USA: After drawing comparisons with the legendary Secretariat for his extraordinary 19-length romp in Saturday’s Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Flightline has been awarded a Beyer speed figure of 126 – the second-highest in 31 years.
In one of the most astonishing performances in the modern era of US racing, the four-year-old extended his unbeaten record to five under Flavien Prat in the $1m feature, in which he left a field of fellow G1 winners trailing in his wake.
‘Frankel might be the equivalent’ - focus on Flightline, the ‘once-in-a-generation’ horse
In second place, an incredible 19¼ lengths behind, was Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer, and he was another seven lengths in front of third-placed Royal Ship.
Flightline’s time of 1m59.28s was only 0.17s off the track record for a mile and a quarter established by Candy Ride in the same race in 2003.
“Did I think he could do that – win like that? Kinda yeah,” admitted winning trainer John Sadler. “You don’t want to say it in front of the race, but now that he’s done it … the thing about him is that he’s fast and he can carry it. Some horses are fast, but they can’t go on. This horse can. He’s an exceptional horse.”
The powerful son on Tapit has now won his five starts, the last three in G1 company, by an aggregate total of 62¾ lengths.
According to Beyer figure creator Andrew Beyer, as per Daily Racing Form, Flightline’s 126 in the Pacific Classic is the second-best figure since the numbers were made public in 1991 (initially in the Racing Times, then the DRF).
The figure has been bettered only by the 128 recorded by subsequent Horse of the Year Ghostzapper in the G3 Philip H Iselin Handicap at a sloppy Monmouth Park in August 2004.
Sadler and owner Hronis Racing have now won the Pacific Classic in four of the last five seasons, with Flightline following Accelerate (2018), Higher Power (2019) and Tripoli (2021).
Accelerate went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and that $6m championship will provide Flightline’s end-of-season target at Keeneland on November 5. Flightline is now 6-5 favourite with British bookmakers Coral.
A few weeks ago, Sadler had likened Flightline to Frankel in a Thoroughbred Racing Commentary interview. “This horse has a high cruising speed,” he added after the Pacific Classic.
“Once he was flowing, I knew we were in good shape. We had a lot of confidence going in. The distance was the question today and he answered the question.”
Trainers of the horses behind Flightline were in awe of the winning performance. Bob Baffert, who saddled runner-up Country Grammer, said: “I told Johnny, don’t chase that horse – he’s a really great horse. If you chase you won’t get anything.
“I wanted to run at least second to him,” Baffert went on. “We got beat by an incredible horse; it was nice to see the crowd clapping for him and it was fun watching the performance even as a competing trainer. It’s something you don’t see every day.
“I knew my horse was going to show up, he was doing well and he didn’t chase the horse and he just got beat by a brilliant horse today.”
Royal Ship’s trainer Richard Mandella added: “Unbelievable winner – there’s not words to describe him. he’s really something.”
East coast trainers were similarly impressed. “He looked spectacular,” said Cigar’s trainer Bill Mott, who saddled Classic contender Olympiad to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga on Saturday.
“To me, it was a Secretariat-type performance that we saw,” he added, speaking to the BloodHorse. “There’s not much more to say about it.”
Breeders’ Cup Classic betting (Coral): 6-5 Flightline, 5 Life Is Good, 11-2 Epicenter, 12 Charge It, 14 Country Grammer, Olympiad, Taiba, 20 bar
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