LEXINGTON, Ky. - Flightline’s brief but brilliant career is over. As expected, Flightline was retired from racing Sunday morning, the day after his dominant 8 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. The official announcement came via a press release issued Sunday morning from Lane’s End Farm, where he will stand as the property of a syndicate with a stud fee still be announced, per the release. The press release did not give a specific reason for retiring Flightline, but earlier Sunday morning, before the press release came out, Bill Farish Jr. of Lane’s End said, “What is there left to do?” Lane’s End, through its Woodford Racing arm, was part-owner of Flightline along with Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Jane Lyon and West Point Thoroughbreds. Lyon was also Flightline’s breeder as he was out of the Lyon-owned mare Feathered. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Flightline, a son Tapit who was selected by bloodstock agent David Ingordo for $1 million at the Fasig—Tipton Saratoga yearling auction in 2019, went 6 for 6 in his career. His combined margin of victory in those six races was 71 lengths. He won four Grade 1 stakes and earned $4,514,800. “We would like to thank John Sadler and his team for the incredible work they did with Flightline,” Lane’s End’s Bill Farish said in the release. “His historic performances are a credit to their expertise and unwavering efforts to bring out the very best in the horse.” This year, Flightline’s three Grade 1 wins came in the Metropolitan Handicap by six lengths, the Pacific Classic at Del Mar by 19 1/4 lengths, and the BC Classic by 8 1/4 lengths. He earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in all six of his races, including a 126 in the Pacific Classic and a 121 in the Breeders’ Cup. “Unbelievable” John Sadler said Sunday when asked what it was like to train Flightline. “Just a generational-type horse, I’ve said that right along. Just a rare, rare shooting-star kind of horse.” Flightline was scheduled to leave Keeneland late Sunday morning and van over to Lane’s End. Olympiad, who ran second to Flightline, is on the roster of stallions Gainesway put out in an Oct. 26 press release. However, there is a chance he could race in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan 29., both part-owner Robert Clay and trainer Bill Mott said. Olympiad was scheduled to go to Gainesway, where he’ll eventually stand stud, for a week to be shown to potential breeders. “They’ll have a meeting next week to decide whether he runs again or goes directly to stud,”  Mott said. Olympiad’s runner-up finish to Flightline capped a terrific 4-year-old season for the son of Speightstown. He won six of eight races - five stakes - including the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Grade 2 Stephen Foster, Grade 2 Alysheba and Grade 2 New Orleans Classic. His lone bad race was a fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney, in which he was adversely impacted by heat. While proud of Olympiad’s run in the Classic, Mott said, “The problem is nobody remembers who ran second.” Mott said he would have been willing to run against Flightline in 2023. “I’d love to see Flightline run again next year, even if I had to run against him,” he said. “I think horses like that are great for the sport. “He’s brilliant,” Mott added. “That’s what we saw yesterday.” If he’s retired, Olympiad will do so with a record of 8-2-1 from 13 starts and earnings of $3,027,560. Life Is Good and Happy Saver, fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Classic were both officially retired. Life Is Good, who won 9 of 12 starts and four Grade 1s, will stand at WinStar. Happy Saver, who won 5 of 13 starts including the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, will stand at Airdrie Stud. Future plans are undecided for Hot Rod Charlie, trainer Doug O’Neill said Sunday. The only two horses from the Classic field definite to run next year are Taiba and Rich Strike who finished third and fourth, respectively, in the race. Taiba will return to Bob Baffert’s Southern California stable and could be a candidate for races like the Saudi Cup and/or Dubai World Cup in early 2023. Rich Strike, the Kentucky Derby winner, vanned over to trainer Eric Reed’s Mercury Equine Training Center on Sunday morning. He will get a 30- to 45-day break, Reed said with a preliminary first target being the Saudi Cup in late February. Though Rich Strike didn’t win after the Kentucky Derby, Reed felt his peformance in the Travers, Lukas Classic and Breeders’ Cup were an indication the horse is one of the top horses in the 3-year-old division. “He rounded out into a really, really top horse by the end of the year,” Reed said. “I think he’s arguably one of the top two 3-year-olds in my opinion. I feel like Epicenter and my horse were the better of the 3-year-olds. We ran in the biggest, hardest races and competed very well.” Epicenter, who was pulled up by Joel Rosario down the backside of the Classic, underwent successful surgery Sunday morning at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital to repair a lateral condylar fracture to his right foreleg. While he will be retired from racing, Epicenter is expected to be a "healthy sire," according to trainer Steve Asmussen. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.