It was a second straight stakes victory – and third consecutive win overall – for FLATTER’s Plainsman on Wednesday with a 1 3/4 length win in the Listed Michael G. Schaefer Memorial Stakes.
The Grade 3 winner was cutting back to a mile from the 1 1/16 miles raced over in his Jim Rasmussen Stakes victory last out but that was no worry for the 6-year-old, who proved to be even stronger at this distance.
Breaking from the widest post, Plainsman went wide into the first turn as he raced a few lengths behind the leaders. Francisco Arrieta asked Plainsman to pick up the pace as the leaders started to pull away and the horse was happy to shorten the gap in the turn.
Plainsman continued his wide run as they entered the stretch and stole the lead from Exulting as they entered the final sixteenth.
No one was going to take the win from there as Plainsman pulled away for his 1 ¾ length victory with the third place finisher over three lengths back at the line.
“They looked like they were going easy up to the three-eighths pole. I said, ‘I got to start picking my horse up,’ and he responded pretty good,” Arrieta said. “He’s a decent horse, he tries hard. I’ve ridden the horse three times, and he’s won three times. I think he likes me. I like him, too.”
Now the winner of seven of his 23 starts with eight other top three finishes, the FLATTER son is trained by Brad Cox for Shortleaf Stable and has earned $515,407 in his career.
A $350,000 purchase by his racing owner as a yearling from Taylor Made, Plainsmanwas bred by Joseph Minor out of S. S. Pinafore. That two-time winning Street Sense mare has produced four winners from four to race, including Grade 3-place Liam.
S. S. Pinafore is a full sister to multiple graded stakes winner Southdale and the dam of stakes placers Bourbon Bay and Brattle House.
It has been another strong year for FLATTER with his four stakes winners and seven stakes performers led by top 3-year-old filly Search Results, who won the Acorn Stakes (G1) last out after finishing second by only a neck in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) in May.