Daily Racing Form 1/25/08

Mad Flatter was a promising 3-year-old here last spring. After winning a 1 1/16-mile allowance as a 2-year-old, he finished third in the Grade 3 Lecomte at 3. Then came the injury, a large fracture in his right front knee, and Mad Flatter was dealing with surgery and the possibility of a diminished future.

On Thursday, in his second start back, he proved that he is still a force, winning a second-level allowance by five lengths. He covered a mile an 40 yards in 1:38.93, just .41 of a second off the track record.

"He ran better than I thought he might," trainer Jeff Thornbury said. "I thought he would need another start."

More exciting to Thornbury than the win was having Mad Flatter back healthy and able to race again.

"The nice thing is that he's returned to the level he was at before the injury," Thornbury said. "We'll wait and get him back on the track before we decide where to run him next; he might go in a stakes, maybe an allowance."