Pool Play readies for dirt debut in Foster; Flat Out under consideration

Pool Play readies for dirt debut in Foster; Flat Out under

consideration

Canadian Grade 3 winner POOL PLAY (Silver Deputy), runner-up in the grassy

Elkhorn (G3) at Keeneland last out, worked a bullet five furlongs on the fast

main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday as trainer Mark Casse prepares the

Canadian-based veteran for his dirt debut in the Stephen Foster H. (G1) on June

18.

The dark bay six-year-old completed the distance under exercise rider Melanie Giddings in :59

4/5, easily the fastest of 24 at the distance on the day, providing Casse with further encouragement to move Pool Play

to the dirt after 27 races on synthetic and turf courses.

"He's never ran on the dirt, but

he has a dirt pedigree," Casse said by telephone from his base at Woodbine. "With him it's all about the distance, and that's why we went to grass. He's never won a race on the grass, but he likes to go at least a mile and an

eighth or a mile and quarter."

It has not been lost on Casse that

the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) will be run over the dirt at the

Louisville track on November 5.

"He's trained just unbelievable

over the dirt at Churchill," Casse said. "We figured we might as well find out now

because it could decide our plans for the fall."

Pool Play has run well in three

starts, all on turf, this year. Along with his race in the Eklhorn, he was a

close fifth in the Pan American (G3) following a fourth-place run in the Mac Diarmida (G2), both at Gulfstream Park. His most recent

victories came over the Polytrack at Woodbine, where he closed out 2010 with a 1

1/16-mile allowance victory and the Valedictory

S. going 1 3/4 miles.

The well-traveled veteran also

finished a close second in last year's Dominion Day (Can-G3) at

Woodbine and won the 2009 Durham Cup (Can-G3) over the same synthetic track. He has a career record of 5-6-5 in 27 races and has earned $582,429 in four

years of racing.

Casse, a three-time winner of

Canada's Sovereign Award who earned the Churchill Downs' 1988 spring meet

training crown during the early years of his career, believes

that Churchill Downs' main track is kinder than most dirt ovals to horses that

have an affinity for turf and synthetic surfaces.

In Pool Play, Casse believes he

has a horse who fits Churchill Downs' main track very well. A

string of solid works here since Pool Play's arrival has strengthened that

opinion and made the Stephen Foster the veteran's prime summer objective -- and a

fascinating handicapping question for fans when that big race comes along.

"We had the Brooklyn ([G2] on Friday) at Belmont we

could go to, they wanted us to go the Manhattan ([G1] on the Belmont Park turf

Saturday),

but, to me, now is the time to find out if he can run on dirt." Casse said. "If he can, they run a pretty big race

(at Churchill) this fall and the mile and a

quarter won't be a problem for him."

While the dirt question will garner Pool Play plenty of attention in the

Stephen Foster, FLAT OUT (Flatter) will be drawing attention of another kind if

he goes in the race. After long periods on the sidelines with troublesome

quarter cracks, Flat Out finished a strong runner-up in the Lone Star Park H.

(G3) on Memorial Day.

"He just ran last Monday and right

now he seems to have come out fine from the race," trainer Charles

"Scooter" Dickey said. "So we'll

just watch it and see if that's (Foster) where we want to run back."

After watching the veteran trainer's work with the talented but

tender-footed Flat Out, few could ever doubt that Dickey is a

very patient man. But patience could be more of a

virtue in Thoroughbred racing than most any other endeavor, and that trait

appears ready to be rewarded with the fragile five-year-old.

Flat Out was sandwiched between

Grade 1 winners in the victorious Awesome Gem (Awesome Again) and third-place finisher Game On

Dude (Awesome Again) in the Lone Star 'Cap, his first race since taking an

optional claimer at Fair Grounds in December.

The bay launched his

start-and-stop career with a bang when he notched his first career win in his

second start at Oaklawn Park and briefly entered the Kentucky Derby picture with

a stretch-running, 3 1/2-length victory in the 2009 Smarty Jones S. in his next

outing. A fourth-place finish in the Southwest (G3) and

a sixth-place run in the Arkansas Derby (G2) left his

connections with concerns about whether he would have sufficient graded stakes

earnings to compete in the Derby. But he was still candidate for the Run for the

Roses when a fractured shoulder sent Flat Out to the sidelines for an extended

stay.

It would be a year and a half

before Flat Out returned to racing with an allowance victory at Fair Grounds on

December. 5, 2010. His shoulder healed long

ago. The problem since then has been Flat Out's feet.

"It's mostly quarter cracks,"

Dickey said. "When we were waiting to go to the Derby, he had that crack

in shoulder, and since then it's just been quarter cracks."

Now Dickey will watch him over the next few days and assess Flat Out's chances

for the possible debut in Grade 1 stakes competition in the Foster.

"He's got such a big heart,"

Dickey said. "He's just such a good horse to be around and to work with,

but when you can't go, you can't go. Hopefully he'll stay

with us now for a while and we can run him a few more times."