Witnessing greatness
Flightline leaves Australian participants in awe with Breeders’ Cup Classic win
A throng of Australian thoroughbred industry participants have described witnessing Flightline (Tapit), a horse being compared to America’s all-time great Secretariat (Bold Ruler), as a once-in-a-generation champion after seeing first-hand his devastating US Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr 1, 10f) victory in Kentucky yesterday.
Having travelled to Lexington for this week’s Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland breeding stock sales, a large contingent of southern hemisphere investors were among the 45,975 people in attendance at the Breeders’ Cup meeting where, on a spectacular day of racing involving many of Europe’s and America’s best horses, Flightline stood alone.
The high-flying four-year-old entire made it six wins from as many starts, yesterday’s eight-and-a-quarter-length margin in 2:00.05 seconds scarcely to be believed such was his dominance in a high-calibre field at Keeneland, situated in America’s breeding heartland of Lexington, Kentucky.
Newgate Farm’s Henry Field, who had a hand in selecting unbeaten US Triple Crown champion and now Coolmore stallion Justify (Scat Daddy), said Flightline’s Breeders’ Cup Classic win was unforgettable.
“It was a performance that in 20 years’ time, the Australians who were fortunate enough to witness it will look back and say, ‘remember the day we saw Flightline win the Breeders’ Cup?’,” Field told ANZ Bloodstock News soon after leaving the racecourse.
“It was probably the most spectacular performance I’ve seen in my lifetime by a racehorse anywhere in the world and it was an honour and a privilege to be here to see it.”
Barry Bowditch and Sebastian Hutch, the leaders of Australia’s two auction houses Magic Millions and Inglis respectively, were also in Lexington to witness Flightline’s dominance.
“It was just electric. The anticipation around it throughout the day was almost palpable,” Hutch said.
“The mounting yard before the race was absolutely rammed full of people just wanting to see Flightline. The anticipation was great and the race itself was just extraordinary.”
Hutch’s counterpart Bowditch, who is Keeneland Sales’ Australian representative, said: “I was very lucky to be able to watch the race in the winner’s circle and the enclosure before the race was something to behold.
“The atmosphere and the theatre of it was incredible. He was such a relaxed horse, before the race he was an absolute dude and to watch him streak away and dominate a class race like the Breeders’ Cup Classic was extraordinary.
“I said to the guys at Keeneland that I was here when American Pharoah won the Classic back in 2015 and of all the races I’ve watched anywhere around the world, American Pharoah in 2015 and Flightline today standout more than any other.”
Agent Andrew Williams, who is the Australian representative for US auction house Fasig-Tipton, said yesterday’s meeting was the “experience of a lifetime”.
“The first three-quarter mile was expected (to be run fast) and it actually occurred when they ran 1:09 and change, you expect them to run last and second last when doing that, but the horse (Flightline) is a machine,” Williams said.
“He’s won six races now by 75 lengths, that’s phenomenal.”
It was speculated that Flightline could be worth more than US$80 million (approx. A$123.705 million) following yesterday’s victory. His stud future is already sewn up after Lane’s End Farm bought into the star horse in September. A 2.5 per cent share in the entire will be auctioned at Keeneland on Tuesday.
Field said it would be hard to see Flightline shuttling given his immense value as a stallion.
“He is a very big, angular horse with the most extraordinary shoulder you will ever see on a racehorse, a massive deep shoulder and girth and when a horse is that big and that good, they’re very hard to beat,” Field said.
“He has a great pedigree, a great physique, but most importantly a great heart, it was phenomenal to witness.
“He’s one of the most valuable stallion prospects that will retire to stud in the history of the sport. You never know, and certainly he’d be a great horse to take anywhere in the world, but I’d be surprised if they ever let him off Lane’s End to shuttle.”
Hutch said the US breeding industry was undergoing a resurgence with a depth of stallions right across the board, highlighted by Gun Runner (Candy Ride), Curlin (Smart Strike), Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday), Justify and Constitution (Tapit).
“They’ve got the most wonderful line-up of stallions now,” he said.
“There’s a real buzz about the industry and the sport and evidently the administration across the board has gone to great lengths to try and address a number of issues that were of concern to people and certainly they seem to be reaping the benefits of that now.”
Trainer John Sadler, who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2018 with Accelerate (Lookin’ At Lucky), was not surprised that Flightline was able to extend his unbeaten streak.
“How do you describe greatness? This is a rare horse that happens every 20 to 30 years,” he said.
“He’s 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 and be fair with him. If you’re fair with your horses, they are good with you.”
Flightline’s jockey Flavien Prat trailed Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who set a sizzling tempo by running his first six furlongs in 1:09.62 seconds in his career finale with a place on the WinStar Farm roster for next year, and always felt like he was travelling like the winner.
“Once I broke well and was where I wanted to be, I was in control,” Prat said.
“You never know what to expect because it’s horseracing. Sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you think it will. I can’t thank John Sadler and Juan Leyva (his exercise rider) enough.”
Olympiad (Speightstown) ran on to finish runner-up, a half-length in front of third-placed Taiba (Gun Runner).
Flightline’s co-owner Stephanie Hronis said the four-year-old’s performance was “astronomical”.
“It’s a thrill to see him pull it off. To tie it up with Life Is Good, you just never know what can happen because this is horseracing,” said Hronis.
“It’s just a dynamic duo between Prat and Flightline. We’re so proud.”
The cohort of Australian breeders in Kentucky will now switch their attention to the region’s breeding stock sales, which began with a star-studded catalogue for the Fasig-Tipton November Sale yesterday evening, while the eight-day Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale gets underway today.