Flightline rolls in Breeders’ Cup Classic, remains undefeated

Lexington, Ky.

It was supposed to represent the biggest challenge for the horse who had yet to face a foe or circumstance capable of making his breath deepen.

It was supposed to be the race where pundits would find out if there was a chink in the armor of the horse whose entire reputation was built on being flawless. Technically, the 2022 edition of the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic did its part in the quest to see whether all the talk of Flightline possessing the most rarified of brilliance had any tinge of hyperbole to it.

His biggest on-paper rival came at him, setting a blistering pace designed to sap even indefatigable energy and forcing Flightine to have to sustain his speed for almost the entirely of the 10-furlong journey around the Keeneland track. And as the son of Tapit reached the far turn with fellow Grade 1 winner Life Is Good still clinging to the last gasps of his lead, the attending crowd emitted the kind roar fans uncork when they think they’re witnessing an anticipated showdown.

Just like that in a handful of strides, any notion of such drama, any thought that this would be the day Flightline gets conquered, dissipated with the same vigor the Keeneland faithful of 45,973 displayed watching the muscular bay frame saunter his way into history. Flightline had looked a supposed threat in the eye and made all who witnessed what came next wonder how any other outcome could have ever been entertained.

“You know it played out exactly how I thought it would. I knew Life Is Good would extend him further than he’s ever been extended, that he had to track that pace for longer than he’d ever have to track it,” said an emotional Bill Farish of Lane’s End Farm. “Irad (Ortiz Jr. on Life Is Good) tried to keep us out as far away from the rail as far as he could for as long as he could. But you know, this horse is just too good.”

Trainer John Sadler said brilliant is Flightline’s normal and on a wind-blow fall day on one of his sport’s biggest stages, the 4-year-old colt once again made the task of reducing accomplished foes to also-rans look routine. In an effort that lived up to every bit of its pre-race billing, Flightline put pacesetter Life Is Good away at the top of the lane and ran into the air that only he breathes, notching an 8 1/4-length triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with runner-up Olympiad his nearest competitor on Saturday.

It’s one thing to brace yourself for an expected outcome. It’s another to sit with the reality of the moment when it plays out in all its glory. As much as Sadler said he knew his main job as a horseman was to let Flightline be great, the veteran trainer choked back tears in the aftermath in discussing how a horse with only six lifetime starts has captured the entire racing community.

While Farish and his family know a thing or two about all-timers, having campaigned and stood the legend that is Hall of Famer A. P. Indy, he too wiped his eyes as he accepted one embrace after another as he waited for the future Lane’s End stallion to enter the winner’s circle. Almost all those connected to the colt were spilling their emotions on every portion of the Keeneland surface, all because the horse who had brought them there didn’t even have to get on his belly to deliver his latest performance for the ages.

“I thought he got tested today. They laid it down,” said Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, who purchased Flightline for $1 million as a yearling and campaigns the colt in partnership with Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine and Farish’s Woodford Racing partnership. “I’m just delighted, especially for the horse. It was the coolest thing all week to be in town and to be around – like the breakfast and everything. People, they just had a sparkle in their eye when they talked about Flightline.”

“To run away from those horses – they were eight in front down the backside. I didn't even see, what, they went three-quarters in, what, seven and change? I'm glad I didn't see that because, I mean, going a mile – who does that? To run away from those horses like he did – everyone was a Grade 1 winner. Either this was going to be really good or we were going to have some problems.”

The biggest issue of Flightline’s career hasn’t been his on-track competitors, it’s been staying on the track.

Physical problems kept Flightline from being able to race as a juvenile, with the most notable issue being a massive gash he suffered on his right hind when he backed into a stall latch at a training center in Ocala, Fla. The resulting gaping wound sidelined him for 90 days, but once he did make his debut in April of his sophomore season, he immediately had eyes bulging when he won by 13 1/4 lengths at Santa Anita.

More setbacks would keep him on the shelf until that September, and he again proved worth the wait with a 12 3/4-length gallop going six furlongs at Del Mar. It’s been nothing but top-level tests for him since, starting with his 11 1/2-length triumph in the Malibu (G1) last Dec. 26 and beginning in 2022 with a six-length win in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont Park.

His 19 1/4-length masterclass in the Pacific Classic (G1) on Sept. 3 caused many to start putting his name in the same breath as the Secretariats, Seattle Slews, and Ghostzappers of the world. Crazy as it sounded to anoint Flightline with such greatness after only a fistful of outings, the way he turns every trip to the track into a display of condescending ease makes tapering expectations a fruitless effort.

“I mean, how do you describe greatness?,” said Sadler, who won his second Breeders’ Cup Classic after taking the race in 2018 with Accelerate. “This is a rare horse. It happens every 20 or 30 years. One of the best American racehorses we've seen in a long, long time. And I'm talking back to Secretariat, Seattle Slew. You go through the list.

“What I've tried to be is a good steward to him, be fair with him,” Sadler added, his voice cracking with emotion. “And if you're good with your horses, they're good with you.”

There were no shortage of exceptional horses to challenge Flightine in what could go down as his final career race as every entrant in the eight-horse Classic field had a Grade 1 win on their resume. The most accomplished of the group was another veteran of brilliant victories in the Todd Pletcher-trained Life Is Good, winner last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile whose only loss this season had come when he tried the 1 1/4-mile distance in the Dubai World Cup (G1) in March.

Life Is Good’s best weapon has always been his speed, and it was no secret that, barring a mishap in the gate, the son of Into Mischief was going to take the fight to Flightline early. That storyline played out to fruition with Life Is Good racing to the front out of post No. 2 under Ortiz and drilling the opening quarter in 22.55 seconds ,with Flightline sitting just off him in second.

Life Is Good opened up by two lengths as he reached the half-mile mark in 45.47 seconds, and he and Flightline were more than 10 lengths clear of the rest of the field at that point. There was a moment approaching the far turn where it looked like Life Is Good might try to spurt away from the 2-5 favorite on his heels, but that two-horse battle soon became a one-horse showcase as Flightline rolled past his weakening rival and opened up daylight in the lane under only hand urging from jockey Flavien Prat.

“He shows so much talent. We were expecting a great run from him,” said Prat, who won his fourth career Breeders’ Cup race and first Classic. “He was an old pro. He broke sharp. And was able to get myself in the clear, he was traveling well and relaxed well down the backside. I felt like was in control the whole race.  

“Once I broke well and was where I wanted to be, I was in control. You never know what to expect because it’s horse racing. Sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you think it will. I can’t thank enough John Sadler and Juan Leyva (his exercise rider).”

As he watched his charge flaunt that easy stride of his in the stretch while Prat looked over his shoulder to make sure he was as comfortably in front as he felt, Sadler let himself exhale and take in the moment while Flightline crossed the wire in 2:00.05 over a track rated fast.

“For me there is a large degree of relief because I know he’s that good and I’m happy I didn’t screw it up,” Sadler said. “He’s got that rare ability where he’s a fast horse but a fast horse who can carry it a classic distance. Everyone was assuming that since he could run in 1:08 that he would be lesser if he ran further. But the reality is he’s better when he runs further because that’s when he really separates himself.”

The Bill Mott-trained Olympiad came on to get place honors with 3-year-old Taiba taking third, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, and Life Is Good fading to fifth.

“Life Is Good was moving really well, but was going really fast early,” Pletcher said. “He was traveling well until the last furlong and just couldn’t see it out.”

The race was marred when leading 3-year-old Epicenter, winner of this year’s Travers Stakes (G1), was pulled up midway through the backstretch and vanned off with an injury to his right front. The son of Not This Time was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and evaluated by Dr. Larry Bramlage, who found the colt to have sustained a repairable displaced condylar fracture to his right forelimb.

Epicenter is set to undergo surgery Sunday morning.

Amid the celebrating taking place among team Flightline, questions were fielded on whether there would be more racing in his future. A stud deal with Lane’s End already has been inked, and on Nov. 7 at the start of the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, a 2.5 percent fractional interest in Flightline will be auctioned.

“Whether anyone wants to believe it or not, we really haven’t made that decision yet,” Farish said. “We’ve said all along we’re going to meet tomorrow (Sunday) and talk about it. We all want to see him run again but there are a lot of factors, and we’ll have to see tomorrow.”

The only other thing left for debate regarding Flightline is how history will view him, whether his potentially brief time on the track will stand up through the lens of hindsight. None of that is of any concern for his camp, however. Not after watching him face down his supposed biggest challenge and dismiss it all in a fashion few of them could find proper words for.

“For me, it's a culmination of your life's work,” Sadler said. “When you've worked with horses your whole life, just most trainers don't get a horse like this. I'm just feeling very blessed.”