Flatlined Gains His First Graded Win in the G2 Ft. Lauderdale S.

Flatlined, a two-time winner and never off the board in four prior outings on the Gulfstream sod, upended the likes of GISW Divisidero and MGSW Heart to Heart (English Channel) to score a 15-1 upset and earn his first graded win. A romping winner of a rained-off Ellis optional claimer in July, Flatlined lit up the tote at 12-1 in the restricted Old Friends S. at Kentucky Downs in September. He settled for eighth in Laurel’s GII Commonwealth Turf Cup Sept. 24, and fifth in a Keeneland allowance Oct. 15 won by GSW Coalport (Kitten’s Joy).

Second under the Twin Spires Nov. 11, the 5-year-old was a neck second to Heart to Heart in the 7 1/2-furlong El Prado S. here Dec. 17. Steadied from the gate along with Almanaar, Flatlined tugged to take slightly closer order to the backstretch before checking again off heels. Hugging the fence turning for home, he sliced through horses in upper stretch. Almanaar produced a similar run inside of him and Divisidero kicked on over the top, but Flatlined sprinted hardest to get the job done narrowly. “I learned a lot off his last race and I think that is what got us into the winner’s circle today,” said Joe Bravo, who piloted Flatlined for the first time in the El Prado last out. “Any time you ride a horse for the first time and they have little antics, you learn, and it got us the win today.”

Flatlined shares a sire with fellow Scooter Dickey trainee Flat Out, who won the 2011 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at age five while in the veteran conditioner’s care. “The Flatters just get better with age, like I had with Flat Out,” Dickey said. “If they don’t go wrong, they’re at their best at four or five years old. I thought if he ran the race he had last time, he’d have a chance.”

Flatlined will be pointed to the GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. Feb. 11.

 

 

From Thoroughbred Daily News