Flatter well represented on Derby/Oaks weekend
The veteran sire Flatter often flies under the radar – but he may not be able to on the biggest weekend of the year at Churchill Downs.
The Claiborne Farm homebred and resident stallion will be represented by two starters in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, with unbeaten Search Results and Pass the Champagne in the filly classic. And, although Panadol was declared out of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby when suitable international transportation could not be arranged, Flatter will still be represented, as he is the broodmare sire of King Fury.
“Flatter has flown under the radar his entire career and never gets the respect he deserves,” Claiborne president Walker Hancock said. “He has truly ‘done it the hard way.’ He started out around a $5,000 stud fee and has slowly ascended to where he is today. He is as solid as they come, and can get you a colt or filly that goes long or short.”
:: DRF's Kenucky Derby Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more
Flatter, by A. P. Indy and out of the Mr. Prospector mare Praise, raced as a homebred for Claiborne and longtime partner Adele B. Dilschneider, winning four of six starts and finishing third in the Grade 2 Washington Park Handicap in 2003 at Arlington. Since entering stud in 2004, he has sired 65 stakes winners. His 21 graded stakes winners include 2017 Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old male West Coast; Canadian champion juvenile Avie's Flatter; Grade 1 winners Flat Out, Paola Queen, and Taris, the latter the dam of King Fury; and multiple graded stakes-winning millionaires Kobe's Back and Upstart.
Through the first quarter of 2021, Flatter is ranked as a top 25 general sire, with Search Results winning the Busher Invitational and the Grade 3 Gazelle in New York to come rolling in to the Oaks; and Pass the Champagne earning her way in by finishing second in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland.
Overseas, Mouheeb won the UAE 2000 Guineas, and Panadol was second in the Group 2 UAE Derby.
“He passes along a big, strong, durable frame,” Hancock said. “He has tree trunks as cannon bones, and often times we like to breed smaller mares to him so the foals inherit more substance. Well, we raised Pass the Champagne so I know she fits that description. I am sure Search Results looks the same as well, as he very rarely throws a small-bodied horse.”