Breeders Cup

Would love to have $1.00 for every Flightline Key or single

2021: Three-year-old season

Flightline began his career on April 24, 2021 at Santa Anita Park in a maiden race for three-year-olds and up over a distance of six furlongs. Facing six other non-winners, Flightline went off as the 9-10 favorite. He bumped with one of the other entrants at the start, but kicked clear and then extended his lead around the turn to win easily by 13+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 1:08.75.[6] He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105 and was named a TDN Rising Star by The Thoroughbred Daily News. "We really thought the world of him, but you never really know until they get on the racetrack", Hronis said. "He makes it look really easy and he kind of floats over the track. He does things effortlessly."[5]

Flightline's second start was delayed for several months due to a foot bruise.[3] On September 5, he was entered in an allowance race for non-winners of two races at Del Mar over a distance of six furlongs. Flightline pressed the pace from outside, went to the lead midway around the turn and then opened up under mild persuasion by Prat. Then he pushed away in the straight, coasting to the finishing line in the last 100 yards to win by 12+3⁄4 lengths in a time of 1:08.05.[7] He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 114.[4]

For his final start of the year, Sadler pointed Flightline to the Grade I Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park on December 26 over a distance of seven furlongs. Facing six other sophomores, Flightline started as the short 2-5 odds-on favorite. He was bumped at the start by second choice Dr. Schivel while starting slowly. However, Prat urged Flightline to the lead after a quarter-mile, leading clearly around the turn and drawing away in deep stretch winning easily again by 11+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 1:21.37.[8] Prat said, "I was in cruise control the whole race, galloping freely. I wanted to get a good position and get myself into the race."[8] Flightline was awarded a Beyer Speed Figure of 118, the highest number earned by any horse racing on dirt in North America in 2021.[4]
2022: Four-year-old season

Flightline was expected to begin his four-year-old season in March 2022 but suffered a minor issue to his hock, causing another setback. He finally returned on June 11 in the prestigious Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in his first trip outside California. Sadler was not concerned about stretching the horse out to a distance of a mile, noting Flightline had been full of run at the finish of each of his starts.[9] He went off as the 2-5 favorite in a field of five that included Speaker's Corner (Carter Handicap) and Aloha West (Breeders' Cup Sprint). He broke slowly and tried to rush up beside Speaker's Corner before Prat got him to settle. He then rated for the first half-mile before moving to the outside and taking the lead around the five-sixteenths pole. He won handily by six lengths, completing the one-turn mile in 1:33.59 on a fast track. Sadler commented after the event, "For a young horse who has not had that much seasoning, he just overcame the adversity and proved himself best. He overcame trouble; that's the storyline."[10]

Flightline made his next start in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on September 3, stretching out to 10 furlongs for the first time. Although some were concerned about potential stamina issues, Flightline went off as the heavy 3-10 favorite in a field of six that also included Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer. He was bumped on both sides while leaving the starting gate but quickly settled into stride, pressing the early pace set by Extra Hope. He raced three to four wide around the first turn while settling into second place, then moved to the lead down the backstretch. Running freely, Flightline continued to open up his lead, winning by 19+1⁄4 lengths over Country Grammer. His time of 1:59.28 was just 0.17 of a second off the track record. "He's such a special horse", said Sadler. "You assume horses with speed can't carry it [over a distance]. But this is an exceptional horse. He has speed and keeps going."[11]

"When we went into the final turn, he was traveling so well I asked him to pick it up a little bit", said Prat. "As soon as I looked back and saw how far in front he was, I wrapped up on him. Obviously, this is the best horse I ever rode."[12]

The performance drew superlatives from racing journalists and comparisons to past greats such as Secretariat. He was assigned a Beyer Speed Figure of 126, the second highest assigned since the Daily Racing Form began publishing the numbers in 1992 (Ghostzapper earned a rating of 128 in 2004).[13] In the World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR) published on September 15, Flightline's run in the Pacific Classic was ranked the top performance of the year with a rating of 139, the second-highest rating the organization has ever assigned (Frankel has the highest rating WBRR at 140). Flightline's rating is the highest ever assigned by the WBRR to a horse running on the dirt, topping Cigar's rating of 135.[14]

Flightline's next start will be the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on November 5.[15] A 2.5% ownership stake in Flightline is scheduled to be auctioned off at Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale two days after the Classic is run, with the winning bidder receiving access to future breeding seasons and a share in the horse's breeding revenue.[16]

Late Pick 4

Race 7 #2,5,7

Race 8 #2,4,6,10

Race 9 #3

Race 10 #1,3,4,6,8