Sunday, October 16, 2011
Reprinted from bloodhorse.com 10/16/11
Bonnie Heath Farm's homebred Mad Flatter won the $100,000 Spend a Buck Handicap (gr. III) (VIDEO) for the second straight year when he held off Mambo Meister by a length Oct. 15 at Calder Casino & Race Course in Florida.
The 6-year-old son of Flatter scored
the 1 1/16-mile main track event by 6 1/4 lengths a year ago and while
it wasn’t that easy this time around, he was good enough to best 1-2
favorite Mambo Meister for his second graded stakes victory.
Mad Flatter completed the distance of
the fast track in 1:46.07 with Jon Court aboard. Jeff Thornbury trains
the bay horse, who won for the eighth time in 26 lifetime starts. He has
now earned $333,843.
The winner was bred in Florida and is
out of the Honor Grades mare Miss Panagea. He is co-owned by Holiday
Stable, Bright Brook Stable, and Hinkle Farms.
Mad Flatter received a comfortable stalking trip under Court, tracking pacesetter
Rock Alex
through easy fractions of :24.57 and :49.30 before taking over on the
far turn. He had a clear lead entering the lane and his only threat was
Mambo Meister, an eight-time winner on the Calder dirt.
Though Mambo Meister methodically
closed the gap in the stretch, he never put a scare into the winner. It
was another 5 1/4 lengths back to third-place
Stimulus Plan.
Mad Flatter won for the second time
in seven starts this season. His other victory came in an optional
claimer in June at Churchill Downs. He paid $7.40, $3, and $3. The
exacta (4-7) returned $15.60.
“He obviously loves this racetrack,"
Bonnie Heath said. "We were right here 364 days ago. We went on to the
Breeders’ Cup (Dirt Mile). It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for
this horse, so we took the chance, but he stumbled at the start and
never got in it.
The Carl Rose (Handicap) is coming up
here next month (Nov. 12) and is an option, but we’ll have to talk to
Jeffrey before deciding where to go from here.”