Locally Owned returns from six-month layoff in Flat Out Stakes marathon

When Locally Owned upset stablemate Lone Rock in last September’s Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational at Belmont Park, he did so while running back 13 days after a 23 1/2-length defeat in an allowance race at Saratoga.

When Locally Owned runs in Friday’s $100,000 Flat Out Stakes at Belmont Park, he will be doing so 181 days after finishing 69 1/4 lengths behind Lone Rock in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at Del Mar.

Which Locally Owned shows up is what handicappers must try to determine in the 1 3/8-mile Flat Out, which drew a field of six older males.

“It’s a big ask a mile and three-eighths off a long layoff,” said Tom Morley, who trains Locally Owned for Jason Provenzano’s Flying P Stable. “If these older horses have that natural stamina, it’s doable. It is a later start to his campaign than we would have wanted.”

Morley said he wanted to run Locally Owned in the Excelsior Stakes on April 2 at Aqueduct, but the horse missed some training after bruising a foot.

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A six-furlong work in 1:12 on April 10 with jockey Dylan Davis up was accompanied by a strong quarter-mile workout past the wire, Morley said.

“Dylan worked him basically a mile three weeks ago with a couple of lead horses, he sat off them worked past them through the wire and galloped out to the mile pole,” Morley said. “He did everything right, that gave me the confidence to go in here.”

Morley said the key to Locally Owned – who bled in the TAA Stakes at Del Mar – is the rider being able to leave him alone early on in a race. Morley is hoping there is enough speed in here with First Constitution, Warrior in Chief, and possibly Will E Sutton to allow Locally Owned to settle early.

First Constitution was a dominant front-running winner of the Jazil Stakes going 1 1/8 miles on Jan. 22 at Aqueduct. He was sent off the 1-2 favorite in the Excelsior, but finished third after an awkward start.

“He broke poorly that day, kind of rushed up to make the lead, and flattened out,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We’ll see how he handles the mile and three-eighths. He’s trained well since the last one and hopefully gets a better start this time.”

Jose Lezcano, aboard for the Jazil victory, is back aboard Friday.

Pletcher also sends out Portos, who in April 2021 finished third in the Isaac Murphy Stakes going 1 1/2 miles at Churchill Downs. He returned from a 10-month layoff to run fifth in a second-level allowance April 13 at Keeneland.

“He’s a one-paced sort that should appreciate the distance,” Pletcher said.

Blewitt handled 1 3/8 miles when he won the Stud Muffin, part of New York Claiming Championship Day, on March 26. Overall, Blewitt has won four of his last five starts.

Will E Sutton, trained by Jonathan Thomas, makes his stakes debut coming off a first-level allowance win at Laurel Park. Warrior in Chief was claimed by Dylan Clarke off Morley and Flying P for $40,000 on April 21 and is now back in this spot.