Prat heads list of World class jocks as 16-day Autumn meet set to open on Friday, Oct. 1

With Southern California kingpin Flavien Prat heading the charge, a full complement of world class jockeys is set to compete throughout the course of Santa Anita’s upcoming 16-day Autumn Meet, which is set to open on Friday, Oct. 1.  A total of four stakes, three of them Breeders’ Cup “Win & You’re In” Challenge Race qualifiers, will headline a nine-race program, with first post time at 1 p.m.

Prat, a 29-year-old native of Malun, France, is enjoying yet another tremendous year, having just won the riding title at the recently concluded Del Mar Summer Race Meet.  Although based in Southern California, Prat has ridden in major stakes throughout the country in 2021 and he currently ranks fourth among North American jockeys with earnings of more than $16.8 million.

A triumvirate of talented riders, Juan Hernandez, Abel Cedillo and Umberto Rispoli, should again figure prominently in the Autumn Meet standings.  Hernandez and Cedillo, former leading riders at Golden Gate Fields, finished two-three at Del Mar, while Italian native Rispoli, regarded as one of the circuit’s top turf riders, checked in fourth.  (Hernandez and Rispoli rank 12th and 14th nationally, with respective earnings of $7.8 million and $7.5 million).