TAYLOR: Focus, fitness paying off for ASD jockey Badrie

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On Monday, Prayven Badrie, the defending jockey champion at Winnipeg’s Assiniboia Downs, will hop aboard Mr Jaws (25-1) in the 77th running of the $125,000 Manitoba Derby.

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Badrie, the 35-year-old veteran rider from Trinidad, who won the jockey title at ASD in 2018 and 2024, has been in a heated battle for this year’s title with three other vets — Damario Bynoe, Antonio Whitehall and Sven Balroop. Not surprisingly, all four, along with rookie Ciera Pruitt, will have mounts when the Manitoba Derby goes to post around 9:40 p.m.

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The battle for top jock at the Downs this season already has been one for the ages. Heading into the biggest race of the season on Monday, Badrie and Bynoe are on top. Badrie has 29 wins, 13 seconds and 14 third-place finishes in 92 starts and has earned his owners a season-high $299,255. He also has an ASD-high in-the-money mark of 61 per cent.

Bynoe has 29 wins, 18 seconds and 21 thirds in 115 starts with $289,677 in earnings. Whitehall has 26 wins, 24 seconds and 20 thirds in 118 starts with $295,712 in earnings, while Balroop has 25 wins, 20 seconds and 15 thirds in 106 starts with $251,105 in winnings.

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On Monday, Bynoe will be aboard Acknowledge (12-1) for trainer Wendy Anderson, Whitehall will ride Just Trust Me (5-1) for trainer Dewey Williams, Balroop will be on Maldini (15-1) for Lise Pruitt, while Ciera Pruitt will ride War Is Hell (50-1) for trainer Jason Homer.

All five have a shot at the win over 1 1/8 miles, but according to the morning-line oddsmakers, they will be chasing Alberta-based jockey Rasheed Hughes aboard Randy Howg’s Take Charge Tom (1-2), trained by Robertino Diodoro, who has saddled four Derby champions.

Still, Badrie knows he has been able to ride some outstanding horses this season and he certainly expects any Henry Witt-Jerry Gourneau horse to be game.

“I’m working for Steve Keplin Jr., Steven Gaskin and Jerry Gourneau,” Badrie said. “That’s my three barns and they’ve got some pretty live horses. Without live horses you just can’t have success.

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Badrie, who is always on the lookout for a live horse, is now a veteran at the Downs, having first come to Canada to race in 2011.

“That first year, I only stayed a month or two,” he recalled. “I won nine races, but I was young and missing my family back home, so I didn’t stay here long. I came back in 2012 and won 17 races, but I still wasn’t comfortable here and went home again. This time I stayed home for a few years and then came back in 2017, when I was 27 years old.

“Then the borders were shut, so I had to stay at home,” he continued. “I stayed home in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID and then in 2022, I decided to come back to Winnipeg because it feels more like my home. I’m comfortable here and it’s been good. I lost my focus in 2023 and didn’t have a great year, but I got my focus back last year and did really well. I committed to keeping my focus 100 per cent and so far, it’s going really well. I’m also really fit. 100 per cent fit. I’ve been working hard.”

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Badrie is the first to admit how important focus and fitness are to his success. With the competitive jockey colony at ASD, each one has to bring an A game to every race.

“It’s so much more competitive now,” he said. “You got a lot of good riders here. A lot of good riders from the Caribbean came across to Winnipeg this year and it’s more competitive than ever.

On of the things that has made him more comfortable is the fact he sees his wife Madeline at the track every day.

“My wife is working for Wendy Anderson this summer,” he said. “We came up together and we’re going to try and get some horses ourselves. Maybe have a family operation one day. We’re both in the business so we might as well do it.”

Monday night at 7:35 p.m., Badrie will be back in the saddle at ASD. Along with the Derby, he’ll ride Baby Gundin for Jerry Gourneau in the $50,000 Escape Clause Stakes (Race 4) and Malibu SS for Gourneau in the $50,000 Harvey Warner Manitoba Mile (Race 5).

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MANITOBA DERBY ENTRIES

Here are the post positions and connections for the biggest race of the season at Assiniboia Downs:

Post Horse Trainer Jockey

1 Border Song (15-1) Robert Van Overschot Brian Boodramsingh

2 Acknowledge (12-1) Wendy Anderson Damario Bynoe

3 Mr Jaws (25-1) Jerry Gourneau Prayven Badrie

4 Attack (8-1) Craig Robert Smith N’Rico Prescod

5 War Is Hell (50-1) Jason Homer Ciera Pruitt

6 Maldini (15-1) Lise Pruitt Sven Balroop

7 Take Charge Tom (1-2) Robertino Diodoro Rasheed Hughes

8 Just Trust Me (5-1) Dewey Williams Antonio Whitehall

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