Flatter is a son of AP Indy that I have not considered in much detail. At $35,000 he is certainly not a bargain. He should be a great stamina influence, but I do not not really see his offspring winning longer races . Just looking at his photo he seems much more “stocky” than his half brother Bernardini. It seems to me that he is much more Mr. Prospector (from his dam’s side), than AP Indy. Flatter seems to be a half hearted attempt to make a precocious AP Indy. His main positive is his horses continue to sell well at the sales.
Just to be complete I will keep my eye on one that Liz Crow bought at Keeneland:
- Flatter – No Use Denying by Maria Mon – $80,000
The mare was a nice horse, and the 2nd dam was by Kris S, so let’s watch this filly.
Congrats is $7,500 full brother of Flatter. I thought maybe he could be a “dirty dozen” sire, but I could not find a single one I liked from the 10 sold at Keeneland.
Of course Upstart is a son of Flatter. I had high hopes for Upstart because I had always been a Rick Violette fan. The year started well with Reinvestment Risk, but there has not been much follow through. Upstart has had 16 winners, but other than RR none has really been impressive. It is too early to write-off Upstart, but I am leaning in that direction. I looked through his offspring at Keeneland and found nothing interesting. The breeders seem intent on creating sprinters. I will still watch at the 2 year old sales, but my interest is fading.
Buying A Race Horse 