Calder: Flatter This rolls in Darn That Alarm; odds-on Motovato last

MIAMI - Heavy showers that swept through the area shortly before post time changed both the condition of the racetrack and complexion of Saturday’s $75,000 Darn That Alarm Stakes at Calder with Flatter This taking advantage of the sloppy course to roll to a decisive 6 1/2-length victory over Stimulus Plan.

The wet track and an unlucky start certainly did not help the cause of Motovato, who finished fifth and last as the prohibitive 1-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Darn That Alarm.

Flatter This, who lagged well off the early pace of Hear Ye Hear Ye, commenced his rally leaving the backstretch under jockey Luis Jurado, continued strongly turning for home to readily overtake the tiring leader, and won going away. Stimulus Plan rallied from far back to be second, with Hear Ye Hear Ye fading steadily to finish a well-beaten third.

Motovato hopped at the start, recovered to chase the pace while saving ground, but was done leaving the quarter pole, struggling to the wire along the inside through the final furlong. Motovato’s uncharacteristically dull effort led to show payoffs of $40.60 on the winner, $61.40 on runner-up Stimulus Plan, and $32.20 for Hear Ye Hear Ye.

Flatter This, who has now posted three of his five career wins over wet tracks, paid $15 to win after completing the distance in 1:46.82 seconds.

“He’s been the victim of bad trips on several occasions, but today he got the perfect trip,” said Kathleen O’Connell, who trains Flatter This for the Blackacre Farms Inc. “He always runs his race. We didn’t mind at all when the rain came. He loves wet tracks. He’s much better on dirt, but he’s okay on firm turf. We’ll see what comes up next here for him.”

Jockey Luis Saez, who rode Motovato, said, “My horse didn’t like the track; it came up very sloppy right before the race. He was trying very hard for the first three-quarters of the race and that kept him in it, but at the three-eighths pole he was struggling to get hold of the track. It was just not his kind of track.”