A 2.5 percent interest in Flightline sells for $4.6 million at Keeneland

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Less than 48 hours after Flightline left the Thoroughbred racing industry in awe with a breathtaking performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he left the breeding industry gasping for air in astonishment.

A 2.5 percent share in Flightline went for $4.6 million as the first lot in the Kentucky November breeding stock sale on Monday, a figure that values the horse at an eye-popping $184 million. Fred Seitz made the winning bid for a client he said he could not presently disclose, other than to say that the winning bidder lives “out west” and has a small number of broodmares.

“He just called and said, ‘I really want to make a big splash and get involved a little more in the business,’ ”Seitz said. “With a special horse like that all you can do is get involved and then just hope for the best. There has never been a horse that has done what he has done for however many years, back to Secretariat. I guess you just have got to pay up and get involved and top stuff like this is kind of what he’s thinking.”

The $184 million valuation is not a precise number – Flightline was owned by a racing syndicate that has now been converted into a breeding syndicate of 40 shares. The 2.5 percent stake was offered by West Point Thoroughbreds, which already had a 17.5 percent stake in the horse.

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“It’s scarcity value,” said Will Farish Jr., the owner of Lane’s End, where Flightline will stand, “because there’s only one share available. It takes just the right situation and just the right horse, and obviously, Flightline, you couldn’t have dreamed for a better situation. He’s just so special, a one-off for sure.”

On Saturday, Flightline won the Breeders’ Cup Classic by 8 1/4 lengths, just up the hill from the Keeneland sales pavilion, running his record for a perfect 6 for 6 by a combined 71 lengths. No horse has generated as many superlatives within the racing industry for decades, surpassing even the excitement generated by recent Triple Crown winners American Pharaoh and Justify.

Flightline is by Tapit, one of the most successful sires in the world, and he is out of the Indian Charlie mare Feathered, who was a stakes winner. Feathered sold for $2.35 million as a broodmare prospect at the 2016 November breeding stock sale.

Bidding started at $1 million and quickly ran up to $2 million with bids coming from at least 10 bidders in the ring. Several bids also came from internet buyers.

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As bidding became more sporadic when the price reached $4 million, the packed sales pavilion began doing the calculations to determine where Flightline’s value was settling.

Keeneland officials described the sale of the fractional interest as “unprecedented.” Shannon Arvin, the chief executive of the racing and breeding company, said that “more than 20” bidders pre-registered for the sale but acknowledged that “all the stars absolutely aligned” to generate such an enormous sum.

“We couldn’t have hoped for a bigger superstar than an interest in Flightline,” Arvin said.

Seitz, who made the winning bid, said that he hoped to be able to identify his client “at a later date.” He said that the buyer enjoyed the bidding duel.

“He was kind of laughing the whole time,” Seitz said. “He and his family were watching. I think they were having a really good time.”

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