Prado sets up as spoiler

NEW YORK – Edgar Prado is looking for his own triple of sorts in Saturday’s $1 million Belmont Stakes, as in three times a Triple Crown spoiler.

The Hall of Fame jockey will be aboard Casino Drive in his bid to upset Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown and extend thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown drought to 31 years.

Prado did it twice before, beating War Emblem with Sarava in 2002 and topping Smarty Jones with Birdstone in 2004. That’s two of the past three Triple tries, and he did it with two long shots.

This time, Prado will ride perhaps the biggest threat to Big Brown, the 2-5 morning-line favorite, with Casino Drive, the 7-2 second choice in the field of 10 3-year-olds.

Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for Casino Drive owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto, said Prado was chosen not because of his role as a spoiler but because of his patience – something that is reflected in the unique way the colt is being prepared for the 11/2-mile Belmont.

Prado just might have added incentive: He was supposed to ride Big Brown, but because of an injury and a new owner he was bypassed for Kent Desormeaux.

“I have to go out and do my job and the people I have to respond to are the Japanese people who will give me a leg up,” Prado said. “I’ll do everything I can to win.”

Prado has said he’s still not sure why he didn’t get a shot on Big Brown, especially since he rides many of trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.’s horses.

“Unfortunately, destiny happened and I was not able to be on him,” he said.

Two days before Big Brown’s career debut last summer, Prado broke his right ankle in a spill at Saratoga. Jeremy Rose was chosen by original trainer Patrick Reynolds to replace Prado, and Big Brown won by 11/4 lengths.

Prado worked out Big Brown three times at Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach, Fla., prior to the colt’s second career race, at Gulfstream Park on March 5. But new owner Michael Iavarone had dinner one night with Desormeaux, and that was that.