I asked him to be there. The first part of the race was not great for us. He broke OK. I tried to hustle him out a little bit, but I couldn’t get him forwardly placed, so we went to plan B. I was stuck behind horses that were not going forward at all. I had to bide my time there.”

“Hopefully, he can get a little better position,” Zandon’s trainer Chad Brown said. “He persevered through a little bit of a rough trip. He got a lot of good experience out of it, which will hopefully serve him well in the Derby.”

Where Zandon’s position in mid-pack coming out of post 10 might be preferable, Epicenter’s near the front from post 3 will be crucial.

In his last five races that have resulted in four wins and a narrow loss, Epicenter was never more than 1 1/2 lengths behind at any call. In winning the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds in February, Rosario had him on the lead the whole way. Last month in his Louisiana Derby victory, Epicenter came from just off the pace.

What about Saturday?

“It all depends,” said Rosario, 37, who was born in the Dominican Republic. “We need to get a good break with so many horses in the race with a 20-horse field. Just get a good position, and hopefully we get a good trip.”

Whether he pushes the button to try and chase a pacesetter Saturday like UAE Derby (G2) runner-up Summer Is Tomorrow or whether he lays back a little bit will be a crucial decision for Rosario.

“I’ll just let him run his race,” he said. “He will tell me (through his action) pretty much what he wants to do. You could see from his races before that he had no problem to get position or just to get off (the pace) a little bit. He can do anything.”

Rosario felt like the Louisiana Derby put some seasoning into Epicenter, who had been on or within striking distance of the early pace in his five previous races.

“He was actually inside, and then we had to hustle around outside, and he was fine with it,” Rosario said. “He’ll be OK with that. It just all depends on the day and how the race sets up.”

One thing Rosario uniquely did this week was to get a leg up on the competition. Literally. He rode former Bob Baffert colt Taiba in a three-furlong blowout Wednesday as a favor to the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner’s new trainer Tim Yakteen.

“He asked me to come in and work him, and I said, ‘Of course,’” Rosario said. “It’s a very nice horse, and I’m thankful I had the opportunity just to get on him.”

As for any clues he might have gotten that could apply to the Derby, Rosario said, “We don’t worry about that. We’ll just have a race.”

Since Tuesday, Rosario has had 21 starts at Churchill Downs, collecting six victories, including Friday’s in the La Troienne (G1) on Pauline’s Pearl. Trainer Steve Asmussen was one of the beneficiaries of that ride, and he will be hoping Rosario delivers him his first ever victory in the Derby.

Asked specifically what assets Rosario brings to his team, Asmussen laughed and said, “He has a Derby win. He was the Eclipse Award winner last year. We’ve got the voted-on best rider in the world who has won the Derby before and who has had success on this horse in several two-turn races. We check off a lot of the boxes there. He’s a great horseman and a great talent. The thing that everybody in racing appreciates so much about Joel is that he gets great races out of (horses) on big days.”

Prat, meanwhile, has had 18 starts this week at Churchill Downs, winning four times, including Friday on Matareya in the Turf Sprint (G2) and on Bleecker Street in the Modesty (G3).

On Saturday he will try to finish in the money for the fourth time in five Derby starts.

“It works out for me, so far,” Prat said. “I think the horse is really important. It seems like this year the race is wide open. Epicenter seems like a really strong horse. Hopefully we get a good trip, and we’ll see who is the best.”