Three-time G1 winner Flat Out to Spendthrift

Three-time Grade 1 winner Flat Out will enter stud for 2014 at B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, KY. An earner of $3,645,383 on the track, Flat Out recently retired on a high note after impressively winning the $750,000 Cigar Mile H. (G1) on Nov. 30 at Aqueduct. He will participate in Spendthrift’s Share The Upside program and stand for a fee of $10,000.

“Flat Out has proven himself to be among the elite racehorses we’ve seen over the course of the last three years,” said Ned Toffey, General Manager at Spendthrift. “His brilliant win recently over five Grade 1 winners in the Cigar Mile is a fitting way for him to close out his tremendous racing career, and it showed he was top class among the best milers and best classic horses around. Physically, he’s an awesome individual who’s very well-balanced, handsome and correct, and his A.P. Indy sire line is obviously the preeminent sire line in North America today. We believe breeders are going to like him, and we invite everyone to come out to the farm to see him.”

As a two-year-old, Flat Out broke his maiden second-time out at Fair Grounds before jumping onto the Derby trail with a 3 ½-length win in the one-mile Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn in just his third start. He would go on to become one of the top handicap horses in North America from 2011 to present, winning six graded stakes—including the prestigious $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) twice—and defeating 14 Grade 1 winners in his victories along the way. Flat Out also earned over a million dollars in each of the last three years, joining champion Royal Delta as the only two horses in the world to accomplish that feat in U.S. dollars.

Campaigned by Preston Stables LLC, Flat Out recorded 14 triple-digit Beyers, including the co-fastest Beyer up to a mile in 2013 when he earned a 116 Beyer defeating Cross Traffic in the Westchester S. (G3). He also won the Suburban H. (G2) for the second time this year before capping off his career with a Cigar Mile victory over five Grade 1 winners.

“Flat Out possesses the tremendous heart and talent that is only found in the truly top-class racehorses, and he proved that with his honesty, consistency, and ability to overcome. I’d have to rank him number one among the most exciting horses I’ve raced,” said owner Art Preston, who has also campaigned such racehorses as champion Victory Gallop. “Spendthrift is an established stud farm with great history and class, and Wayne (Hughes) has been an innovator with his breeding programs. I’m making a plan to breed some mares to Flat Out and it should be a lot of fun.”

By A.P. Indy’s son Flatter, Flat Out retires sound with a record of 9-5-5 from 29 starts. He is available for inspection at Spendthrift.