Flightline, in top form for BC Classic, departs Sunday for Keeneland
ARCADIA, Calif. – Flightline will ship to Keeneland for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in peak form after a typically outstanding workout Saturday at Santa Anita.
“Sensational is the norm for him,” trainer John Sadler said after Flightline worked six furlongs in 1:11.80 and galloped out super under exercise rider Juan Leyva.
The 5-for-5 Flightline, expected to be odds-on in the BC Classic on Nov. 5, was the first horse to work following the 6:30 a.m. renovation on Saturday at Santa Anita. He broke off by himself at the five-furlong pole, and was strong through the wire.
Flightline’s fractions, timed by private clocker Gary Young, were :12.20, :23.80, :35.80, :59.80 and 1:12.20. He galloped out seven furlongs in 1:24.20, a mile in 1:37.20 Sadler said Flightline galloped out 1 1/8 miles in 1:51. His official work time was six furlongs in 1:11.80.
“Excellent,” Sadler said. “It was just like his work at Del Mar when he went out a mile in 1:37 and change, which is what he did today.” After his big Del Mar work, Flightline subsequently won the Grade 1 Pacific Classic by 19 1/4 lengths and earned a 126 Beyer.
Flightline will leave California early Sunday morning accompanied by at least three other Sadler trainees. Flightline, Edgeway, Bran and Heywoods Beach will fly out of Ontario airport. Edgeway will pre-enter the BC Filly and Mare Sprint; Bran is aiming to the BC Turf Sprint. Heywoods Beach will run in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Nov. 4.
Sadler scheduled the final pre-Classic workout for Flightline on Oct. 29 at Keeneland, pending weather. “It would be a lesser work (than Saturday),” Sadler said. “Five furlongs in a minute, just kind of cruise around there.”
Sadler will travel Sunday and expects to stay in Kentucky through the Breeders’ Cup. “It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime scenario,” he said. “I don’t like being away that long, but on the other hand, this is a pretty special event.”
Flightline is a pretty special horse, having won all five starts and being the early odds-on favorite in the BC Classic. Although a decision on his post-Breeders’ Cup career has not been made, Flightline will return to Santa Anita following the Breeders’ Cup. Flightline will stand stud at Lane’s End after his racing career. It could be 2023, or it could be 2024.
Majority owner Kosta Hronis said last week, “I’m a racehorse guy, so you know where I’m leaning. I think we’ll just see how the Breeders’ Cup goes, how he comes out, and the team will get together. I’ve always said that racehorses are born to be racehorses.”
Whether or not he campaigns through 2023, plans call for Flightline to return to Santa Anita after the Breeders’ Cup. “He’ll come back here (to Santa Anita),” Sadler said. “Even if he goes to stud, we might go in the Pegasus.”
He was referring to the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.
Bran and Edgeway will join Flightline
Breeders’ Cup travel companions with Flightline include Turf Sprint candidate Bran, who worked a sharp five furlongs Friday in :59.60, and Filly and Mare Sprint candidate Edgeway, whose training was interrupted by a foot problem. She has not worked since Oct. 8.
“She missed a week with a minor hiccup,” Sadler said early Saturday morning. “She’s going to work twice at Keeneland.” Runner-up in the 2021 BC Filly and Mare Sprint, Edgeway won the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Aug. 28 at Del Mar.
Sadler plans to work Edgeway on Tuesday at Keeneland, with her final workout into the Filly and Mare Sprint scheduled for Breeders’ Cup week.
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