Belmont Park: Flat Out eyes Whitney or Woodward after win

ELMONT, N.Y. – Flat Out emerged from his 2 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park “good, real good,” according to trainer Bill Mott, who plans to run the 7-year-old at Saratoga next month.

While Mott said he is considering the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 3 – Flat Out finished third in last year’s Whitney – he said he also could wait for the Grade 1 Woodward on Aug. 31 if need be.

“I feel no pressure to run in the Whitney,” Mott said Sunday. “If we wake up on entry day and feel we need a little more time, we’d wait for the Woodward.”

Mott did say that Flat Out, who earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure for his Suburban victory, looks as good to him now as he did at the beginning of the year.

“Looking at him after the race, he’s carrying the same flesh he would have been carrying going into the first race of the season,” Mott said.

Flat Out, a son of Flatter, improved his record to 8 wins from 25 career starts. Five of those wins have come at Belmont Park – two runnings of the Suburban (2011, 2013), the last two runnings of the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, and this year’s Grade 3 Westchester. His only loss at Belmont came in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on Memorial Day, when he finished a troubled third.

Should Flat Out run in the Whitney, the field will look similar to last year, as defending Whitney winner Fort Larned is targeting that race, as is Ron the Greek, a stablemate of Flat Out who finished fourth in the Whitney.

On Sunday, Ron the Greek worked four furlongs in 49.80 seconds over the Belmont training track. Mott said Ron the Greek lost a hind shoe in the work but appeared to be OK.

Cross Traffic, a tough-luck loser in the Westchester and Met Mile, also is targeting the Whitney. On Sunday, he worked four furlongs in 49.98 over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga.

Also working at Saratoga on Sunday was Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, who went five furlongs in 1:00.97. He is targeting the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 27.