December, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

In Full Flight: Unbeaten ‘Rising Star’ Flightline on Target for Malibu

Unbeaten and untested in a pair of blowout victories, 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) is gearing up to make his highly anticipated stakes debut in the GI Malibu S. on Santa Anita's traditional opening day program Dec. 26.

Campaigned in partnership by the powerhouse lineup of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing, and breeder Summer Wind Equine, the $1-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling made it two-for-two for trainer John Sadler in spectacular fashion, crushing a first-level group of optional claimers by 12 3/4 lengths over Labor Day weekend at Del Mar (video).

The bay earned an astronomical 114 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, the co-highest rating recorded throughout all of the 2021 season.

After flirting with a potential start against older horses in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar last month, Flightline instead began gearing up for the seven-furlong Malibu versus fellow sophomores with five workouts since Halloween, most recently breezing a bullet five-eighths in :59.60 (1/28) at Santa Anita Nov. 28 (video).

“Very very happy with the way he's been,” Terry Finley said while checking in from Ocala on West Point's yearling class of 36 strong.

“John Sadler was able to give him a little bit of a blow after the Del Mar race. I know he's right on target, and is very comfortable. John just really thinks he's a special horse and a special talent. Everybody in the partnership is anxiously awaiting Christmas time and opening day at Santa Anita. It will be a good test. The water will be a lot deeper. Dr. Schivel (Violence) is a multiple Grade I winner and just got nipped in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. It's gonna be a formidable task and we are excited to see how he responds and runs against a really good group of horses.”

Finley continued, “It's very tough individually to buy these kind of horses anymore. The market has been white hot and it's a long way down when you spend $1 million for a horse all by yourself. It's easy to say, but this is a really good group of people and experienced. Everyone knows the ups and downs and has been around a long time. We all get along really well and we're all rolling in the same direction, which is absolutely essential in these type of partnerships.”

Flightline previously debuted with an equally impressive 13 1/4- length jaw-dropping 'Rising Star' performance at Santa Anita Apr. 24. So why all the time between starts? Is Flightline just too fast for his own good?

“People do ask all of us this on a regular basis–it was a simple foot bruise that kind of caused us to have to back up after his debut,” Finley responded.

“We all thought we had a special talent before he even ran. It's rare–very few horses run that well in their first start. And then he just had a foot bruise. It was nothing else. You could see his works. John took his time with him and we pointed for that race at the end of Del Mar. I'm not sure there's ever been another horse that has run a 114 Beyer in his second start. John is the captain of the ship and we all agreed that it would be the best thing in terms of development for this colt to bypass the Breeders' Cup Sprint and point for the Malibu.”

Summer Wind purchased Flightline's dam Feathered (Indian Charlie), a granddaughter of the Phipps Stable-bred MGISW Finder's Fee (Storm Cat), for $2.35 million in foal to War Front at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. Flightline is her second foal.

The versatile Feathered captured the grassy 2015 GIII Edgewood S. and was also second in the GI American Oaks and GI Starlet S., and third in the GI Frizette S. Feathered has a Tapit colt of 2020 ($390,000 FTSAUG RNA) and a Curlin colt of this year in the pipeline. She was bred back to Into Mischief.

“We all know these are the kinds of horses that we're all shooting for the stars with,” Finley concluded. “When you get one like this, it's absolute magic on a big scale. We're blessed– it's a cool thing to be part of the ride with a horse like this. I don't think that we've ever had the kind of anticipation that's starting to build as we have for this horse in the Malibu.”

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Double Pick 6 Carryover Of $288K Into Friday’s Card At Aqueduct

Friday's card will be bolstered by a double Pick 6 carryover of $288,843 as the multi-race wager went unsolved on Thursday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $504.50 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly.

Thursday's sequence kicked off in Race 4 with Radio Days [No. 4, $2.50] impressing as the mutuel favorite in a seven-furlong allowance optional claiming sprint for juvenile fillies under Dylan Davis for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

Sandrone [No. 5, $6.60], the 2-1 public choice, captured Race 5 with Luis Saez up for H. James Bond in a six-furlong outer turf sprint for New York-bred juveniles before Electric Youth [No. 5, $23.40] spiced up the sequence at odds of 10-1 with Saez up for Rudy Rodriguez in Race 6. Saez completed a natural hat trick by winning Race 7 with the Bond-trained Reckless Spirit [No. 7, $16].

Space Launch [No. 2, $21] found the wire in time to win Race 8, a 1 1/16-mile outer turf allowance, with Manny Franco up for Christophe Clement.

With only two horses uncovered in the Pick 6 to close out the sequence in Race 9, the Kelly Breen-conditioned Courvoisier [No. 10, $30] staved off Perfect Fight to secure the carryover in the nine-furlong maiden tilt for 2-year-olds.

Friday's Pick 6 kicks off in Race 5 at 1:42 p.m. Eastern. First post on the 10-race card is 11:50 a.m.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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As Time Goes By Will Face Six Others In Sunday’s Bayakoa

Two-time Grade 2 winner As Time Goes By will have six rivals in her return to Los Alamitos in the $100,000-guaranteed Bayakoa Stakes Sunday.

A Grade 3 for fillies and mares (3-year-olds & up) at 1 1/16 miles, the Bayakoa will be run for the fifth time at Los Alamitos.

Post time Sunday is 12:30 p.m. The Bayakoa is the last of nine races and has an approximate post time of 4:28 p.m.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, As Time Goes By will get some class relief after finishing eighth of 11 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

A 4-year-old American Pharoah filly out of the Dehere mare Take Charge Lady, As Time Goes By earned her biggest victories in a span of four weeks at Santa Anita earlier this year. She captured the Santa Margarita April 24 and the Santa Maria May 23.

The dark bay filly broke her maiden by four lengths in her lone start at Los Alamitos, defeating six opponents at six furlongs last Dec. 13. She's 4-for-11 with earnings of $475,600.

Baffert will be seeking his second Bayakoa win locally as he took the inaugural running with Tiz Midnight in 2014.

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, who won the 2017 Bayakoa with Majestic Heat, will be represented Sunday by Moonlight d'Oro.

Owned by MyRachorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC, the 3-year-old Medaglia d'Oro filly was runner-up as the odds-on choice in a restricted stakes at Del Mar Nov. 3 after nine months on the sidelines.

Out of the Bernardini mare Venetian Sonata, Moonlight d'Oro has won twice in five starts and banked $183,790. Her biggest win came in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Feb. 6.

Benjamin and Sally Warren's homebred Warren's Showtime will make her Los Alamitos debut for trainer Craig Lewis.

The California bred daughter of Clubhouse Ride and the Affirmative mare Warren's Veneda has been effective on turf and dirt, winning eight of 23. The 4-year-old has earned $794,431.

Harvest Moon will make her first start for Tabor and breeder Alice Bamford and trainer Simon Callaghan since finishing distant third behind As Time Goes By in the Santa Margarita.

A daughter of Uncle Mo and the Shamardal mare Qaraba, the 4-year-old has four wins in eight attempts and has banked $382,720. She graduated at Los Alamitos in her second career start July 3, 2020.

Third as the favorite in the 2020 Bayakoa won by Proud Emma, Stellar Sound will be making her first start since finishing sixth of eight in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Oct. 3.

Owned by breeder Don Alberto Stable and trained by Michael McCarthy, the 4-year-old gray daughter of Tapit and the Unbridled's Song mare Siren Serenade has won three of nine and earned $194,200. A win Sunday would be her first in a graded event.

Trainer Paddy Gallagher will send out Lisette for breeders Aaron and Harrison Sones. The 3-year-old Uncle Mo filly out of the Unbridled mare Cordoba has one win in five starts and earnings of $55,820. She has been idle since finishing a well-beaten fourth in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes Aug. 21.

A decisive winner against optional claimers Oct. 11 in her first for trainer Leonard Powell after being claimed for $40,000 seven weeks earlier, Bye Bye Bertie will make her Los Alamitos and graded stakes debut for a partnership that includes Gatto Racing LLC, All Schlaich Stables LLC, James Cahill, Brian Kahn, Mathilde Powell and Arthur Spencer.

The 5-year-old daughter of Affirmative and the Ready's Image mare Dream of Bertie has won seven of 18 and banked $230,888.

From inside out, the field for the Bayakoa Stakes: As Time Goes By, Flavien Prat rides, 124 pounds; Harvest Moon, Mike Smith, 124; Bye Bye Bertie, Abel Cedillo, 119; Warren's Showtime, Juan Hernandez, 121; Lisette, Kyle Frey, 116; Stellar Sound, Kent Desormeaux, 119 and Moonlight d'Oro, Drayden Van Dyke, 118.

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Cigar Mile Entrant Following Sea Has ‘Shown He Can Run With The Very Best’

Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, a Kentucky homebred, will look to bolden his potential stallion credentials in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by NYRA Bets at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Following Sea defeated multiple graded stakes-winner Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 Vosburgh on Oct. 9 at Belmont Park en route to a troubled third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Following Sea had to steady in upper stretch of the Breeders' Cup when a seam along the rail was closed off by pacesetting favorite Jackie's Warrior, forcing Hall of Famer John Velazquez to angle the horse several paths wide. He made up enough ground to round out the trifecta at 20-1 odds, finishing 1 ½ lengths to Aloha West and Dr. Schivel.

“Take nothing away from the first and second horses because they obviously finished beautifully,” said Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey. “But if that hole stays open, he would have had to have his running shoes on. It would have been nice to see what would have happened. He looked poised to roll through there. He's a horse who has shown us a lot of talent and shown he can run with the very best in the country. We always need a little luck in this game and with that, he's more than capable of coming away with a win.”

After an open-length maiden score at Oaklawn Park for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Following Sea was transferred to Pletcher and made his debut for the stable a winning one, defeating winners going 6 ½ furlongs on June 3 over the Belmont main track.

Following Sea made his graded stakes debut in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational six weeks later at Monmouth Park, where he was elevated to second via disqualification after finishing a distant third. He then rounded out the trifecta in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in August at Saratoga behind talented sophomores Jackie's Warrior and Life Is Good.

As one of the more prominent racing and breeding operations in North America, Spendthrift Farm's racing program is centered around making colts under their tutelage into stallion prospects.

Toffey said the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park could be one of the major goals for Following Sea's 4-year-old season.

“Our goal is always hoping that any colt in our program can earn his way into our stallion barn. I think that's what we're looking to do with Following Sea, so his campaign will be shaped around that.” Toffey said. “Certainly, the subject of 'stallion-making races' is an interesting one. If you ask stud farms and breeders, the Met Mile would be very high on that list. That would be one goal we would have in mind. Obviously, there's the Breeders' Cup as well. But as always, we're going to listen to Todd, and Todd will listen to the horse.

“This game is a little tricky to look too far ahead in, but we just have to see how things unfold,” Toffey continued. “He's a fun horse to have in the barn. He's given Todd every indication that he's ready to run a good race.”

A win would also provide Following Sea's second-crop sire Runhappy with his first Grade 1 victory as a sire. The medication-free stallion, who stands at Claiborne Farm, was voted 2015 Champion Sprinter and has seen his offspring garner much success in their second year of racing age.

“Following Sea has gone a long way to keep Runhappy in the forefront. He's shown that he's a horse that doesn't take a backseat to too many,” Toffey said.

Following Sea is out of the Speightstown mare Quick Flip, a stakes-winner during her juvenile season who also produced Gimmick, an Into Mischief filly, who broke her maiden this summer at Saratoga. Quick Flip is scheduled to be bred back to Into Mischief, who has been the leading sire for three years running.

Into Mischief stands at Spendthrift Farm for a $250,000 stud fee and has been the pride and joy of the Lexington, Kentucky farm.

“He's a remarkable horse, that's for sure,” Toffey said of Into Mischief. “We've been very fortunate to have him in our barn. What I see the most is that they're really good-minded horses. They tend to enjoy their job. They like going to the track and train and are very workmanlike and at the same time very talented.”

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