Trainer John Sadler has nominated exciting galloper Flat Chat for three races at Flemington in an unusual move to keep the gelding’s options open.
Sadler is yet to decide whether the Giant’s Causeway five-year-old, an easy winner of his last three starts, will run over 1400m, 1600m or 2000m on Saturday.
“It would be very seldom that you would ever do this with a horse, enter in three different races and not be certain of which one to run in,” Sadler said.
“The obvious race is the mile (1600m) but the 1400 metres is his last chance at a restricted grade if he wins, while 2000 metres is also there if we wanted to be a bit adventurous with him.”
Sadler said Flat Chat most likely would run in either the Living Legends Hcp (1400m) with 59kg or the National Jockeys Trust Hcp (1600m) with 53.5kg but he would confer with his racing manager Troy Corstens before making a final decision on Wednesday morning.
“The mile is obviously the stronger race while in the 1400 metres he gets more weight but it is probably a touch short for him,” Sadler said.
“If he happened to draw wide (over 1400m) he wouldn’t be able to control the race like he has been able lately to do in the slightly longer races.”
This campaign Sadler has transformed Flat Chat from an average country galloper into a city winner at his last three starts, by 5-1/2 lengths at Sandown (1600m), 2-1/2 lengths at Moonee Valley (1509m) and six lengths at Moonee Valley (1523m).
As a result his rating has soared from 70 to 89 and improved his race record to six wins from 23 starts.
“He’s really going well and we haven’t seen any drop-off,” Sadler said.
“He was only an ordinary country performer but I have changed his style of work this time around.
“It is something you can do with 100 horses and it might not work but it has worked with him.
“He doesn’t enjoy being restricted in his races or his trackwork so now when he works he is allowed to step out and bowl along.
“We just let him dictate and he’s really enjoyed it.”
Sadler hopes Flat Chat can continue to improve and that this campaign will give him the foundation for a crack at better races in the spring.
“To win with the authority that he has won with is a sign that he is a pretty good horse,” Sadler said.
“We certainly have got thoughts about the spring with him.”
AAP TURF
