It wasn't just a victory.
Or even just a tour de force.
It was a coronation worthy of a king.
There, in the stretch run of the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), all of the conjecture about the greatness of Flightline morphed into reality in a majestic procession to the finish line.
With each powerful stride, the 4-year-old son of Tapit drew farther and farther away from the best dirt horses in the world. He was unchallenged in the races before the 1 1/4-mile Classic and as he crossed the wire while in hand, there was still no one in training breathing the same rarified air.
As a crowd of 45,973 at Keeneland roared its approval, Flightline became the stuff legends are based on as the 2-5 favorite kept his record of being unbeaten and unchallenged intact by posting a record-breaking 8 1/4-length victory over runner-up Olympiad in the Nov. 5 Classic.
"Brilliant is his normal. He didn't disappoint. He never has. He's a remarkable, remarkable horse. In the words of (the late trainer) Bud Delp, he's one of the best horses to ever look through a bridle. He's just that good," trainer John Sadler said about a performance that greatly resembled the scope of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah 's victory in the 2015 Classic at Keeneland. "He's a culmination of your life's work. Most trainers don't get a horse like this. I'm feeling very blessed."
While his connections were non-committal about Flightline's future, it is expected the Classic will be his final start. With a deal to stand at stand at Lane's End already in place, Saturday's victory turned the value of the son of the grade 3-winning Indian Charlie mare Feathered into the stratosphere for the ownership group of Hronis Racing, breeder Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing, and Siena Farm.
Flightline was worth perhaps $50-$60 million before the Classic. Afterwards that value could jump to $60-$80 million, maybe more, and a 2.5% share of the colt will be auctioned at Keeneland Nov. 7. Horses that valuable with nothing left to prove on the racetrack rarely race again, leaving the only remaining test for Flightline being the test of time. How, after six races and six wins, by a combined margin of 71 lengths, will he be remembered in racing lore?
Sadler, as his voice cracked with emotion and tears welled in his eyes, offered his opinion in the most glowing of terms.
"How do you describe greatness? This is a rare horse that happens every 20-30 years," said Sadler after his second Classic win following Accelerate's score in 2018. "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."
For Kosta Hronis of Hronis Racing, the sky is the limit in terms of praise for the colt who figures to win Horse of the Year in more of a lopsided manner than the Classic.
"I think for Flightline to do this on a world stage was important. He needed to stamp this because there are still doubters," he said. "But we have a hero, a champion. He's undefeated. He would have been the favorite in the Dirt Mile, the Classic, the Sprint, maybe a turf race today. He's America's horse. He's done everything possible. He's stepped up to every challenge."
Terry Finley, president of West Point Thoroughbreds, said he made a promise to Flightline as he stood in the winner's circle amidst a very festive celebration.
"We will never be able to repay Flightline for what he's given us and what he's brought us," Finley said. "But I promised him that we will not stop trying to help the industry that he has had such a positive impact on."
There was some sadness attached to the race as Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) winner Epicenter suffered a lateral condylar fracture of his right foreleg. Though the injury is not believed to be life-threatening, he will undergo surgery at nearby Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital Nov. 6.
Flightline's victory in 2:00.05 was framed by a classic speed duel that only added even more sparkle to the triumph on a day when a Breeders' Cup-record $189 million was wagered.
The brilliantly fast Life Is Good , a 4-time grade 1 winner, rocketed to the lead in the field of eight under Irad Ortiz Jr. with Flightline in hot pursuit. Through blazing fractions of :22.55 and :45.47, Life Is Good ran down the backstretch two lengths ahead of Flightline with the rest of the field a distant 11 lengths behind them.
Slowly, Flightline and jockey Flavien Prat gained on CHC and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good through six furlongs in 1:09.62, a time slightly slower than the best sprinters needed in the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1, 1:09.11). By the quarter-pole Flightline poked a head in front after a mile in 1:34.58 that eclipsed the 1:35.33 for the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). From there, the drama ebbed away and a spectacle unfolded with Flightline ($2.88) pulling away to a 5 1/2-length lead at the eighth pole and an even wider margin at the wire.
"It feels wonderful," said Will Farish, owner of Lane's End. "He's an unbelievable horse. He can handle anything."
Farish's son Bill, who runs Woodford Racing with Ben Haggin as well as Lane's End, was also filled with joy over the performance.
"It's been building and to finally get on this big, big, big stage and do it (win) is just incredible. Amazing," he said.
The fractions gave the competition some hope that faded away in the stretch.
"I thought they were going at a suicide pace and that would give me a chance, but Flightline kept on running," said jockey Mike Smith, who rallied the Bob Baffert-trained Taiba (Gun Runner ) from seventh to third, 8 3/4 lengths behind the winner. "My horse ran the best he could run, but Flightline was incredible. He's like Secretariat. He's the best I've seen."
Olympiad, a 4-year-old son of Speightstown owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable, and LNJ Foxwoods, closed from fourth at the eighth pole to take second by a half-length over Taiba in an effort that delighted Robert Clay of Grandview Equine.
"I'm thrilled. So pleased. He was running hard. Flightline is something special. You don't see ones like him too often. But we're proud of our horse," said Clay, who was uncertain if Olympiad would race again before heading to stud at Gainesway.
The Classic was the finale for Life Is Good, who is headed to the stallion barn at WinStar Farm. An earner of $4.5 million and winner of last year's Dirt Mile, the son of Into Mischief surely made Flightline run during the first mile, but could not sustain that speed for the entire 10-furlong trip, finishing fifth, 1 1/4 lengths behind Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Rich Strike.
"The plan was to make Flightline earn it. They are both great horses but the fractions took a toll on him," Elliott Walden, CEO, president, and racing manager of WinStar Farm, said about the winner of nine of 12 starts. "But I don't think he lost anything in defeat. He's been such a blessing. We have no regrets. We tried the mile and a quarter and we competed. That's what we were here to do."
Flightline is the second of six foals from Feathered and her lone stakes winner. Her most recent foals are Eagles Flight, a yearling Curlin colt, and a weanling Into Mischief filly.
In the end, for all the praise surrounding the equine star of the day, Hronis voiced a belief that Sadler and his team were also stars in their own right for managing a career that began too late for the Triple Crown and was filled with lengthy periods of rest between his six starts in about 18 months.
"Flightline is so blessed to have John Sadler and his team because the patience he had with him and what he taught him," Hronis said. "He was a fast horse all the time and wanted to run full-blast all the time. John and (exercise rider) Juan Leyva, and the rest of the team. They turned him into a racehorse and he's the champion he is today because of John."
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