Prayven Badrie scored a natural hat trick on Tuesday evening (May 28) to surge to the lead in the jockey standings this week and Ronald Ali won three races to move into second place, while five-time leading trainer Jerry Gourneau continued to do what he does best, winning four more races to maintain his lead in the trainer standings.
Badrie, who tied for leading rider here in 2018 with Antonio Whitehall, won the second race on Tuesday with Diane’s Wish ($7.70) for trainer Mike Nault, the third with Exacting ($2.50) for Steve Keplin, Jr. and the fourth race with Jj’s American Dream ($12.80) for trainer Jerry Gourneau, putting him on top of a solid ASD jockey colony.
Fellow Trinidadian rider Ronald Ali won the second race on Monday with Side Street Dave ($9.20) for trainer Bruce Sanderson, the fifth race on Monday with Run for Joy ($13.40) for trainer Jerry Gourneau, and added another win in the final race on Tuesday with No Show No Call for trainer Mike Taphorn, to move into second place in the standings.
Badrie has been in great form this year, but it has taken a few years. The 33-year-old from Seven Furlong in Trinidad had to come back from a potential career-ending injury in 2019 when he broke his pelvis at Century Mile. Last year he finished fifth in the standings here with 28 wins. In 2022 he also finished fifth with 26 wins. Could this be his year?
Ali first arrived at ASD in 2022 and finished 12th in the standings with 12 wins. Last year he improved dramatically to finish sixth in the standings, right behind Badrie, with 27 wins, and the 32-year-old rider now looks more confident and comfortable than ever in the saddle.
Badrie and Ali worked for their quick starts, they’ve been here all spring, but both said they were thankful to the trainers who gave them live amounts, and their families back home, who cheer for them every night.
Trainer Jerry Gourneau didn’t have to improve to make the lead, he did that decades ago. The 62-year-old conditioner from Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in North Dakota is shooting for his record fifth straight training title and sixth overall, and he looks unbeatable so far with six wins, two more than Devon Gittens, and four more than Steve Keplin, Jr, Mike Nault, and Mike Taphorn.
We have more talented trainers than ever before at ASD, but Gourneau has the horsepower to win it all again with leading owner Henry S. Witt, Jr. as his major client.
“I have the best owner in the world,” said Gourneau.
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