Mandella gets 2,000th career win with Catch a Flight in Precisionist

Haras Santa Maria de Araras' Catch a Flight (Giant's Causeway) rallied from

just off a contentious pace to justify 7-5 favoritism in Saturday's $100,750

Precisionist (G3) at Santa Anita, handing Hall of Fame trainer Richard

Mandella his 2,000th career victory.

"It's good, but it took a long time," Mandella said of the milestone. "I did

it one inch at a time, 42 years; this didn't come overnight."

This also marked the first North American graded stakes score for jockey

Flavien Prat, who was grateful to Mandella for the opportunity.

"I'm so lucky to be riding and working for Richard Mandella. He's helped me

so much," Prat said, a three-time winner on the Saturday card.

But Catch a Flight deftly seized a gap that appeared between foes on the

inside and stamped his authority. The five-year-old negotiated 1 1/16 miles on

the fast track in 1:42 1/5 and paid $4.80. Sammy Mandeville (Rock Hard Ten) did

his best work late to whittle the margin to three-quarters of a length. Motown

Men hung on for third, and the early leaders faded.

"I had a lot of horse on the far turn," Prat said. "When I got a good spot I

let him run. When he got the lead he waited a little bit, he was doing it so

easy. I split horses easy because I had a lot of horse."

"We thought there was too much speed," Mandella said, "so he settled him back

and got between horses and he did it like a pro. Flavien rode him like the champ

that he is, so it was really great. He's developing very nicely."

Catch a Flight was earning his first career stakes win. Third in last year's

Gran Premio Sao Paulo (Brz-G1), he now sports a mark of 14-8-0-3, $273,239.