Flightline tunes up for Met Mile, going five furlongs in 59.60

Less than a month before his expected 4-year-old debut in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap at Belmont Park on June 11, Flightline had a familiar pilot for his five-furlong workout in 59.60 seconds at Santa Anita on Monday.

Jockey Flavien Prat, who has ridden Flightline in all three of his wins, flew from his new base in New York to partner the exciting colt. The workout was the first time Prat had been aboard Flightline since the colt won his stakes debut by 11 1/2 lengths in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs on Dec. 26.

On Monday, trainer John Sadler timed Flightline galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.40 and seven furlongs in 1:25. The $1 million Met Mile will be the longest race of Flightline’s career. Sadler said Flightline’s recent training has focused on getting the colt to show patience in the initial furlongs of a workout.

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“We’ve put a lot of work in getting him to relax,” Sadler said. “He looks like he’s going in a mere gallop. He’ll always have speed to get position. He doesn’t have to be a front-runner. We’re dialing in.”

Flightline won his first two races, both at six furlongs – a maiden special weight race by 13 1/4 lengths at Santa Anita in April 2021 and an allowance race by 12 3/4 lengths at Del Mar last September. In the allowance race, Flightline was second by a length after the opening quarter-mile and had a commanding lead by early stretch.

Owned by the partnership of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing, Flightline has earned $259,800.

Prat has been the leading rider in Southern California in recent years, but departed earlier this spring for Kentucky and then New York. Prat is currently riding at Belmont Park.

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Prat is booked to return to ride at Santa Anita on May 30, a day with three Grade 1 stakes. Prat is scheduled to ride Going Global in the $400,000 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf and Smooth Like Strait in the $500,000 Shoemaker Mile on turf.

Prat worked Going Global and Smooth Like Strait on Monday.

Going Global ran five furlongs in 1:01.60 on the infield training track. Trained by Phil D’Amato, Going Global has won seven stakes since arriving from Ireland in the winter of 2020-21. Prat has been aboard for six of those wins.

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“She had a nice gallop-out,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “I wanted a nice, long stamina drill.”

Smooth Like Strait, trained by Michael McCarthy, worked five furlongs in a quick 59.40 seconds on Monday.

Prat has not ridden Smooth Like Strait since a ninth-place finish in a maiden special weight race on dirt in 2019.

Smooth Like Strait has improved since then. The winner of six stakes, including the 2021 Shoemaker, Smooth Like Strait has won seven of 20 starts and earned $1,481,572. In the Shoemaker, Prat will replace Umberto Rispoli, who recently relocated to ride in Kentucky.