Prado Passes Cordero On Victories List
Friday, May 22, 2020
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Jockey Edgar Prado moved past fellow Hall of Famer Angel Cordero to grab sole possession of eighth place in the all-time standings for races won with victory No. 7,058 Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

    The 52-year-old Lima, Peru native scored aboard Wesley Ward-trained Flying Aletha ($9), who defeated stablemate Lime by 5 ½ lengths in the five-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies that was transferred from the turf course to the main track


    “I’m very excited. After the recent setback with the quarantine and the coronavirus, I’m glad to be back and riding again,” Prado said. “I’m extremely excited and happy to pass a legend like Cordero. The next goal is eight away, so hopefully we can get there sooner than later.” Prado moved to within eight victories of still-active Perry Ouzts, who ranks seventh on the all-time list.

   Prado hustled Flying Aletha out of the gate to beat Lime, the 2-5 favorite ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., for pacesetting honors on the backstretch. The daughter of Tiznow withstood a mild challenge from her stablemate before drawing away to a comfortable victory.

    CJ Thoroughbreds LLC’s Flying Aletha, who was purchased for $175,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale, ran five furlongs in :58.73 seconds after setting fractions of :22.66 and :46.21 for the first half-mile. Lime, who finished second in her April 16 debut at Gulfstream, finished 6 ½ lengths clear of Whistler Dixie and Victor Lebron.

   Flying Aletha was making her debut, following several impressive workouts on turf at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.


.    “Isn’t that nice? I rode with him here at Calder when he first came to this country. We rode together at Calder in 1987,” said Ward, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice in 1984.

    Prado, who rode as an apprentice in Peru, began riding in the U.S. in 1986. He notched his first win aboard Single Love at Calder on June 1, 1986. The 53-year-old jockey, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008, has amassed countless highlights during his illustrious career, including a Kentucky Derby win aboard Barbaro in 2006, when he was honored with an Eclipse Award as North America’s outstanding jockey, and Belmont Stakes wins aboard Birdstone (2004) and Sarava (2002), as well as five Breeder’s Cup victories.

    Prado’s mounts have earned nearly $270 million in purse money.
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