Watch: ‘Sensational’ Flightline drills 6 furlongs toward Classic

Unbeaten and untested Flightline was nothing short of brilliant Saturday morning at Santa Anita. The presumptive Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite got an official six-furlong time of 1:11.80 in his final local breeze prior to shipping to Lexington, Ky., early Sunday morning for an appointment with destiny in the Classic on Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

In keeping with a seven-day Santa Anita work pattern dating to Sept. 24, Flightline, accompanied by a stable pony and ridden by John Sadler assistant trainer Juan Leyva, passed under the finish line well ahead of sunrise at 6:35 a.m. PDT. He galloped around the clubhouse turn and was set down for serious business at the five-furlong pole with a blinking red light on Leyva’s helmet serving as a welcome beacon for clockers and media alike.

Through splits of 12, 23.80, 35.80 and 59.80 seconds, Flightline worked six furlongs to the seven-furlong pole and was then timed galloping out seven-eighths of a mile in 1:24.20, a mile in 1:37.20 and, on Sadler’s watch, a mile and an eighth in an incredible 1:51.

“This was just like his last work at Del Mar (prior to winning the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Sept. 3) when he went out a mile in 37 and change, which is what he did today,” Sadler said immediately following this morning’s drill. “When I talked to Juan this morning, I essentially told him, we’re not doing anything different. We’re just going to breeze him like he’s been breezing, which, sensational is the norm for him.”

Was this Flightline’s best work ever?

“He’s always worked well,” a decidedly reserved Sadler said. “More people are watching now, but he’s never worked anything other than really well. This was just what we wanted… We can do more or less and just hope he bounces out of it good.

“He ships tomorrow, early, at two in the morning and flies out of Ontario (Calif.). Rene Quinteros will accompany him on the van to Ontario and Cesar Aguilar will meet him in Louisville (Ky.). He’ll then van over to Keeneland tomorrow afternoon.

“He’ll have one breeze at Keeneland, one week from today, pending weather. It would be a lesser work, five (furlongs) in a minute is usually what he does… Just kind of cruise around there. His groom, Adolfo Correa and the other guys will fly back tonight and get there ahead of the horse.”

A record 19 1/4-length winner of the Pacific Classic, which was his first try around two turns, Flightline stopped the clock for a mile and one quarter while eased up under Flavien Prat in a scintillating 1:59.20 and also earned a 126 Beyer Speed Figure, by far the best figure in North America this year. A six-length winner of the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on June 11 at Belmont Park, Flightline, in his first stakes assignment, took Santa Anita’s seven-furlong Malibu (G1) by 11 1/2 lengths three starts back Dec. 26.

Owned by a partnership that includes California-based Hronis Racing, LLC, Siena Farm, LLC, Summer Wind Equine, LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing LLC, Flightline, in winning his five races by a combined 62 3/4 lengths, has spurred comparisons to some of racing’s all-time greats while amassing earnings of $1,394,800.

A 4-year-old colt by Tapit out of the Indian Charlie mare Feathered, Flightline was purchased for $1 million out of the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. While his connections have announced that Flightline will stand stud at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Ky., following his racing career, it remains undetermined as to whether or not he will race as a 5-year-old in 2023.