Breeder Jane Lyon’s Summer season Wind Farm boasts two high-powered producers, mares whose progeny have left their mark on the game’s historical past in their very own methods. Littleprincessemma, bought by Lyon when her Pioneerof the Nile colt was 2, is a part of an elite sorority that at the moment boasts solely two members: that Pioneerof the Nile colt, named American Pharoah, gained the Triple Crown in 2015. One other famous person mare Feathered, a graded stakes winner herself, produced a Summer season Wind-bred famous person in Flightline, who blew his competitors away to place an exclamation level on an undefeated profession within the 2022 Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic.
Breeding a Famous person
On the racetrack, Feathered was a graded stakes winner, taking the Grade 3 Edgewood Stakes on the turf at Churchill Downs, and Grade 1 stakes-placed, ending second in each the Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos and the American Oaks at Santa Anita Park. Her racing profession completed, Lyon bought the filly in foal to Warfare Entrance for $2.35 million on the 2016 Keeneland November breeding inventory sale. For the subsequent breeding season, Lyon despatched Feathered to main sire Tapit.
Regardless that a lung an infection hindered his probabilities for a super Triple Crown classics marketing campaign, 2004 Wooden Memorial Stakes winner Tapit has gone on to sire Belmont Stakes winners Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), and Important High quality (2021). His legacy of stamina has made him one of many sport’s main sires and a pleasant match for Feathered, their pairing producing a bay colt with a smidge of white on his brow.
Foaled on March 14, 2018, Lyon named the colt Flightline.
Entered within the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale, Flightline impressed within the gross sales ring, hammering down at $1 million to bloodstock agent David Ingordo shopping for on behalf of Terry Finley of West Level Thoroughbreds and companions. Lyon purchased a share of Flightline, racing him in partnership with Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, West Level Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing. To begin Flightline’s training as a racehorse, he went south to Mayberry Farms in Ocala, Fla., the place April Mayberry ready the Tapit colt for California coach John Sadler.
Early on, Feathered’s son confirmed that he was particular: “We acquired a name from April Mayberry [who broke and trained Flightline] early on,” Sadler instructed Alicia Hughes in a narrative for Horse Racing Nation in 2022. “She had breezed him down there in Ocala, and he or she stated she had a second that she’s solely had twice – with [Hall of Famer] Zenyatta and Flightline. She’s educated tons of of horses down there and he or she had an ‘A-ha’ second earlier than he ever acquired to me.”
Very similar to his sire, Flightline has a high-energy persona, which tended to make him accident-prone as a younger racehorse in coaching. He was getting tacked up forward of a scheduled breeze one morning at Mayberry Farms when he spooked and backed right into a stall door latch. That opened up a deep gash on the colt’s hip, a big damage that took 90 days to heal. The stitches required to shut up the damage left an L-shaped scar on his proper hind. Veterinarians put in a port on his neck for the antibiotics, which additionally left a patch of white hairs, a reminder of the incident that delayed Flightline’s debut till his 3-year-old season.
Extra accidents – a cracked hoof and a leg pressure – prevented him from making his debut at age 2, however Flightline would present that his racing profession was properly well worth the wait.
Discovering His Toes
Despatched west to Sadler’s barn at Santa Anita Park, Flightline recorded his first official exercise in January 2021, along with his debut to return in April 2021. With Flavien Prat within the saddle, the Tapit colt confronted six others in a six-furlong maiden particular weight race. The shape chart reveals that Flightline was on the lead at each name; the replay reveals the flip of foot that took him from main by 4 ½ lengths on the half-mile mark to a straightforward 13¼ lengths on the end line, Prat sitting nonetheless within the saddle because the colt powered away to the straightforward win.
The delay in his debut meant Flightline would miss the 2021 Triple Crown season, Sadler ready till the next September for the colt’s second begin. The six-furlong allowance-optional claiming race at Del Mar echoed that first begin: he raced in second early, seized a transparent lead with 1 / 4 of a mile to go, after which surged away from the sector with ease, once more successful by double-digit lengths. That second begin made it clear that Flightline had the potential to be a star and his efficiency within the seven-furlong Grade 1 Runhappy Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita introduced that to the world.
In his first stakes attempt, Flightline confronted a area that included the speedy Child Yoda; Dr. Schivel, winner of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby and runner-up within the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Dash; and Iowa Derby winner Stilleto Boy. In site visitors early, Prat despatched the Tapit colt to the lead, saved him a few size forward of the sector by the flip, after which gave his horse the cue. With a number of graded stakes winners chasing, Flightline poured on the pace and crossed the end line 11½ lengths in entrance.
He closed his 3-year-old season with three wins in three begins, along with his mixed successful margin 37 ½ lengths. Already a sensation in his brief first season, Flightline’s 4-year-old marketing campaign would take this blossoming star to a brand new degree.
Crowning a Champion
Sadler initially pointed Flightline to the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes in early March at Santa Anita, however a hock concern pushed his first begin of 2022 again to Belmont Stakes day within the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap. Colloquially generally known as the Met Mile, the Grade 1 was his longest race to that time, eight furlongs towards a area that included 2021 Breeders’ Cup Dash winner Aloha West; Grade 1 winners Speaker’s Nook and Completely satisfied Saver; and Informative, who took the 2021 Grade 3 Salvator Mile.
The Met Mile would show to be his hardest take a look at but. Breaking a step sluggish, Prat needed to take Flightline again and regular him as Speaker’s Nook gunned to the lead.
“He did not break properly however quickly after that he was touring properly — simply an unimaginable horse,” Prat instructed the BloodHorse. “As soon as he was behind the opposite horse, he was snug.”
Across the sweeping Belmont Park flip, Prat gave the colt his cue and Flightline darted away from Speaker’s Nook to win by six lengths. One other charming efficiency and one other step nearer to the aim of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course.
Again in California, Sadler ready Flightline for his goal, the Basic, with a attempt within the 1 ¼-mile TVG Pacific Basic Stakes at Del Mar. Once more, the Grade 1 attracted its share of stakes-winning competitors, together with Nation Grammer, winner of the 2022 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline; and Categorical Practice winner of the Santa Anita Handicap introduced by Yaamava’ Resort & On line casino. Flightline made his longest take a look at but appear like not more than a morning exercise. Prat wrestled with the colt to maintain him settled, after which on the five-eighths pole, the horse put himself on the lead and placed on a present.
He was 10 lengths forward after a mile and 13 clear in early stretch. On the end line, Flightline was 19¼ lengths forward of the closest horse, Nation Grammer, who was seven lengths forward of the remainder of the sector.
“Once we went into the ultimate flip, he was touring so properly I requested him to select it up just a little bit,” Prat instructed the BloodHorse. “As quickly as I seemed again and noticed how far in entrance he was, I wrapped up on him.”
The gorgeous victory made Flightline the horse to beat within the 1¼-mile Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic. In his capstone begin, on one in all racing’s largest days, the Tapit colt had stiff competitors.
Life Is Good had taken the Massive Ass Followers Breeders’ Cup Grime Mile at Del Mar in 2021 and the Grade 1 Whitney and Woodward Stakes earlier than his journey to the 2022 Breeders’ Cup. Taiba had gained each the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and Pennsylvania Derby and was simply nosed out by Cyberknife within the TVG.com Haskell Stakes. Sizzling Rod Charlie had completed second in each the 2021 Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes Introduced by NYRA Bets earlier than returning at 4 to win the Grade 2 Lukas Basic Stakes. Epicenter was second to Wealthy Strike, additionally a Basic contender, within the 2022 Kentucky Derby and went on to win the Runhappy Travers Stakes earlier than attempting older horses at Keeneland.
Leaving the beginning gate, it was all Life Is Good and Flightline. Irad Ortiz Jr. put Life Is Good on the lead inside strides of the break and Prat adopted on Flightline, shadowing his strikes across the first down and down the backstretch. Life Is Good was 2½ lengths in entrance on the six-furlong mark, however Flightline was not about to let Life Is Good get away from him. Across the far flip, the Tapit colt pulled even along with his rival, the 2 face to face as they entered the stretch.
If anybody readily available at Keeneland for the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Basic anticipated a duel, they acquired one for a handful of strides earlier than Flightline placed on a record-breaking present. All of the sudden, he was three lengths forward after which 5. On the end line, he was the winner by 8¼ lengths, a Breeders’ Cup Basic file.
“Good is his regular. He did not disappoint. He by no means has. He’s a outstanding, outstanding horse,” John Sadler instructed the BloodHorse after the race. “Within the phrases of [late trainer] Bud Delp, he’s among the best horses to ever look by a bridle. He’s simply that good.”
“To have a horse like Flightline in our lifetime is simply unbelievable and nice,” co-owner Kosta Hronis stated after the Basic. “However, extra importantly, Flightline is so blessed to have John Sadler and his crew as a result of the persistence he had with Flightline and what he did to show him, he was a quick horse on a regular basis. He was fast and quick. And he needed to run full blast on a regular basis.”
A number of days after his Breeders’ Cup victory at Keeneland, Flightline boarded the van for yet another trip, this time to the subsequent part of his life, changing into a stallion at Lane’s Finish — his first foals hit the bottom in 2024.
On the 2023 Eclipse Awards, Flightline was named Horse of the Yr and Champion older dust male, capping off his championship season with the game’s highest honors.
As one of many sport’s most dominant racehorses in current historical past, Flightline’s pace, energy, and flexibility have earned him comparisons to all-time greats like Secretariat. Past the statistics and accolades, this champion captivated followers and professionals alike, a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon whose temporary profession left behind mesmerizing performances that gained’t quickly be forgotten.
