No Breeders' Cup for Flightline, who will target the Malibu

ARCADIA, Calif. – Flightline, the brilliant and unseasoned colt who earned a 114 Beyer Speed Figure winning an allowance sprint by more than 12 lengths in his second start, will target the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, trainer John Sadler confirmed Wednesday morning.

The announcement ends premature speculation Flightline was under consideration for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“He’s going to run in the Malibu, out of his own stall,” Sadler said, cognizant of the between-starts recovery period often required by extraordinarily fast horses. “Because of his brilliance, you need good spacing, and [three and a half months] is about right.”

Flightline won his debut by more than 13 lengths in April at Santa Anita, earning a 105 Beyer after running six furlongs in 1:08.75. He did not start again for more than four months, and picked up where he left off Sept. 5 at Del Mar, winning a six-furlong allowance in 1:08.05.

The 114 Beyers earned by Flightline and Saratoga-based allowance winner Baby Yoda are the highest figures this year in North America.

Flightline, a Tapit colt purchased as a yearling for $1 million, is owned by a partnership that includes Hronis Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Summer Wind Equine, and Siena Farm.

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After weighing the pros and cons of the Breeders’ Cup, Sadler and the colt’s owners opted to wait for the seven-furlong Malibu on opening day of the Santa Anita winter meet.

“No horse is that [fast] on figures in his first two starts,” Sadler said. “Some of the great ones got there, whether it is Zenyatta or Ghostzapper. Some horses have run sensational figures, but that is after five or six races. [Flightline] is a lightly raced horse, and if there is a knock, it’s that he’s too brilliant.”

A pair of fast 3-year-olds aiming to the Breeders’ Cup could be candidates to face Flightline in the Malibu – early BC Sprint favorite Jackie’s Warrior and early BC Dirt Mile favorite Life Is Good.

“Seven furlongs is a good fit for all three of those horses distance-wise,” Sadler said. “Wouldn’t that be a helluva race?”