Prado’s Rare Trip Has Payoff for Greek Sun

The New York-based Edgar Prado doesn’t ride in California often, but he makes his trips to the West Coast count.

Minutes after he won Sunday’s $150,000 Oak Tree Derby with Greek Sun, Prado could recall only one other non-Breeders’ Cup visit to Santa Anita after his win aboard Milwaukee Brew in the 2003 Santa Anita Handicap. Milwaukee Brew was Prado’s first win at the Arcadia track.

With Greek Sun’s picking up $90,000 of Sunday’s pot for his owner, Peter Angelos, who also owns the Baltimore Orioles, Prado’s purse total for 2004 neared the $16-million mark. The 37-year-old jockey ranks second nationally to another New York rider, John Velazquez, whose horses have earned more than $16.5 million.

This was the second time Prado rode Greek Sun, whose six starts have come at four tracks as trainer Bobby Frankel has shuttled the 3-year-old colt around the country. In Prado’s first chance with Greek Sun, they finished second to Kitten’s Joy in the Secretariat at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago. Since then, Greek Sun ran in the Man o’ War at Belmont Park at Elmont, N.Y., where he was last at 3-1. Humberto Ascanio, who runs the California division of Frankel’s far-flung operation, said that Greek Sun probably didn’t care for the deep grass course at Belmont.

Before Sunday’s race, there was concern in the Greek Sun camp that rain late Saturday might have softened up Santa Anita’s course too much. It didn’t matter.

Favored Greek Sun paid $4.80. Laura’s Lucky Boy finished second, three-quarters of a length back, and the 56-1 shot Hendrix ran third. Greek Sun, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.08, won for the fourth time. He won the Hill Rise in December in his only other start at Santa Anita.

Frankel’s other Oak Tree Derby wins were with No Slip in 2001 and Run Softly in 1994.

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Catchmeinyourdreams became the fourth horse to win back-to-back runnings of the Los Alamitos Championship when he won the $200,000 race by a neck over Whosleavingwho on Saturday night.

The other consecutive winners of the stake were Go Josie Go in 1965 and ‘66, Refrigerator in 1992 and ’93 and Heza Ramblin Man in 1997 and ’98. Three other horses have won the race twice, but not in succession. Catchmeinyourdreams, ridden by Corey Jensen, paid $9.20 to win. Buccaneer Beach, the 11-10 favorite, finished third.

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In other stakes Sunday, Flamenco, under Jerry Bailey, won the Cowdin; and Toll Taker, ridden by Eibar Coa, took the Astarita at Belmont Park. At Keeneland, Molto Vita, with Rafael Bejarano aboard, won the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes. ... Pleasantly Perfect, preparing Saturday for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, worked 1 1/8 miles in 1:50 3/5 .