Flat Out Back on Preferred Footing in Donn

Flat Out finished 12th in his prep for Saturday’s $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1) at Gulfstream Park, but trainer Scooter Dickey isn’t putting too much weight on his 6-year-olds turf debut in the Fort Lauderdale (G3).

“I guess we have to throw that race out. He doesn’t like the turf. We wanted to try him, and we did. It didn’t work out, so now we’re going back to the dirt,” said Dickey, whose star prompted the pace before giving way badly over a surface he clearly disliked. “Our main objective was to get a race in him before the Donn.”

Flat Out ranked among the top handicap starts last year, having won both the Suburban Handicap (G2) and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). His only off-the-board finishes came at Churchill Downs, where he finished fifth and third, respectively, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and Clark Handicap (G1) to close out his 2011 campaign.

Flat Out, who has never run on the dirt at Gulfstream Park, will carry high weight  of 121 pounds, conceding between two and six pounds to his accomplished rivals, including 2011 Preakness (G1) winner Shackleford and 2011 Belmont (G1) victor Ruler On Ice.

Dickey said he and jockey Alex Solis have yet to set a strategy in the 1 1/8-mile stakes for older horses.

“We’re just going to have to wait to see how the track is to figure out how we want to do it,” Dickey said. “We’ll talk it over with the owners and Alex and see how the track is playing that day.”

Dickey won’t be overly concerned if the track should come up muddy.
“He won the Jockey Club Gold Cup in the mud,” Dickey said with a smile.