Without Derby ride, Prado enjoyed himself

Edgar Prado was unable to ride in the $750,000 Virginia Derby (Grade II) because his horse, El Sultry Sun, was scratched after stepping on a nail last week.

If the Hall of Fame jockey was upset, he was able to mask it pretty well with his performance yesterday at Colonial Downs.

Prado won both of the stakes races preceding the headliner, including the $200,000 (Gr. III) Virginia Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

Under Prado's urging, I Lost My Choo stormed from behind to overtake front-running Julia Tuttle and edge Namaste's Wish by a length and a half to claim the $120,000 top prize for Flying Zee Stable.

In the $60,000 Kitten's Joy Stakes, Prado brought Midwatch home a nose ahead of Hunting Print to make him two for two on the afternoon.

But Prado didn't have an opportunity to add to his Derby-winning total of three victories (2002-04) because of El Sultry Sun's misfortune.

"I was a little disappointed," Prado said. "The only way you can win is to enter, right? But I'm not discouraged. It could be better. Three for three, right?"

Prado was the Colonial's leading jockey the first two years the track was open (1997-98), so he knows his way around the course.

"I was glad to be here, the place that I rode for many years," he said. "I have a lot of good memories and I was able to see my friends. I think that's the most important part, to see my friends who helped in the beginning."

Desormeaux falls short of reaching 5,000 wins

Kent Desormeaux came into Derby Day at Colonial Downs needing only two victories to reach the 5,000 mark. And he had four chances to reach that plateau.

At the end of the day, the veteran jockey was still stuck on 4,998 wins after finishing second four times.

"You don't know whether to laugh or cry," said Desormeaux, who came within a head bob of taking two of the races.

"I'm happy I did well. I was in the mix. I gave the horses a chance to win, but it's frustrating to finish second."

In the biggest race of the day, the Virginia Derby, Desormeaux was nosed out at the wire by Gio Ponti and Garrett Gomez aboard Court Vision.

The other close call came in the Kitten's Joy, when Prado got the better of him.

Desormeaux was the Triple Crown jockey for Big Brown, who won the first two legs before faltering badly in the Belmont Stakes and finishing last.

Jenkins had success, thanks to Prado's ride

While Rodney Jenkins' horse in the Derby, Southwest, was never a factor, the Virginia trainer went one for three on the afternoon and felt pretty good about it.

Midwatch was under his tutelage, although he gave Prado much of the credit. Midwatch had won earlier at Colonial, taking the Old Nelson Handicap on June 21 with Javier Castellano aboard.

"He never switched leads in the stretch," Jenkins said. "The last time he won here, he switched leads at the eighth pole and he drew off. This time, he stayed on his left lead, which gets a horse very tired.

"He was getting tired. Edgar actually won the race for us in the last couple of jumps. He got the horse to stretch his neck. He knew where the wire was. When you've got a guy like him riding, you're going to get the break."

Mint Slewlep, who is owned by Marshall Dowell of Mechanicsville, was third in the Kitten's Joy, two lengths behind the front runners.

"Of course, you always want to win," Dowell said. "But he ran a good race. He tried hard. He did everything he could. It was a hot day. They all had the same circumstances, but I was very proud of him."

Mint Slewlep, now 4 years old, ran in the Turf Cup last year, finishing next to last in the field of nine.

Attendance mark falls for second year in row

For the second year in a row, the Virginia Derby set an attendance record.

Despite temperatures in the mid-90s, a crowd of 9,061 showed up at the New Kent County track, topping last year's previous mark of 8,964.

The all-time attendance record of 13,468 was set on the track's opening day -- Sept. 1, 1997.

Yesterday's total betting handle of $4,469,223 was slightly below last year's record of $4,537,507 on Derby Day. However, the on-track handle of $564,169 was well below the 2007 mark of $753,680. -- John Packett