Gulfstream: Flat Out fires bullet for Donn

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - It would appear as though Flat Out’s dull turf debut took little out of the Grade 1 dirt stakes winners.

In his first workout since finishing last in the Ft. Lauderdale Stakes on Jan. 14, Flat Out worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds Friday morning over Gulfstream’s main track.

The work, with Alex Solis up, was from the half-mile pole to a furlong past the wire. The time was the fastest of 26 at the distance.

Afterward, trainer Scooter Dickey said both he and Solis were “real happy” with the move and that most likely the horse would run in the Donn Handicap here on Feb. 11.

“We’re going to talk and decide if that’s what we want to do,” said Dickey, who trains the horse for Preston Stable. “That was the original goal all along.”

Dickey ran Flat Out in the Ft. Lauderdale because he wanted to get a two-turn race into the horse while also seeing how he would handle the turf. After stalking the early pace, Flat Out retreated in the stretch and finished last, beaten nine lengths.

“He was up closer than usual. [Solis] said he didn’t like that,” said Dickey, who added that Solis “didn’t think he was handling the grass real well. I guess he didn’t care for the turf.”

Nominations close this weekend, but stakes coordinator Kevin Meyocks listed 10 horses possible for the Donn: Shackleford, Ruler On Ice, Flat Out, Soaring Empire, Mission Impazible, Redeemed, Trickmeister, Sangaraee, Hymn Book, and Where’s Sterling.