In his 10th year riding full time in America, Flavien Prat's ascension to the highest level of the sport was indisputably marked by the 32-year-old Frenchman setting records for stakes (82) and graded stakes victories (56) in a single season.
Prat broke Racing Hall of Fame member Jerry Bailey's single-season mark for graded wins, which stood at 55 since 2003. Bailey's magical '03 season, which included victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1) aboard Empire Maker, came towards the end of a magnificent, 31-year riding career.
Prat, who won his first Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey Thursday night, is comfortably in his prime. His 2024 earnings of $37,274,176 was a new career mark and led all North American jockeys. Prat broke into the top three jockeys by earnings in 2022, when second at $29,768,377, and now has finished in the top three for three consecutive years.
Prat also broke his contemporary Irad Ortiz Jr.'s record for stakes wins in a year, registering 82 black-type wins in 2024. Ortiz won 79 stakes in 2022.
Prat's most important ride was on Sierra Leone in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar. He picked up the mount on the talented 3-year-old colt, notorious for bearing inward during the stretch run of his races, after a controversial second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1) that saw rider Tyler Gaffalione reach out and touch third-place finisher Forever Young to steady himself as Sierra Leone continually drifted into his opponent.
Prat and Sierra Leone finished third in the Belmont Stakes (G1) in their initial pairing, but there was gradual improvement as the year progressed and he got to know the talented, enigmatic colt.
They put it all together with a flawless performance in the Classic. Sitting 11th early behind a wickedly fast pace, Prat allowed Sierra Leone to gradually advance on the leaders on the backstretch under his own power. Working in tandem, they ramped up their intensity while moving four-wide around the far turn and into the lane. Sierra Leone put his head in front of the leader, his rival and fellow 3-year-old Fierceness, in early stretch and powered home to win by 1 1/2 lengths, holding a beautiful path.
In the race immediately after the Classic, Prat added a second Breeders' Cup victory aboard Moira in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T).
Prat won a total of 16 grade 1 races in 2024, a list that also included the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on National Treasure . Prat won grade 1s at sprint, middle, and classic distances; on turf and dirt; and with all ages, indicative of the excellence and versatility of his riding style.
"I found him to be very effective on all types of horses that we have in our barn," said Sierra Leone's trainer Chad Brown. "It's a good match because we have a very versatile stable, and he seems to adapt to all horses: turf, dirt, long, short; young inexperienced horses all the way to veteran horses that have form that he picks up for the first time and keeps moving forward."
