HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) -Spring At Last held off A.P. Arrow by a half-length Saturday in the $500,000 Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park.
Odds-on favorite Daaher led to the far turn but faded to finish next to last in a field of eight. Kiss the Kid was third.
Donn is Florida's most prestigious test for older horses and the centerpiece of a 10-race program that included the Grade 2 $150,000 Swale Stakes for 3-year-olds.
Ridden by Eibar Coa, Spring at Last ran 1 1-8 miles in 1:48.35 and paid $14, $5.40 and $4.80. A.P. Arrow returned $4.40 and $3.80, and Kiss the Kidd paid $13 to show.
``He broke perfect,'' Coa said, ``but I worried he was too sharp at the beginning. But he settled down.''
Spring At Last took the lead from Kiss the Kid at the quarter pole and had a clear lead inside the eighth pole. It was enough of a cushion to hold off A.P. Arrow, who was a clear second. Kiss the Kid barely lasted for third, 2 1/2 lengths behind A.P. Arrow and a nose in front of Brass Hat, who won the Donn by a wide margin in 2006.
In the Swale Stakes, Eaton's Gift beat Surrealdeal by half a length to win.
Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Eaton's Gift ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.63. Wincat finished third in a field of seven.
Eaton's Gift, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, paid $9.60, $5, $3.40. Surrealdeal returned $24.80 and $6.20, and Wincat paid $2.80 to show.
