Flightline crushes 3-year-old rivals in Grade 1 Malibu Stakes
Arcadia, Calif.
Flightline entered the Grade 1, $300,000 Malibu Stakes with sky-high expectations Sunday at Santa Anita, and the brilliant colt delivered.
Sent off the 2-5 favorite in a field of six 3-year-olds, Flightline went to the lead under Flavien Prat and proceeded to crush his rivals by 11 1/2 lengths while stopping the clock for seven furlongs in a swift 1:21.37 on a track rated as fast. Two races earlier, the seven-furlong La Brea (G1) for sophomore fillies was won by Kalypso for Bob Baffert in a final time of 1:24.78.
Flightline rewarded his many backers with a $2.80 win mutuel. He was followed across the wire by eastern shipper Baby Yoda and long shot Stilleto Boy with Triple Tap rounding out the superfecta. Dr. Schivel, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Sprint last out when ridden by Prat, was never a factor and checked in last under Juan Hernandez.
Flightline improved to 3-for-3 in his young career for trainer John Sadler with his trio of wins coming by a combined 37 1/2 lengths. Sadler acknowledged after the race, "I've been stressing the last 20, 30, 40 days getting ready for today.
"There is a lot of pressure on you, but it is the pressure you want. It's like the high-school coach for LeBron (James). You know you have something special ... you just don't want to screw it up."
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In addition to riding both Flightline and Dr. Schivel in their last races, Prat also had been the rider for Triple Tap in his two previous starts. He indicated the decision to stick with Flightline was not a difficult one.
"I have a lot of respect for Dr. Schivel and Triple Tap as well, but I felt like this was the right horse to ride," Prat said. "He's been brilliant, and I'm glad I made the right decision. It doesn't always work out like that."
Flightline appeared to break a beat slow leaving the gate, but it did not take long for his natural speed to get him to the front. He set opening fractions of 22.01 and 44.48 seconds for the opening half mile while holding a measured, one-length advantage over Team Merchants. Leaving the turn, Flightline began to pull away from the field and after six furlongs completed in a swift 1:08.72, commenced to extend his lead over the final furlong to prove the easiest of winners.
"That was quite impressive," Prat said. "I was in cruise control the whole way, galloping freely. ... My idea was to get out there running and see what happened."
Dr. Schivel, the 4-1 second choice, was hoping to seal the Eclipse Award as champion sprinter with another Grade 1 win in the Malibu. But the last-place effort instead leaves voters still to decide whether he or fellow 3-year-old Jackie's Warrior deserves to take home the hardware.
"He didn't have it today," Hernandez said. "At the three-eighths (pole) I tried to start making my move, but he didn't respond."
Sadler said he will now set Flightline on a course to conquer new horizons. Next up is an assignment going a route of ground in a race that has yet to be determined.
"We've always felt this was a horse that would be better going two turns, but he's been so brilliant we just wanted to take it one step at a time," Sadler said. "We have to be true to the horse, but we will chart a course from here."