Eagles Flight, half-brother to Flightline, smashes debut

ARCADIA, Calif. – Eagles Flight, a half-brother to the undefeated 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, won his debut in a six-furlong maiden race at Santa Anita on Monday, closing from seventh before drawing away in the final strides.

Eagles Flight ($4.20) raced on the inside down the backstretch before jockey Flavien Prat moved the colt to the outside on the turn, advancing to fourth.

Eagles Flight closed well to race within a head of stretch leader Santarena with a furlong remaining. Racing outside of 2-1 Santarena, Eagles Flight pulled clear to win by 2 2/3 lengths, finishing in 1:10.07, good for an 89 Beyer Speed Figure.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

“He was a bit green in the first part and he settled down nicely,” Prat said. “He was in a nice rhythm and he took the kickback well.”

Santarena finished 5 1/2 lengths clear of 6-1 Sully, who was third in the field of nine.

Eagles Flight, by Curlin, is trained by John Sadler, who also trained Flightline. Eagles Flight and Flightline share the dam Feathered, with Flightline sired by Tapit.

“He got about four races of experience in his first race,” Sadler said. “He can improve a lot off this. He had to come up the inside.”

Eagles Flight races for Hronis Racing, Summer Wind Equine, and W.S. Farish. Hronis and Summer Wind were part of the partnership that owned Flightline, who ended his brief career with six wins in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in 2022.

Eagles Flight is expected to continue his career at the Del Mar summer meeting, which begins on July 20. Sadler said Eagles Flight may race around two turns in his second start.

“What you see is he’ll be good at a mile,” Sadler said. “He shows that in the morning the way he trains. I don’t know if he’ll be going short for long.”

Prat rode Flightline in all six of his wins – which included three sprints, including the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs in December 2021; the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile at Belmont Park in 2022; and two races at 1 1/4 miles later in 2022 – the Grade 1 Pacific Classic and BC Classic.

Flightline won those races by a combined 71 lengths, including a maiden race in April 2021 by 13 1/4 lengths.

Prat, for one, is eager to see Eagles Flight race in longer distances.

“He definitely will be better going longer,” Prat said. “It’s exciting to see him win the first time.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.